Journal 3

Land of the Miao

“Yesterday we had spectacular bicycling through a beautiful steep and narrow canyon of mist-filled tropical forest. Along the river bottom were occasional small villages of ornate wooden houses with upswept roofs and fancy scrollwork on the eaves and windows, along with a few satellite dishes.

We are now staying in Xijiang, the largest Miao village in China. It is a huge tourist destination for the Han Chinese (the predominant ethnic group in China). We find it interesting and insightful to see them as tourists, out on vacation and having fun.

Entering the village Tass’s rear derailleur blew apart as we were riding past a huge crowd of tourists (Chinese tourists—we have not seen another foreigner for about five days). Four men rushed to the side of the street to help me find the scattered bike parts. One of them held the spring of the derailleur arm while I put it back together. He obviously knew about bicycle mechanics, and had no qualms about getting his fingers totally greasy. Once it was together they all posed with us for photos. We hardly had time to say xiexie (thank-you) before they took off.

Tomorrow we are back on the bikes. We are having a blast.

First impressions of China

There is construction going on absolutely everywhere. The people are incredibly industrious, no wonder the economy is booming. The architecture of the newer buildings is impressive.

There are mobile phone stores everywhere. And even more shoe stores.  Many women wear  high heels (the kind Tass would wear to a party or nightclub, lots of straps and bling!). Except they wear them from first thing in the morning to late at night, walking long distances on wet and slippery sidewalks and cobblestones.

Most people only smile after we smile at them and say “ni hao” (hello). Chinese tourists love taking photos of us.

When we try to ask directions or interact with a single person they never understand what we say. We always approach groups of people. Those who are closest always get wide-eyed and freeze up. It is usually someone at the edge of the group, further from us, who gets what we are trying to ask. Then everyone laughs and tries to answer our question.