Out on the streets of Shenyang

We went to Dalian this weekend. It rained the whole time, so we didn't get to go out and enjoy the beach, boardwalk, nature, trees, and mountains like we'd hoped. But it was still beautiful. I didn't take any pictures, but it was beautiful. It's a clean seaside city with tree-covered mountains encircling it. I hope to go back sometime before we leave-- hopefully when there are clear skies.

When we returned to Shenyang, I was reminded again what a hole it is. Don't get me wrong-- I love it here. I've made good friends. I've found some good places to eat, shop, walk, and hang out. It's home. But it's not pretty. It's dirty, inconvenient, polluted, noisy, and all torn up. Let me show you what I mean.

We live on one of the city's walking shopping streets-- basically like a plaza. But when we got here they had just started a major construction project of extending the underground shopping mall. This means that the entire street for 2 blocks in three directions was a 30-foot-deep construction pit. Eventually they covered it so you could walk there, but it's still a big construction mess.

Like this:

This series of pits was just in front of McDonald's and neighboring  shops.
The dust and dirt is just normal for here.

 Or this:

Good thing there are traffic cones-- sometimes.

And this one just REALLY gets me. There are practically no trees in Shenyang. From my window, if you squint, you can kind of see a tree about a mile away. And it's growing out of the top of a rundown building. 

Here there was a row of trees, planted within the last year or two. They didn't give much shade yet, since they were so new. Then this spring, the city came by and dug them all up. They left big pits and bags of dirt, presumably to plant more trees, but still. Why? What are they thinking? Do they get communist brownie points for planting trees, even if they dig up existing trees to make room for them? Why does Shenyang hate everything green and alive? Why can't they just water the stupid existing trees and take care of them? Is that such a novel concept????

Ahem.

Tree-lined streets. It could have been....

 So I do like it here because it's starting to feel like home, but I don't always get it, and I certainly don't always like it. Today, though, it rained pretty good all day, and this evening the air was fresh and clear. Best it's ever been. I like the spring here!

 And just for randomness's sake, here is a want ad for a nearby hotel. They have some job openings. But when you have an applicant pool of 1.3 billion people, you have to be rather selective.

Front desk attendant: open to men or women 30 years old or younger.  Men must be 1.72 meters or taller  (5'8"), and women 1.62 meters or taller (5'4"). Good figure and fine manners. (No ugly short people!)

Sales director: must have 3+ years of star-rated hotel sales experience, must have definite customer resources (bring your contacts with you!), strong go-getter attitude.

Anyway... I just thought they were kind of fun.