Pudong's Children

One of my favourite things while biking through the countryside is stopping in the villages and chatting with the kids. Most of them moved here with their families from either Henan or Anhui province, to seek a better life.

Shacks & Kids

Biked a slow 18 km on Saturday. It took nearly two hours; I had a cold and stopped several times to talk to the Anhui people and a few kids. The old shacks were now mostly taken down; one of men (left in pic) I used to talk to happened to be there to drop of a propane tank. He quit his labour job (earned less than RMB 1000 per month, or $130) and now delivers these tanks to earn a bit more. He shared that most of the old neighbours have moved into better housing, but his rent is now RMB 500 per month, while the old shacks were practically nothing.

Routine Route

Biked my usual route in Pudong (when I bike alone); first the stretch along the highway, then through a small village along the canal (put some air in my tire and spoke to the old men on the bench - they know me now), then through the wet dirt road with potholes to see if my friends from Anhui are still there (See my previous Dec post). Most of the homes and shacks had already been taken down and many had moved away already. Some of the men on the road still recognized me and, as usual, ask me whether I am not cold in my shorts. Before long they will all be gone, but hopefully (and most likely) to slightly better conditions. The garbage sorters were still there too; the place has piles of shoes, plastic bags, tires, etc. Two boys followed me in the village for a while, see the picture below of my new friends.