You know how the Hmongs moved to town and all of a sudden made average hard-working Minnesotans feel like layabouts? Freeway interchanges came under the plow. Tomato plants filled the ditches. Cucumbers vines crept out onto the byways.
China is like that... on steroids. As we cruise along from Nanjing to Tongling every bit of land is under cultivation. Vegetable gardens abound. There are little bits of ponds... and I mean little bits and there are guys standing around fishing them. That's not to mention the freeways, train tracks and buildings buildings buildings going up, out and on.
There are solar power units on many of the buildings in the countryside here too. I don't think that anyone would venture to call China green; too many coal-fired power plants for that. And the pollution from automobiles in Shanghai is EPIC. But it's reassuring to see those rooftop units everywhere we go.
We can tell that we're getting deeper into Anhui now as guys with crazy chicken coops and bamboo cages are starting to get on the train. It's country time! [Cue banjo music...]
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