Learning To Navigate A New City

Its O.K. to get lost … sometimes.

Getting lost is O.K. it just leads to you eventually finding your way.
Living in China brings so many new experiences. For many it can be overwhelming but once you’ve hurdled the first barriers of culture shock, language barriers, being home sick or just the frustration of trying to get simple tasks done as a foreigner, you will be sure to see the possibilities of exploring this country.

A day time view of the round-a-bout.

At nights the lights are so beautiful

I’ve been living in China for about three years and almost half (if not more) of that was in lock down. Hence restricted movements (the bane of my existence).

Acquiring your bearings to travel around at first can be daunting but eventually after lock down I got the hang of it. Who am I kidding I’m still very much trying to not get lost daily.

World City-Guanggu Pedestrian Street

One of my very first solo outings was to a mall I googled and found that I could just take one bus from where I lived and I would get there in 25-30 minutes or less. Its called World City Guanggu – Valley of Light Pedestrian Street. It looked like something worth exploring, so I made the trip. Immediately I was overwhelmed by the size of the place and was ignorant of how to get across the road to the Starbucks, which was the main goal of the trip.

After walking in circles for a few minutes trying to figure out where this GPS was leading me I managed to get across the road, walking over barriers and crossing at a section not designated for crossing [whoops!]. It was not until my third trip to that area I figured out we were to use underground crossing (which in itself is an entire maze).

Map of the underground tunnels used to cross the above streets.

Fast forward several months later (after lock down) I go back to the same area with friends and realized I only scratched the surface of that area.

Lvye Xianzong Park – Located at the Italian and Spanish Style Street

One very noticeable thing about China is their ability to pack so many different experiences into one location. It gives you the ability to spend hours doing different things all in walking or riding distance. From all the various malls filled with stores and restaurants there is also many sightseeing areas there. World City Plaza even has sightseeing inside the mall itself in the form of a a tunnel with train tracks, some call it a love tunnel.

This location is where you can find three European styled streets, German, Spanish and Italian. Each street highlights what most would think are the typical things to see or experience in each country.

Above the square of the Italian Style Street

The Italian street had Venetian Gondolas and an Italian styled square. The Spanish street had a cathedral built very similar to that of a Spanish cathedral. There were even pews inside. But it was more of a sitting area, because there were stores on the upper floors.

The Spanish Styled Cathedral – Duomo Cathedral

The German street had the quintessential beer theme with statues of people in traditional German attire. There was also an airplane located at the German street. Yes a full sized airplane, that doubled as a restaurant.

Yup that’s right a restaurant in an airplane. Disappointingly, it was not open when I went there, but from the pictures I have seen it looks worth a revisit whenever or if ever they reopen for business again.

Now I frequent this area so often I know my way around pretty well. With any other thing in life it just takes some getting used to and a little revisiting. The area is also continuously changing. And stores come and go. When I first went there I went to the Starbucks as said previously, but now that’s gone and will make way for something new. So try something new today, pick a place and leap into a new adventure. Let’s see where it leads us next!

Tips

Wear comfy shoes – it’s a very big area. So if you don’t plan on multiple trips be prepared to walk.
Utilize your GPS- you can search restaurants and shopping areas if you are in doubt or overwhelmed by the area.
Pin important locations. Such as the bus stop you need to find to get back home, or any important location. This makes it easy for you to use your GPS to find your way back if you get lost.
Download a translation app to your phone just in case you need help and no one close speaks English.
Have an open mind- be prepared to wander. Take random stops look into random shops. Some place are jewels tucked away.

Renee, where to next?