My phone told me I was twenty kilometres outside Tong'an. Luckily, it
was unnecessary to approach anyone to ask where I was. Imagine
that! Far too tired to cycle to the next town, I opted for the shorter
20-kilometre ride to a nearby hotel. With all my devices on charge, I
showered, got something to eat, and took a nap.
Tong' an – Quanzhou, Fujian - 90 km
The following day, riding was effortless to the massive city of
Quanzhou. It took pedalling quite some time before eventually
crawling into what was known as the old part.
My second month's visa was to expire in three days, so extending it
in Quanzhou seemed like a good idea before proceeding. Still, the
person dealing with the visa wasn't in the office, and I was told to
return the following day.
The old part turned out interesting and offered several beautiful
temples. The parks were massive, pleasant, and well-planned. People
ran, walked, and boated, and the parks even offered piped music. I
found no less than three parks in the three-kilometre amble to the
old mosque.
By morning, I returned to the police station—only to be told they
didn't issue visas at that branch. I wondered how they hadn't known
this the previous day. Still, they kindly gave me a ride and then
pointed me toward the visa office.
Sadly, I was informed they couldn't extend an already extended visa.
So now, what was that all about? I subsequently learned that
Quanzhou was notoriously problematic for extending visas.