Hangzhou

And now, after a flight back east, we’re in Hangzhou, a popular Chinese tourist destination. It’s a lovely town, known for its silk and tea. And tomorrow evening, we head back to Shanghai.

I have a correction for the last post: we did not actually stay in Longsheng. We stayed in Ping ’An village, which is in Longsheng county. In Ping ’An, the population is primarily Zhuang, one of the ethnic minorities in China. There are also some Yao people there. Yao women cut their hair only once in their lives: when they’re 18. And for 5 or 10 yuan, they’ll unwrap it and comb it for you. Ping ’An is not without its touristy influence.

From there we went to Zhaoxing, a Dong village. The population of Zhaoxing is about 4000. Like Ping ’An, Zhaoxing is surrounded by rice terraces. One of the main hazards for a casual tourist is being stepped on by the livestock passing by on the street. But I was generally pretty successful sidestepping them after being mooed at.