Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya,

The '2013 Winter Beers N Noodles Adventure has now begun and my first port of call is Jiangxi Province’s capital, Nanchang city.

I first visited Nanchang during the 2009 Summer Beers N Noodles Adventure but after being hassled by far too many ‘hotel people’ boarded the next bus and scampered to Luotiancun, Shuinan & Jingtai Villages where I spent a very peaceful few days meandering around several ancient villages. For some reason at no time over the past year and a half I have been living in Jiangxi Province have I wanted to return to ‘that bus station’ but as the Nanchang airport is the closest airport to Dexing Town, I had no choice. From the moment I left my apartment everything went so smooth, I headed downstairs and said hello to my headmaster and as he was heading in the bus station direction he gave me a lift, upon arriving there was a bus slowly making its way down the drive way and within seconds I was onboard;

With Suzi Quatro yelling sweet nothings in my ear.

When I arrived in Nanchang I checked out a few hotels in the bus station area and decided to stretch my legs and grab one halfway into the city and after passing a rather ‘nice’ looking Business Hotel I decided to check out how much it was and for some reason after a small chat, the girls behind the counter felt sorry for me having to live and teach in such a small town and gave me a rather comfortable discount.

So this time, did Nanchang win me over?
You bet your wok fried chicken feet it did!

I spent last evening walking around Zhongshan pedestrian street snacking on far too many snacks found in the labyrinth of small alleyways found in the area and today I visited the cities draw card, the beautiful Tengwang Pavilion along with the peaceful Shengjin Pagoda and when done on foot both make a wonderful days adventure. As evening approached I made the mistake of returning to the Zhongshan Pedestrian Street area and once again refilled on far too many street snacks and after walking back to my hotel I now sit here with a couple of cold beers writing but sadly find that I am actually too full to get half way through the first.

Tomorrow I will board my second flight in eight years.
First was to Shanghai in 2007 and the last was to Shaowu in September 2010.
Not bad for someone who has travelled China four months a year for eight years.

Now For a Bit On Nanchang & My Two Sites

Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China which is located in the north-central portion of the province. As it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake and due to its central location relative to the Yangtze and Pearl River Delta regions, it is one of the major rail hubs in southern China。

It has a historical and cultural history of more than two thousand years.

The Shengjin Pagoda

The Shengjin Pagoda was first built during the reign of Tianyou during the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 904-907). It is said that an iron box was dug up while the tower was being built and found inside were four bundles of gold ropes, three ancient swords and three hundred Buddhist Relics. It is almost sixty meters high with a foundation of almost thirty four meters. It is a seven tiered tower with eight sides and has carved eaves and verandas on each floor and at its peak sits a gold-plated tripod.

The Tengwang Pavilion

The Pavilion was built in the year 653 by Prince Teng, the son of the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It was rebuilt during the reign of the Ming Emperor Jingtai (1450-1456) and during the Qing Dynasty it was destroyed and reconstructed. In 1926 a fire set by the Northern Warlords (1912-1927) once again burnt it to the ground. Reconstruction of the pavilion began in 1983 was completed in 1989 and symbolises the now non-existent ancient city wall. A stainless steel tablet at the entrance is engraved with a calligraphy work of Mao Zedong.

Beers N Noodles toya…..shane
___________________________________________________________

The soundtrack to this entry was by Suzi Quatro.
The album was ‘The Best Of’
____________________________________________________________