Images of Bengbu - 1

In addition to our charity work, I had a chance to enjoy the wonder and beauty of China.  I enjoy all the little things that I find that are different from what I see in my neighborhood, along with many of the things that, while looking different at first glance, are really quite the same as in my neighborhood.

Check out this group of folks playing a game of cards.  While we don't do this on the corner in my neighborhood, it seemed so nice and peaceful, with smiles and chattering of community and neighbors together.

 At the end of the street, there were vendors selling snacks in the chilly afternoon.  The temperature was around 5C, or about 40F, which is not too chilly to me, but it is very cold to this tropical province that usually swelters in the heat of the long summer months.

 My daughter was given this heated drink by Ms. Wan.  It was a syrupy sweet drink with bits of fruit, sesame seeds, and oats.  Although she did not find it too tasty, I enjoyed the warmth, and the fact that I could not detect any artificial sweetening.  The sweetness came from the fruit extract.

 An old home along the market street.  It looked unoccupied, and is a vestige of the old neighborhood.  Buildings like these are being demolished and swept away to make way for modern high rises.  I think this will be a vanishing sight in Bengbu.

 As an engineer, this sight made me cringe.  I'm not sure, but I think these are communication lines, and not power lines, that are in a vicious snarl.  The sight is ironic.  Many know China only to be autocratic and rigid.  But as seen here, there is a lack of order for the phone system.  Although this wire tangle is not often seen in my neighborhood, I know that our system is far from perfect as well.

I was told that local city ordinances forbid people to own dogs over a certain size.  This doesn't seem to be the case for this shop owner and his husky (I saw the owner doting on his furry friend).  As with my neighborhood, there are several evidences where "regulations" and "matters of the heart" collide, and we all smile when we know which one tends to win out.