Photos: My blog manager (ie/ Dan) is currently unavailable. So, I have to attach photos by email. I'm not sure how it'll post... the photos of our trip to Eling Park in Chongqing. In the comments below, I discuss the crazy driving in China! The photos don't do this justice, but you'll notice lots of cars driving down the middle line. And, no baby car seats!! Also included is a view of the city from Eling Park and a visit to a traditional Chinese tea house.
I have a bunch of miscellaneous observations. I don't know that there is a clearly defined theme among them. So "observations" is as specific as I can get. Yes- we are currently in Guangzhou, so forgive me for being a bit behind in the blog!! :-)
The streets of Chongqing . There are a lot of people walking the streets of Chongqing . Nearly 7 million people reside in this city alone! Holy smokes that's a lot of people! Walking the streets of the city, we routinely see people playing cards. Old people. Young people. All kinds of people. Sitting around a table or upside-down box playing cards.
The folks around here don't own homes; the government owns all the land. Instead, they "own" apartments. There are high-rise apartments everywhere! Not all of them have elevators. Most of them have laundry hanging outside to dry.
I would be scared to drive in this city. There are plenty of cars.. there just aren't many traffic signals. It's unbelievable. Cars drive everywhere and anywhere. We've seen them on sidewalks, alley ways, etc. Our hotel is close to the pedestrian area, which one would think is for pedestrians only. Nope. There are cars in the pedestrian area too. I'm not sure that the pedestrians even have the right of way in the pedestrian area. It's crazy here. Frankly, it puts Manhattan to shame!
The stores in the hills. Chongqing is known for the 5 "H's": Hot, humid, hilly, hazy, and huge. As we were traveling to the Civil affairs office, we noticed several "stores" in the hills. I wish that I would've captured them on film because its difficult to describe. But, here's my best shot at it. In such a populated city, real estate is a premium and hills are abundant. So folks 'cut out space' in the hills to order to create stores and restaurants along the highway. Their spaces are about the size of a single car garage space, only deeper. With the doors closed, it looked like the Midway at a local amusement park, just less fancy. Apparently, many of the businesses are closed now. And, these areas of the city certainly reflect some poor economic conditions. Interestingly, there were still people everywhere. People playing cards, hanging out in old raggy chairs, and people sleeping all along the "midway." |
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