The Rock and Wood Hostel

I entered the Longyang Road metro station and made my way to a ticket automat. A young man, seeing my unfamiliarity with the touch screen, showed me by signs how to select the line, pick the station and insert the money. After I had got the ticket, he showed me a card which explained in Chinese and English that he was a deaf-mute and could I spare some change. I was pleased to give him a couple of yuan for his inventive way of making himself useful to others. Presumably he worked at Longyang station because most travellers transfer to the metro system there. As I walked down the stairs to the tracks, a bright yellow luggage tag clattered at my feet. I looked up and saw my acquaintance of a moment ago. It had become detached when I put down my backpack and he had tossed it down to me. Nice of him.

The Shanghai metro is heavily patronised and only a couple of times did I get a seat. Strangely, for line 2, the most heavily used line, there is a significant delay of about 10 seconds between the train coming to a halt and the doors opening. There is an even longer delay of about 15 seconds between the door closing and the train starting off. You'd think the engineers would have shortened the delay. Maybe it was an old line.


The Rock and Wood hostel was of recent construction and set back from the main road, and thus in a quiet location.

There was a comfy lounge opening to a patio with a carp pond. Intriguingly the glass doors were decorated with snippets from some Buddhist sutra in what looked like Xiǎozhuàn characters and English.


It was a clean and tidy hostel. Unfortunately I couldn't say the same of the previous occupant of my bunk. He had left candy wrappers and drink containers behind. Some people are just grots.


After a short nap I took myself for an afternoon and evening tour of the centre of Shanghai.


(To be continued.)