I recently read and reviewed Ben Whately's wonderful non-travel book Black Dragon River - an engrossing read filled with thoughtful and funny stories about his period at the University in Qiqihaer to learn Chinese. I talked this over with him:

What made you want to learn Chinese in the city of Qiqihaer?

I guess that is really two questions: why learn Chinese, and why Qiqihaer. I decided to learn Chinese as I had just graduated from Oxford having read psychology – a subject which, I was fairly certain, I would never use again in my life. I felt annoyed with myself for wasting those three years, and I felt frankly embarrassed that I had reached the ripe age of twenty-two and could only speak English and a pathetic smattering of Spanish. I wanted to learn another language, and it seemed that Chinese was going to be the most
useful language to know for the next 50 years or so.

Should I be embarrassed that I only speak English? I guess I'll have to sign up for a language class now of some kind... Why Qiqihaer?

That’s a more difficult one. I have always found the idea of very remote places peculiarly enticing. I love pawing over maps and looking for places in the "middle of nowhere" and dreaming of what they might be like. Qiqihaer seemed to be pretty remote, pretty strange, and had the added bonus of a "pure" mandarin accent and a course that I could enroll in. I was also, being a contrary type, spurred on by the fact that everyone that I told of my plans to go to Qiqihaer tried determinedly to persuade me out of it!

Do you have a favorite memory from your time there?

I actually find myself becoming more and more nostalgic for many little things about Qiqihaer; the grubby restaurant across the road with the delicious "fish-flavored meat strips" and the woman who thought that I was called "Stupid"; the icy mornings with clear blue skies; the tiny old lady selling pineapple slices on the corner by the school. I think that it is those memories that are my favorites, rather than any specific great event.

What advice would you give Westerners going to China?

Get someone to write down some good basic foods that you can order in restaurants. Almost every restaurant in China does some basic dishes that are utterly delicious. "yu xiang rou si," "hui guo rou" " tie ban niu rou" " ma po do fu" are all great, but there are many more besides – also you need to pronounce them absolutely perfectly - otherwise they will just look at you blankly and bring you a cup of tea. The general rule of thumb is that the more expensive Chinese food is, the more disgusting; ranging from the street food which is often amazing, to the most expensive abalone and birds nest soup in the finest restaurants which are almost flavorless and slightly sickening. Once you are eating well, you are halfway to enjoying it!