Wuhan: Act II Comes to an End

Jake once described my travels as a three act show. The first act was traveling with him. The second act was my various solo and joint escapades (shoutout Sophie, Grace, Julia, Will, and Derek). The third act is farming in Nepal.

Three months after Jake left and concluded Act I, I found myself rolling into Wuhan (yes, that Wuhan) for the last dance of Act II. I could feel myself getting progressively sicker (ironic, I know) as the 13 hour journey went on. The train from Harbin covered some 1,500 miles of track. For my American readers, that is roughly the same distance as Hanover, NH to Miami, FL. I love China.

I was a bit delirious by the end.

Who could have guessed that a global pandemic started in this city?

I slept in until 1pm on my first day to try to recover from my post-Harbin syndrome.

I opened up the day of eating with these fantastic pan fried soup pork buns.

I wandered down the pedestrian street near my hotel.

I was quickly approached by a young Chinese man named Fei (unsure on spelling). He asked if he could walk with me and practice his English. We ended up chatting for around two hours. He took me to my first hot dry noodle shop in Wuhan (more to come). These were so so good.

Fei did not want to take a selfie but I did snipe an anonymous pic as he walked away. He exists I swear.

I continue along the waterfront after we parted ways.

As the sunlight faded, the lights came on.

In classic China form, the entire Wuhan skyline glimmered in unison due to the synchronized light system.

Tired from the walking, I grabbed some fried mini pork buns as a snack.

This fried pastry had a surprising goo filling that was slightly off-putting.

I capped my night off with the greatest dessert of them all - jiggly egg pancakes.

I followed the narrow and neon-lit streets back to my hotel.

I opened up day two with one destination in mind - the infamous Wuhan wet market that maybe (theory two explored later in this post) started COVID. The walk was an interesting contrast of gleaming modernity and older traditions holding their ground.

I fueled up with some more hot dry noodles. This dish is remarkable. Fresh noodles tossed with a thick sesame sauce and adorned with a variety of classic Chinese toppings like chili crisp, green onions, pickled mustard, and on and on.

I made it to Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, the purported origin of COVID. The Chinese government has since blocked off the market. In addition, as of February 24, 2020, China officially prohibited the trade and consumption of terrestrial wild animals (like pangolins, bats, snakes) for food nationwide. As a little cherry on top, China’s government also changed the classification of dogs from livestock to companion animals in 2020. Yay!

I liked this apt sign on civilized health with pangolins (the world's most trafficked animal) and bats on display.

The upper part of the market is still operating as a wholesale sunglasses mall.

Having had my share of the former wet market, I swung by Wuhan's iconic Yellow Crane Tower. It was closed but still magnificent from outside the gate.

I grabbed some shaobing, a freshly baked flatbread full of meat. So warm and crispy and delicious. Chinese food is so good.

I made my way to the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge and enjoyed the skyline as the sun set.

This space needle-esque spire intrigued me so I took a peek on my way home.

At dinner I met this lovely couple. The lady is an English teacher and we chatted for a while over some pork buns.

I was still hungry on my walk home.

I saw this shop and asked the guy to cook whatever he wanted. He chef'd up some quick, easy, and delicious tomatoes and egg on rice.

The third day in Wuhan was not only my last in the city, but my last on my own before I begin my backbreaking farm labor in Nepal. I started by sleeping in until noon and then downing some pork buns and hot dry noodles. I think I could eat these two dishes for a year straight and be happy every day.

I hoped on the metro to head to my next destination - the Wuhan Institute of Virology. This is the source of COVID in theory two. Not to stray too deep into the internet, but I did learn that in early 2025, the CIA publicly declassified an intelligence assessment that states it is more likely that the pandemic resulted from a research‑related incident (a lab leak) than from natural animal‑to‑human transmission. Source: AP News.

It turns out that the metro is also home to a lively seafood market.

I tried to hunt down the Institute of Virology. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the combination of Apple Maps, Google Maps, and ChatGPT fell a little short when trying to find the actual lab. I think I ended up in the wrong place, but I at least saw this?

Wuhan University sits right nearby, so I decided to wander the campus.

After my self guided tour, I hopped in a taxi to go to the Wuhan Skyrail. Apparently China packs in the absurdity no matter where you are.

I had a blast riding this upside down metro contraption back and forth.

The Skyrail was clearly built as an end in itself, as the track mostly winds through industrial swampland.

Once I got my fill of 270 degrees of power lines, I went back to the metro to go to Wuhan's World City. ChatGPT recommended this place, so I didn't look at any photos beforehand. I could tell as I emerged from the metro that I was in for a Chinese grande finale.

I learned that World City is one pedestrian street with different architectural themes. I started out in the New City. 

Then the Chinese area.

Then Spanish Street.

Italian Street.

German Street.

French Street.

I had so much fun wandering this Disneyland area. I of course helped myself to more pork buns and hot dry noodles. When in Rome.

I returned to my hotel room. I decided to splurge on a bougie upgrade to treat myself before the grit of the farm.

I took advantage of the TV and capped off my final day in the best way possible - watching the movie Gravity in dazzling 4K on a 50" Chinese TV.

Wuhan was the perfect sendoff. Globally significant, but the type of place you would only visit if you find yourself in East Asia with way too much time on your hands. COVID overshadows its reputation, but global pandemic aside, this city is amazing. Like everywhere I've been in the world, Wuhan was full of so many great people and like most (but not all) places I've been, it was full of so much great food as well. There was no better way to go out than gorging myself on Chinese food, riding an upside down elevated metro, wandering yet another mind boggling Chinese attraction, and then watching a movie. I got a little sentimental as my day came to an end. Yet another chapter of the trip has come to an end. But the journey continues. Now it is time for me to take to the fields of Nepal. Act III here I come.

From the vault:

This Chinese street sign that never made it past the default Lorem ipsum text. I have a sneaking suspicion the approving party thought that was a coherent English translation.

This absurd Chinese basketball sportswear brand with the name “Qiaodan” which is literally the standard Mandarin transliteration of the name “Jordan.” Unsurprisingly, this was the source of a long lawsuit from the actual Michael Jordan resulting in the future transition to the new name of Zhongqiao Sports.