I got up in the morning and took a lap around the neighborhood. This area is the old part of town, so there aren’t that many pretty spots, but it was a good way to get a feel for the local vibe.

Yesterday’s supermarket

The place with “7 Premium” written on it is the supermarket we went to last night. There’s a Luckin Coffee and a KFC too. Word is that Luckin Coffee’s coffee is actually pretty decent. And their main income seems to be deliveries..

The buildings out back

Apparently this neighborhood was the city center back in the 80s. That’s why there are a lot of government offices nearby. Buildings like these must be traces of that era. The farther out you go, the nicer the buildings tend to get.

An alley

There’s a street where delivery-only restaurants are clustered together. The area behind it is packed with apartment blocks, so I guess the people there order from here a lot.

Morning scene

I’d heard that in China people don’t cook at home but eat out instead.. and seeing it in person, it really does seem that way. Prices are so cheap that I wonder if there’s any point in cooking..

A congee shop

The delivery orders just never stopped.

A fruit shop

A place called Pagoda (百果园) seems to be a chain, and they had lots of fresh fruit.

Supermarkets

Supermarkets line up one after another in the apartment district.

A scene like this

Even early in the morning, the line to buy groceries is long.

Longan

They sell it everywhere.

A butcher’s

Butchers in China still don’t keep the meat in a fridge. I suppose that means the meat sells that fast..

Durian

Durian is a bit pricey.. about 5,000 won for 500 grams. A whole one usually runs 20-30,000 won, which is quite a price considering Chinese incomes, but seeing every shop selling durian, it must be hugely popular.

A supermarket

They sell a lot of noodles too.

A market like this too..

There’s a place selling liquor at the front, and that was fun too.. I wanted to buy some and have a drink, but there just wasn’t time for that..

Liquor like this

I took these way too carelessly that day..

Apartment blocks

There are tons of newly built apartments too. In a way it looks a bit like Seoul.. they all look alike..

Vending machines

There was a fruit juice vending machine in the park.. There was a coffee vending machine too, and it almost felt like being in Japan..

The park

There’s one enormous park, and it took me quite a while to walk around it. It feels like a well-planned city.

Park scenery

The illustrations are cute..

Park scenery

Since it was morning, there were people doing tai chi..

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