Getting Married in China, How to Move Back to the US

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If you would like me to write up an entry on this painstakingly long task (of getting a green card and moving back to the US), let me know.

We finally got our exit interview in Guangzhou and will be back in the US in November.

In other China news:

  • Wikipedia is blocked again (at this point though, who cares, really).
  • It’s been raining for the last 7 weeks.
  • Here in Chuxiong, the amount of tourists went from zero to about 100 per day in the last year, pretty amazing. (Mainly domestic travel, but a few foreigners here and there).
  • They are expanding Yi Ren Gu Zhen to seven sections now (we were the first, then they added the second, now they are adding five more. Each section represents about 200 high-end houses and storefronts).
  • They are going to reroute the train track that cuts through the development.
  • They are displacing the farmers without any compensation, even when they protest. Don’t you love capitalism?
  • (When I say they, I mean the developers and the government.)

Wikipedia UNBLOCKED in China!

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Mark it up one for the people. Wiki is now free in China. I can now (after two years!) finally edit something in Wiki.

I found this out by clicking on this link, “A list of nations who have not adopted the metric system” and the page just loaded.

I think they traded Wiki for Flickr though, because Flickr is now BANNED indefinitely.

Update: It’s blocked again. Hu is messing with me.

China Blocks Flickr [screenshot]

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Great. Add another little site to the list. Flickr. Apparently, people thought I was joking about that Safari post a few posts back. I’ll let you in on a little secret, I wasn’t.

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… BBC, Technorati, Blogspot (and most other big blog companies), Google News, Google Video, sometimes Google Images, Flickr, Wikipedia…)

What the World Eats

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Time has an article out entitled “What the World Eats”. Fascinating.

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For China, they pictured the Dong family of Beijing.

Food expenditure for one week: 1,233.76 Yuan or $155.06
Favorite foods: fried shredded pork with sweet and sour sauce

It is now official that Chuxiong is not like Beijing. People think of China, they think of Beijing and Shanghai, then there are those who think of the entirely different Hong Kong.

In little Chuxiong, I haven’t seen have of the things pictured above. Dinner is made from vegetables, rice, and some meat. Purchased every morning. And I think our food expenditure for one week is 100 Yuan, or about $14 USD 49 Yuan, or about $6.50 USD.

Lugu Lake Panoramic [pic] and Other Shots of China

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Lugu Lake in China, by Robert ThompsonView Large Panoramic Photo of Lugu Hu, Lugu Lake

The results are in for Lugu Lake. There is one thing that is stunning to see — the panoramic above. After you see that, and go on the 10 minute boat ride, there is absolutely nothing else to do there.

Another surprising factor is that it takes 14-16 hours to get there from Kunming. And not to mention that the road is dangerous! We saw five head-on collisions, and I counted 15 broken down cars on the total trip.

A four day trip, driving about 466 miles on a one-lane (but two-way) road with a series of sharp zigzags, and five head on collisions.

Here is a shot of what a one lane, two-way road looks like, with a huge dump truck lining the cliff, squeezing between a bunch of cars.

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I can’t count the number of times the Chinese drivers would pass on a blind turn, at double the speed limit.

On to more happy things…

Boat Ride Photos

Boat Ride on Lugu Lake in China

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via China Travel Guide on the local ethnic minorities, the Mosuo people:

Mosuo people who live there form a matriarchal society. There is no marriage. Children are brought up by women. Women operate production and management, and hold the principal position in the society, forming a modern day ‘woman’s kingdom’.

After this lady whipped out her brand new Sony Ericsson, I told her, “Wow, your cell phone is really nice!” She said she got two cell phones from two men in exchange for you-know-what. How personal, I thought. So it goes, the women are the rulers here.

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Lugu Lake and China

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See my panoramic shot of Lugu Hu, or Lugu Lake.

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Lugu Lake, first impression. Wow I found wireless internet and a place to stay. The water is clear, the mountains are magnificent. Besides the free boat ride and a view of Sichuan, well. Ain’t much to do here.

Good place for photographers, though. But after 12 hours of driving from Chuxiong to Lijiang to Lugu Lake, I’m cool with walking up the side of any mountains.

Did I mention the drive? The one-lane road? The 18-wheeler trucks coming head on? The dilapidated roads, falling off the mountain side? Wow, was that stressful. Plus, you have to be aware of the “mountain people” who throw boards rigged with nails in the street, and after your tires pop, you get mobbed. (Happened to a friend of ours.) Let’s just say they have a little work to do here.