Guiyang may be a small town (for Chinese standards) in the middle of nowhere, but it is hardly ever boring in the capital of Guizhou Province. There are many bars, cafes, clubs, cinemas, the Grand Theatre with its Guiyang Symphonic Orchestra and the Colourful Guizhou show in the other hall and many, many other venues.
In fact, I don't think anyone knows how many cafes and bars there are and where they are. Many of them are located in residential or even commercial buildings (like my fuck building as the locals call it) and many of them have rooftops with spectacular views.
It is always a surprise to bump into a bar, cafe or tea house. Quite often there is no sign to indicate the business and people get to know it by word of mouth, or because they live or work in the building. For example, I heard of the tea place in my building through the receptionist lady and one of my private students who saw a small sign somewhere.
There is an excellent pizza restaurant in one of the neighbouring buildings, and most people who don't know where it is, find it by asking around. As for this, there is a sign somewhere.
One of those numerous, but well known venues is the C-Shop, located in the heart of Guiyang, in 云岩区小十字民生路35号北极熊水站楼上电梯至8楼, which means: Minsheng Road, No 35, Small cross, Yunyuan District, lift to the 8th floor. That's where I presented my book 'Theo of Arabia' to the local audience. My dear friend and colleague Mi, known from the Shanghai and Hong Kong stories, etc., was with me on stage translating and explaining everything in Chinese. Once again I would like to thank the owner George for making this great evening possible and Mi for her enormous effort.
The C-Shop can be found on the top floor of the building. You have to take the lift up to the penultimate floor and then go up a flight. It functions as a cafe during daytime and there are various events in the evenings. There are some fixed ones, like music jams, English corner and many more and various non fixed ones like presentations of any kind and live concerts. The C-Shop has a rooftop with great views over the city and it is sometimes used for concerts. I attended one of those concerts because my former colleague and dear friend Catherine performed with some Chinese musicians. Catherine is a French lady who lives in Canada and came to Guiyang to teach at the Canadian school. We were sharing the same staff room, our desks and computers were facing each other. That's how we met. She was the last one to arrive and there was instant chemistry. Catherine was one of the very few colleagues in that school I could fully trust and rely on. So, when the invitation to this rooftop concert arrived, I took my friend Mi and went to see her.
There weren't that many people when Mi and I arrived, but more joined later. There was a bar and chairs to sit on. There were many locals and a few foreigners. The music and the atmosphere were truly spectacular.
Here are some photos and a short video of that rooftop concert.
If you would like to read more by me, including the presented book in the C-Shop, type my name, Theodore Goumas, into the Amazon search bar and the following two should appear in English and German language.
In fact, I don't think anyone knows how many cafes and bars there are and where they are. Many of them are located in residential or even commercial buildings (like my fuck building as the locals call it) and many of them have rooftops with spectacular views.
It is always a surprise to bump into a bar, cafe or tea house. Quite often there is no sign to indicate the business and people get to know it by word of mouth, or because they live or work in the building. For example, I heard of the tea place in my building through the receptionist lady and one of my private students who saw a small sign somewhere.
There is an excellent pizza restaurant in one of the neighbouring buildings, and most people who don't know where it is, find it by asking around. As for this, there is a sign somewhere.
One of those numerous, but well known venues is the C-Shop, located in the heart of Guiyang, in 云岩区小十字民生路35号北极熊水站楼上电梯至8楼, which means: Minsheng Road, No 35, Small cross, Yunyuan District, lift to the 8th floor. That's where I presented my book 'Theo of Arabia' to the local audience. My dear friend and colleague Mi, known from the Shanghai and Hong Kong stories, etc., was with me on stage translating and explaining everything in Chinese. Once again I would like to thank the owner George for making this great evening possible and Mi for her enormous effort.
The C-Shop can be found on the top floor of the building. You have to take the lift up to the penultimate floor and then go up a flight. It functions as a cafe during daytime and there are various events in the evenings. There are some fixed ones, like music jams, English corner and many more and various non fixed ones like presentations of any kind and live concerts. The C-Shop has a rooftop with great views over the city and it is sometimes used for concerts. I attended one of those concerts because my former colleague and dear friend Catherine performed with some Chinese musicians. Catherine is a French lady who lives in Canada and came to Guiyang to teach at the Canadian school. We were sharing the same staff room, our desks and computers were facing each other. That's how we met. She was the last one to arrive and there was instant chemistry. Catherine was one of the very few colleagues in that school I could fully trust and rely on. So, when the invitation to this rooftop concert arrived, I took my friend Mi and went to see her.
There weren't that many people when Mi and I arrived, but more joined later. There was a bar and chairs to sit on. There were many locals and a few foreigners. The music and the atmosphere were truly spectacular.
Here are some photos and a short video of that rooftop concert.
Catherine on her keyboard
The band with friends and other musicians
If you would like to read more by me, including the presented book in the C-Shop, type my name, Theodore Goumas, into the Amazon search bar and the following two should appear in English and German language.
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