China
Ling canal and Xing'an
In 219 BC, work started on a very ambitious project. The Qin Emperor, who was very fond of attacking things, decided that the thing he wanted to attack next was what is now know as Guangxi Province. Given the mountains, this was going to be tricky, and so he decided to make a wee canal connecting the Xiang River and the Li River to transport his troops. Five years later, one of the three great engineering feats of ancient China, the Ling canal, was complete -- and the original inhabitants of Guangxi headed to the hills, where they would eventually build some very cool terraced rice fields.
Some 2000 years after all that, Bonnie and I decided to head to the town of Xing'an in search of the canal. The day featured a long bus ride, being herded into a tuk tuk by people we assumed wanted to bring us to where we were going, being deserted on the shore of an old canal -- seemingly in the middle of nowhere -- after having received detailed instructions in Mandarin, some boat rides, lots of friendly folks pointing the way, a park, never quite knowing where we were headed, an interesting little town, some shiny new 'historical' buildings, a cute restaurant restaurant where foreigners were a bit of a novelty, and a nice meal.
Tuk tuk to heaven knows where
Ling canal pop quiz: how the heck do you say "Can you bring me to the other side," in Mandarin?
Life along the Ling canal, 2019 years after the digging stopped
A small eatery along the canal
Building decoration that caught our eye
Local bean dish, complete with tea and a bucket of rice
