Three things: first impressions from my first days in China; Muslims in Kunming; and my Christmas Eve church service.

1.) First impressions:

• Prices have gone up since I was last here three years ago, part of it due to the stronger yuan (about 7.7 to the dollar) and part because of the breakneck speed of growth.

• The disparity between rich and poor in Kunming is astounding. While a truly modern city with notably cleaner air than most Chinese cities with a vibrant commercial center and consumers sporting the latest fashions, there are beggars on every street corner, many using children as props/assistants. This picture says it all:

• Even though the air is clean, the habits of the urban denizens are typical of much of China: children urinate and defecate in the gutter, men spit at random, and bird flu warnings be damned, duck and chicken carcasses are hung in less than sanitary locations. While Vietnam had a nationwide ban on the serving of chicken, duck, and goose, China has no such restriction.

• English is widely spoken. My spoken Chinese is rudimentary and my reading and writing is advanced intermediate, but save a few conversations via notepad in bars and buses, I’ve been able to use English without much of a problem.

2.) Regarding the kitschy mosques mentioned yesterday, the half dozen mosques in the city center have been torn down over the past few decades and rebuilt using concrete, brick and plaster. The result is that it’s hard to differentiate the buildings with department stores.

Even so, there is a visible Uyghur and Hui community (China’s two Muslim ethnic groups) and I introduced my traveling partner to fantastic Uyghur cuisine, including mutton kebabs, spiced potatoes, and the dense nut and fruit cake sold by the kilo. Ahh, spicy kebabs for just $0.10 a stick! Makes me miss Turpan.

3.) We tried to attend a 7:30 Christmas Eve service but the place was packed. There were throngs of people outside trying to get in, about a dozen police officers keeping order (at the church’s request or not I cannot say). Ushers at the gate probably only admitted one in four people on what criteria I have no idea; I walked up, said “Merry Christmas,” and they smiled and let me through. Even then, it took me several minutes to push through the crowds just to get to the church door to see that the aisles were packed with standing paritioners.

We gave up and I returned on my own for the 10:30pm service to find essentially the same situation. This time I managed to make my way into the back of the church and stayed for about 45 minutes before heading home. It was more like a festival than a service. I believe the church was Catholic, but I cannot confirm that.

That’s all for now; off to Dali tomorrow.

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