I want to tour the country, but my partner won't budge.
Gulangyu Island, Xiamen, CHINA

      I have to admit I had a bad attitude about China for various reasons before I went there recently. I had been there two times before but it was long ago and only on short trips to Guangzhou in the south. Let's face it: the Chinese people make a poor first impression, and before this trip when I would think of China I thought of people coughing in my face, hacking phlegm, conversing to each other at 100 decibels and smacking their gums when they eat, which is a little thing that drives me up the wall.
      But call me a convert. China is amazing. Everyday I would see something I have never seen before--and I have been around the block, you could say. Usually it was something wacky, like a female butcher in her grimy apron dribbling a basketball between her legs, two elderly women playing hacky-sack or this old guy doing figure 8's on roller skates. I also witnessed an unabashed old man emptying his colostomy bag on Tiananmen Square next to Mao's mausoleum. If only I had my camera ready...
      Since making these webpages takes me forever because I code them by hand (I know, I know), I am simply going to put up a bunch of photos with commentary. Besides, I didn't really go to any out-of-the-way places, just up the east coast from Hong Kong to Beijing and that included two domestic flights (I know, I know--but it was cheaper than the train!)
      I've lumped them into two groups just for the sake of not having one long page that takes forever to load if you are on dial-up like I was when I made this (I know, I KNOW!!!) With these photos it is unlikely that you will suddenly become enthusiastic like I am about China, mostly because I like taking pictures of dirt and people and food and signs, so it's perfectly understandable.
      If I could only just get them to stop coughing in my face...
Photos page 1
This couple wasn't kissing. I still don't know what they were doing.
Photos page 2
If you put pictures of girls on tractors on your currency, I am visiting your country.


          Follow the foot back to kentfoster.com