Photo of the Day: Detour

Apologies for the weekend hiatus, went home for some business.

Story behind this photo: I got lost on my way to lunch one warm September day (I got off at the right bus stop, but started walking north instead of south) and ended up on a very isolating walk up the hills between Dongcai and Liaoning High School. I found this flower vine blossoming in the cement jungle towards the end of this hike. I wound up nearly half an hour late to lunch, but it was a lovely diversion.

-Insert your own cliche analogy about the lone wild flower here-

Photo of the Day: Temple in the Mountains

(The woman walking is my aunt)

In Guangyuan, Sichuan Province, with my extended relatives, who were visiting some of their extended relatives in the mountains. We drove further into the mountains after lunch to play in the freshly fallen snow; after they parked the trucks they stopped into this Buddhist temple to offer some prayers since it was around Chinese New Year's. I don't know that it was frequented often but it looked well-maintained enough. I was politely told I couldn't participate because I wasn't a Buddhist, so I just took pictures.

Photo of the Day: Mountains in Sichuan

My cousin's uncle (my uncle-in-law? His sister is my aunt but we're related by marriage....) taking a rest in front of the gorgeous view of a VERY remote village in Sichuan Province.

We'd brought the whole family out to visit distant relatives in these mountains for Chinese New Year, and spent hours after lunch making snowmen, falling down hills, and having snowball fights. I realize now I should have appreciated the pure beauty I was in a bit more...but at that point I was still adjusting to living in China, and being in such cold weather!