Nice try

Outside Tesco. Heping Mall, Dalian.

The earth did not shatter and swallow me whole when I snapped this. I was shocked.

So much for beach towels

Super tentage to shade the Chinese from the sun. Part of that whole, "white is beautiful, tan is not" culture. Xinghai Square, September 2008.

Chinese Parking

This specific photo is from my apartment complex in Dalian; this one isn't so bad, but I've seen some ridiculous parking jobs. Chinese people have this knack for squeezing into the tightest spots, whether or not it's really convenient ...or safe...or legal....

Beans, beans, the magical fruit

Legumes galore! A nondescript street stand in the French Concession, somewhere around Yongjia Lu.

The Concrete Jungle

Well I am just freeeezing here in Etown. It's been in the upper 40s and raining all week.

So I thought I'd post a picture of much, much warmer times. Like, '90 degrees and more humid than a sauna' kind of warm. Also known as that week I spent in Shenzhen/Hong Kong.

What I wouldn't give right now for blazing heat in a city where the only escape lies is in the shadow of hundreds of skyscrapers.

Fixit Street, Qufu

A dusty street in Qufu (as they all are) where men waited by their respective tools of the trade and waited for any customer that needed a key copied or sole replaced.

It looks much better in laaaarge

I ♥ Hong Kong

The Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong. Photo snapped while I making my way towards Victoria Harbor. This was my Twitter background picture for the longest time, actually.

Basking Chalkboards

A high school courtyard in Qufu, Shandong Province. These chalkboards were the work of students who hoped to eventually become teachers. (My friends who are Elem Ed majors tell me they go through the same deal, except their work isn't displayed for the whole college to see.) Yay, legible handwriting!

Breakfast in Yinchuan

Forget about cereal. Like most meals in China, breakfast comes best cooked fresh from the street. If we notice here, the man rolls out the dough and places it in the hot oil while the woman twists it with her chopsticks. The girl (their daughter?) is the whole power behind the operation, hand-cranking the wheel that keeps the fire burning hot hot hot.

No matter what the weather, you can count on the breakfast vendors to be out. They're like the postal carriers of the street food industry. What I don't understand is why, with little competition and great demand, these vendors never charge more than a kuai or two for their delicious wares?

Forlorn Vegetable Vendor

A night street in downtown Dalian, tucked behind the Zhongshan Hotel at Victory Plaza. Unlike some other shopping streets, this one offered solely foodstuffs- vegetables, fruits, chestnuts, noodles, pastries, chicken heads...you know, the usual.

But of course, with that much variety and competition on one street, times can get boring, and you're left staring at tomatoes as you wait for customers.

(I never came back to this street after the first night. I meant to, though. Shame.)

Beijing, blue as can be

[Summer Palace, June 09]

According to tweets from Beijing folk, the skies are still quite clear at the moment, thanks to some cloud science/magic by the CCP (depends on who you ask).

But you know, Beijing doesn't always need a national holiday to look nice. Sometimes, Beijing likes to drive the clouds away and look pretty just cause it feels like it. ^This was one of those days.

Backstory: One day in late June, I spontaneously hopped a train to Beijing. During the nine-hour ride, I started to wonder if perhaps I had been a bit too impulsive. Upon arrival, I took one look at the gorgeous weather and knew it was the universe telling me I made the right decision. I mean, if there was any one time I was going to see the Summer Palace, Houhai, and the Olympic Green...that week was it.

Okay, I lied a little.

I was going to turn this into an all-encompassing blog about life, the universe, maybe the number 42... (if you don't get the reference, we can't be friends)

But then I discovered tumblr! Thanks mostly to my editor, Elaine.

So this will continue to just be China photos, and if you really really care to read more about my personal life, check me out here.

National Day 08

There was a giant hoopla this year as the CPC celebrated their 60th anniversary, and you'd better believe China bloggers tweeted the hell out of it.

I happened to be in Beijing on National Day last year (not by choice- it was the last leg of our vacation and we were catching the train back to Dalian that night) and while everyone was certainly filled with China love, it was to no extent the giant pain-in-the-ass military show and parade it was this year.

Case in point: I remember being most excited by the crowds in Wangfujing and this 2008 shrubbery.