Here we go! There were a surprisingly large number of "Merry Christmas" signs in China
Would you like to get your ears cleaned?
Drinking tea is not something you do in a rush
Me and my dad visiting the place where he went to middle and high school
My dad and five of his high school classmates
Mr. Ge said my dad's hair needed combing
Dad with Deng shuji (local party secretary at the time my dad was sent down to the countryside)
With Deng shuji and one of the farmers from 35 years ago
My dad explains how he accidentally knocked one of this guy's teeth out while swinging a mallet
Four jugs of homemade wine for us
Damage from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake
More earthquake damage
Temporary housing built in the aftermath of the 2008 earthquake
More temporary earthquake housing
Reconstruction after the earthquake
Me trying my hand at cutting wood the way the farmers do it
I was fascinated by the meat hanging on hooks an the way the butchers cut it
Not all butchers are men!
My dad and two of his high school classmates struggle (they need their bifocals) to read from an old copy of Mao's little red book
The sign reads, "Lamb kabobs, one yuan per kabob"
Tiananmen Gate at night
Monument to the People's Heroes and Mao's mausoleum
Great Hall of the People
Went with my aunt to see a concert inside the Great Hall of the People
Roof of the Great Hall
Me with two of my cousins
I happened to reach Beijing the day of the biggest snowfall in 30 years' history
My niece! Or the closest thing I'll ever have to a niece (in China all kids are only children so everyone treats their cousins like siblings).
The new trains are fast
Noodles for breakfast the morning before ascending Mt. Huang Shan
The first of many flights of stairs
Many porters use the eastern steps to bring construction supplies and goods for sale to the top. Why not use the cable car? Because human labor is cheaper.
The porters make 1.4 yuan for every kilogram they carry up the mountain. That's 20 cents.
We asked them how many up-and-down trips they make in one day. They told us FIVE.
Climbing buddies I met just a few hours before.
3 hours later, we make it to the top! Well, not the highest point but the end of the climb for now.
Chatting with the porters.
The view from "Beginning to Believe peak"
Thanks to Hu Yinqiao for this photo, my favorite of the trip
Zoom in and you will see why that little rock in the center is called "Monkey Watching the Sea"
Lovers bring locks to the top to symbolize their love
The footing is precarious in places
The constellation Orion, seen from the summit at night.
Two friends I met at the bottom of the mountain. This is the morning we got up at 5 AM to see the sunrise.
And... There it is! The beautiful sunrise over sea of clouds that Mt. Huang Shan is famous for. 7:04 AM on the nose.
Old Street or Lao Jie in Tunxi
Lunch in Hongcun
The guy in the red jacket in the next picture is me, taking this picture
The guy in the red jacket is me, taking the previous picture
This woman made her own dolls for sale
A knife-seller's shop
Moon Pond at the center of the town
Hard sleeper section of the train from Tunxi to Shanghai
Some of my stuff
Made it to Shanghai!
Too bad construction is going on everywhere in preparation for the 2010 World Expo (World's Fair)
The hostel where I lived in Shanghai
View from the hostel window
The two tallest buildings in Shanghai
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East Nanjing Rd.
East Nanjing Rd. at night
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Elevators to go up the Shanghai World Financial Center
The view from atop the third tallest building in the world (behind Taipei 101 and the Burj Dubai)
People's Park on a weekday
Learning chess begins at a young age
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"Pottery belongs to all mankind, but porcelain is China's invention."
This incredibly intricate double-layered vase was made in China at about the time of the American Revolution. Go figure.
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Pudong skyline at night
Crazy fast maglev train to Pudong Airport
