Follow me to a trip to China

[lightm]

June 16th, I took pictures of Shaoxing while I visited my cousin.

When I talked to other Chinese of my age, who are from other parts of China, I realized that I am from a privileged region. My town is relatively rich and I never had to worry about being hungry.

Shaoxing itself is a lovely touristy ish town. It likes to call itself "the Venice of the East". It doesn't sound too appropriate to me.

There are many canals through the city. There used to be much more but got filled up for building. Boat used to be the main mean of transportation.

I'd love to have tea here

Kitty

this is one of my favorite bridges. Its old and functional.

recycling

A Jesuit church?

More pictures

 

[RoyalChick]

June 16th, I took pictures of Shaoxing while I visited my cousin.

When I talked to other Chinese of my age, who are from other parts of China, I realized that I am from a privileged region. My town is relatively rich and I never had to worry about being hungry.

Shaoxing itself is a lovely touristy ish town. It likes to call itself "the Venice of the East". It doesn't sound too appropriate to me.

There are many canals through the city. There used to be much more but got filled up for building. Boat used to be the main mean of transportation.
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I'd love to have tea here
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Kitty
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this is one of my favorite bridges. Its old and functional.
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recycling
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A Jesuit church?
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More pictures
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What a wonderful place. Thank you for sharing!

 

[Perris]

Fabulous! So interesting to see that access for wheeled vehicles was built into the old bridge when it was built - not just in the integral ramps, but also in the relatively gentle gradient.

Is flooding ever an issue with all those waterways?

 

[TwoCrows]

June 16th, I took pictures of Shaoxing while I visited my cousin.

When I talked to other Chinese of my age, who are from other parts of China, I realized that I am from a privileged region. My town is relatively rich and I never had to worry about being hungry.

Shaoxing itself is a lovely touristy ish town. It likes to call itself "the Venice of the East". It doesn't sound too appropriate to me.

There are many canals through the city. There used to be much more but got filled up for building. Boat used to be the main mean of transportation.
View attachment 3543804View attachment 3543805

I'd love to have tea here
View attachment 3543811

Kitty
View attachment 3543812

View attachment 3543806View attachment 3543808View attachment 3543810View attachment 3543814

this is one of my favorite bridges. Its old and functional.
View attachment 3543815
View attachment 3543809
View attachment 3543807
View attachment 3543813

recycling
View attachment 3543816

A Jesuit church?
View attachment 3543803View attachment 3543802

More pictures
View attachment 3543817View attachment 3543818View attachment 3543819View attachment 3543820

Beautiful photos! In all your photos, everything is so clean! Thanks for sharing. ❤

 

[lightm]

Fabulous! So interesting to see that access for wheeled vehicles was built into the old bridge when it was built - not just in the integral ramps, but also in the relatively gentle gradient.

Is flooding ever an issue with all those waterways?

I imagine there was ramp for carriages when it was built, but the current ramp could very well be a later add on, as late as the recent 50 years.

Flooding is a good question. It never even occurred to me. I am going to say no because I don't recall any. Perhaps there is a good way to direct the flow.

 

[lightm]

Shaoxing is considered a 3rd tier city. Beijing, Shanghai and a couple other influential cities are 1st tier. Hangzhou, the capital city of my province, would be considered a 2nd tier.

My Shanghai relatives always think I'm from a small town. However, the core (urban) part of this town has 100 million population, and the general Shaoxing area has over 500 million people.

I think it's a lovely town with rich culture.

I like this public bike system. It doesn't require a phone.

Late afternoon street market. Definitely local and seasonal produce.

I was in the mall for a little while.

Taking a walk around the neighborhood

 

[Perris]

I like this public bike system. It doesn't require a phone.

how does it work?

 

[lightm]

how does it work?

You gave to get a card (looks like a metro card). In the picture, you can see each bike is tied to a pole. You scan the card at the top of the pole to rent and return the bicycle.

The bike stations are very densely located in the city so it's very convenient for me. It's free if check out time is within 30 minutes which is always the case for me. After that it's very cheap too.

It has been around for almost 10 years and it does require maintenance from the city.

 

[Shadrach]

You gave to get a card (looks like a metro card). In the picture, you can see each bike is tied to a pole. You scan the card at the top of the pole to rent and return the bicycle.

The bike stations are very densely located in the city so it's very convenient for me. It's free if check out time is within 30 minutes which is always the case for me. After that it's very cheap too.

It has been around for almost 10 years and it does require maintenance from the city.

A similar scheme was trialed here in Bristol by a charitable organization called the Big Issue. The Big Issue publishes a newspaper which homeless people can sell.
The bikes were electric. Simple sit up and beg style much like you show in your picture. The bikes got stolen and vandalized mostly for the battery packs which got used to tune up illegal scooters and other bikes. I saw a number of these bikes in various stages of destruction on my travels accross the city.
It looks like the Chinese have more respect for such schemes from you pictures and description.

 

[lightm]

A similar scheme was trialed here in Bristol by a charitable organization called the Big Issue. The Big Issue publishes a newspaper which homeless people can sell.
The bikes were electric. Simple sit up and beg style much like you show in your picture. The bikes got stolen and vandalized mostly for the battery packs which got used to tune up illegal scooters and other bikes. I saw a number of these bikes in various stages of destruction on my travels accross the city.
It looks like the Chinese have more respect for such schemes from you pictures and description.

That's unfortunate. The public bikes i ride is not electric. Old fashioned man powered bikes. It's not worth much which helps.