Blog posting #7. Saturday, Jan. 6th
I woke up to frigid howling winds, clear skies and a temperature drop to 16 degrees Fahrenheit. With no prospects for making photographs, I slept-in.

Early morning snow

Later in the hotel restaurant, alone, I was greeted by some Chinese photographers I had met up on the summit. It was very strange to be in a country where no one knows you, and you can’t speak more than two words to anyone. Then to hear your name called out. Ree-chard, come-come! So I shared breakfast with three men gesturing wildly. I had planned to listen to my audio book and eat alone. This was going to be much more fun! We were apparently talking quite loudly and laughing while having breakfast. Suddenly I remembered that I had loaded a good number of my Atmosphere images onto my iPod. For the next 20 minutes these guys were looking at the my photograph, passing around this little iPod. We loudly discussed the locations of my images. Others started to gather around. It was a real scene. It was then I realized that I really like this international traveling. It was so much fun interacting with the people. And I learned that if you want to make really good photographs, then go to really interesting places and get lucky with the light!

One of the many people that I met in Huangshan

Afterwards we gathered outside and they made group photographs. I learned that some Chinese men bear hug! Before the trip I was worried about getting sick, what to do if there was no fog, what to not bring. But I could see that it has all fallen into place. During these magical days of fog, I have shot most all my film. I have made every type of image imaginable, and had reached the point of sheer exhaustion. This morning, with the weather clear and the forecast of no fog for weeks, the end of the trip is near. Later Leping and I decided that with no more fog forecast, it was time to head back to Beijing.

The tram-ride down the mountain

Sunday, Jan. 7th
We left Beihai at 8:30 in the morning, and walked for 20 minutes to the tram station. We had many people help carry our enormous bags of cameras, lenses and gear. Leping was worried that the winds were going to pick up. Yesterday the winds were so strong that for public safety they had to shut down the tram. If this were to happen, we would be stranded because we have checked out of our rooms and the hotels are booked solid.

Mr. Guan, Steve Dai, Richard Lohmann and Leping Zha

Once at the station we were allowed to wait in the VIP area, then position our bags, gear and bodies in the tram before the public was let in. Accordingly I had a great place in the tram to view the breathtaking descent. It is one of several cable-driven trams built is several locations on the mountain, which is elevation 1860 meters or 6,102 feet. I don’t know the actual elevation that the tram covers, but it was quite a ride!

Leping had arranged for a driver to pick us up at the bottom of the tram station, and we were able to load Leping, Steve, myself and two drivers into a new car. When driving fast (as Chinese drivers really do) a car with good suspension, tires and brakes is essential. We were headed to Hangzhou (pronounced: huanjo) some 3 hours away, as it offered an airport with a direct flight to Beijing.

The drivers were excellent. At first I wasn’t sure because I smelled alcohol on the drivers breath. My first experience in a Chinese cab was the initial taxi ride that took us from the Beijing airport to our hotel. He also smelled of alcohol. He used his horn to such absurd excess, honking at every vehicle he approached passed or simply sped by. I wondered that was his point? With such a cacophony of horns, it seems that no one pays attention to honking.

The second taxi ride took us through the countryside to Tunxi at night. This driver not only honked at every car, motorcycle and bicycle—but also constantly flashed his bright lights on and off, blinding anyone within 100 yards of his speeding taxi. I could never tell why he did this, except that there were people, bicycles and scooters on rthe oad. The country roads are not lighted and people were walking in the strangest places. After some time-- I discovered that there is no speed limit on the roads. Freeways do have limits, but are not strictly followed.

The drivers do not follow lane designations. They are constantly darting and shifting from lane to lane. Often the driver straddles two lanes—unable to commit to one. This provides more darting options. Passing is done under any conditions. Passing on blind curves doesn’t seem to be a problem. If a vehicle appears, they simple get out of the way–– three across the road. Pedestrians in cross walks often get stranded as cars continue driving, stopping only if it appears that they might hit a pedestrian or bicycle.

Today Leping and I crossed a street in Beijing. At one point we were stuck in the middle of the street between two busses going opposite directions. He told me “not to worry because I really look like a foreigner. If anyone were to hit you, they would get in really big trouble”.

On our long drive to Hungzhou, our first stop was Tunxi for shopping and lunch. We had a great time in the little alleys looking at all the shops. I went snapshot crazy, as this area was so interesting. It was like going back in time.

An alley in Tunxi

Chinese herbal pharmacy

A Young Mao

We continued our journey arriving safely at the Hungzhou airport, flying to Beijing and getting to the Tianlun Dynasty Hotel.