I'm Back (Handan Style)

Hello, folks. Good to be back.

With the exception of a brief appearance to share two videos as commentary on a special (political) day in the U.S. two years ago, it has been nearly two and half years since I was at least semi-regularly posting here. Health issues, technical issues, and . . . . issues with issues played a role. If you're a first-time reader here, welcome! If you're an old reader, welcome back and sorry for the disappearance! I had always expected some sort of grand post if I ever needed to stop for whatever reason or there was a major change, but given the situation had I been up to writing such a post I probably wouldn't have stopped posting in the first place. I would like to delve more into that and what brings me back to this space, but I fear if I try to write such a post (tome) now it will severely delay getting the ball rolling here. As I want to prioritize the rolling, perhaps that grand post I'd ideally like to write will appear in pieces as the ball goes where it goes.

So I will restart this blogging adventure with something light, easy, and tasty as well. I went to a folder with most of my photos and semi-randomly selected one of the more than 100 cities I've explored in China. When I opened my eyes, I saw it was Handan, a city in Hebei province I visited in 2010 in no small part just because it happened to be on the train route as I headed south from Shijiazhuang. Handan has appeared previously in this blog years ago when I shared an experience observing the shopping behavior of several young women (very much related to some prior research I had conducted elsewhere in China) that concluded with a big bowl of duck heads we all ate (not as related to any formal research I had conducted elsewhere in China). I also featured a restaurant there with a nifty donkey logo where I tried my first donkey dumplings. I also had a couple of experiences in Handan that remain especially remarkable to me even now, but they deserve more care and time to tell. Instead I will share one of my more everyday experiences which my photos captured.

One day in Handan I stumbled upon a street with a row of food stalls. It was easy to decide an inexpensive lunch would be happening there.

After choosing a stall, I placed an order and had a clear view of its preparation.

Even while I waited, there was no reason to be bored. The al fresco dining provided an excellent view of the happenings at the other food stalls.

Soon my order had arrived and I had a freshly prepared bowl of gǎn miànpí (擀面皮).

I'm not able to find a standard translation for this dish, so I will go with the somewhat literal translation "rolled noodle skins". A similarly named dish is local to Shaanxi province, but this seemingly either isn't the same thing or had been significantly modified. These type of noodles / (non-meat) skins have a chewy texture and similar can be found in other dishes elsewhere in China. To be honest, I can't definitively remember my impressions of the dish, but I'm sure I enjoyed the overall experience regardless.

And . . . that is that. Again, it feels great to post here once again after all of this time. I have no shortage of material for future posts on both lighter and quite serious matters. I don't expect the themes of the blog  to significantly change from before, at least in the near future. More soon, really.

Working in a Hong Kong Hole

Next to Dundas Street in Mong Kok

Since beginning this blog, I have never gone sans posting for so long before — not even close.

Now I will begin working myself out of this hole.

Time to Get Back on Whatever Animal

Yet again, I have not been posting as much as I had wanted. I really do plan to get back on the horse this time though.

Or maybe I should try a lion instead . . .

At Pengzu Park (彭祖园) in Xuzhou

More soon.

A False Sign of Free Meals at a Roast Duck Restaurant in Nanning

"Free meals"

No readers have insisted to me that they expect a free lunch, but I still feel bad about the extreme lack of posts here recently. I certainly can't blame things on a shortage of potential material.

In regards to the photo above, I took it last night at a restaurant in Nanning which features local-style roast duck noodle and rice dishes. I wasn't surprised to later discover that both Baidu's and Google's translation tools translate "免费加饭" as "Free meals", as seen on the top sign on the window. Google Translate, which is freely accessible in China, at least does a better job if the phrase is separated in half.

In short, no, you can't really expect to get a free meal at this restaurant. But you can expect "Free additional rice". Their rice dishes come with plenty for my needs, but many people in China appreciate an opportunity to load up on it.

So there will be more soon, both in terms of posts and of rice.

Answers to a Special Return in China

Nicki in Haikou was the first person to correctly guess part of the significance of a location I recently came across on the first night of my return to a city in China. It is where I took the photo currently used in the header image at the top of this blog. After posting a third photo of the location, Nicki then became the first person to respond with the correct city without me providing extra hints not in the posts here.

Rather curious, I asked her how she did it. She replied, "Third photo.... I can read". I had checked that no signs in the photos displayed the city's name before sharing them, so I wondered what I had overlooked. It didn't take me long to now find it.

Here is a closeup photo of one of the non-cone-shaped traffic cones plainly in view in the third photo:

I have seen traffic cones with advertising for at least two different hospitals in numerous parts of the city. In this case, the advertising is for the Yulin Ruidong Hospital (玉林瑞东医院). And yes, the Yulin Ruidong Hospital is unsurprisingly in . . . . Yulin — a city in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Although the text on the cones is rather fuzzy if you significantly enlarge the third photo at the highest resolution I shared, it is good enough.

So I award the prize for this edition of "Name the City" to Nicki. I even have a special prize in mind, though admittedly it's something I was planning to do anyway. I won't reveal what it is, but when it happens readers here should be able to recognize it. Nicki certainly will.

Sam Crane, who teaches contemporary Chinese politics and ancient Chinese philosophy at Williams College, deserves an honorable mention for my favorite incorrect guess that I received — Guangzhou. There are several aspects of the third scene, including the architecture, which may have lead me to consider Guangzhou too had I never been to this location in Yulin. After I provided some hints that didn't involve traffic cones he correctly figured out the city as well.

This was a tough one, folks. I wouldn't have expected anybody to correctly identify the city without digging deep into my blogging history, recalling some of my earliest posts over 8 years ago, having much familiarity with Yulin, or receiving additional hints. There is still more I have to share about why the location is significant to me and my blogging. That shall come later, as will more about Yulin.

Finally, a piece of advice: never ignore traffic cones.

One Last Photo for a Special Return in China

Last week I posted a photo of a location significant to this blog and later I posted a photo of the same place taken from a different vantage point. Before revealing all, I will share a photo of the same location also taken on that first night of my return but from a vantage point that offers a far more iconic view.

Do you see it now?



Update: Answers are here.

Another Photo for a Special Return in China

The previous post apparently didn't provide enough hints about the significant place (to me and this blog) where I recently arrived. So here is another photo taken from a different, but still not iconic, perspective on my first night back in the city:

The photo includes at least one significant additional clue. The wonton street stall isn't intended to be it, but perhaps the wontons help too.



Update: An additional clue is here. Answers are here.

A Special Return in China

About two weeks ago I arrived in a city I had explored a number of years ago. I was eager to return not only to see what had and hadn't changed and learn more about life there, but also because the city holds a special connection to this blog and my blogging experience. Relevant to the connection, there was one place in particular I especially wanted to seek out. Off the top of my head, I only had a vague sense of its location relative to the hotel where I had stayed long ago. I worried that if I couldn't find it, I might not even be able to be sure whether that was do due to an incomplete search or the location being significantly transformed. Cities can change quickly in China, and it had been a while.

After checking into my hotel, one in a different part of the city than the one I had stayed at during my previous visit, I set out that evening to walk around. I didn't look at a map, just let my wandering instincts take over, and wasn't intent on finding the special location that night. Nevertheless, after almost 40 minutes I was surprised and excited when I saw it in the distance. When I later looked at a map I discovered that without realizing it I had taken a route that couldn't have been much more direct.

So here is a photo taken that night which captures a vantage point that makes the location's significance far less apparent than some others would:

Now it is time for a return of the old game "Which city in China is this?" Normally, I wouldn't think people would have much of a chance with this photo. But in this particular case, reader's have real reason for hope. You don't even need to be a China expert to figure it out. And although digging deep into this blog (and another particular site) could significantly help in identifying the city, you needn't go far at all to see why I was so happy to find this location again.



Update: Two more clues are here and here. Answers are here.

An Icy Post to Post for a Post

Folks, my apologies for posting very infrequently lately. I can't blame it on a lack of things to post. The situation is quite the opposite.

Much more is on the way though. Really. Before that, I'm not sure what to say. But I did see one intriguing suggestion this evening for something to do.

I'm already convinced, as long as it's good ice.

More later . . .

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk in Wuzhou

A spilled drink that perhaps included some milk next to the Xun River (浔江) in Wuzhou

I had plans for an April Fool's Day post on Monday. Early in the afternoon I had a new idea and collected some critical material for it. Then I wondered whether it might be too convincing of a post for April Fool's, a conundrum I've run into before. Then other things came up, and I realized I had no more time.

So, next year. Or next life. In any case, I have material for a less confounding post now.

These things happen.

A Snail's Pace in Zhongshan

A small friendly snail in Zhongshan

Posting has been lighter than usual lately, and by "lately" I mean for a while — which raises the question of what counts as "usual" in this case. Anyway, planning to change that soon — the usual.

Two in Jiangmen

In a post with a photo of people playing xiangqi, I said sometime this week there would be a followup to an earlier post about Baisha Road in Jiangmen. However, I had forgotten about the Qingming Festival holiday, which threw off my schedule. That isn't the whole story, but it's enough of it.

So instead of the followup post taking one week to appear, it will take this many weeks:

To make up for the trouble, next week I will also share some context for the above photo, which like the photos of the xiangqi and Baisha Road was taken in Jiangmen, though in a very different setting.

Time Rex

Yesterday I was thinking about putting together a picture-heavy post about a temple I had recently visited in Jiangmen, Guangdong. I thought it could make for a good change of pace from previous posts.

Then I took a look at Twitter.

My reentrance into that world happened to be shortly after the first reports of Donald Trump firing the U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. I quickly got sucked into the drama of various people trying to put the pieces together and figure out what it all meant.

I use the word "drama" because, admittedly, that's a large part of what kept my attention. Yes, the news was quite important. But ultimately, if I hadn't learned about the details for another day or two, there wouldn't be any negative effects for me. There was no likely decision I was going to make during that time which could have been impacted by it. If anything, it would be beneficial to wait. As news breaks typically some of the information is wrong and many relevant pieces are missing.

Sure, it could have been different if I desired to contribute to the discussion. But in this case, I wasn't planning to.

I followed along on Twitter nonetheless. I clicked links to stories that quickly became outdated as new information came out. Watching it all play out was stimulating.

Once I pulled myself away, there was too little time left to put together a post.

So, in the end, Rex Tillerson was still gone. And a chunk of time I could have used more productively was also gone.

A Resting Red Lion Head in Jiangmen

The end of the Lunar New Year holiday period means less work for dancing lions.

For this blog, it marks an imminent return to some old topics and more writing. And while there aren't any lions in store for the near future, a friendly bear might make an appearance.

Minimally Mentioned Matters and a Mailbox

I have been lately occupied with matters that I wish had not mattered. They aren't matters which are the type of thing I would typically blog about, and I will probably keep things that way. But at least mentioning the matters that I won't mention later serves as a segue for sharing this recent photo of a mailbox in Taipei:

I wouldn't classify my previously mentioned matters as very top secret. To help reduce any curiosity I may have piqued, I will add that I wouldn't expect them to be especially interesting to most readers.

And I do like the mailbox. Perhaps so will some readers. I don't know if there's anything interesting inside though.

A Change of Direction Due to a Graphics Card

Four nights ago in Zhongshan I was trying to learn a little bit about a practice which ties together astrology and plastic surgery. But before I could decide whether to mention it in a post, my laptop's screen suddenly displayed a peculiar pattern. And that pattern remained fixed. Not good at all. I mean the fixed pattern wasn't good, though I haven't been convinced astrology-based plastic surgery is a great thing.

Based on previous experiences, I strongly suspected there was a hardware issue with my graphics card. Also based on previous experiences, I knew that if this was true I would need to replace the entire motherboard since the graphics card is integrated with it (wonderful). And also based on previous experiences, I expected that unlike the previous two times the graphics card died in this laptop, the replacement would no longer be covered by a plan which had been extended due to known issues with the graphics card. It was possible the cost of replacing the motherboard would be high enough that buying a new laptop would be more sensible.

Dealing with all of this in Zhongshan was definitely not on the table. And my next destination was not ideal either. Fortunately, a very good location to resolve my problem wasn't too far away, though in another direction. A functioning laptop is a bit of a priority for me so . . . plans changed. And after a 3.5 hour bus ride (including passing through an immigration control point), I found myself in Hong Kong where I have been the past several days.

All went mostly as expected. Yup, it was the graphics card. I now have a new motherboard — incredibly my fourth and probably the last for this laptop. Partly due to a significant discount, it didn't cost as much as I had expected.

Anyway, the period of time my laptop was non-usable explains the recent silence here. More posts soon . . . 

A Message on the Metro

A recent ride on the Shanghai metro reminded me it would be a good time to write and post more.

The U.S. Election, China, and Blogging

I have been asked about the reaction in China to the recent U.S. presidential election. I point people towards "What the Chinese State Thinks About President Trump" on China Digital Times, in part because it refers to a number of relevant pieces.

There is much value in understanding people's perspective on the U.S. election, and it is rather relevant to some of my interests. But I have not dedicated much time asking people in China about the election, mostly because after spending so much of my own time on it, I wanted to focus on other things when "out in the field" — yes, even including Halloween pizzas.

And I saw reasons to focus on other topics here. For example, I remembered readers back in 2012 telling me they appreciated having a place to get away from election news, commentary, and discussion. Elections are important, but so is relative sanity. Had China come up in the election in a way where I thought I could add something to what was already out there, I would have. Overall, I figured my 1 or 2 cents to the world would be better spent focused on things more closely related to my current explorations in China.

The election's effect on posts here was mostly in reducing their numbers or depth. Admittedly the election absorbed a significant portion of my mental energy and time, perhaps too much in respect to what I could or did contribute and how much it could influence that — interesting questions there in general. It mattered a lot though.

Anyway, back to things tomorrow . . .

Not Much Action Here Today

I am going to follow the spirit of a sign I saw today and keep things low key here.

If I see this sign for sale, I will be tempted to buy the whole set.

An Unexpected Fix for a Possessed Laptop in Shanxi

This large screen wasn't displaying anything when I recently visited a riverside park in Gujiao, Shanxi.

Things have been quiet on this blog the past several days. This was not intended.

The long story . . . ah, I won't bother with the long story.

The relatively short story . . . not long after the previous post, my laptop became possessed by a demon — or something like that — which wasn't so intelligent but was determined to cause chaos and heartburn. Sometimes all I could do was watch as my screen flipped through multiple modes as I was unable to stop it. One especially worrisome moment was when the cursor moved to a a file and then deleted it. Strange stuff.

The troubleshooting was a slow, frustrating process. At one point, I assumed I would need to make a long journey with significant expenses at the end to address the problem. Yesterday, the problematic symptom subsided enough for a period of time that I could try some other fixes. One involved changing a setting. So I did that, although it only required reverting something I had changed since I had initially discovered the problem. And then I considered another piece of advice I had just discovered which seemed potentially relevant.

But slapping the trackpad hard with the palm of your hand? It didn't seem entirely wise.

Of course, I did it.

I'm not 100% sure what did the trick, but my computer is no longer possessed. Since achieving that state, I have taken the time to address other potential issues just to be safe. Fortunately, I didn't blow things up in the process. In fact, I might have fixed an unrelated nagging issue. The verdict is still out on that though.

So, hopefully things are back on.