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West Lake at Night

 Walking along the lake at night became an integral part of my routine. The atmosphere was different to that during the day, which was usually busy. While at night time, usually after 9pm, it was quiet and peaceful, with the odd couple walking past enjoying the view of the lake with a backdrop of delicately lit mountains. Once a Chinese guy, around mid-20s, called David, once caught up and started talking in very good English, almost in a Native American accent. 

He explained that he studied in Canada and lived there for many years and was simply 'travelling' around China as a hobby, but from the South originally, Guangzhou. He invited me to go for a late night snack, but given that it was 11pm, I was suspicious of his intentions, as I was still getting used to Chinese hospitality, that it was 'normal' to simply find a foreigner and go out for a meal with no ulterior motives, as China is generally, completely safe. We're not just intensely watched by police at every street corner, but also caught on CCTV around 300 times per day, and with facial recognition allowing identification. David suggested to have 'shao kao' which is Chinese BBQ, but I didn't think there would be anywhere open this time of night and declined and added his WeChat instead. From this Moments (kind of like Facebook), I found that he had a life living in 5* hotels, going to different cities. He asked where I would like to go in China and replied, "I've heard good things about Nanjing', and he replied 'OK, let's go tomorrow'. I didn't think he was serious, and was shocked he barely knew anything about me. I had never really been with a complete stranger anywhere before, and again declined explaining that I was busy, even though I was free, but I couldn't put so much trust into a guy I didn't know. He seemed more Westernised than most Chinese guys, even more so than my colleague Chris Yu. Because I had just met him by West Lake on a night, I exercised caution, but perhaps this was simply the life of 'rich Chinese', just going from city to city staying in five star hotels. Not bad, I thought, and we continued to talk through WeChat for a while, until going silent. 


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