Last night, my train got canceled. Bad weather. BC and I rented two different rooms in a nearby hotel. We leave on midday. We eat in a kind of self service restaurant, and the food is amazing.
I give him cash, and he transfer money to my WeChat balance. Without a national bank card, impossible to transfer money to another person, from a foreigner bank account. But it seems possible to open a chinese bank account with a passport.
We check trains departure time. He goes to the West train station, while I go East. To do so, I use the app Trip.com. I can't find the information. I then use the 12306 app, witch is the original Chinese version of Trip.com. I use 12306, the english version, and still can't find the information I'm looking for. BC tells me to use the app in it's Chinese version, and then use a translator to navigate the site. That's when I find the infos I'm looking for. Morality: Chinese apps are only partially translated in english, and you can't access all the available informations, until you switch to chinese.
We grab snacks in a supermarket. First time I land foot in this kind of place in China, because I've been living the high life, fed by the hotel, restaurants or delivered food (ordered by friends so I don't even know how to do it yet). We get to the cashier. I imitate BC. I pay by showing a qr code (linked to my WeChat wallet) on my phone screen, to a scanner. Bip! Done. Easy. Bye bye.
Moments later, I shake hands with BC before the city swallows him through sliding bus doors. I'm now "alone in China".
I have time before my train to Heihe. So I take a bus to get to the railway station. I manage to do so, but I fail to pay. It's also trough a qr code system that you do so. But not the one linked directly to your WeChat wallet. It has to be one linked to a virtual transportation card. Many of the people in the bus with me have the physical version of it. Anyway, I profit from the "dumb foreigner privilege" and the bus drivers tells me to get in, after a minute exchanging awkward smiles and failed attempts to understand at least one words from each other.
I use Baidu Maps to get around the city, in public transportation.
I take a break in a park to deal with this virtual transportation card qr code issue. In this parc, people age range from 2 to 80. Some are playing ping pong in quite a serious way, other singing karaoke, other doing exercices, even older people, and kids are sliding down elephants shaped slides.
I order a taxi, from the Baidu maps app, for the firts time. Very nice in the begining, when we get to the train station, he loses the good vibe. But he still get my luggage out of his trunk and gives it politely to me. He leaves. I look at my phone to confirm the transaction. While I do so, a guy come up and start saying some bullshit, agitating his hands with and angry face. I stand looking at him with go fuck yourself eyes. When he's finished, I confirm the transaction. I assume this guy was a friend of the taxi driver, which was worried that I wouldn't pay for the ride. China, just give me a second, I'm tring my best.
Entering the East Harbin train station. You need a card to acces it, and I think it's the chinese ID card, wich I do not have (and never will since it's impossible to get Chinese nationality for foregners). I show my phone screen to the gate keeper, and pass trough. I have a few hours. The hall is crowded. I sit by a wall and write.
Time to go. Everybody spontaneously get in line when the board says so. And fast. From the outside, seems in order. While inside the line, you get easiely overtaken if you don't bridge the gap with the person in front of you quickly enough.
I have a no seats ticket for this train. So I stand in the corridor shoulder to shoulder with other people that didn't paid for seats. All seats and beds are taken. I'll stay without seats for a few hours only. People standing get down to the thirds or fourth stop. Then I'm allowed to go take a free seat.
Sleeping in the train. Get down the train. Hop in a bus to Heihe. Then going to the Amour river embarkment, called Black Dragon River by the Chinese. Hello again, Blagovechtchensk.
Ask for help to friends to locate the sino-russian customs. I walk there. When I finally arrive, things go smoothly. There is a first line. Then, x-ray gates for luggages. Then, the passport guy. Surprised to see a french passport, he spins on his chair to get the attention of all his colleagues. He gets one lady that speaks english. She asks me where is my visa for China. I say I don't need one. "What?" does she says smiling. I explain that for less than 15 days, French people don't need one until the end of 2025. She leaves and come back asking me for a paper version of my russian e-visa. I calmly explain that I'm ok to do so, get out of line, go print the paper somewhere near and then come back, but I also say that when I recived the e-visa, it was writen that I didn't need a paper version, because scanning the screen works as well. She goes and come back to tell me I'm clear to pass trough. I land in another hall, where I have to buy a boat ticket. I do so, ad pay cash for 75 yuans. Then get in line until the gates open to get to the boat.
I hop on the boat. I help a Chinese lady with her luggage, and she thanks me in russian, by saying that russian people are nice, probably thinking I'm russian.
Crossing the border by boat. 10 minutes. The two cable car pylons are up. The russian one miss a few pieces on top. The cables aren't there yet.
Russian customs. Today, no visa is necessary to get in. Local decision. I fill a migration card. A chinese lady (I assume) and a russian guy with a yellow neckless pass, are talking over the gates of the desk. They cross some lines that other people don't, like they are used to this situation, and to the staff, that knows them. I'm now allowed in Russia.
The chinese groups wait outside. I go to the hotel, I know the way. I meet the same administrator as last time. I pay cash for my stay. 14 nights.
After a break, I meet a friend from last time, that speaks french.
Resting at the hostel. Using my Russian sim card. Laundry and grosseries shopping stuff. The russian bank card seems to work normaly. Working/writing/research.
Later, I meet a local journalist friend, and a local artist from my first stay. We go to a bar. Time have passed, personalities and goals have changed a little. Later, I meet a local musician that studied french at the nearby бгпу university.
Творог breakfast. In the kitchen, I meet three guys that works on the construction site, where the cable car is being build. Happy chance.
I rest for the rest of the day, scrolling through the local news, trying to find events that will involve china-russia relations. A food event called Берега вкуса will happen soon, but I'll miss it, because I'll be in Russia when it will be celebrated in China, and vice-versa.
Updating the website code.
Scrolling the news. I try to upload the site. But the acces to my server is blocked. Trying a VPN, and the hostel wifi, and fail.
Going to the library, on Lenin street.
I learn from the Institute of ethnology and anthropology PAH that today is the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. I'm very interested to discover the methodology they use for their "ethographic expeditions" like this one for exemple.
Reading The urban knowledge of the anthropologist (Agier, 1996).
I manage to upload the website, through the website's interface of my webspace provider.
I meet a french speaking friend by the new fountain on Lenin square.
It's the authorities that delivers acces to historical archives.
Recently, Ukrainian troops made an incursion on Russian soil.
Going to the library and the bank. I see an advertisement for The international festival of "Russian-Chinese Culture and Art Fair". I missed it.
In the library, I learn about the ArchEthno project.
Working on an article about my master thesis. I digress, and stumble upon articles about humor, from Nicolai Zlobin, Christie Davies, 2007, and Amandine Regamey, 2001. Witch makes me think about these standup comedy events, happening in Blago.
On VK, a public group linked to the university, shares informations about russia-chinese relationships and perspectives.
I ask a few questions to one of the workers that lives in the hostel, and work on the cable-car construction site, without translator. It's short.
I go to the Mad Tea Party screening. I meet friends from my first stay in Blago. Then I go to На месте for an exhibition. I meet people, mostly artists, and then hop on a boat that comes an go on the Amour/Black Dragon river.