china
A spring and early summer in 2023: Beijing from a hotel that remembers the Chairman dancing, then south to Baitao and the 816 tunnels, a nuclear cathedral that never went critical. Also chilis that numbed my lip, painters at a lake in Hongcun, and the Wall, at last. It was a research trip that kept turning into a life.
38 entries, newest first.
2023
Yu Garden After Dark
· Shanghai's golden bazaar at night: upturned eaves in floodlight, carp-colored reflections, and a last evening of looking.
Chimes in the Smog
· Evening on a temple balcony: wind chimes against an orange sky, the skyline dissolving, and a silhouette at the rail.
The Wall, at Last
· The debt from week one gets paid: the Great Wall in May green, and a souvenir shirt earning its keep.
The Painters of Hongcun
· A village that is also a syllabus: easels at the lake, and joining the row with a borrowed stool and no talent.
The Cathedral That Never Went Critical
· The reactor hall of Project 816: twenty storeys of cavern, a pit that never held fuel, and the end of the road from the dance floor.
The Gate in the Mountain
· The 816 portal: green gates open, a red star overhead, and a tunnel that swallows scale on the way in.
The Shop Below the Mountain
· Baitao: the town that was built for a secret, a village shop with festival stock, and neighbors of a hollow mountain.
Spray on the Boardwalk
· A gorge detour, a waterfall that mists the walkway, and arriving at the far end soaked and improved.
Lampions on the Wu
· Up the turquoise Wujiang by degrees: a moored sampan, four red lanterns, a bird on the bow rope, and notes before the mountain.
The Wheel at Dazu
· The Wheel of Rebirth in the sandstone at Baodingshan: all of existence in one carving, inspected before the reactor.
Hello Chongqing, Hello World
· Down from the plateau into a city of stacked light: stilt houses in gold, a dragon boat, and a skyline that talks.
Three Hands of Cards
· Through a common-room window: two veterans of the table, one guest, and an education paid in small change.
The Bus on the Roof of the World
· An old print behind glass in a guesthouse hallway, four strangers on a bus roof, and a fifth figure I cannot explain.
The Costume Shop at Night
· A lightbox of borrowed identities on a dark street, studied from across the road like an archive after hours.
Incense by QR Code
· A monastery basin, one yuan by phone, and the oldest transaction on earth running on the newest rails.
A Tile for Luck
· A rack of red wishes at the overlook, four characters for everything going smoothly, and a skeptic paying in.
Writing at Three Thousand Meters
· A balcony over the grasslands: notebooks, a map, a shirt losing its argument with the morning, and thin-air prose.
Six Dogs
· A viewpoint photo racket with six huskies, a fixed price, and the customer satisfaction of surrendering completely.
The Marmot Tax
· High meadow bureaucracy: a customs officer with fur, whiskers at the lens, and a levy paid in full.
Flags at the Pass
· A cairn, radiating prayer lines, wind doing the reciting, and a small figure quietly deciding that one week on this plateau will not be enough.
The Wall of Snow
· First full sight of the big mountains: a glacier flank filling the sky, and the yell it pulled out of me.
The Toll Horse
· A mountain road checkpoint operated by one brown horse, and the correct currency for passage.
Lunch with the Driver
· Westward with Yan: a shared table, a lazy susan, and the diplomacy of ordering for two strangers.
A Crown for an Hour
· Above Chengdu, a golden-hour photo hill, a rented phoenix crown, a slipped robe, and someone else's wedding tried on for size.
The Toes of the Buddha
· Leshan from the bottom up: toes the size of furniture, a head in the cliff sky, and twelve centuries of patience.
Under a Pastel Umbrella
· Golden hour on an old stone bridge: borrowed shade, a slipped strap, and the art of sitting still in a busy city.
A Market of Résumés
· The marriage market in People's Park: pink paper, hard numbers, parents as agents, and love as an archive.
Lanterns at the Drive
· Last night in Beijing under the porte cochere: a row of glowing umbrellas and a goodbye to the overture.
Chilis and a Cold Cola
· A late Beijing dinner that pretended to be Sichuan: dried chilis, a numb lip, and a cold cola from the glass-front fridge.
Passing Dynasty II: Head On
· The frontal frame: no glasses, no makeup, freckles under the peonies, and a face refusing to act.
Passing Dynasty I: The Bicycle
· Qing silk on a share bike, a hutong smeared into speed lines, and the century collapse Beijing does daily.
Borrowed Dynasty
· An hour in rented Ming silk at the Forbidden City, and what a costume teaches about posture and centuries.
The Square at Nine
· Tiananmen in haze: flags, the mausoleum queue, and a lamp post that grew cameras instead of leaves.
Breakfast in the Ballroom
· Alone under the chandeliers at seven, a slipped strap, and the parquet where the era practiced its steps.
The Facade at Night
· Sitting on the steps after closing time with the neon overhead, watching Chang'an go quiet.
The Hotel Where They Danced
· The Beijing Hotel by daylight: three buildings, one century, and a ballroom where the Chairman took his turns.
Checking In off Chang'an
· Four days of trains, one extravagant decision, and a reception desk long enough to land aircraft on.
The West Window
· Ask for a west room, high up: the bed, the last of the trains in my bones, and the Forbidden City below the sill.