Changsha City of My Youthful Wonderment-Moving to the Greener-side of the City

Xiangjiang Bridge. Bridge to Knowledge & Prosperity. It is no longer Bridge over Troubled Water 70 years ago. As we were crossing over the long bridge which links Changsha city centre to its western suburb my sub-conscious mind was transported to the year 1938 (when my father who was then a 12-year old had just returned from war-torn China to peaceful Malaya). At that time the Xiang-jiang was dumped with bodies of innocent Chinese who were caught in the cross-fire between the invading Japanese troops and the valiant Chinese defenders from Changsha. On November 13 1938 the Chinese started to burn their city to render it worthless to the Japanese. The fire lasted for five days and the entire city was totally burnt down thereby destroying historical antiques of more than 2500 years' vintage. Today the western suburb occupies much of the vast grounds of Hunan's most prestigious institution of higher learning, the Hunan University. The city centre on the eastern side of the bridge is the most economically vibrant and prosperous section of Changsha. So China is nowadays frantically building bridges of knowledge and prosperty.
Yuelu Academy. The Power of Knowledge. Forget for a while about The Power of Love! Suddenly my somnolent condition was jolted back to full consciousness apparently from the sounds of laughing university students walking with their latest cell-phones and i-pods along the leafy narrow roads which wind their way around the campus. Close to faculty buildings and the residential colleges is a "must visit" site, the Yuelu Academy which is one of the four famous academia in China. It was established by Zhu Dong, a Magistrate of the Northern Sung dynasty. The Yuelu Academy accepted disciples through the Sung, Ming and Qing dynasties. It was only in 1903 that the Academy was transformed from a school of traditional Confucian learning to an institute of higher learning. In 1926 the Academy was officially known as Hunan University.
Aiwan Ting, (Loving the Dusk Pavilion). Musing & Day-dreaming. Our next task was to scale up the Yuelu Shan, a famous breezy hilltop and scenic spot lying a little north of the campus. On the way stop to rest your tired legs or re-energise yourself at the foothill's Aiwan Ting. This pavilion overlooks a placid pond surrounded by lush greenery. The small pavilion is one of Mao Zedong's youthful haunts. Here there is a tablet in Chinese calligraphy written by Mao. The tablet is a verse from a poem entitled "Ascending the Hills" written by soulful Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu. It reads:-
"A stony path winds far up cool hills
Towards cottages hidden deep amongst white clouds
Loving the maple trees at dusk I stop my cart
To sit and watch the frosted leaves
Redder than February flowers"
Men and women should not live by bread alone. We need to philosophise, day-dream ( but not have night-mares) and muse too.
Wangxiang Ting. Footloose and Carefree From the foothills narrow paths flanked by food and souvenir stalls
lead up to the park gates. From this point one can either meander uphill making for a-forty minute stroll through pleasant woodland to Wangxiang Ting a pavilion with majestic views of the city. However if you were running out of time or if you do not own a pair of strong calves or do not like to huff and puff then pay 20 Yuan and the motorised trolley would do the arduous job for you. We decided to join a group of Chinese youths already in the trolley car all set to go.
They were singing merrily on top of their voices a few Putunghua (Mandarin) songs. When they discovered that I was a foreigner (the only one) they invited yours truly to belt out an English song.
As it would bring joy to the Chinese youths if I were to fellowship with them I readily accepted their invitation. I was in a fix as I had to think of a simple melodious and bouncy tune with meaningful lyrics to suit the happy occasion. By quick thinking my mouth spontaneously blared out the song "You Are My Sunshine" the Louisiana State Song which was co-composed both lyrics and music by former Governor Jimmie H Davis with Charles Mitchell.
Surprisingly most of them could hum along to the music and a few even knew the lyrics. So we sang together :-
"You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are grey
You'll never know dear
How much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away"
Oh my! my! They were on top of the world.

View of Hunan City. On top of the world feeling. From the balcony of the pavilion we stood in line to enjoy the spectacular view of Changsha city. Although it was a misty early Autumn day all of us had our breath taken away by the wonderful sight. Time to move on..............