D31: 大谷 → 石桥

July 6, 2022

The absolute weirdest thing happened this morning. With the understanding that I rather definitely was not registered the night in 2018 that I now know earned the guesthouse in Zhangmo a slap on the wrist, I still feel a certain degree of responsibility in making sure that things I do are done in a fashion that doesn't cause harm to undeserving others. So, even though last night's hotel owner seems to have copied down and photographed all my info, I still feel it would be appropriate for me to make a quick stop by the police station on my way out of town just to say "hi" and "bye".

Of course, the knowledge—per Maps—that the police station is on the route I must take out of town helps with this moral lack of a dilemma. I let the hotel lady know that I plan to do this and, other than saying "it's really not necessary of me", she seems fine with it; she even gives me relatively accurate directions on how to find the police station.

All the people should join hands with the police to create safe highways

With good roads, all sorts of industries can flourish

I wonder just how many photos I have of late 20th century bridges

So, imagine my surprise when I rock on up to the station to inform them that, after getting their location and phone number from Maps, I stayed in the local guesthouse, and, because Covid blah blah blah and a lack of a computer system blah blah blah, I just wanted to make sure that the way the hotel owner had taken my info was correctly everything they'd want, and the officer went "Jesus fuck, she's operating again? How many times do we have to tell her she needs to stop accepting guests until she gets a business license?"

He reassures me that no one is getting in trouble from my reporting that I stayed there but, even so, I'm super confused. Forget for a moment that she's listed publicly as an operational business cause Maps doesn't actually ask for things like licenses when collecting and sharing info. Surely, if she wasn't supposed to be open, if the police had previously had words with her about not being open, she wouldn't have been willing to give me directions to the police station?

During one of the day's ice cream stops, I kept watching seniors come up, show their ID cards to the shopkeeper, and get photographed.

When I finally asked what was going on, it turned out that they were confirming for social security that they are still alive and should therefore get their monthly payments.

Girls can also be the pillars upon which the motherland is constructed

When people practice family planning they are discussing the future of our world

I'm not taking crazy pills here, right?

The station came after a moderately large meal of "give me something delicious" at the first definitely open looking actual restaurant (which, if I recall correctly, was called something like Everyman Restaurant 大众饭店).

This sort of ordering usually turns out okay and, if it wasn't anything fantabulous (not a fan of sweet potato starch noodles), it was an actual meal after far too many meals skipped.

If it had been wheat noodles underneath this pile o' stuff, it would have been perfect. However, I'm heading south and an almost completely out of wheat territory

They came in during my meal to try to sell POS systems to the owner.

This kettle is why I didn't have oatmeal this morning

I have a handful of temples marked out as sites of interest for the day but, with the exception of the Very Big Temple that I didn't go to on account of not feeling like a mountainous dead end, they're all pretty well buttoned up tight. The big temple, of course, is a tourist attraction more than it is a religious venue, so it's open.

It's possible that, had I come by this way five years ago, these places wouldn't have been open then. There's definitely a regional tendency in some areas for non touristy temples of all shapes and sizes to be locked when they aren't in use. However, what with some of the early superspreader events in other countries being linked to religious gatherings¹ and modern China frequently having an uneasy relationship with religion², it's as good an excuse as any to post great big Closed signs.

A county level registered historical building and thoroughly closed temple

The only open temple or shrine I saw all day

Although I know this construction technique was still being used in places as late as 2012, it's an extremely rare shrine where any of the statuary is still wattle and daub(If you zoom in, you'll see the straw sticking out of a broken hand)

Of course, given that both of my non religious points of interest for the day (a stumbled across 1970s school building listed on the local register of historic places and a deliberately sought out early Xinhua Bookstore) are also locked up, this could just be one of those mistrustful areas where things aren't ever left open for anyone to just wander in and freely experience.

Having once again called the hotel in advance to warn them that a cyclist is coming, even if they weren't expecting me to be me, I short circuit the foreigner troubles by being expected. It helps though that they don't seem to be particularly caring about NATs or proper registration since I'm most likely once again out of the validity period.

As well as being marked "dangerous", it's registered as a historic building of interest so it will hopefully be kept from completely falling down

Photographed through a locked gate, this was the site of one of the first Xinhua News Agencies

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¹ South Korea had an "affects most the country" outbreak specifically associated with one megachurch

² From having personally witnessed the past twenty years, I can confidently say that there's currently an ongoing major resurgence in religion. But then you've got stuff like the various Very Weird Christian splinter sects³, the Falun fucking Gong, and the radicalization of Islam⁴.

There's a very good reason this shoulder has painted the words "no using the road for drying crops"

³ Whose ability to exist and grow totally isn't at all the fault of a flourishing culture of underground house churches caused by poor treatment towards people willing to be officially recognized as Christian.

⁴ Which also, obviously, isn't at all caused by the way devout believers are mistreated.

I kind of want to do an art book just of my electricity posters

I particularly like the compare and contrast of pieces that had the same source material

Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 1,848 km (1,148 miles)

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