my side of the road
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Sorry for being such a slack arse about posting these last couple of days, but things had gotten a bit chaotic on the way.
– more petty excuses tomorrow –
Right now though, we’re still on May 30th, and it’s the weekend around Children’s Day:
…kids everywhere, some dressed up…
…others just having a good time:
Today’s theme doesn’t seem to be about kids though, instead it’s about one side of a speedway, a side that I would stay on all day:
Rarely would I get a chance to peek at the things that lay there in western half of the valley.
A weird feeling.
…then of course I could have found a way to cross the road – but the walker’s freedom is only as big as his motivation, and I just wasn’t motivated enough today.
Instead I enjoyed the sights on my side of the highway:
Like this tractor that had something mysterious in Arabic script written on it:
I imagined it to be something religious, maybe a blessing of some sort. Really, it could have been anything – maybe someone can tell me?
…
One time, I walked past this family who were apparently coming home from the market, and the asked me right away: “what you doin’ with that big camera lad – why don’t you take a photo of us?”
So I did, and oh boy, was there some hihi and haha when I showed them their picture!
I could still hear them laughing long after I had continued to walk down the road. Nice.
…
Then I ran into these little ones:
The tiny girl in red with the pigtails!
…kind of reminded me of my little sister when she was very little. 🙂
Marc
Wenn die Landschaft nicht viel her gibt, dann doch die Leute 🙂
Schöne Fotos.
Bin ja mal gespannt auf die Chaos Story 😀
Song of the day: James Blunt: No Bravery!
Florian
Vielleicht mit Verzögerung, dafür aber umso schöner formuliert. Liest sich ja bald wie ein Buch – dazu dann noch die Bilder. Weiter so.
Ist es in China eigentlich gerade genauso warm wie hier? War am Wochenende wandern, und die Hitze war kaum auszuhalten. Ich war jedesmal wieder froh, wenn ich mich vor der "steilen" Sonne verstecken und im Schatten des Harzwaldes verschwinden konnte.
jule
hey wie schön, doch noch ein neuer tag aus china bevor ich in den urlaub fahre… 🙂
mal wieder tolle fotos! wenn ich zurück bin hab ich ja dann hoffentlich einige neue berichte zu lesen… bis dahin alles gute!!!
ataraxia
oh, i like children's day and want to be a child for ever…
very good pics!
sissi
happy to see you again,just wish you good luck and can see and think lots on your way.the longest way~~~yeah,a long way of heart and thought~~a pity that i do not know german,so i can not understand the comments above~~
John
hey christoph, i often wondered why all chinese seem to do the same thing when posing for pictures: flash the V sign with their fingers. can anyone tell me what it means, and why they do that? very strange. i have never seen it so much as when photographing chinese children. but older people rarely do it, leading me to think it's something that the young chinese learned from TV or the internet. perhaps they think this is what people all over the world do?
Barry
Übersetzung der Traktorbeschriftung:
Haltbar bis: siehe Bodenblech!
Alfredo
1. I can't read Arabic, but I believe Uighur is written using the Arabic alphabet (although it is a Turkic language), so the tractor may have come from Xinjiang? Or maybe it does belong to a Hui farmer, and the writing is indeed a blessing.
2. That was a pretty bad toilet on the 29th, but keep looking, there are worse ones out there – I have seen them! 🙂
3. Regarding the ancient wall segment you encountered on the 28th: hard to tell, but I would say yes :-). The interesting thing is that there is not one Great Wall continuous from the Yellow Sea to JiaYuGuan. People usually think of the Ming Great Wall (with Qing repairs and additions) as THE Great Wall (this is the one with the rubble core and the stone facing, crenellation, and towers), but pretty much each dinasty and splinter state built its own wall to mark and defend the borders. The Han wall extended beyond JiaYuGuan; Qin Shi HuangDi is usually credited with building the wall, but he actually linked up sections of wall that the Warring States had built before his time. As borders moved over the centuries, several alternate Great Walls came into existence. Generally, the rammed earth ones, like the one you have encountered, are more likely to go back to really old times (like the Han dynasty), but it is hard to tell – the style has not changed much. What you should do is look for a tower (which is where people are likely to have spent time), and look for pottery shards on the ground. Archaeologists date the building based on the oldest shards around (they can tell the age based on the style and tecnique). As you get into the desert, the wind does a great job of blowing away the sand and exposing pottery shards – or, if you are really lucky, the occasional old coin.
Alfredo
Oops! That was a long post! Apologies.
Gisela
Fein, dass alles gut läuft, wieder wunderschöne Kinderbilder! Ich verabschiede mich für ein paar Tage. Ein Deutschlandbesuch ist angesagt. Viel Glück, Gesundheit und gute Motive!
Becci
ja das kleine mädchen ist wirklich total süüüß… deine schwester muss dann ja auch total süüüüß sein 😉
Heinz H
Hallo Christoph, Gisela hat sich für ein paar Tage verabschiedet, was nicht heißt, dass du das nachmachen musst. Also, hurtig ins Gelände…
Maggie
just want to say hi. Take care. I still read your blog every day. Keep the good job! 🙂
Barry
Jetzt machst Du`s aber langsam spannend.
Da können wir uns schon mal eingewöhnen auf die Zeit, in denen durch die Weiten des Nichts wandelst. Ich meine so Taklamakan und die Steppe in Kasachstan. 😉
Christoph
Marc: Die Kinder sind immer super!
Florian: Je tiefer ich in die Ebene komme, desto heißer wird es…
jule: Na dann mal viel Spaß im Urlaub! Wo denn?
ataraxia: Very cute kids! 😉
sissi: Yeah, though there are some of our German friends who write in English, too!
John: The V… I gotta admit I do the same thing! Don't know why!
Barry: Wie profan!
Alfredo: 1. Both possible. 2. You're the man! 3. Thanks for this info on my beloved Great Wall. 4. Awesome comment as always – thank you!
Gisela: Wo bistn normalerweise, wenn nicht in Deutschland?
Becci: Meine kleine Schwester ist die absolute Nummer 1 im Süßsein!
Heinz H.: Immer diese Hektik… haha, sorry, hab hier ein paar kümmerliche Problemchen, später mehr davon!
Maggie: Thank you!
Barry: Jo, ich würde wirklich gerne immer jeden Tag posten, aber weiß auch nicht ob das immer jeden Tag gehen wird…
Barry
Na, dass haben wir doch immer schon von Becci geahnt 🙂