Last July I and a few other foreigners were invited by the local Daqing government to take a trip to the famous Heming Lake Wetlands of Lindian County. This was the local government’s way of saying ‘thank you’ to the foreigners who come to their city and provide many different services in addition to just teaching English. While the majority of us were teachers I did meet a Russian ophthalmologist and his wife and a Japanese guy and his wife but I did not find out what he did in Daqing. I must admit that I thought this was a wonderful gesture and together with 54 others I was looking forward to the day out. Jade, our gracious, well spoken and beautiful hostess welcomed us in English and outlined safety rules that we must follow and also that each foreigner must have a Chinese assistant or companion with them at all times. With all the formalities over we clambered into the 2 buses and hit the road.

The bus ride was about one and a half hours through the greenest of countryside probably due to the heavy rains we had experienced over the past couple of weeks. We passed many farms with corn growing in the fields and hundreds of hot houses inside which many other vegetables could be seen to be doing well. After we came off the highway we slowly drove through the local village just near our destination and there was barely enough room for the bus to get through what with outdoor markets and stalls lined up on the roadside selling everything from cooked kebabs to clothing, trinkets, fruit and vegetables.  The buses parked in a small car park and we disembarked and gathered inside the Wetlands entry area to get instructions and to have the regulation group photo taken on occasions like this.

This wetland area is hard to describe because if we had the same thing back home we would probably have commercialized it a lot more. Nearly all the buildings were made of timber and a  walkway had been constructed over the top of the wetlands. This wooden pathway, jetty really, was simple and effective and stretched well into the water and reeds which made up the Wetland area. We passed a section into which had been built glass flooring so you could see the water and the plants under your feet. As you walked along this jetty you could get an idea of the size of the wetlands area. It was immense. In some areas lotus flowers bloomed and the peace and quiet was disturbed only by the occasional buzz of a mosquito near your ear. Some areas of the jetty were under water so we had to take shoes and socks off and walk the rest of the way in bare feet. The weather was wonderful, about 23C, and not a cloud in the sky. After a long walk along this jetty we came to a larger pier area from which we would be going rafting.  The rafts were roughly made with planks of scrap timber lashed to large PVC pipes and on top of the rafts were placed up to 8 cane armchairs for people like us to sit in. The cane chair style was for middle class, then there were metal and plastic bench like seats for lower class, probably a cheaper price I guess, and then there was the Nile River Egyptian model which had chairs but was all encased in mosquito netting and which provided shade for the ultimate connection with the wild Wetland!! The raft driver was like a Venetian gondolier driver minus the uniform as he pushed our raft through the corners, bends and pools of the Wetlands. The ambience of the place can best be described as calm and at one with nature and as a result, quite sublime. It was so relaxing that I had to point out that a nice bottle of chardonnay and some cheese would just about cap this raft trip off to perfection. Well, at least a cold beer would have been great! The ride was over in about 30 minutes but I got to thinking about what this place would be like in the winter. Totally frozen over with ice probably 2 feet thick! What sort of creature living here could withstand the two extremes? Don’t know but I do know I never saw a living thing in the water.

After the uneventful but peaceful rafting experience we were taken to the lake area which had the most amazing assortment of craft available for patrons to use. And speaking of patrons, there were hundreds of Chinese folk here for a day out and also staying here on holidays. On the water, either tied up or in action, were army like landing craft, pirate ships, warships with water cannons that had their own ammunition pumps, paddle boats, jetskis and then the Dragon boats, the latter being our mode of transport for our next adventure – Dragon Boat Racing. The Dragon boats were not in the best of condition with some having the dragon head missing and others with serious leaks made obvious by the amount of water in the bottom. None had rudders so steering these craft was a show of paddling strength and ingenuity as the ‘oars’ were made from a piece of rectangular timber strapped to a long piece of wood! Two teams in two boats and the race was on. The objective was a bridge in the distance but it proved to be “A Bridge Too Far” as we paddled our way in the general direction but as stated earlier, steering the boat was almost impossible and it was more a tacking race as we paddled furiously there and back!

After the Dragon boats we hopped into these paddle boats that we estimated had been there since the 70’s. The state of disrepair, rust and the condition of the foot operated paddles made this top of the list as a “Don’t Do” but there’s something about being on the water that makes you think only happy thoughts and we really had a pretty good time just trying to get from A to B in small shuddering lurches through the water.

At lunch time we all headed to the main restaurant that was at the Wetland Centre. After all that activity we were starving and the air conditioned comfort of the restaurant was a rather welcome relief from the sun. The beer was cold! Earlier I had met a guy from the government by the name of Guo and I invited him to sit next to me as his English was fantastic. Also at the table was a teacher from England and his wife from Serbia, my Chinese assistant, the Japanese guy and his wife and their Chinese assistant. The first servings of about 6 plates consisted of nothing I could recognize but tried the taste test to find out. One plate, however, was filled with black bugs – cooked! I had no idea what they were, some sort of beetle we guessed and it became a bit of a dare to see who would try to eat one first. I succumbed to curiousity more than anything else so I grabbed a bug with my chopsticks, which was difficult enough considering their hard, shiny skin and I popped it into my mouth and started chewing. It wasn’t as unpleasant as I had imagined it was going to be and really, it was just like a crunchy bit of….of……insect. I received a round of applause but it was interesting to note that none of the Chinese at the table had ever eaten one either! Only Shiko my new found Japanese mate had the courage to try one as well. There were so many dishes bought out that it was impossible to fit them all onto the table but many of the plates had some sort of cooked fish, but I am not a good eater of fish that comes from creeks and rivers. I drank another beer, Guo opened the bottle of Baijo, the local Chinese white wine that can strip paint, then a speech by the government leader and it was lunch over and time to hit the spa which is a giant indoor pool.

The swimming area had this one enormous pool in the middle but maximum depth was about 2 feet and there was really no place you could actually go swimming in deep water. Nearer the entrance was a play pool with all sorts of paraphernalia in there for kids to muck around on as well as being used to spray and splash us with water. There were slides, seesaws, platforms to climb, webbing to scale and waterfalls to stand under and get pelted by water. Surrounding the main pool were a few smaller Jacuzzi type of tubs but these had heated water in them and by heated I mean hot! For me they were too hot to get into and only Shiko managed to immerse himself in what I thought was the hottest spa. What a guy! You could go outside and while wandering about out there you could see they were in the middle of constructing many more private type spas and Jacuzzis with some being able to be used, some being used, while others looked rather forlornly empty. Imagine though, middle of winter, snow and ice all around you and sitting in one of these private hot water spas? No such thing as too hot then with the outside temperature being -25C!! It was something we planned to do last winter but never got around to it so this winter it will be a certainty. By the time we had played ourselves out in the warm pool water it was almost time to go so it was a shower and get dressed and back into the bus after the final photography session. It seems most of us were pretty tired after the day’s outing and slept the journey home.  At the time of the invite I was dubious about how the day would pan out but like the rest of the foreigners I had a good time and enjoyed the opportunity to see another part of the Chinese countryside. It was such a wonderful day and the chance to experience something different. I hope the local government continues this way of recognizing the foreigners who come here to work and their contribution to the people of Daqing.  It’s this type of friendship that makes life quite enjoyable in Daqing and of course China.