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Author Archives: d4vid
Channels
In the spirit of the Datong dinner menu, I present to you the English translations of the cable channels available in my hotel here in Jiayuguan. I present them unedited, including capitlization and punctuation. Gansu culture, film and television Gansu public City, … Continue reading
Potable
Why doesn’t every hotel in China have these? (Also, I don’t trust it and will be sticking with the provided bottled water.)
Suite
I was upgraded to an executive suite at the Jiayuguan Hotel, replete with green leather chairs in the sitting room and a teddy bear on the bed, of course. The bathroom was functional and clean. Out the sitting room window, … Continue reading
Posted in 嘉峪关
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Posh
By all accounts, the Jiayuguan Hotel is the nicest hotel in town.The elevators even had the same day-of-the-week floor mats that Debbie and I saw in the hotel in Datong! Apparently, it’s a thing.
Posted in 嘉峪关
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Connubial
I arrived at the Jiayuguan Hotel an hour before checkin, so I decided to have a drink at the bar and read my book in the lobby. I wasn’t their usual clientele so, as has happened before, they had to … Continue reading
Circle
In the middle of the traffic circles in Jiayuguan are the oddest statues. This is the one in front of the Jiayuguan Hotel.
Posted in 嘉峪关
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Progress
I saw these transmission towers going up and over the mountains just like the Great Wall does. I was struck by how much construction was going on, out in the middle of a sparsely-populated province. I saw tunnels being bored through mountains … Continue reading
Posted in 西宁
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Geology
I found the geology of Qinghai intriguing. Parts of it reminded me of parts of California, other parts reminded me of the Rocky Mountains, and still others reminded me of the (frankly, insane) geology of Wyoming and Yellowstone Park.
Posted in 西宁
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Pressure
Coming back from Qinghai Lake, we were running low on gas. And by “gas” I mean actual gas, because the driver’s car ran on natural gas. Or so I thought. At the start of our journey in Xining, we had … Continue reading
Indigenous
Tibetan culture dominated the southern rim of Qinghai Lake. Shrines and prayer flags dotted the landscape. This was the only herder I saw that was not on foot or motorcycle.Every kilometer or so were Tibetans luring passersby to take photographs in the … Continue reading
Posted in 青海湖
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Harrowing
I’ve had my share of harrowing driving experiences. Driving down the coast of Oregon at night in a rainstorm. Driving left-handed stick shift on the “wrong” side of the road in England. Driving up and down Cape Cod in a Nor’easter. … Continue reading
Posted in 青海湖
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Menagerie
The short road back from Bird Island to the main highway was surprisingly slow. Locals — some on foot, some on motorcycle — had no qualms about blocking traffic. In Mandarin, I quipped to my driver, “They call it Bird … Continue reading
Peninsula
One of the major tourist spots in Qinghai is 鸟岛 (Niǎo dǎo meaning “Bird Island.”) In fact, the Hanzi character for “island” comes from the character for “bird” atop the character for “mountain.” However — much like Monster Island — … Continue reading
Crop
On the north rim of Qinghai Lake, I saw fields and fields of this red-yellow crop. Vaguely, in the distance, you can see the Qilian Mountains which divides Qinghai from Gansu Province. My driver and I stopped to take a … Continue reading
Posted in 青海湖
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Railway
After skirting around the northeast of Qinghai Lake (and China’s “Atomic City” where their nuclear weapon testing once took place) we came within view of the lake itself. Travel was slow-going at times when flocks of sheep would block the … Continue reading
Posted in 青海湖
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