A Peace of China: Zhongshan, Chongqing

the right bus station

The directions in the lonely planet China guidebook were mostly correct. Even so, there were more than a few times when I was cursing this sentence: "It's possible, though, to visit Zhongshan in a day trip from Chongqing." I left SISU at 8 am, and we arrived in Zhongshan at 2 pm. The last bus leaves Zhongshan at about 4:30, giving us barely enough time to walk, eat, take pictures, and that's about it.

Our trip got off to a smooth start with 4 of us optimistic PCVs finding each other, and then eventually the right Chongqing bus station. Bus and train is how everyone in this part of China gets around, so bus and train stations are often together, or close by. On our first bus from Chongqing to Jiangjin, we had assigned seats, thankfully. This leg took 1 1/2 hours and included a giant bottleneck at a tunnel where 1 lane ended. Drivers in China are impetuous, driving in any direction they feel like, swerving erratically, ignoring any and all traffic controls, and constantly honking. The effect is chaos, and it's best not to watch. Most Chinese passengers fall instantly asleep. After getting through the tunnel, the bus stopped so the driver could wash it, seriously, while we waited.

push-back

The second bus, from Jiangjin, was a smaller local bus where there's an unlimited capacity rule, everyone will get on, everyone. This bus required 5 passengers to get out and push the bus back from its parking position and then push start it, running after it to get on, like push-start is just an everyday operation.

Another 1 1/2 hours later we were finally off the bus and down the hill to the ancient town of Zhongshan, a once prosperous port town along the Sunxi River during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The town is now a well preserved street, 1132 meters long with 307 old wooden houses projecting over the river. Villagers live in these houses, often using the front room for a shop or tea house, selling traditional food or crafts. It was like stepping back in time.