facelifting kashgar
Chinese officials are demolishing Kashgar’s Old City to prevent calamity in case of earthquake in this tremor-prone region of Xinjiang. To give some perspective on this project, many of the 13,000 families who live in the city belong to the Uighur ethnic minority, a people who–like the Tibetans to the South–have in the past been targets of clampdowns by the … Read More
chinese food, rejuvenated
Really great article in the New Yorker about a restaurateur’s quest to re-invigorate Chinese cuisine in Hangzhou, while using all-natural ingredients. “Sourcing our ingredients was a nightmare at first,” Zhou said. The buyers spent months driving out to remote villages, meeting farmers, and trying to set up a network of suppliers. They commissioned peasants to rear free-range chickens and ducks, … Read More
tibetan street vendors
…distinguished by the distinctive saffron cloth used to display their wares. (shots taken on a lazy afternoon by west 3rd ring, beijing)
chinese anti-pollution laws
I forgot to mention that a paper of mine got published recently in the Law, Environment and Development Journal. You can find it in Volume 4/1 (2008).
chinese tour group: hangzhou
plastic ‘clappers’ were provided for our convenience. [VIDEO]… Read More
yunnanese food
红烧 naxi fish. naxi smoked ham (火腿). fried naxi cheese. naxi baba. lijiang white snow tea (白雪茶). lijiang ricecakes. tibetan sweet tea. tibetan tendlik. fresh Pu’er tea. across-the-bridge noodles (过桥米线). spicy dou-hua.
shut out yet unable to leave
looks like I’ll have to come back to 丽江. I got a bus yesterday morning out to Tiger Leaping Gorge, only to discover police at the entrance, barring anyone from entering. a huge landslide occurred in the past few days, killing a local–a young man who had just gotten married last year. word from an australian couple leaving the gorge … Read More
letters from lijiang
yesterday was spent wandering the alleys of old lijiang, examining the calligraphy and brush paintings outside of people’s homes, with their mix of local pictograms and chinese characters. coming here I’m elated not only about being able to speak to people, but also about being able to read signs–at least enough to get around. traveling is so much easier without … Read More