Wuhan, January 1st/2nd
Trip to China 2019-2020

I watch the TV even that I do not understand what they say, but I can understand that it is a new year's show. The clock strikes twelve o’clock and everybody seems happy and there is dancing and singing. Also, there is an official discourse. That is how I started 2020, then I went to sleep for the night.

In the morning, I change my tickets. I planned to take a train at 10AM to Nanjing, Stop there for four hours and then take another high-speed train to Shanghai. But I now realize that I will not have enough time to appreciate Nanjing and I am too tired after so many days around to even try. So, I refund my tickets and get a new one directly from Wuhan to Shanghai. It is a shame to miss Nanjing, but I feel that I am making the right call.

After a long trip, the first day in Wuhan I just have time to take a walk around the lake.

While walking, Bing suggests me to read an article about a mysterious sickness has affected a few people in the city. The hospital is investigating the issue. The news gets my attention, but I do not give them a second though. Wuhan is an eleven million souls city, the outbreak seems small and unimportant.
[I did not had any idea at the time on how important this news would be for the world at large.]

The second day, I visit the Yellow Crane Tower. The Tower itself is a beautiful building that dominates the hill were it's placed. But my favorite part is the gardens. In this place, there are some of the most artful gardens I have ever seen, and I have seen many around the world. Finally, I take the opportunity to purchase a couple of small paintings at the shops in the park.

My next stop is a museum hosted in a unique looking building: “The 1911 Revolution Museum”. The institution offers one of the few parts of history that Taiwan and China agree upon. My knowledge of Chinese history is limited, I will add some books to my to-read list once I go back to home. The last days of the Chinese Emperor are shown in different exhibits, as the struggles to out him.

Just one last museum before going to the hotel, the Wuhan Museum. I get strength from where I though there was non left. I spend as much time in the museum as I can before it closes. All the artifacts, paintings, and figurines talk about a distant past that I know little about.

Once at the hotel, I take a long warm bath. Tomorrow, I will jump on my last high-speed train of this trip.