Traveling in Asia would probably change all our early perceptions of the continent. While sitting in a comfortable room in the west, we may think we really understand the meaning of "Chinese Food;" we may have a very clear idea of how Chinese dumplings should taste and we may even have a pair of chopsticks in the kitchen. A thick book of Chinese recipes in a friend’s house is our definitive guide to that country.
It takes very little time in
China to understand that’s dangerous nonsense. There are hundreds of dumplings variations and at least as many sauces.
I found a similar problem with hotels. In
Thailand, "Chinese hotels" are as common as
Tom Yum Kung. Operated by families of Chinese origin, they occupy premium spots near main bus and railway stations almost in every city. They all look alike: low structures with a surprisingly spacious lobby and rooms with a pleasantly high ceiling and little else. They are my best kept secret for emergency stops while in Thailand.
I reached China with the confidence I’ll have where to sleep, yet they were gone.
It took me some time to understand that the shapeless, ill-advertised towers located next to Chinese railways stations are their parallel. Typical Communist structures, these hotels cater for the huge amounts of travelers passing through the station and thus are usually out of limits for the foreign traveler. Simply, having a steady stream of local clients, the staff cares very little about foreign travelers unable to speak
Chinese and would make efforts to discourage him from checking into the establishment.
Lanzhou is different. A relatively small town at the very edge of
Classical China, it features relatively low amounts of travelers. I arrived there during the Chinese New Year – the busiest season – and yet could find train tickets with no problem. Moreover, the hotel in front of the railway station - Hua Lian Lanzhou Mansion – was almost empty and created a golden opportunity for visiting such an establishment; I could choose from a large variety of rooms.
Missing the hotel is not an option; with more than twenty floors, it is among the tallest structures in town and just across a large plaza from the railway station.
The reception desk is right next to the entrance and the staff speaks basic English, at least enough for letting me explain I wanted to see several rooms. I wanted one near the top for the views, but I had learned to check out the room’s facilities before checking in because not always all of them are in working conditions. The fee was around ten dollars, which was the typical price I found in remote Chinese provinces.
After seeing three or four rooms, I settled for one in the eighteenth floor with a splendid view of the railway station plaza and the mountains behind it. This is the moment to comment on certain peculiarity of Lanzhou. Some may look at the picture of the mountains I took from the room and think that I had used color filters or that the windows distorted the colors. It is not so. Lanzhou is famous for being one of the most polluted cities in China – I prefer not to mention the rumors regarding the causes for that – and the strange colors of the atmosphere in the area are for real. The hills and the sky got an unusual pinkish hue at dusk.
The location of the hotel is excellent. Not only because it allows frequent visits to the railway station (if waiting for tickets such visits are unavoidable) but also because it is only a few minutes away from the main bridge over the Yellow River and downtown Lanzhou.
The room was comfortable. Quite large with a double bed a spacious bathroom with plenty of hot water (a must in the cold Chinese winter), green tea and a thermos of hot water which was filled up regularly by the floor’s concierge.
Finally, the ubiquitous television set was connected to the Chinese cables network. That meant no international news networks were available and that most of the channels were in Chinese. It may sound strange but I learned there to appreciate CCTV9, the English Channel of the Chinese Television. The first half of every given hour is dedicated to news – no less manipulated than those broadcasted in the country of the Dodgy Dossier – and the second half to interesting documentary films about China. It was an awesome window into the local culture that wonderfully enriched the visit to China.
From journal Lanzhou: Yellow River Blues