Not a Good Air Day in Guilin

Facing westward at the intersection in Guilin where Huancheng South 2nd Rd becomes Huancheng South 3rd Rd

Unfortunately, the "good air" Guilin enjoyed yesterday is already a thing of the past. Today the air pollution returned to not-so-good levels, though still nowhere near the recent "hazardous" and beyond levels recorded in a number of northern cities such as Beijing. I even witnessed what appeared to be an attempt to improve Guilin's air today. I am skeptical it had much of an effect though. More about that later.

A Good Air Day in Guilin

It looks like I owe some people a Texas Burger. Excellent. Not at all to my surprise, I quickly received correct identifications of my destination after I departed Hengyang. To celebrate, here is a photo from today taken from the same vantage point in Guilin, one of the cities in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region with a eye-catching mix of urban scenes and karst topography, as the photo in the previous post, though facing a slightly different direction and sans McDonald's.

Looking out towards Guilin Central Square and Seven Star Park

I felt inspired to take another photo because of the good weather and the "good" air. I use the quotation marks because if these air quality readings had been taken in the U.S. they would be classified in the "good" category for air quality as determined by the Environmental Protection Agency. The air has been much worse on average during the past week. The good air today was also notable because of its contrast with the air far to the north, including in Beijing, where it is "crazy bad" now. Guilin has had "unhealthy" air recently but hasn't approached anything like that.

From Texas Burger in Hunan to a Scenic High-Speed Train Ride

Towards the end of last week I hailed a taxi and told the driver I needed to go to the Hengyang East Railway Station. He asked for 40 yuan (about U.S. $5.80). I felt confident 40 yuan was too high, but I wasn't sure what to target for bargaining. I just told him to use the meter. He clearly didn't like that idea, so I prepared to get out of the taxi.

He turned on the meter.

The fare turned out to be 27 yuan.

I hadn't had time to eat much that day, and I hoped to grab something at the station. I suspected the options were minimal and the McDonald's there would be my best bet despite my fondness for Hengyang's local dishes. But I worried I wouldn't be able to go down to the arrivals level, order food, and then return to the departures level to go through the ID check and security in time for boarding. So I went straight into ticketed-area of the station and hoped to find something there.

Once inside, I saw something I expected — a lack of a McDonald's — and I saw something I hadn't expected — Texas Burger. I hadn't recently seen any of the once common New Orleans roasted chicken vendors in Hengyang. I figured it was now time for some not-quite-Texas fare in Hengyang.

I quickly scanned the menu and didn't see anything named a Texas Burger, so I ordered a burger which looked like a Big Mac. I didn't go for the full meal.

The burger I soon received looked far more compressed than the one displayed in the menu. And the taste . . . well, the patty made me think of an overcooked old high school cafeteria-style burger. It definitely didn't make me think of anything I had ever eaten in Texas. Without a doubt, I would take New Orleans roasted chicken over that any day.

But at least I wasn't hungry anymore. And soon I departed Hengyang on a train route I had never traveled before. This meant I could enjoy some new views and attempt to photograph them through a dirty window while moving at about 200 kilometers per hour.

In about 2 hours and 40 minutes I arrived at my destination 342 kilometers (213 miles) from the station in Hengyang. Not bad for 100 yuan (U.S. $14.50).

My first view of the city from high up included a McDonald's but no Texas Burgers.

The city is more well known than Hengyang and popular with tourists, though, no, the glass pyramid in the photo isn't the entrance to the Louvre. For those familiar with China, this is a relatively easy one to figure out. Guesses welcome. Let me know if you want some Texas Burger as a prize.

A Crossbar Bicycle Walk in Hengyang

As I crossed an intersection on Chuanshan Avenue in Hengyang yesterday, I saw another person crossing the intersection in a far more interesting manner.

At first I assumed the bike was too large or not set up properly for the girl to pedal. But perhaps she was under orders to walk her bike across busy intersections. When I later looked back, I saw her riding the bike in a more typical fashion on the sidewalk.

An Unexpected End to a Long Day in Hengyang

Towards the end of an especially thought-provoking day in Hengyang:

A crowd had gathered in the road due to an apparently minor accident. I had a brief chat with this friendly man. He made some hand gestures. Instead of trying to better understand what was going on, in this case I just I asked if I could take a photograph.

And down the street I continued with one more thing to ponder . . .

Ice Cream and Water Calligraphy in Hengyang

A moment today in Hengyang reminded me of another a couple of years ago in nearby Shaoyang . . .

A Cupping Alternative

In response to the post about some outdoor Chinese cupping therapy in Hengyang, an Asian American reader mentioned a related treatment also common in China — gua sha:

Cupping freaks me out I'll stick to gua sha, thank you.

Gua sha is becoming a "new thing" here in the US with therapy clinics offering it in places like NYC. I feel sorry for these people who have to go and pay for it because they don't have a Chinese for Vietnamese grandma who will pin them down at the first sign of illness and force it on them for free.

I have to say, I don't know why it works better than a standard deep massage, but it is still the only thing that can get rid of my migraines after a megadose of ibuprofen fails.

It seems I am missing out. Another person has raised the possibility that the practice is like a grandmother offering matzah ball soup, though, so perhaps I have made out OK.

A Bit of Bamboo Cupping from Hengyang

I worried I might not have time for a post today. But instead of me copping out, how about some cupping — bamboo style?

The therapeutic event captured above took place today in front of the northern entrance to Yanfeng Park in Hengyang, Hunan. If the technique of this particular practitioner didn't suit you, at least two other options were available nearby.

One woman did her best to convince me I was in dire need of some cupping. I passed even though the prices appeared to be hard to beat.

A Strong Drink of Hengyang

No responses correctly identified the city captured in photos of a riverside path, a dish of eel, and riverside dancing. I'm not surprised since the city isn't well known and none of the photos captured anything particularly iconic. I had considered sharing just one more photo as a clue — one of a locally produced alcohol.

However, this felt like too easy of a clue for those familiar with Chinese, though a quick internet search might be required. Yanfeng Liquor (Xiaodiao)* is a straightforward giveaway, since Yanfeng is a central urban district in Hengyang, Hunan. The 128 ml bottle sells for 15 yuan (about US $2.20), and like the peppers in the eel dish the contents have a good kick. The baijiu is made from a variety of grains and at 46% alcohol goes down a bit more smoothly than many other inexpensive baijius. It is one of the ways I found in Hengyang to have a local experience — one that fortunately didn't leave me with a headache the next day.

This is my fourth visit to Hengyang, something I wouldn't have predicted after my first brief visit over five years ago. As with intervening visits, I have seen much that has changed. I have also seen much that has not. More about both later.



*The official name listed on the back of the bottle is 雁峰酒(小调). I don't know whether "xiaodiao" is intended to refer to the minor key in music or the genre of folk music, though I lean towards the latter.

Riverside Solo Dancing

There have been some good guesses on the city captured in food and in paths but still no correct answer. So I will share one more photo before the big reveal. The evening scene is at a location similar to some others I have shared from the city in the past, so perhaps it will awaken some memories for readers who have been around for a bit.

Update: The answer

A Spicy Clue

I haven't received any correct guesses of the city captured in the previous photo. So for another clue — one which significantly narrows the possibilities —I will share a photo of a local-style dish I enjoyed in the same city the other day for lunch.

On this note, with the exception of occasional forays into non-Chinese foods, I mostly eat local-style dishes wherever I happen to be in China. Unintentionally, it has been a while since I have been in any regions known for spicy foods. As can be pretty clearly seen in this photo, I have now rectified this issue. Those peppers had a solid kick. And the eel was good too.



Update: The answer

Different Paths

Today. Not in Guangzhou . . .

Bonus points to anyone who can identify the Chinese city — one which has been featured here before.


Update: The answer