Direct to Guangzhou: a Chinese view of the Korean War

Adelaide to Guangzhou

We left Adelaide and headed to Guangzhou first. A direct flight makes things so easy. It was a Thursday morning, and Guangzhou was the only international departure at the time.

Thankfully, China Southern flies direct to Guangzhou. I took this flight when I first came to Australia too.

The safety video on the China Southern inflight screen before departure

Finally watching The Battle at Lake Changjin

As soon as I boarded, I watched The Battle at Lake Changjin, the huge Chinese hit about the Korean War.

The Chinese film The Battle at Lake Changjin on the inflight screen

I was curious about how China sees the Korean War.

What struck me was that it’s the Korean War, set entirely in Korea, yet there are no Koreans. Just Chinese and American soldiers.

I got curious and looked it up. China had been preparing to land troops in Taiwan, but that plan became uncertain when the US Seventh Fleet was deployed to the Taiwan Strait on 27 June 1950 (after North Korea triggered the war). As far as I know, China barely had a navy then. I also learned how China, seeing a clash with the US as increasingly unavoidable, came to intervene on the Korean Peninsula as American forces approached its border during the war. I’d learned about the Korean War in fairly simple terms. This gave me a fuller picture.

It hurt to think that so many people died arguing over which ideology was right, when those ideologies aren’t even tangible things.

Inflight meals

The first inflight meal with rice, bread and side dishes
The second inflight meal with rice, bread and fruit
The third inflight meal with rice, vegetables and bread
A Magnum ice cream served for dessert

Pretty good. Ate well. Got a Magnum ice cream too

Then I spotted a Korean film and put it on for a quick look. Ended up watching the whole thing.

The Korean film The World of Love on the inflight screen

The World of Love. I watched nervously, following the unpredictable emotional tempo of its teenage protagonist, Jooin. What I took as the film’s theme was:

Don’t think of an elephant.

That’s how it felt to me. Loved the ending too. Pain is just pain.

Arriving in Guangzhou

Anyway, films really do make the flight go quickly.

A Xiaomi car advertisement at Guangzhou airport

A Xiaomi car is the first thing to welcome us. Nice

First, we headed to our accommodation.

Inside a Guangzhou metro carriage
A Guangzhou metro route map
A Guangzhou metro platform with platform screen doors
Ticket gates and the inside of a Guangzhou metro station
A Guangzhou metro ticket machine that accepts 10 yuan notes

Inside the carriage. Even the seats and handrails are arranged almost exactly like in Korea. Thought I was in Seoul already.

A plastic token used at Guangzhou metro ticket gates

Oh? This is different. The ticket is a coin here.

First meal

Started with a simple dim sum meal. Missed you, yum cha :)

Starting yum cha by rinsing the tableware with hot tea

Two dim sum dishes on the table

Rice noodle rolls filled with beef

Blanched Chinese greens served with sauce

Dim sum wrapped in red rice sheets

A red rice roll held in chopsticks, showing the filling

Warm congee with assorted toppings

Ending the day with some damn good food.

But wow, the humidity..

Condensation on a box of nuts in humid Guangzhou

When we got to our accommodation, moisture started forming on the outside of the boxes of nuts we’d brought as gifts from Adelaide. Will they make it to their recipients in one piece?

On to Yangjiang

Off to Yangjiang the next morning :)

Next: Where even is Yangjiang?