Discreet strangers among manufactured landscapes

July 2008,

Haerbin bridge main access over Songhua river.

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Back to the South...

Night road, on the verge of wastelands.

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As the bus was eating up the hundreds of kilometers separating the boundary area from Haerbin, I couldn't think of anything but Her, having her test in the islands where the sun rises...

Some few minutes before it gets completely dark, the bus stoped along the highway, thus allowing most of the passenger bladders to ease themselves up. I jumped out of my seat to catch the last rays of daylights ripping up the sky in unbelievable red and yellow tones. I can smell the rain again. Water sure comes pouring down in town... What a relief : after the heat of the first week, I thought I would never make it. From time to time, the long vehicle is crossing small cities growing up along the road. The flashy neons lights from Bars and Restaurants are tearing up our reflects over the glasses of the windows. It's cold and I can't sleep.

Before he left us in Bei'an, I came to know a young fellow boy of Highschool studying Physics. He's the first English speaker I met since my plane landed in Heilongjiang a week ago. Traveling with him, his two elder sisters were only speaking Chinese and Russian. Despite their denial, he strongly believes he made the right choice to study english instead of Russian. "Russian is not the future : it's not important to know it except for those who want to stay all their life in Heihe. English is more important to get a job : I want to go study in Beijing". His two sisters were heading to Haerbin but not to join any college or university. respectively 21 and 19 years old, they already have to work in a restaurant as waitresses, in the touristic part of Haerbin : Daoliqu.

I woke up in the early morning, around 5 am.Apparently the bus had reached the Long distances journey bus terminal a couple of hours ago but everybody was still sleeping around me. I grasped my bags and shoes and started to look for an nicer hotel than the previous one. 2 hours and a half later, I finally settled in a Korean oversea Inn. The hotel is clean and comfy : it's held by Korean speaking Chinese people and the rooms fee are not too high... More importantly, it's located near the Central Railway station where most of the public buses are passing by.

July 2008,

In China, when someone invites you to eat some jiatozi (dumplings), you're not supposed to ask "when do I have to come to eat them ?" but "When do I have to come to roll them ?" for dumplings are such a luxuous dish you can't just consume them ; you have to share the effort consubstantial to their preparation. More importantly, rolling dumplings between friends is a key moment of social interchanges.

July 2008,

Xinhua librairy downtown Haerbin, fugitive smile of a teenager laughing after some funny reading...

July 2008,

Old Haerbin streets, Children traping the bypassers

July 2008,

Stranger bending over the bus window, waiting for the departure...

July 2008,

Backward of a Jiaozi restaurant.

Today and tomorrow are just for me. I wandered in the western part of the city and let myself get lost in the deadalus of alleyways and coloured markets of the old town. Tomorrow will be dedicated to cleaning up my clothes and to visit the Eastern part of Haerbin... I'm longing for this expedition since the only three bouddhist temples are located in this very part of the capital and I guess most of the industrial plants of the past were also built there.. My camera is burning up and soon, they will be blood !

July 2008,

Aboard the public bus line 14 to Sheng Sufeiya church.

July 2008,

Child playing in the water spread over the pavement.

July 2008,

Old Haerbin, "la saveur de la pasteque"

July 2008,

Luxuous spot in a ocean of poverty....

July 2008,

Kid playing with water

July 2008,

After the rain...

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In my pocket, there a train ticket for Daqing, in 2 days. The oil country... the darkest region of the Black Dragon Province. I'm dreaming of derricks and soil soaked with black gold....