Studying Mandarin in China : photo of a Bang Bang bus

These motorcycle taxis are the common mode of transport round here. These 'bang bang' men come from the local villages supplying the students with cheap transportation. There's not too many regular taxis round here as I'm quite far from the center of Shijiazhuang. Locals call this the suburbs but my flat backs on to fields as far as the eye can see! Many of the universities were moved out to the countryside during the cultural revolution as they feared the violence of the students in the center of the city. However they didn't have to build a new college from scratch. It's no secret that the college I'm in used to be a 're-education center' or gulag for political prisoners.