Monthly Archives: May 2013
Chinese Bestiary
My personal take on the Qilin, a chimerical creature that, despite it’s Chinese origin, westerners often only know as the mascot of a famous Japanese beer brand.
Ayi* on Wheels
A memory from the last trip to Yunnan, where women of age, besides wearing the compulsory white gloves, over-sleeves and those iridescent sun-masks that make them look like astronauts, gear up their electric bikes with these spectacular umbrellas.
*Ayi: literally “auntie”, it is also the general term used to address ladies that seem past their young age.
Haunted Hutong
Yunnan Tiger Tiles
Apparently, in some places in Yunnan province they decorate their rooftops with these creepy clay cats/tigers that eat evil spirits and look slightly burtonesque.
This one was spotted in captivity at the Yunnan Provincial Museum in Kunming,but it was an imposing specimen anyway.