Duck Anyone?

I literally never know what I'm going to find at my local grocery store! I assume these are dried or preserved in some way as they were far from the refrigerated sections of the produce/meat area, although I suppose that doesn't necessarily mean anything here...

A Boy And His Dog?

Part of a strange (or unique?) sculptural ensemble I stumbled across in Daowai when I was out exploring with friends recently. Dog and kid alike look oddly happy given that from the looks of it the kid is about to give the poor thing a good clobbering!

First Hotpot of Spring

My first hotpot of spring, which rather pleasantly featured individual pots. (It's more common for several people to share a single, large pot.) There's so much yummy food here in Harbin!

Bathroom Weirdness

I thought I'd seen it all as far as restrooms were concerned in Africa and Eastern Europe, and then I moved to China. Stalls with no doors (intentionally), awkwardly reflective surfaces near urinals, or - as in this case - "barriers" that are no barriers at all!

Spring Approaches

The trees here along Harbin's right bank riverfront may still look dead and the temperatures may still be in the negatives [Celsius] a lot of the time, but the skies are blue, the air has been delightfully clean over the last week, and flocks of birds are flying north - one can't help feeling that spring is very nearly sprung!

Ancient Meets Modern China

Harbin is such a modern place in so many ways that the reminders that this was not such a modern place not so long ago can come as quite a surprise. In this instance, people are burning jīnzhǐ or ghost money at a major intersection - on the corner, thank goodness! - so that their dead relatives can afford to buy things in the afterlife. (Very pharaonic, no?) I'm told some people will even burn paper cell phones, cars, and whatever else they think their relatives are in need of. Such a fascinating meeting of ancient and modern China!