Nanjing

We spent two interesting days in Nanjing where Dave had lived and taught English for a year in 1996-7. They weren't interesting because of the sights (we didn't visit any), but were more interesting because of the unique perspective Dave had on what 10 years had done to this city.

A brand new academic building sat on top of Dave's favorite go-to lunch spot, "Aunties." Trendy clothing boutiques lined the streets were hole-in-the-wall crap shops and street eateries had once been. The school where he taught was there, but had been reconfigured to open on to the main street rather than in an alley behind. There were new skyscrapers and landmarks making some streets unrecognizable. More cars, fewer bikes, more cars parked on the sidewalks. Western food restaurants were plentiful as well as coffee shops (still mostly frequented by Westerners and the hip youth).

These potential changes had been hinted at by our experience in other cities, but I don't think it was until we actually arrived in Nanjing that the extent to which the "New China" had affected his Nanjing.