Night market

After leaving your air-conditioned room (at a modest 26 degrees), you notice how hot it is outside, even at night. It's almost 10pm and still well over 30 degrees. I crossed the road and turned into Huoju Lu, just to the right of GXU's South gate. Grabbed some food at a small chain restaurant, where all dishes (various combinations of rice, meat, and veggies) are wrapped in lotus leaves and steamed in bamboo baskets. I recognize the leaves from the ponds at the campus, they are full of lotus flowers. The meal is simple but effective, and while sitting there I spot the first Westerner in this area. Very tall, with dark hair and beard, possibly Dutch. He strides past quickly, not noticing me. Unlike the hordes of students who stare and giggle from outside. The crew is very friendly, and manages to mumble some English words.
When done, I step outside and continue my stroll, amongst hundreds of students (almost no adults on this street) until I reach the corner, where the numbers multiply as I enter the night market turning left on Nongyuan Lu. At one side the long row of tents which were still empty this afternoon, but now filled with mostly girls' clothes, shoes, and accessories. At the other side one large restaurant next to the other. All with big outdoor eating areas where fans whiz above charcoal grills, and waitresses lazily move between the tables, carrying bottles of beer and trays filled with food.
I am actually looking for a pair of sandals, and after leaving a shop with a remarkable mix of products (a internet router next to a box of insect poison), I stumble upon a pair of faux-leather flip-flops branded with PUMA. Not the real deal I guess, but they are nice looking and comfortable, and they cost less than 3 euro the pair (25 RMB). No need to bargain.

Content with my purchase I carry on, following Nongyuan Lu southward, leaving the night market behind me. The street turns into a lively, slightly more upscale nightlife neighbourhood, still filled with thousand of students, many of which cute females wearing the tiniest shorts. Then I fall into an alley chock-full of girls and girls' stuff sold from numerous small tables and tents. It turns out to be a dead-end after a few turns, so I have to crawl back into the street. Out of this paradise for victims of yellow fever.
Back into the street I continue until I reach the corner of Mingxiu Xi Lu, which joins with Daxue Dong Lu at a intersection which is blocked by a giant construction pit. It turns out to be the construction of a metro line, or sunken railway, judging by the photos of trains on the long wall shielding the site from the traffic. It extends all the way back to GXU's South gate, where I finish my round for the evening.