My skin is covered in a thin layer of pitch black coal dust as I reach the hotel by early afternoon. I’ve held my breath several times along the road for the toxic smoke in all shades of grey which billow out of the plentiful factory chimneys that line the road; an orange smoke felt like tiny pieces of glass in my throat.

Even in this industrial town where I stay the night, the air is never clean. Many kids’ faces and hands are smudged in the black coal dust. I think that if I’m annoyed by the pollution after half a day, then what must it be like to live with it 24/7? That a shower is only good for the next few hours – maybe for the day if one stays inside with doors and windows closed? This life is the worst I can imagine. I could bear a poor life in Africa, close to nature; being able to see the stars above each night as pitch darkness prevails; remember the grace and fortune of being a part of something so big.

But here, the pink, bare-strip neon lights from inside the prostitutes’ ‘studios’ – the curved black silhouette of one of the girls leaning in the doorway – and the odd fire thrown out of a factory chimney – is the only light around. A light which fades those stars – and with it that important feeling of something bigger than your sole, earthen life.

20 Yuan hotel.

Cycle along the Great Wall for a while. Then a stretch along the Yellow River (?), with the bright orange desert dunes right north of the road, and green lands and low mountain ranges just south. Absolutely beautiful! Can’t help but singing: ‘Ride to where the highway ends and the desert breaks.’

Some China observations
The busses which keep horning consistently in every village and town to lure more passengers.
Instant coffee, shaken with cold water in a PET bottle. The most brilliant moment of any given day!
How the minority peoples are pictured on the cent notes and Mao on all the dollar notes.
How in China two things are consistently not respected: silence and fresh air for breathing (which reminds me of some Chinese guys I once noticed at Addis Ababa airport, whom didn’t care about the ‘no smoking’ signs). The horning, loud cell phone chatting – and maybe worst of all the villagers whom proud of their new cell phone with polyphonic signals let its screamy song ring out in the restaurant for half a minute each time it calls, before finally taking the call. Just to let people know how cool his signal really is.
The infamous desertification – at one time the bright green corn fields and the arid desert dunes literally bordering each other. Thanks to its economic implications – some scientists have even implied that the desert might actually swallow Beijing one day – the government at least is not idle.
The wide smile of the Chinese – that they’re never afraid to smile or laugh – is sometimes liberating. >But sometimes offensive.
Equality: women on tractors, men in kitchens, both side by side in the fields at harvest time.
The name of the highway shoulder on Chinglish road signs: Emergency Parking; Emergency Cut-off Lane; Emergency Space.
The use of hooting not as a compliment of safe and cautious driving, but as an alternative there of.
If you wouldn’t mind seeing a full scale copy of Taj Mahal in Cairo, as long as the hotel is comfy and the food continental (or maybe Chinese) – then China is perfect for you. All attractions – be it historic, cultural or nature – have been made into a small Disney World.

20 Yuan hotel.

Long day. Lunch in Shahdan (industrial town). Sleep in an old lady’s house for 10 Yuan.

Great cycling weather – cloudy, but withtout any rain. A faint wind in the back. Perfect!
The tea here is so mild – it’s softer and sweeter than water. I must say I prefer our bitter brew back home, but I’ve met those who strongly favour this one also.

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Again a terribly hard wind in the face. I do 5 kilometers per hour to the industry town Yumen. The factories are enormous. Hotel 20 Yuan. The finest beds so far – clean, white sheets.

The city is full of prostitution – be it because of the industries with lone men and women. ”Hey baby”, shouted from across the street as I go looking for a restaurant in the evening.

Terrible front wind. Short day. 30 Yuan hotel. Clean and very very friendly.