Huaihua - eastern campus - laying cable - student internet
access - The number of web users is reported to have reached
103m in China, (with the number expected to reach 120m by the end of 2005)
with an increasing number of people accessing the "net" the government
is "cracking-down" on its citizens with the largest firewall in the world
- "The Great Firewall of China" - The system blocks content by preventing
IP addresses from being routed through and consists of standard
firewall and proxy servers at the Internet gateways. In addition,
China seeks to extend central control through proactive strategies,
guiding the development of the medium to promote their
own interests and priorities. These blocks are easily circumvented
(the author's own site is "blocked" in mainland China) and are
generally ineffective at preventing news from "entering and exiting"
the country. - knowledge is power
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - small "back street" - early evening
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - east - new site for the local government office
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - small "back street" - young girl
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - Yingfeng East Road - a man "thumbs" his cell phone -
sending a text message - China has rapidly become the biggest
mobile phone market in the world. This has led to a massive
cultural change - In the not so distant past, speaking to a relative
in another part of China was no easy task it often entailed a bicycle
ride to the closest city and queuing for hours to use a public
telephone. You would then call your relative's company, where the
receptionist would use a megaphone to notify them. Anything
you said was also eagerly listening by the crowd within earshot on
both sides. Things have since changed. Today, when two Chinese
people meet, they are likely to exchange their mobile phone numbers
before they even introduce themselves. There are already more than
370 million mobile phones in China, and the number increases by five
million each month. China has rapidly become the biggest mobile
phone market in the world by far.
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - central market - "man at his stall"
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - Yingfeng East Road - Huaihua University art student
chats on his cell phone, this young man is different to other
students in Huaihua - he is an indivudual - he dresses the
way he chooses and, behaves the way he wants.
In a society that treasures conformity - this is not only very
unusual it could be dangerous
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - Yingfeng East Road - young boy waits for his mother outside
a shoe store, nibbling on a "stick" of sugar cane
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - University - eastern campus - 'soya milk cart" early morning
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - University - eastern campus - students going to class
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - University - eastern campus - the caretakers home
and the teachers apartments from the forth floor of the "new"
english building
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - Yingfeng East Road - mother
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - Yingfeng East Road - Mother and Son -
In China, 5% of the total population, namely 60,000,000 people are
physically disabled - Unless the Communist government of China
radically changes its policy toward Physical and Mental disability -
there will be more and more of people like this mother and son on
the streets of China's otherwise "developing" cities. In a country where
development continues to grow year by year at a constantly growing figure,
this type of neglect is totally unacceptable - China's human rights record
is constantly under scrutiny by the "western world" with many atrocities
committed by the state in the "name of the people" - This type of neglect
of the people by the state is often overlooked both by the Chinese
themselves and the outside world
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - Yingfeng East Road - on the bus - One Yuan for any distance
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - University - (eastern campus) - students leave the
"teaching building" and go to lunch - For both the students
and staff lunch is more than grabbing a quick sandwich -
it is over 2 hours of eating and resting - "Did you have a good rest.......?"
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - Yingfeng East Road - on the outskirts of the city -
early morning - "safety vested" road sweepers
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - "walking street" - a street devoted to
pedestrian traffic rather than the usual chaos of
cars, trucks etc - pear man's stall
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - "walking street" market - a stall owner holds his young
daughter on his lap - this actually may not seem so unusual - but in China it is
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - Yingfeng East Road - Young security guard
stands outside the Huai-Hua Hotel, Huaihua main street
photo. mhobbs

Huaihua - dinner - Knifed noodles, vegtables - pickled and fresh -
pork, peanuts, chili and a small bottle of beer
photo. mhobbs