Susan Blumberg-Kason

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Small town China back in the day

October 17, 2015 By Susan Blumberg-Kason 9 Comments

With my upcoming return to China–the first time I’ll be there in almost 18 years–I’ve been feeling a bit sentimental about the old days even though they weren’t always that easy.

I recently flipped through old photos from Hidden River, the small city in Hubei province where I got married 20 years ago and spent a number of Chinese New Years.

Here are my dad and my in-laws’ family friend who could speak fluent English. They’re at the Hidden River Pharmaceutical plant.

Hidden River Pharmaceutical plant

Some other photos of the city I’ve posted before. There are so few cars (all state-owned back then) that people walked in the middle of the street.

Hidden River, Hubei Province, 1995
Hidden River, Hubei Province, 1995
Hidden River, Hubei Province, 1995
Hidden River, Hubei Province, 1995

When my parents visited for my wedding banquet, my (former) in-laws booked them rooms at the Hidden River Palace Hotel.

Hidden River Palace Hotel

My family actually stayed out back in the bungalows, which were new that year and by far the nicest accommodations in the city. They kind of reminded me of villa houses in Hong Kong.

Hidden River Palace Hotel bungalows

For my wedding banquet, I’ve posted some of these photos before but thought I’d show them again to show what the city was like back then. A year and a half before this photo was taken, my in-laws lived in the red brick building in the background.

Wedding Motorcade, Hidden River, 1995
Wedding Motorcade, Hidden River, 1995

wedding car

Hidden River wedding 1_edited-1

Once we arrived at the wedding banquet venue, my former brother-in-law set off hundreds of red firecrackers to usher in good fortune. It didn’t work, but was a nice gesture. Check out all the bicycles. This was before people could own cars.

Bikes in Hidden River

Inside the restaurant, I met 200 strangers. But my family from Chicago was there, too, so it was fun. And very laid-back. This is a photo of the special dishes my family received. The rest of the guests weren’t served these cool dumplings.

Food on my family's table
Food on my family’s table

Wedding table in Hidden River

I haven’t been to Hidden River in 18 years, but am sure it’s probably unrecognizable now. There was one Hong Kong clothing store back then but that was it when it came to anything that was familiar to me. I suspect that’s nowhere near the case now.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Asian Food and Drinks, China, Good Chinese Wife, Memoirs, My Family's Travels

Comments

  1. martina says

    March 22, 2016 at 4:43 am

    Dear Susan, is the chinese name of Hidden River Qianjiang?

    Reply
    • Susan Blumberg-Kason says

      March 22, 2016 at 7:02 am

      Yes! Do you know it?

      Reply
      • martina says

        March 22, 2016 at 7:44 am

        No, but I’d love to! I am your italian translator and I was wondering on the map of central China in search of it. Hidden River might sound strange once translated in italian, and I was considering the chinese name as an alternative.

        Reply
        • Susan Blumberg-Kason says

          March 22, 2016 at 7:47 am

          Ciao! So nice to meet you! Yes, it’s Qianjiang. Since other cities in the book use the Chinese names, this one can be in Chinese, too. I thought it sounded more poetic in English! Cannot wait to see the Italian version when it’s finished!

          Reply
          • martina says

            March 22, 2016 at 8:12 am

            Thank you Susan, Let’s stay in touch. Yours is a Story with an S!!!

          • Susan Blumberg-Kason says

            March 22, 2016 at 8:47 am

            Thank you so much! Yes, and please feel free to email me susan@susanbkason.com

  2. Gloria Chao says

    October 18, 2015 at 1:28 pm

    I hope you have a wonderful visit, Susan! Thanks for sharing these photos. They made me feel nostalgic about all my childhood visits to Asia!

    Reply
    • Susan Blumberg-Kason says

      October 23, 2015 at 10:29 pm

      Thank you so much, Gloria! I’m so glad you enjoyed the photos and could take a trip down memory lane.

      Reply
    • Susan Blumberg-Kason says

      November 17, 2015 at 7:41 pm

      Thank you so much! I still owe you an e-mail reply! I was in China when I got it and my google was spotty there. I’ll reply now!

      Reply

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