Today, my teammate Lisa and I decided to explore the surrounding villages and farms. One of the best things about living in Qufu is that I can hop on my bike, go out the north gate, and be in the countryside in less than five minutes.
We had no set agenda this morning and took whichever path struck our fancy at the moment. After a few hours, we came to a large road and asked some pedestrians the way back to our campus. Turns out we were in Yanzhou, a different city altogether. So we lunched in Yanzhou and biked the hour back to Qufu.
I love everything about this picture: The guys working, the little square building, the smoke in the background, the bright green crops, and especially the mannequin.
A building by the road, seemingly abandoned
Inside the building. On the right is a kang, a traditional type of bed. You keep coals (or fire?) under the bed and it stays warm in the winter.
Lisa making friends in the field
We happened upon a village market. Here's the fabric...
...and the farm tools.
Curious kids
These girls were so cute. See the fake curls clipped in the hair of the girl on the right? And Grandma kept trying to get the girl on the left to give a peace sign in the picture. I love her little sleeve covers.
Our hole-in-the-wall lunch in Yanzhou: greens, eggplant, steamed bread and tea. We needed the energy for the long ride home; we were so tired. What a great way to spend a Saturday.
How fun! Sounds like it was a great ride!
ReplyDelete(I also enjoyed the mannequin)
The pictures with you actually in them just loaded - I love that you're representing Alaska in and around Qufu :)
ReplyDeleteSleeve covers! I love it! :)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite photo is the countryside with the bikes in the distance. I didn't know the rural areas were that unpopulated. Looks like the people are pretty friendly, too.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like the people mostly live in the villages and work in the fields. There aren't very many places you can go and see no one at all, but there is some space between villages.
ReplyDelete(In that picture, the village is in the stand of trees behind the fields, and there are three women working in the same field. Not sure what crop it is.)