Dongshankou

Yesterday I went to look at the neighborhood where I've decided to look for an apartment, Dongshankou. It is central, densely populated with many trees, markets and restaurants, an easy metro ride to work and, unlike much of the Guangzhou that I've seen so far, has retained it's character through the explosion of growth over the last 20 years. The architecture is eclectic with many houses and apartment buildings having a mixture of western European and Cantonese styles. From what I have been told, refugees who fled China during the Japanese occupation of WWII upon returning home brought with them an affinity for the architecture that they had been exposed to while away. When rebuilding their homes and lives back in Guangzhou, they based the designs of their homes on these styles, though they were working with local craftsmen and materials so the houses became these fascinating mash-ups. I will add some photos when I'm able.

Dongshankou has a big fantastic wet market and a little specialty store with foreign delicacies like oatmeal and german chocolate.

A couple of people who I imagine will be reading this would be proud of me for something that I did yesterday. I gnawed chewy bits of something off of the elbow joints of cows and gnawed some other stuff off of some pig bones. It was actually pretty tasty, though it still gave me the willies. The cow stuff that I ate is supposed to be good for joint health and skin. Somehting else I ate for dinner is good for hair. For breakfast the other day I had something good for the breasts, and my Szechuan lunch from last week was good for my reproductive system.