Scenes of China: Hengyang, Hunan Province

Like I did with the city where I spent my Thanksgiving I was thinking of seeing if anyone could guess the city where I spent the last two days of 2011 based on a photo or two. Nobody figured out the Thanksgiving city, though, and I think this one would be even harder, especially with the photos I have available. So, I decided to give it a pass. For readers anxious for another try, fear not. I have some other photos in mind to try again with another city later.

As the post title indicates I spent the end of 2011 in Hengyang, Hunan province (map). While there, I had hoped to make an excursion to the main region of Mount Heng (衡山) which is sacred in both Buddhism and Taoism. Unfortunately, the weather was very foggy and overcast so I'll have to save that for another year (or maybe life if Buddhists have things figured out). However, Mount Heng includes 72 peaks and I did make it to the small Huiyuan Peak which is located in a pleasant park in a central district of the city.

The weather also didn't stop me from exploring the city itself. So here are a few photos to provide a small taste of life in Hengyang:

Ordinary street

Ferris wheel near the top of a hill in central Yueping Park

Busy traffic on the Hengxiang Highway No. 2 Bridge

Sidewalk on Zhongshan Street

By the Xiang River

Playing cards

Alley

Harley Davidson Van

Hello Kitty Car

Young students buying stinky tofu

Clothes hung out to dry

Another scene on the bridge