Is this Wuxi?!

New train station

When I was in China, I was super excited to visit Wuxi, the city in which I used to live.  Whilst C was working, I made a trip down there for the day and was amazed at the changes in the city.  Firstly, there is now a fast train to Wuxi.  It only takes 45-50 minutes, although there was one train on the schedule that made the journey from Shanghai to Wuxi in just 31 minutes!  All the fast trains depart from the Shanghai Hongqiao 'transportation hub', where the airport, train station and bus station are all located.  However, the tickets on the fast train are significantly more expensive than the slower (by about 15-20 minutes) train and the comfort level of each is about the same.  So, if you're on a budget, perhaps it's not worth it.  Still, it's a great option if you're short on time or commuting regularly to the big smoke.

Still working on the bus station

New train station - the old station is to the left, just out of the picture

The next surprise I got was when I arrived in Wuxi.  The train rolled into a sleek, clean, bright new train station that was nothing like the old one which was dark, smelly and crowded.  The only thing that remained the same was the never-ending, carbon-monoxide-breathing queue for taxis.  I later learnt that the new train station had been open for a mere 6 days.

New station - so clean and lovely!

My old bike at EtonHouse!

On my first visit to Wuxi, I had lunch and a foot massage with some Chinese friends - all at my favourite Wuxi establishments, of course.  We gorged ourselves on dumplings, sweet sticky pork and hot candied apples before relaxing with a cup of tea and a wonderful foot massage at Fushiwu, the massage place where I spent a lot of time when I lived in Wuxi.

Hazel and I with the gift she gave me - A Toronto Maple Leafs hockey jumper

Mmmm, food at my favourite dumpling restaurant in Wuxi

In the afternoon, I met up with a fellow Aussie (and it was so great to hear an Australian accent!) in a new part of Wuxi.  The government recently bought a heap of old property on a canal (in the old days, Wuxi was a city criss-crossed with canals) and have re-developed it into a new 'old' street filled with bars, restaurants and shops.  Many of the bars and restaurants were shut, so we just wandered along the street catching up on the gossip.  It was a beautiful street and if I still lived in Wuxi, I imagine that I would spend a lot of time there.  Before I knew it, it was time to hightail it back to the squeaky clean train station and head back to Shanghai.

Part of the new 'old' street

Wuxi?!  Is it really this pretty?!

After our Suzhou visit, C and I headed to Wuxi (only 15 minutes on the fast train from Suzhou) so that I could show him around the area I used to live.  We visited the school where I worked and I was amazed at the progress that had been made - in just 18 months, the school has grown from about 60 students to 150.  I was also amazed that many of the displays that I created in the hallway are still up!  We re-visited the dumpling restaurant where I converted C from a non-dumpling-lover to a dumpling-lover and then went back to Fushiwu to sample their full body massage.  C was amazed at the size of the 'small city' that is Wuxi.  I too was amazed at the changes that had taken place - heaps of new buildings than when I left and even more buildings in the construction phase.  Ah, that's China for you - progress, progress, progress!

The new 'old' street - lovely bars, restaurants and shops

Blow torching pig trotters in the street ... as you do

What the new 'old' street used to look like

What a beautiful building for a Starbucks!