After a short flight we arrived in Anhui Province for a quick tour to Huangshan Mountain and the provincial countryside.
Alas, this picture of the Xin'an River in Tunxi City captures just one of the five senses. How to convey the feel of a soft bed, the taste of fresh green tea, the smell of two stroke scooter engines, and the sound of street-brawling pedicab women below the Hua Xi Hotel's roadside windows? Even the great Huangshan poet Qu Yuan could not find words for such a task.
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The journey of a thousand miles begins with just a single step.
PORTERS ON MOUNT HUANGSHAN
every step
makes the whole mountain
shake
and tilt
we turn sideways at the edge
of the steep stone steps
to let their heavy burden
and panting breath
press by
then listen to their bent legs
rattling on
-- From the Poems of William Marr.
The soaring branches of a liberal arts education are built on roots growing deeply and patiently into otherwise insurmountable objects.
Looks like there might be room for at least two Starbucks coffee shops here.
Cheerleaders!
Woo Hoo! We made it! (Note that the red bandana touching rule has been properly observed here.)
Postcard model Jan Kiely completes yet another high altitude assignment.
Hiker Heaven.
Soak it in.
July 18, 5:17 A.M.
Gorgeous.
In my family there are many Laucks.
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I went at dawn high heaven's ford to leave;
To earth's extremity I came at eve.
On phoenix wings the dragon pennons lay;
With plumage bright they flew to lead the way.
I crossed the quicksand with its treach'rous flood,
Beside the burning river, red as blood;
To bridge the stream my dragons huge I bade,
Invoked the emperor of the west to aid.
The way was long, precipitous in view;
I bade my train a different path pursue.
There where the heaven fell we turned a space,
And marked the western sea as meeting-place.
Okay, we can see that it's pretty and all, but does it rise up to the world cultural and historical significance you would get from, say, a close study of globalization on Cemetery Ridge?
He exudes urprising calm, given the 2,000 foot drop on all sides of this promontory.
Could it be a couple of red carpet participants in the Miss Intercontinental Pageant?.
One of Batman's arch fiend enemies, careening the bus near the edge of a catastrophic cliff's edge.
When we got to the Hot Springs Hotel they told us that there would be no air conditioning until 7:00 p.m., that there were no towels larger than a washcloth available, that the insects in each room were actually a petting zoo, and that only decadent capitalists expected every commode to flush. So here we are waiting for a ride up the hill to another accommodation.
The geographer Xu Xiake is famous for declaring Huangshan the most beautiful mountain in China, and then retiring to spend his old age staring down the manager of the Huangshan Hot Springs Hotel.
Reflections on China.
An artist using shade and light as she sketches a scene in Hong Cun village.
Inside the ancient Anhui villages you will find all kinds of interesting figures.
Vines and gourds.
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door.
The Chairmen.
Bean stalks, old and new.
"Let me tell you, little one, about the students behind us. You must not touch them unless they are wearing their red bandanas."
There was no doubt that this inkstick maker had more than a few cups of coffee before putting on his demonstration for us.
These inksticks are just waiting to be used for writing fine histories, poetry, literature, science, and Archie comic books.
Laying down the first field.
One of the biggest challenges I have had to deal with my whole life is constantly being chased by supermodels everywhere I go. This time they even had to call the police to protect me from raging hordes of Miss Intercontinentals.
A rainy night in China, a rainy ni-ight in China. I believe it must be raining all over the world...
