85th Anniversary of the Mukden Incident

Not a great video, but I wanted to share the eerie wailing of the sirens here this morning. Today marks the 85th anniversary of the Mukden Incident and the Japanese invasion of the Republic of China. World War II may have started later, but the Japanese occupation of Manchuria and Japan's horrific treatment of the people in the territories it occupied both before and after the start of the global conflict are still bitterly remembered here nearly a century later. (And rightly so given the feeble apologies - if they can be called that! - of various Japanese leaders since then.)

Fall Sunset in Daoli

Apologies for the poor quality of the photo, but it does capture a little of how gorgeous yesterday's sunset was! Fall is such a beautiful time of the year (until the air pollution hits anyways!). This is looking out over the south end of Daoli District, with Qunli off in the distance in the right of the picture.

Common Sense Takes A Holiday

I sometimes think common sense has taken a holiday here...a long, long, possibly permanent holiday! This is of the metro construction along Hongqi Avenue in eastern Harbin, and if you look closely on the left under the trees you can see a mom and her toddler, not even two meters away from where a huge steel beam is being lowered into the earth. There's nothing protecting them beyond the flimsy barricade pictured - one slip and someone will have lost his wife and child in an instant.

Sister City Road

A look north up Aidemengdun or Edmonton Road, named after Harbin's sister city! (If you can't come to Harbin to visit its Edmonton Road, then try for Edmonton's Chinatown, which has a lovely plaque dedicated to the relationship.)

A view of an apartment complex near Aidemengdun Road sitting next to a beautifully redone stretch of the Majiagou riverfront.

China: Safety First?

Road safety is such a big priority in China, as you can see here, where in the middle of repair work on a bridge for one of the city's busiest roads the city has very carefully separated vehicles and pedestrians to ensure the safety of all...haha, okay, so maybe not! But I have to walk through here most days on my way to work and I haven't been hit by a bus yet, so that's something...

Mall Randomness

You just never know what you're going to see in a mall here!

End of Summer

Zhongyang Avenue - Harbin's pedestrian street - is a big draw in both the summer and the winter. I'm still enjoying the leafy greenness of the trees, the beer gardens, and the blue skies, but even though September's barely begun a chill is already beginning to descend!