43. I love Wuhu, I love China! By Zarina Ismailova
In the old town of Wuhu
My name is Zarina Ismailova and I’m from Turkmenistan in Central Asia. In the early autumn of 2014, I came to China for the first time. I came to Wuhu, Anhui Province, where I started my study abroad career. Before coming to China, I was full of curiosity and longing for Chinese culture. Jackie Chan’s movies accompanied me growing up, and the cartoon heroine Mulan from China is also an unforgettable memory of my childhood. Now unknowingly, it has been eight years since I stepped into this charming country. From being an undergraduate student to pursuing my PhD, I have had a rewarding life and study experience in China, and I can’t wait to share with you all the ups and downs.
China is very safe!
When I looked back eight years, I was full of energy at the age of eighteen, full of expectations for the future. On that day,from Turkmenistan to Beijing the plane took off against the rising sun. At Beijing airport seemed there were a lot of people arriving and leaving every moment. I was so nervous. Beijing is so big and crowded city that I felt a little depressed for a while. Taking a taxi from the airport to the train station, I also saw more people and countless tall buildings. After taking the train to Wuhu, I fell asleep tired. In a daze, suddenly heard a familiar word – Wuhu！ The train broadcast announced that “Train has arrived at Wuhu railway station”. Finally, here I am!
The garden of the university
Wuhu is located in south-central China, namely a Jiangnan city with “half the city’s mountains and half the city’s water”. Adjacent to the Yangtze River, Wuhu is situated halfway between the capital of Anhui province, Hefei and Nanjing. Wuhu is like a bright pearl of the river bank. Different big cities,the life of Wuhu is very comfortable, it allows people to experience life slowly and enjoy life in a leisurely way. I still remember when I first arrived at the school, the sun had just set and the street lights on both sides of the street were already on. There was the warm light, the shadow of not many pedestrians on the road. Well, Wuhu gave me the first feeling of comfort and stability, the kind of fear to the unknown I felt when I just arrived at the airport suddenly disappeared.
In Wuhu, I not only learned the Chinese language, but also felt the broad and profound Chinese culture, that they deeply impressed me. It was the convenience of living in modern Chinese cities. Among them, there is mobile payment, which international students can’t live without almost every day. My country, Turkmenistan, is a developing country like China, but our Internet is not very stable and connections often drop, not to mention mobile payments. In Turkmenistan people generally use cash, occasionally pay by card, and mobile payment is only used 5% of the time. In China, you can take a phone and get everything done. You don’t need to carry your wallet.
Buying some street food with online payment!
In China, both the young and the old use mobile phones to pay. The most surprising thing is that even beggars accept alms in this way. On more than one occasion, I have seen beggars on the roadside with QR code cards for mobile phone payment. Now in China you don’t have to bring your phone, you can even pay with your face, it’s amazing!
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