Author Archives: andrew

E-scoot

Posted on May 23, 2011 by andrew

In Shanghai about half the scooters were battery powered.  Now that we’re in a more recently-developed area about 9 of 10 scooters are electric, and there are also many electric bicycles with pedals.  There’s also a wide range of electric … Continue reading →

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“It’s shot from guns”

Posted on May 23, 2011 by andrew

The Firewall seems to have closed around my website so it may be a while before I can post this.. This photo is of a guy making puffed wheat/rice/corn by heating it in a compression canister over a charcoal fire.  … Continue reading →

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Before and after

Posted on May 22, 2011 by andrew

We ate more xiaolongbao today, at a very old (100+ years) and friendly restaurant. The man in the second photo is Kangdong’s brother in law who has been driving us all over the place this week.  He’s featured here so … Continue reading →

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Shanghai: what we didn’t order

Posted on May 18, 2011 by andrew

I mentioned to Tong that Americans seldom eat work animals.  “For instance, we almost never eat horse meat.”  He looked a bit shocked.  “We don’t eat horses here!” “Ok, but you eat donkeys, right?” “Oh, donkey meat, yeah.”

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Hefei

Posted on May 18, 2011 by andrew

My new favorite street signs:  a sign says ‘0 meters.’  Then 50 meters later another sign says ’50 meters.’  50 more meters and it’s ‘100 meters.’  I guess the idea is that since you’re just driving you may as well … Continue reading →

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Jiuhuashan (jiuhua mountain)

Posted on May 17, 2011 by andrew

Right now we are barelling down a brand new tollway trying to catch a train back in Hefei.  Zhihe is eating nescafe crystals directly from the packet, washing them down with strong tea, singing along with the radio and honking … Continue reading →

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Huangshan (yellow mountain)

Posted on May 16, 2011 by andrew

We got up early this morning and stood in many queues. Two shuttle busses, one security line and one glorious cable car ride got us up the mountain.  Everything is well-developed, paved, and incredibly crowded. Zhihe was in his standard … Continue reading →

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Xidi

Posted on May 15, 2011 by andrew

More walking in ancient cities today. Most plaques contained info like ‘the second to last decade of the hoohah dynasty’ so I’m not at all clear on how ancient. I think these sights range from 1000 to about 1850 CE … Continue reading →

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tuixi

Posted on May 13, 2011 by andrew

For the next few days we will be in the care of my parents’ manic friend Zhehe. He drove us from Hefei to Yellow Mountain and then on a quick tour of the old neighborhood in Tuixi. Zhehe speaks very … Continue reading →

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Whoosh!

Posted on May 12, 2011 by andrew

If this photo is a bit blurry, it’s because I took it out the window of a train moving 270mph.

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