a morning stroll in nanjing

I've been itching to go out and do some shooting, and since the weather was a bit foggy this morning, I thought it would be a good time to go out. It was about 75F with 80% humidity, so it wasn't the most comfortable weather to be in, but that's better than the 97F forecast we've got for later today.

I left the apartment around 6am and was surprised to find a lot of people out and about in certain places--restaurants and parks, to name a couple.

It's not uncommon to see people riding really old bikes around. I guess it doesn't really matter if the bike gets you from A to B, especially since Nanjing is relatively flat.



I pass by this every morning. It's the local halal butcher shop, with the meat hanging outside to make sure that it ages properly for flavor in the warm, pollution-free air of the Nanjing morning.



For reasons that I can't understand, there seems to be little social stigma as far as wearing one's pajamas outside of the house is concerned:



A typical street scene near my home:



Parks are always interesting here because the things people do in them here are quite a bit different than the US. One of my favorite things to watch is the old folks dressed up in traditional outfits, practicing tai ji quan or some other quasi-martial art (such as a "Karate Kid" re-enactment).



Personally, I don't think I'll ever have the courage to drive here, but if I did, I would definitely appreciate the fact that all the streetlights are timed, so you know exactly how long you'll have to wait before the light turns green.



More typical street scenery. The fog was pretty bad in the distance, so you could barely make out the silhouette of the Intercontinental Hotel, which is the tallest building in the city.



A surprisingly common sight:



I turned down a street I frequently pass on my way home from work this morning, and was surprised to find a nice, tree-lined lane just off to the side of a university that I didn't even know existed.



A "French" bakery.



The Chinese ability to squat for extended lengths of time is impressive. People here squat as if they were just sitting in a chair, lounging around. Here's another common sight: squatting in one's PJs:



I'm usually not very hungry in the morning, but since I had nothing better to do, I stopped by a bread shop near my apartment that I've always wanted to try, and picked up a large slice of cong you bing (onion oil cake). I got one fresh off the griddle, and it was quite tasty. I used to eat them a lot when I was a student here, so it was a nice throwback to the good ol' days, and a great way to end my morning stroll.