We did walk through the Old Town. It should have been called 'decrepit town'. Again I sensed an air of malaise bordering on malevolence. In spite of my overall feeling of safety in China I would not want to walk these streets alone.

It is said this city gave China its name. Not for the fine china it produced, as one might suspect, but because its original name was Changnan. That name was synonymous with ceramics and through various mispronunciations by western traders, it evolved into 'china'. That name came to mean not just the fine porcelain but also the country where it originated.

What really caught our eyes was the pottery kiln historical site. The famous Ming vases originated here, as did the record holding vase that commanded an impressive 230 million yuan at auction, the highest price ever for pottery. As museums go it was nice but not impressive... until we got to the end, where there was a dig going on. I went nuts: walking all around the pit, snapping pictures, trying to get as close as possible. Gary held back because, unlike the museum buildings this site was not air conditioned. A bit pampered is our Gary and obviously not that much into archeology. But he indulged me, waiting outside the enclosure, in the shade.

These days pottery is produced en masse in a factory, but some is still hand-painted. Gary's aim was to visit the shop of one of his trading clients and stock up on 'guang xi' gifts. So, we ended up at Pottery Row, courtesy of his client, via air conditioned SUV. We wiled away two hours in their little shop. Gary spent more than 1,400 yuan, a part of that being gifts for my family and friends. Afterward that business owner took us to a local restaurant to sample indigenous fare: sour noodles. I didn't much care for the taste. It seemed to underscore the disposition of this town.

Crossing the street to our hotel we had to hold our hand up to stop traffic. Even though there are zebra stripes there are no traffic lights and everyone rushes across, bumper to bumper. One has to demand access to the crosswalk. We made it back in one piece, wound down from the day and sank into those heavenly beds.

While it was fun to travel with Gary again, this excursion left little impression on me. I'll be glad to get my passport back so I can hit the rails again and visit enticing cities.  

The original blog is: http://blog.chinadaily.com.cn/blog-1372409-21836.html