Wenzhou- factory life in China

Early Wednesday morning I left the Youth Hostel and went to the old train station in Guangzhou. There are at least two stations in most cities so it can get a bit tricky at times. I got to my waiting hall for my first 24 hour train in China to find the whole hall filled with only local. It looked like I was about to be the only foreigner on the whole train. There is a first for everything. The waiting hall at Guangzhou station

I was traveling Hard sleeper so would be sharing a semi-room (only a semi-room as there is no door) with 5 other people. I had asked for the middle bunk as I had heard the bottom bunk is a pain cos everyone sits on your bed and the top is too much climbing.
My bed is to the right with all the gear on it

The hard sleeper carriage

When I first got on the train I was pretty scared and didn’t know what to expect. The day before I was worried I would get hungry so I bought a truck load of food. They only sold things in bulk so I got a years supply of this weird Singaporean breakfast cereal which is like porridge but with egg. I didn’t care what it tasted like cos all it needed was hot water to become edible and that was all I had on the train. I also got some bread rolls (which were the crap really sweet Asian bread) and some 2 minute cup of noodle things. It was ridicules how much food I bought with me, you would have sworn I was leaving for 6 months. On the train they played continuoius music, most of it was 80s classics re-sung in Chinese but there was a few Chinese rock songs and even some Chinese metal. Max I will try and find you a CD of some Chinese metal, I think you will like it.

On the train the only person who could speak English was this Chinese guy..

The only guy who could speak english

He sold Heat pumps (water to water) for a living and was so excited to hear that I was an engineer. He then tried to engage me in a 8 hour conversation about heat pumps, the refrigeration cycles and the possible need for his product in the Australian market. His English was very good about his product and related matters but for everyday questions he really didn’t have much comprehension. I tried my Chinese on him but only got blank looks.

After excusing myself from the conversation which had shifted to my looks and wanting to take photos of me (slightly awkward) , I crawled into my bed and read some more of my book and did a bit of knitting. My self photograph needs a bit if work but there was not much room on the bed, i couldn't even sit up straight

Within a few hours this man came up to me with his baby and wanted me to hold it. Then this was soon followed by a woman with her child. After what I had seen in Guangzhou I wanted to make it clear I really was not in the market for a child. The kids were very cute and were freaked out by this weird western girl. I knitted the man’s baby a little scarf, which the father was much more impressed with than the kid.

The man on the train and his kid.

Time past and I sat down for my cup of noodle dinner. By this time I had realized that they sold food on the train via a woman with a cart, so my kilos of food was not needed at all. While having dinner the man next to me spilt his beer on himself. Naturally I gave him a tissue to clean himself up with. He was very shocked by the gesture and thanked me by giving me some beef jerky. I am not a bit fan but accepted the gift and did my best to eat all of it.

I went to bed at around 12, when the music finally stopped playing and slept really well. I did not wake up until 8am. The train was due to arrive in Wenzhou at 10am so it was prefect. After a quick breakfast and a look out the window, we were almost there.

The view on the train

I was going to Wenzhou to look at a "parts washer" my dad was getting manufactured there. From his emails it sound like the washer was almost done and I might even get to see them test it and help out if needed.

There was a few issues about which station I was going to arrive at. Even though Wenzhou is very small city (with a population of around 1 million) it still has two train stations which were on the opposite sides of town.Eventually I was meet by a guy called Mathew from the factory and his driver. Mathew was from Hong Kong original and had moved to Wenzhou to live with his new wife and work for her father.

Once I arrived at the factory things got a bit weird. The machine was no where near finished and a guy who does a bit of contracted work for my dad (Wayne) was there. I was not expecting to see Wayne and took a while to click. I will not go into the details but it was very awkward. People kept telling me that it was so unexpected that I was there even though they had known for months I was coming. Anyway after an uncomfortable lunch, things got better and we sat down with the head of the factory to discuss matters further. It appeared that everyone was planning on testing the machine on Saturday and I was welcome to come to Shanghai with them tonight and return to Wenzhou on Saturday with them. I was really interested in seeing the machine finished and tested so I agreed and my flight was booked.

We then went down stairs to discuss the machine with the companies engineer with the help of Mathew translating. It become clear that they were not aware of some of the basics and hence were having difficulty building it. After Wayne an I explained what the machine did and how it was meant to work it all seemed clear. The engineer was very switched on and often didn’t need Mathew to translate as he understood from our actions what we were saying.

After the meeting we headed to the bar for a few drinks while we waited for our plane. We had a 4 hour wait until the flight. Wayne and Robbie (the Shanghai contact who helped us find this factory in Wenzhou and organize the machines construction) were both very friendly to me now and all the awkwardness of early had gone. Thank goodness! While having a few drinks we got a phone call telling us to come back to the factory cos the machine was finished. Wow! I could not believe it after seeing it only a few hours ago. When we got back to the factory the machine was working. After Wayne and I checked it over and made a few suggestions it was time to leave for the airport.

Wayne, the factory's engineer and myself infront of the finished parts washer.

A quick call to my dad to tell him what happened and we were off. Now that the machine was working I did not really need to go to shanghai but it was too late now as I had already paid for the ticket so just went with the follow.

We arrived in Shanghai at 11pm and I stayed at Robbie’s place. Within seconds of making it back I was asleep.