day 34: 平定 (pingding) – 阳泉 (yangquan) = 15,7km

I think the administration can sometimes look pretty intimidating:

…even kafkaesque in a way.

I was a bit grumpy in the morning, because AGAIN I had had a cold night’s sleep, so at the first chance I got I vented on some little kids:

Three boys, all about 10 years old, standing on a street corner. I walk up, they notice me.

boy1: “看那边!” (“Look there!”)

boy2 : “老外!” (“A foreigner!”)

boy3 : “我肏!” (“Fuck!”)

me: “诶，你肏什么呀你！谁让你说脏话啊？” (“Hey you, what you think you’re doing? Who told you to use foul language?”)

boy1 and boy2 (pointing at boy3): “是他！他说了!” (“It was him! He said it!”)

boy3: blushes and runs away.

Chris wins.

Fatality.

Later I somehow got into a better mood. I even found a Chairman Mao (毛主席) – the first one on this trip:

I like the way he tends to appear totally at random, sometimes overwhelming as a statue on a public square, sometimes just as a tiny button or something.

Mao can be anything; icon or accessory.

Often when I’m sorting out pictures at night, there’s this series on TV, it shows the young Mao puffing on cigarettes while constantly looking wise, and of course outsmarting everyone else. At the end of each episode there’s a song where they sing: “想念毛泽东” (“I miss Mao Zedong“). I always wonder why they don’t use the expression Chairman Mao (毛主席) in that song. Maybe it’s more personal this way…

Anyways, today’s walk was easy as pie. I kind of just migrated within the city limits of two towns. And in between, I shot some artsy-fartsy pictures of a toll station:

…then I was already in 阳泉 (yangquan):

Good weather made the place appear pretty nice. I kind of stalked all over town, from hotel to hotel, trying to find the place with the ultimate heating at the ultimate super-bargain price.

Somewhere between hotel no. 6 and hotel no. 8, I captured this scene:

This could have been one of my all-time favorites if the guy with the hood was just a big larger in the frame. Well, no way of planning for a picture like this. Next time!

Oh, and did you know that Santa Claus is coming to town here in 阳泉?

Good old Santa. What did he come here for?

Icon or accessory; like Chairman Mao in a way…

Soundtrack: Warrior King – “Judah”

—total: 503,4km