More about rubble....

Below is a photo I took on my first trip to China in 2001. Sticking with the "rubble" theme (see below), this open area in Xiamen, Fujian Province, is actually the drivers license test place. Buddy sitting on the little pink stool is the examiner and you can vaguely see the outline of the test track. I watched from a window across the street while people came to the site, did a few reversing manouvers, and then got some papers stamped. I just loved how informal it all was, and set amongst the lovely rubble.

Also in Xiamen was another of China's oddities. The city on the southeast coast is directly across from Taiwan, and in fact there are two islands not far offshore of the mainland that are controlled by Taiwan. A whole industry of "Taiwan watching" has grown up along the shore, with entrepreneurs setting up powerful telescopes and charging for viewing Taiwan. You can see the Taiwanese island of Quemoy in the background. Very strange...