We stayed at a Home Inn, which was in an excellent location. After dumping our bags in the room we walked down the street to get some food on a road we’d spotted from the taxi. It was a whole road of XiaoCao (BBQ) stalls, some just a little stand and others with a whole restaurant and a bustling outdoor seating area. The air was thick with smoke.
The next morning we went to the Five Dragons Spring, which was just a few minutes’ walk from our hotel. 5 Yuan entry was a complete bargain – it was busy because many people were on their May Day holidays, but for once it didn’t annoy me – it added to the experience and atmosphere, and it was great that the gardens were filled with laugher and the sounds of people enjoying themselves. Chinese workers get so few holidays – you get a sense of how much they really treasure those days where they’re given time to relax.
The gardens were stuffed full of pungent flowers, small roses on bushes in a variety of pinks, so every breath tasted sweet. There were lots of little ponds filled with the clearest, bluest waters (with, of course, the occasional bit of filth floating around, but for the most part it seemed clean and well kept.) There were a few splash pools and flat terraces of water that had been flooded in puddles for the children to play in, many of whom had bought bicycle pump style water guns and were shrieking as the soaked each other. It was a glorious place to have a short walk – so peaceful even in the centre of town, and wonderfully green.
After lunch at a Muslim Noodles we went in search of a local spring. This part of Shan Dong is known for its springs and bathing areas. We walked down a tourist street known as the ‘food street’ in our Rough Guide. It did indeed sell food – milk tea, things-on-a-stick, cakes, noodles, BBQ pig’s trotters…all kinds of snack foods and meals. It was heaving; absolutely mad with people. As soon as we could, we escaped down a little Hutong alley to get away from the crush.
We decided on this attraction (the Hutongs and Wang Fu Chi Zi bathing area) and the 5 Dragons Spring instead of going to the larger, more commercial and expensive one (Bao Tu Quan). No great loss as, with the great location of our hotel, they were all in the same sort of area and really easy to get to.
So yes, as I said we escaped down this little alleyway into the Hutongs. What a labyrinth! We went down ‘the most narrow alley in Jinan’ – enlightened by the information sings all over the place that pointed out places of interest. The lanes were dazzling in the light – all whitewashed and grey concrete and dusty underfoot. We walked for quite a while, taking a plethora of twists and turns before we found the pool.
It wasn’t quite what I’d expected. It was surrounded by houses on all sides and, apart from a sort of skirting board ledge that you could perch on, there were only one or two points of entry to the pool. The bathers were all male – mostly older Chinese men taking their daily exercise. Some were doing laps, others in various stages of scrubbing themselves using the bars of soap that they’d wedged into nooks and crannies or hung from hooks on the wall.
The water was deep and clear, with seaweed everywhere. It looked fairly clean with not too much rubbish floating in it, but there were occasional films and tracks on the surface like a shiny streak of petrol, coming from where the woman were squatting in the shallows and washing baskets of clothes. Away from the heaving crowds, just a few streets apart, it was quite serene and peaceful there. Buried by the low rise buildings you couldn’t see the upper floors of the shopping malls that were just a stone’s throw away. The lapping of the waters as they slapped against the stone walls was gentle and calming. Sasha contemplated going for a swim but decided against it for lack of a changing room. As there were no female patrons I didn’t fancy it either – particularly given the small crowd gathered at the terraced restaurant, who were already quite taken with the teenage boy diving from the wall, and who would no doubt whip out the camera phones at the sight of a white, female swimmer.
As we walked back up the tourist street (which was even busier than before) Sasha tried a BBQ pig’s foot, and I had an iced lemon drink from Coco. Our destination was the Black Tiger Spring, about a 20 minute walk away. We found another public pool, this one more like an outdoor swimming pool made of tiles and with lifeguards at the poolside. We tried to go and investigate but the guard wouldn’t let us pass, for reasons we never quite understood. We couldn’t figure out why we weren’t allowed in but also weren’t in the mood for an argument so we left it.
At the foot of the pool, divided by a fence, was a little splash pool for children that had a bed of sand at one edge, like a makeshift beach. The water was filthy, and the combination of sand and mud made the water a cloudy, mustard brown colour. I saw at least one cigarette butt floating in the shallows. We sat for a while in the shade and watched the children playing to out left, and the river floating by to our right.
It was a glorious afternoon sat in the sun, followed by a walk back to the hotel along the riverside. We had planned to take one of the little boats that chugs the circuit around the central part of the city, but they weren’t running that day because of the wind. It was pretty windy (all day I had been rubbing dust and dirt from my eyes and scrabbling to get my hair under my hat) but it didn’t seem that dangerous to me.
After a rest at the hotel we went back to the BBQ street for a Jinan style dinner. Sasha treated us to a fresh coconut with a straw punctured in the top, which we sipped as we walked the street and decided where to eat. First we went to a lady with a little stall selling seafood. It was quite early so some stalls weren’t open yet, but she was ready next to the flaming BBQ coals and beckoned us to look at her wares. All she had was oysters and scallops, all moist and fresh and waiting for a generous helping of garlic for seasoning. At 5 Yuan a piece we both tried one of each. They were delicious to say the least, absolutely scrumptious. It made a very good starter.
After that we walked the length of the street in search of our main eatery. We were looking for somewhere small – the bigger BBQ places had over 100 customers and our request for NON spicy food would no doubt be forgotten, so we aimed for somewhere a bit more personal. Places that were very quiet or without customers indicated a lack of popularity or bad food, so we steered clear of those. We found a place with indoor seating that looked good and had a glance at the menu.
We ordered fried bread, quality lamb ‘steak’, chicken wings, whole fish, small pieces of meat (0.8 RMB per stick! – 8p a stick) and…lambs eyes. All served on a stick, cooked on a BBQ. The eyes were…interesting. A bit like chewy eggs. Not something I’d be in a rush to try again! I liked the small sticks of meat best, which are so small they have to be ordered 10 at a time. After that we made a final stop we’d eaten at on our first night, ran by two old ladies. We got more mini meat sticks, mushrooms and green veg – what a wonderful pick’n’mix feast!
And another of my sketches - Sasha and I looking for food, with the MASSIVE cat that was also on the prowl.
So that was Jinan in a nutshell. It was a nice city – lots going on but not too busy. Jinan was a pleasant place to spend a day or two. A modern Chinese metropolis interwoven with ancient Chinese culture.
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