Ferris wheel ride

If you read down to my Nanchang – Day 2 entry you will see that we attempted to ride the big Ferris wheel which is located across the GanJiang, in the “new” section of Nanchang. The original plan was to go back on Friday night, but the weather didn’t cooperate. Well, Saturday night was my night. XiaoHua accompanied me there and we arrived just as they were opening up. I noted that XiaoHua didn’t ask the taxi driver to stay and wait for us, but I noticed that several taxis were dropping off other perspective Ferris wheel riders.

The ride itself was smooth and nice – we watched as the lights across the city turn on, one by one. Music is broadcast inside the cabin, and the lights along the wheel’s spokes flicker to the rhythm. This ferris wheel is definitely bigger than the one in Navy Pier - the total ride time was about 25 minutes, with the ascent showcasing views of downtown Nanchang, and the descent providing views of the less developed, “new” section of Nanchang.

Illuminated against the dusky sky, the wheel lends some brightness to this area, so different from the constant neon of downtown Nanchang.




At the end of the spokes are various Chinese characters.



After being mesmerized by the shimmering lights of the big wheel, the rain started. At first, just a light sprinkle - but then, a large, soaking downpour accompanied by horizontal winds. And one little umbrella between the two of us. One thing I have learned yesterday and today – when it rains, available taxis become very scarce. Couple that with the fact that we are out here in the middle of nowhere and XiaoHua starts to freak out. 10 minutes pass without any taxi traffic. I suggest that she call the hotel and have them send out a taxi to come get us – we’ll pay the fare for the roundtrip. I don’t think that she initially thought this was a good idea, but after another 5 minutes pass, she is on the phone. We finally reach the hotel after 8pm. Neither of us is in the mood to go back to the BaYi fountain.

One last note – the taxi driver who took Anthony and me out to the Ferris wheel robbed us. He charged us 100 yuan round trip. But the fare tonight was less than 50 yuan, and that included the fare for the one-way trip out and the roundtrip fare to be picked back up.