It all started as a family trip to visit my uncle and brother, who were in Guangzhou and Chongqing, China respectively. The itinerary was left to my brother to ensure my two sisters, a friend and I had a fun-filled holiday with lots of good food. But this simple family trip turned out to be a treasured memory as besides sharing some precious bonding time, we also got to experience one of the world’s largest engineering projects.
My brother met up with us in Guangzhou for a reunion dinner with our uncle before we flew to Chongqing the next day. We had our first “culture shock” when an old man carried four of our huge and heavy bags in one go, using a pole. He brought everything up six flights of stairs! Apparently, these “bang-bang” (“helpers” in Mandarin) are common in Chongqing and they carry practically everything under the sun including whole refrigerators and washing machines.
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