Street in Tai'an City 泰安
It makes me wonder why I took the express train to Tai’an instead of the much slower ones from Beijing. The primary reason was that I was supposed to meet up with a former colleague who now stays in Tai’an. We have been talking me visiting her hometown for the longest time, but this time she would actually be there. Tai’an is primarily a tourist city since it is home to what is probably China’s most famous mountain. Despite the massive influx of tourists to this city, it wasn’t really as ultra-modern as a Beijing or a Shanghai, it is noticeably more laid back here.
Water Wheel Near the Taishan International Youth Hostel 泰山国际青年旅社
However, it seems that things are changing here in Tai’an. The main drag of Tai’an is under construction, causing massive traffic jams, although nowhere near as massive as the ones in Beijing. The place does have a shopping mall but it isn’t very glitzy either. The hostel is actually near an electronics mall, I was half expecting to see a massive trove of Chinese branded products when what greeted me were American branded products such as HP and Apple. I was on the lookout for a cheap tablet computer but I didnt’ really see one.
The road behind me parallel to this one is what can be considered the shopping streets since it has a lot of stores alone the road, complete with blazing neon lights. Although very laid back, Tai’an is no Chengdu, which for me still wins hands down as the most charming Chinese city.
[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/TaishanInternationalYouthHostel.kmz} zoom=19]