Monday, November 26th 2007

Turtles
Qingdao, China

These turtles were being sold on a pier overlooking the city of Qingdao.While they were most likely being sold as pets, turtle can easily be found at many restaurants in the North.

Wedding Photography
Qingdao, China

A bride waits to have her wedding pictures taken in a park with the fall leaves. These two brides were among a dozen or so other brides who were crowding the park with the same idea in mind .

"Muscle Beach"
Qingdao, China

Temperatures down around 7 degrees Celsius didn't stop locals from their workouts at Qingdao's version of Muscle Beach. Speedos prevailed in a variety of activities including swimming, volleyball and weight lifting.

Wednesday, Novermber 21st

Hot Pot Restaurant
Dalian, China

Hot Pot is an extremely popular meal here in Dalian, as well as in many other Chinese cities. It features veggies of all kinds and sliced meats (usually pork) which you cook yourself in a heated broth at your table, which tend to change regionally.

Skyline from the Beach
Qingdao, China

Qingdao is a coastal city a bit further south than Dalian where the Sailing portion of the Olympics will be held in 2008. The city is also known for its German architecture and the Tsingtao Brewery.

Child with barbecue
Qindao, China

Chinese Barbecue, which can range from meat on a stick to vegetables rolled in tofu skins to spiced squid, is found on many a street corner at almost any time of day.

A few extras

Shendong River Boatman

Yangtze River, China

Shendong River Boatman
Yangtze River, China

The Shendong River Boatmen operate in a tributary of the Yantze River. There are famous in the area for their unique boating style, which invovles pulling their boats along shallow parts of the river using bamboo and ropes made from it.

Miao Minority Woman outside on Ping'an
Longji Rice Terraces, China

The Longji Rice Terraces are located about four hours out of Guilin, boasting some terraces that climb up to 800 meters. As tourism in the area increases so does the strain, with fresh water supply being one of the main issues.

Harry Young, Chinese Teacher at Future English
Dalian, China

November 12th, 2007

Clear sky reflected in a puddle
Wan Jia Cun, China

The haze and smog from the summer months has finally lifted and Dalian is seeing more and more crisp, clear blue days. Hopefully, they'll stick around for winter too.

Sylvia, age 3, studying
Dalian, China

Sylvia (pronounced Si-rai-uh), age 3, the daughter of an ex-model and my English protege, reads to herself in Chinese during our English lesson. Our bi-weekly sessions are largely playtime with a side order of English. There is a high demand in China for children to attain fluency in English even at such a young age .

Temple in the later afternoon haze
Da Hei Shan, China

Dalian is a peninsula surrounded by mountains and Da Hei Shan (Big Black Mountain) is one of the more popular areas for hiking. This temple is located near Jinzhou, outside of Dalian.

November 5th, 2007

Vegetables Hanging in Wang Jia Cun
Dalian, China

Dalian, being pretty far north, is coming up on winter quickly. Since the temperatures dropped we have noticed quite a lot of vegetables being stored outside windows and dried along the street. Our boss offered the explanation that mostly the 'older generation' does this as a way to make sure they have enough fresh veggies in the winter when prices rise.

Making Tea
Dalian, China

One of our neighbors making a large pot of tea in Wang Jia Cun.

Halloween
Dalian, China

Halloween is not widely celebrated in China, in fact, many of my students knew little to nothing about it, except what had been imparted on them by previous foreign teachers like me. That being said, this little bit of Halloween popped up at a nearby mall.

Enjoy!