Turns out, we missed the Kite Festival by one day -- so we saw precious few kites, and no celebrations, in Weifang, the Kite Capital of the World. However, Weifang is worth visiting even when there is no festival afoot, as you'll see.
You need your passport to buy a train ticket in China. You can line up at the train station (not recommended), or you can act helpless and ask a Chinese friend to buy it for you on the internet and pay them back (easiest) or go to a travel agent and pay a small fee.
You need your passport to buy a train ticket in China. You can line up at the train station (not recommended), or you can act helpless and ask a Chinese friend to buy it for you on the internet and pay them back (easiest) or go to a travel agent and pay a small fee.
Weifang is the next city over on the train route from our city. It's 45 minutes by fast train and an hour-and-a-half by regular train. The regular train fare was only 13.5 yuan apiece, or a little over two bucks, about a third of the fast train fare, so Ross and I decided, why not? We had time to take the city bus to the train station, so that's another four yuan. So we traveled 156 kilometers for $2.50.
In the regular train coach, passengers sit on padded benches. The seats are upright like church pews and do not recline, but they're comfortable enough. You are seated three abreast on one side of the aisle and two abreast on the other. Passengers sit facing each other like you see in old Wild West movies and there's a little table under the window so you could play card games or set out some snacks.
Just as on the fast train, you can buy snacks and drinks from girls who push carts up and down the aisles at a rapid clip, and with an air of indifference, that suggests to me that they are not working on commission and would just as soon not be bothered to stop and sell you some shaved fish or potato chips. Thrifty Chinese travelers pack their own snacks. There's free hot water, so you can make tea or instant noodles, too. And there are bathrooms, which was certainly an advantage over the bus I rode to Heze.
In the regular train coach, passengers sit on padded benches. The seats are upright like church pews and do not recline, but they're comfortable enough. You are seated three abreast on one side of the aisle and two abreast on the other. Passengers sit facing each other like you see in old Wild West movies and there's a little table under the window so you could play card games or set out some snacks.
Just as on the fast train, you can buy snacks and drinks from girls who push carts up and down the aisles at a rapid clip, and with an air of indifference, that suggests to me that they are not working on commission and would just as soon not be bothered to stop and sell you some shaved fish or potato chips. Thrifty Chinese travelers pack their own snacks. There's free hot water, so you can make tea or instant noodles, too. And there are bathrooms, which was certainly an advantage over the bus I rode to Heze.
We walked from the train station to our hotel, stopping off along the way at a Buddhist gift shop to admire the trinkets. When I saw "we walked," I mean that we thought the hotel was nearby, and when Ross asked a young couple for directions they interrupted whatever they were doing and walked with us, escorted us, right to the hotel door, which took at least twenty minutes of their time. This kind of extra-special kindness happens to us all the time in China.
The hotel was deluxe and for your reference, we paid 230 yuan, or $43 per night, for a hotel filled with marble and chandeliers, and a girl playing piano in the lobby, so this was no Motel 6. The room was nice, too. After unpacking, we wandered back on the streets again. I should mention at this point that Ross and I have always felt very safe wherever we've been in Shandong Province. Ross spotted a wisp of smoke floating in a nearby street and we steered toward it -- yep, outdoor BBQ. So we enjoyed some cold draft beer and meat on skewers.
The hotel was deluxe and for your reference, we paid 230 yuan, or $43 per night, for a hotel filled with marble and chandeliers, and a girl playing piano in the lobby, so this was no Motel 6. The room was nice, too. After unpacking, we wandered back on the streets again. I should mention at this point that Ross and I have always felt very safe wherever we've been in Shandong Province. Ross spotted a wisp of smoke floating in a nearby street and we steered toward it -- yep, outdoor BBQ. So we enjoyed some cold draft beer and meat on skewers.
The next day we went to the lobby to ask about kite festival activities and it was then that we learned that there was nothing doing. However, we were right across the street from Kite Square. As we walked across the Plaza we became part of the attraction for other tourists, who asked to take our picture. This is a pretty common occurrence for us foreigners in China. We went a beautiful leisurely walking tour that included People's Park, the river, street markets, and the Kite Museum.
Weifang has lots of these rent-a-bike stations and we saw lots of people using the bikes. We wanted to do so ourselves but couldn't figure out the instructions....
Weifang has lots of these rent-a-bike stations and we saw lots of people using the bikes. We wanted to do so ourselves but couldn't figure out the instructions....
While strolling through the people's park we decided that Weifang was a charming and livable city, with or without a kite festival. The young lady below doesn't look too pleased about me posing in front of the flowers while she was doing the same.
A bride is escorted through the park to a photo shoot. This flowering bush looks like a quince (?) but I'm not sure. This river flows through the downtown.
Our quest for kites continued on our second day in Weifang.....
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