foundation day at the "kindergarten" 50 years since the kinda' was founded - imagine in what circumstances the children of 50 years ago here in Huaihua were in - a few years after "liberation" - living in a society that was about to begin eliminating all traces of its past and stepping into a future that saw mass executions and starvation - no make-up - no - colorful costumes - no dancing - no music - 50 years ago!
photo. mhobbs

wall - Huaihua - littered along the streets of Huaihua - pasted on the walls of the city are old often torn "bill posters" advertising everything from cures for sagging libidos to "political" film nights
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cecilia - so beautiful - 7 months pregnant
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orange truck - the road is awash with "mud' - the trucks - buses - motor bikes and taxis - speed as usual.
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two beautiful kids in "beautiful" downtown Huaihua - an overpass - above the main shopping area of Huaihua.
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cooking - Huaihua - Chou-Fan - "fried rice" In the orange buckets are rice noodles - home made - identical to the kind that would be found anywhere in the world, except for one thing - these are fresh - handmade.
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motorbike
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students walking
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teaching today - it rained.
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on the train - the beds - hard sleeper!
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on the train - Huaihua to Changsha
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went to Changsha (the capital of Hunan Province) the otherday for a medical "check-up" so I could get my "work-permit". I love travelling on trains in China - Its always an fascinating experience - As with most things - the journey is sometimes more interesting than the destination.
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mango man - Huaihua - walking down a cobbled lane in town this afternoon (Huaihua) - I noticed this guy counting his mango's - selling them for 1 Jiao each (1/10 of a yuan)
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having dinner in Huaihua - Across the road from the uni is a small "restaurant" - run by two sisters - this place is actually very clean and the sisters are really sweet to me and seem to enjoy my patronage. It is always a memorable experience - Ordering a meal can be either difficult or just plain frustrating - the food is always great - we either point at a meal that looks "good" or I try my best to order in Chinese.
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red umbrella - at the gate of the uni - stall holders set-up each evening - cold drinks - watermellon - pineapple - bbq - and a smile
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In a society that prides itself on "complete" modernization - it is a contradiction that even in big cities you still see people around the city carrying their "goods" to and from the market on the "poles" used by "peasants" of the last century. Some of China it seems will never be lost.
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star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight. This simple childrens rhyme is always the first thing that pops into my head - whenever i see a visual representation of "the communist state" (the irony is very strong for me.) such as this one in Huaihua, above an entry to a "revolutionary headquaters" probably built circa the 1949 revolution.
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Pineapple man - at the market - Carved pineapples are usually - soaked in a "jar" with sugared water for several hours to "remove" the bitter pineapple taste, behind him a "drum" for roasting sweet potatoes.
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blue truck - these trucks are solid steel - they drive like no one else is on the road - very fast - on all roads, they carry everything from piles of bricks to garbage - this one is on the road adjacent to the school
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caught a cab today - This isnt an unusual experience - its something that do often - from where i live (on campus) to downtown is about a 10 - 15 min cab ride - its often a bit of an adventure - i always carry a map with me 9the map is ofcourse in Mandain) - so i can point out exactly where - i want to go - The cab driver - looks at the map - and i look at his face, to make sure that he understands exactly where I want to go - (its always a guy) he then says either "ok" or "hudda" (Mandarin/Chinese for ok) then off we go......! Sometimes the driver may have a conversation with me - i actually dont understand alot of what he is saying (Chinese) but - i can understand some of it.Usually they ask where I am from - if im a teacher and how old i am.....! Usual cab driver talk.
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waiting - "delivery guys" - they use a 3 wheel bike with a tray - in the back - they carry everything from People to Piano's - I've even seen a double bed perched on the back of one of these bikes.
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cabbage - on the street - at the gate of the school - this beautiful image "snapped" in early afternoon today - it rained again - the streets were virtually deserted because of the ceaseless rain today. The cabbage is served in the noodle "restaurant", that opens from early morning to late.
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it rained last night - Huaihua is a wet place in the summer. My students were wet as they entered the class this morning - the roof of the third floor room was leaking, puddles and constant drips making it impossible not to get wet whilst inside. Actually it was pretty funny - As I walked into the the room these umbrellas were laid-out on the floor by the lecturn.
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night - Fenghuang
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restaurant - Fenghuang
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door god - Fenghuang
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view from bridge - Fenghuang
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man with cane - Fenghuang
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man with blue jacket - Fenghuang
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man with hat - Fenghuang.
Fenghuang is a small "ancient villiage", Fenghuang - Chinese for phoenix - surrounded by mountains and girdled by the Tuojiang River - about 2 hours (92kms) by bus from Huaihua - i went on the weekend to take photos - a wonderful mysterious place. Dating from 686AD during the Tang dynasty.
Fenghuang is most famous for its Miao-style tilted houses. (Minority group) These are two-story wooden structures whose lower stories are supported by several heavy logs standing tilted on the ground, and whose large, wide upper stories lean over the river. The upper story is beautifully crafted, with up-turned eaves and carved windows, doors and railings. The lower story has no living rooms, but the tilted sections are ornately carved. There are now only one dozen Qing Dynasty and early Republican period tilted houses extant.
photo. mhobbs

"close-up" The otherday I went to catch a bus out of the city - actually I got on the wrong bus - by the time I realized - I thought - hey this is a good way to see the "city" so I stayed on - When I got off, I found that I was in a part of town that I had never seen before - I walked back to where I first alighted the bus - on my walk - I discovered that there were very few pople on the street - it was lunch hour (read 2 hours) and like most cities in China, Huaihua sleeps at lunch - there were some people on the street though they were playing Mahjong - A wonderfully simple game to play but complex game to master. photo. mhobbs

mahjong - A game of Chinese origin usually played by four persons with tiles resembling dominoes and bearing various designs, which are drawn and discarded until one player wins with a hand of four combinations of three tiles each and a pair of matching tiles. [Chinese (Mandarin) má jiàng : má, spotted + jiàng, main piece in Chinese chess.]
photo. mhobbs

watermelons At around 2pm this afternoon - i noticed this women sleeping "with her watermelons". Is she dreaming of more watermelons? An African vine (Citrullus lanatus) cultivated for its large edible fruit. The fruit of this plant, having a hard green rind and sweet watery pink or reddish flesh. photo. mhobbs

walking thru the school this morning - on my way to get breakfast - I noticed these two beautiful little girls playing in the rain puddles, after the storm of the night before - as they approached - i said "hello", the one on the right (in the red pants) was curious about me! I think she liked my shoes...
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after spending most of the afternoon in the city today "having a western lunch" - shopping for shoes. We saw this man. Wondering why he had bells hanging from his "scarf/hat" I approached him, he was resting by the edge of the road, he had been carrying a small load...not asking for anthing. I love his face.
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outside the hospital
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hospital
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A day that I will never forget! - went top the Hospital - for Cecilia to have a "check-up"..Wow..Ultra-scan - of our child - what an amazing experience this was - I really didnt expect the clarity in the image from the scan - I saw the babies head, its tiny arms and legs..HEARD THE BABIES HEARTBEAT everything perfect! - we specifically asked the doctor not to tell us the "sex" of the child - But we did find out one thing - the doctor told us that the baby is going to be tall - its upper leg is 57mm - (actually at first I thought it said 57cm) wow 57mm is really big and tall..Long legs!!! The staff at the hospital were very nice and considerate - Cecilia is in perfect health - so is our child! AMAZING.
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ive been trying to take this womans picture for several weeks - She sits outside the entrance to the market - selling fruit - everytime I have attempted to she either moves or is too shy to sit and look at the camera...But today the lighting was perfect, the background was clear - and she was in a receptive mood - I like this womans eyes - she has knowledge/wisdom and sorrow.
photo. mhobbs

water chestnuts - sitting at the edge of the market this man skinned the chestnuts with a cleaver.
The succulent corm of this plant, used in Asian cooking.
Also called Chinese water chestnut. A tropical Asian aquatic sedge (Eleocharis dulcis) having an edible corm and cylindrical leaves.
photo. mhobbs

this afternoon - after shopping at the market in the centre of "the city" we stopped at a small "cafe/restaurant" Cecilia had rice with pork and vegtables, i had fat rice fantastic noodles..
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again at the market in the centre of the city, I noticed this man - concentrating amongst his beans and chilli's - what is he reading? - a moment after I took this photo - he looked up and was suprised to see a "foreigner" he was proud to show me that he was reading a scrap of paper that was an old advertisement written in English.
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mounds of spice and pickled vegtables - Huaihua is a city full of spice and preserved/pickled vegtables - almost every variety - usually these are Chilli's and some sort of vegtables that have been preserved in a vinagar or brine solution.
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another view....
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Huaihua - Cecilia - My Fiancee...Wow!
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yesterday (saturday) Cecilia and I went to this "hairdressers" wow - what a transformation....cut alittle shorter with some highlights - To have your hair cut in China is a wonderful experience - wash - rinse - cut - massage - dry - wash again - massage again - then Presto! Your done!!
photo. mhobbs