Shijiazhuang aka: 石家庄

Yes, yes, yes… it’s polluted, dirty and full of unsavoury smells. Yet I spent over 9 months of my life living in this city and I will never regret it!

If you’re in the vicinity take a moment to stop for a bottle of Tiger in the place affectionately dubbed as McDonald’s Bar – it’s to the right of McDonald’s on Zhongshang Lu, in the Chang An building (walk through the foyer, past the hairdresser to the door at the back). Here you will find Liam, the best barman in the world! (Call them if you can’t find them: 8804752).

Go to any of the local markets and ‘ooh’ and ‘ah’ over the mysterious fruit and vegetables. Make sure you try your hand at bargaining (I’m still feeble at it), and don’t forget to laugh – it’s supposed to be fun (and you’ll get better results)!

Or, if you like crayfish, visit the Longxia restaurant on Yucai Jie (just off Zhongshang Lu). It has pictures of crayfish in neon lights outside. Order a big bowl of longxia for you and your companions and prepare to get your fingers dirty!

For all of your travel needs, go to CITS at 26 Donggang Road (call: 85898765). These wonderful people can work miracles with train tickets – even over Spring Festival! If you’re lucky the manager Tom Dong will be available to help – he is an angel and speaks excellent English!

Prepare for lots of people and expect to be stared at – especially if you’re an exceptional shade of pale like me! But also prepare to HAVE to use your Chinese (however basic) and expect the world to look different after you leave.

End of lesson!

For people passing through here, you should really stop and make a detour to Zhengding, 30min away by bus.