During our travels along the Silk Road, due to camping restrictions in China, we usually stayed in local hotels, not the expensive ones for tourists and party officials. The construction was of a very low standard, cost being the overriding consideration, or perhaps as some villagers have suggested, corruption. Notice the wall in this photo: to the right of the television running from the bottom of the window to the floor, and below, is a crack more than one inch wide. It would not have taken much of an earthquake to take the building down, and us with it.
We feel very personally for the Chinese, who were, and are, our friends.
Posts
