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A local saying goes, "Pingtan, Pingtan, where nothing grows but stone." Well, that's not quite true. But it is true that the island is quite dry and sandy. The natural occurrence of granite on the island cannot be overlooked and gives the island a barren first impression. The locals use the stone to build houses and to separate their fields. The roofs of the houses are covered with tiles. As an additional protection, a stone is placed on each tile to prevent the roof from bei

Friday after work we headed southeast to Changbai , about four hours from Changchun. The Changbai Mountains, translated more or less as "always white", are in our province of Jilin and on the border with North Korea. The highest mountain, at 2750 m, is Baitou . An active volcano with a crater lake and a view of North Korea. So far, we have not been able to bring ourselves to go there, as there are only guided tours. That means driving there by car, parking, getting on the bu

We have been in Changchun for a year now. We have experienced a lot and a lot has happened. With you, with us. In the first year, we also had to say goodbye to our first friends from Changchun. They have finished their time here in Changchun. For us it is still two years. So we have already completed 1/3. Now it will be autumn. And when winter is over, it will be half-time. In the meantime, I've also arrived here somehow, after a really stupid start here for me. For those who

Current Corona situation in China In the meantime, Corona has arrived in China again. No one knows exactly how and why, but most suspect that it was reintroduced by travellers. Although everyone is actually put into quarantine first.... For most of the time, the numbers in China have been around 0-10 cases per day, in the WHOLE country! Now there are more (100 per day) and the alarm is clear again. Here in Changchun, you go shopping with a mask again and have to show your gre

Last week we received an invitation to a Chinese wedding. The date is 11.7.2021, which is a Sunday. Start of the party 10:58. Why such a strange time? It has something to do with Chinese ideas of luck. The number 8 means a lot of wealth. That means money. If you put it on its side, the number eight is the infinite sign. So infinite wealth. But I don't know if this numerology also says something about luck and love. It would be desirable for the couple to have both wealth and