Make sure to read this post to understand what happens in the following one.

The day after our nighttime encounter with the police, we did little. I ran over to the bus station and bought tickets to get us out of town. The town had little to offer, other than the people, and we had been singed by our contact with them the night before. As I walked back into the hotel, I noticed a car with license plates from the Armed Police parked outside. At the time, I could only wonder if it was connected to us.

Just before we got on the bus, we returned to dumpling place we had been to before, the nice lady who took pictures of us and sent them to all of her friends. As we were chomping down on mutton dumplings, she walked up to our table and smiled. “Last night, after you guys ate here, my daughter showed me a photo her friend had sent her and she said, ‘Mom, look, there are foreigners here in Subei.’ And I said, ‘Yea, they ate at my restaurant.’ Last night, everyone in Subei was talking about you guys online on Wechat (the Chinese Whatsapp)!”

Hearing this, I realized that, perhaps, we had been too open. With everyone talking about us, the police must have gotten word. Maybe that was what did us in.

Before we boarded the bus, the uniformed cop appeared from a store nearby, carrying a bottle of water. He boarded his paddy wagon and drove it past us, not looking at us. Again, I could not say it was not a coincidence, but I was left to wonder if he was there to watch us leave.

Across from the bus, I noticed another car with Armed Police plates. Behind him, in a similar looking vehicle with normal tags, a man sat, waiting. At first, I did not think he had anything to do with us. He was not looking at us, but leaning back, as if lazily nodding off. But then a man in a uniform with a camera stepped into his car and they drove off. Coincidences were piling up.

Finally, after a long, unexplained delay, the bus left. A mile or two outside of town, we stopped along the roadside and our bus was checked. Normally, these bus checks functions are performed by old ladies, just to double check that everyone is wearing a seatbelt and count the number of passengers. But this time, a man with bursting biceps stepped on the bus to do the check. I had never seen a Chinese man that strong. By this time, I was clear that he was a member of the Armed Police, checking to make sure that we, in fact, were leaving town.

As we left Subei, we were watched every step of the way. In a way that we had not experienced before, we found ourself under the watchful eye of the Chinese surveillance state.

The contrast was striking. We had had such a great time talking with the people of Subei. They were warm and open. In a way unlike what we have experienced anywhere else in China, they were excited to meet foreigners. And it was in Subei that the Chinese state least wanted us to talk with people. It was in Subei that the Chinese state felt most threatened by our presence.