Disputed islands

 Recently, Japan and China have been feuding over who owns a few islands in the East China Sea. Japan recently bought them off a few private Japanese citizens who had plans to develop them, causing strained relations with China. After Japan bought them, they nationalized them and promised not to develop them to calm the waters so to speak with China. Well, China takes issues of sovereignty pretty seriously. They saw this act by Japan as an encroachment on islands China claims they have owned for hundreds of years. It's a bit confusing, but nonetheless, we have seen/experienced some interesting things here in our small city.

Red sign says: Pigs and dogs along with Japanese can not enter

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Red banner says: Open business Sale: 1. Say disputed islands are China's, 9 kuai discount. 2. Say Japan is also China's, 8 kuai discount. 3. Japanese people say the above 2 sentences, 5 kuai discount.

The Golden Arches

Look what just opened in town! Oh the bliss of a Big Mac and McFlurry! We now have a Pizza Hut, KFC, and McDonald's. What more could we ask for?  (Starbucks, Chipotle, Panera Bread...)

A+B

One of the great things about living in a beautiful, mountainous, high tourist city like Lijiang is that the flow of foreign visitors who are seeking an adventure never stops. For some, this might seem overwhelming, but for Laura and I, we warmly welcome the idea of being involved in people's lives as they experience China for the first time (or second, or third, or fifth...).

And this is no exception for our friends Austin and Brit. Last night, we dropped them off at the train station after a 3 month stay in LJ. We didn't know them prior to their arrival in LJ (we had mutual friends in San Diego), but after these 3 months, we felt like we've been best friends for years.

A+B are also married with no kids. We would often stay up late playing cards, watching movies, and eating out. It was so fun being spontaneous with them. But our time together wasn't just entertainment based; we visited the countryside many times to visit friends, celebrate torch festival, and help with a health clinic. Their service and friendship this Summer will be greatly missed!

At Blue Moon Valley below YuLongXueShan

Torch Festival, ladies dressed up in traditional Yi clothes

Brit holding a little Yi baby

Austin during our mushroom hunting time on XueShan