dim sum i

Dim sum are a marvelous invention.  Bits of food designed to tantalize.

In that spirit, let me offer up a few bits of visual dim sum.  (I plan on doing a few of these during this series between tour courses to cleanse the palate.) 

China is filled with vendors.  But this is one of my favorites: a roasted chestnut seller.  You can almost hear Mel Tormé in the background.  This seller is braising her wares on the sidewalk in front of the Summer Palace.  I planned on buying some, but never got around to it.

While walking around the lake at the Summer Palace, we saw some dark figures on the other shore.  It looked as if the were walking on the surface of the lake.  They were.  On the ice.  The weather had been cold enough to bring a bit of Minnesota to the Orient.  Or to bring Siberia south.

The Chinese authorities are always on alert to educate its citizens and visitors.  Including this helpful hint.  Above a urinal.

China’s streets are filed with cars.  But there are still plenty of utilitarian utility vehicles.  Including this motorcycle.  With an aluminum enclosure.  Maybe this is where the Volt was born.

 

And, of course, there is always a McDonald’s nearby.  I was going to say they are as universal as Coca-Cola signs.  But, in China, there are far more KFC shops than McDonald’s.