The smoke absolutely filled car #4 of the train creaking its way to Hohhot, the capital of inner mongolia (pronounced hu he ho te). We were leaving Beijing for the first time except for occasional jaunts to the countryside. Bobbing along with the gyrations of the trains were the black haired masses, with only two, as the local children call us, yellow haired.
The bleak pre-rain spring landscape seemed increasingly uninviting as what looked to be a thunderstorm turned out to be a massive dust storm raging through the plains broken only by veins of deep washed out gorges.
Countering the bleakness of the landscape stood the unimaginable kindness of the Mongolian who sat beside us on the final leg from Datong to Hohhot. His Chinese slowed to a pace of understanding for some (hint hint, not me), while his Mongolian, when talking to his little brother, was startlingly different to anything we had ever heard. He explained, and we are still not compeltely sure about this, that he was a singer (perhaps for something like Mongolian Idol). Despite his joblessness he was eager to help us get to our hotel (all the while us naive and cynical westerners were wary for scams).
If we were impressed by his kindness the night before, waking up the next morning to knocks on the door from this titan of generosity just came as a shock. He was determined to help us have a proper Mongolian experience. Hailing cabs, and advising on menu choices, his presence was warm but, towards the end, unwanted as we just had hoped to set our own pace of travel.
The clear-aired neon and concrete outpost that is Hohhot is unfortunately not welcoming enough to stay for long, and so tomorrow we are off again, this time to another small town (only about 4 million) just on the edge of the desert, striving hard not to be buried in sand.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Fairwell Beijing
Hello Inner Mongolia!
We have settled in here... We feel comfortable in a city of millions, lost in a sea of black hair, streaming along city streets to the tune of bicycle bells and honking horns. The strange nooks and greasy crannies of old Beijing are well known by our cameras and palettes.
So now we are packing our bags, bidding friends farewell, baking a large batch of granola for the road, and heading north and west, away from the crowded city to Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Hohhot marks the beginning of the Zhaohe grasslands, a vast ocean of green in the summer, and coooooold spot for half the year (including now:). Hohhot means Blue City--the color blue, in Mongolian culture is said to represent the blue sky, eternity and purity.
What awaits us? This is what we would like to find out. Check back in soon for stories of our adventure:)
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sorry
For those of you who actually check in, I am sorry.
We had a good thing going for a while, but... I don't know... I guess I just don't have much to say.
Soon we will be leaving Beijing and then the adventures will surely be recorded in the cyberspatial realm. The most I can say is greens are getting slightly greener as spring whispers its way into the city. We have enjoyed sitting in the sun in our courtyard, sometime eating strawberries, sometimes drinking tea. Biking here and there.
We had a good thing going for a while, but... I don't know... I guess I just don't have much to say.
Soon we will be leaving Beijing and then the adventures will surely be recorded in the cyberspatial realm. The most I can say is greens are getting slightly greener as spring whispers its way into the city. We have enjoyed sitting in the sun in our courtyard, sometime eating strawberries, sometimes drinking tea. Biking here and there.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Future Forecast
I had heard about the Chinese methods of controlling the weather. Before the Olympics, reports reached us about weather magicians in Beijing cloud-seeding to solicit rain from the withholding skies. Three days after our arrival in the city, we woke up to a modest dusting of snow.
"This is the first snowfall of the season!" smiled Ray, as we watched people sweep the scanty snow with brooms. Although many complained about the hassle and delays on roads, Beijing needed this snow, as it needs every lick of moisture it can summon. And summon this snow, it did. The Beijing Weather Modification Control Center seeded the clouds with "426 cigarette sized silver iodide sticks" to receive the snowfall.
Although reports at the time claimed the snowfall ended the drought, Beijing will have to see a lot more precipitation to reverse a situation that becomes more and more serious each day. The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief states that over 4.5 million people are in the drought area. Already millions of dollars this year have been spent of drought relief efforts.
Yesterday I went hiking on the border of Beijing and Hebei provinces. We left one tiny village, crested some mountains and came down the other side to meet a small group of farmers. While speaking with them, one man said the last time he had seen a good harvest was 1979. Indeed, this drought has been long, hard, and seemingly unending.
Why unending? The problem is two very stubborn and thirsty clients. First, agriculture in China (as elsewhere) is highly input intensive and requires high levels of irrigation. Second, Beijing. The city's municipality is approximately 17 million people. Are there water restrictions? No. Is there enough water to keep them (us, for I must not excuse myself) drinking, bathing, washing, and wasting? No. Beijing is overdrafting its own underground water resources and sucking dry the surrounding provinces.
Where am I going with this? I'd like to look out at the future for a second. Despite the magic worked by the Beijing Weather Modification Control Center, the future in Beijing (and other places throughout the world that overdraw from aquifers) looks pretty grim... If we take out all the water, the land subsidizes before the rock can recharge, or reabsorb, enough water to keep it functioning. If this happens, it will never be able to hold the same amount of water, and water table levels will continue to drop.
What now, Beijing? Pray for rain, I supposed. Hope for a downpour.
"This is the first snowfall of the season!" smiled Ray, as we watched people sweep the scanty snow with brooms. Although many complained about the hassle and delays on roads, Beijing needed this snow, as it needs every lick of moisture it can summon. And summon this snow, it did. The Beijing Weather Modification Control Center seeded the clouds with "426 cigarette sized silver iodide sticks" to receive the snowfall.
Although reports at the time claimed the snowfall ended the drought, Beijing will have to see a lot more precipitation to reverse a situation that becomes more and more serious each day. The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief states that over 4.5 million people are in the drought area. Already millions of dollars this year have been spent of drought relief efforts.
Yesterday I went hiking on the border of Beijing and Hebei provinces. We left one tiny village, crested some mountains and came down the other side to meet a small group of farmers. While speaking with them, one man said the last time he had seen a good harvest was 1979. Indeed, this drought has been long, hard, and seemingly unending.
Why unending? The problem is two very stubborn and thirsty clients. First, agriculture in China (as elsewhere) is highly input intensive and requires high levels of irrigation. Second, Beijing. The city's municipality is approximately 17 million people. Are there water restrictions? No. Is there enough water to keep them (us, for I must not excuse myself) drinking, bathing, washing, and wasting? No. Beijing is overdrafting its own underground water resources and sucking dry the surrounding provinces.
Where am I going with this? I'd like to look out at the future for a second. Despite the magic worked by the Beijing Weather Modification Control Center, the future in Beijing (and other places throughout the world that overdraw from aquifers) looks pretty grim... If we take out all the water, the land subsidizes before the rock can recharge, or reabsorb, enough water to keep it functioning. If this happens, it will never be able to hold the same amount of water, and water table levels will continue to drop.
What now, Beijing? Pray for rain, I supposed. Hope for a downpour.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
中国长城
As the years go by, give me peace,
Freedom from all things.
I ask myself and always answer:
What can be better than coming home?
A wind from the pine-trees blows my sash,
And my lute is bright with the mountain moon.
You ask me about good and evil fortune?
Hark, on the lake there's a fisherman singing!
Wang Wei
Sunday, March 1, 2009
where in the world?
THIS JUST IN: it may be too early to publish this information, but thursday, oliver f.p. hulland will be leaving china to go to nairobi, kenya... just for a week. i will be left behind and the dream team divided by a rift that spans two continents.
please send comments and condolences to kristynasolawetz@gmail.com
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