Specimens in the middle of nowhere

We also stumbled on the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History (浙江自然博物馆) in Anji (安吉), expecting some tiny dusty museum in the middle of nowhere — the way rural things often are. (Anji is a county-level city that belongs to Huzhou (湖州) which is a Tier 3 city.)

But no, this museum is massive, with a taxidermy collection covering all kinds of animals — even dinosaur fossils. The website says 200,000 specimens. And the entrance is totally free (although all free slots were booked, so we bought a 30 RMB movie ticket to get in).

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A summer’s day in autumn

A summer’s day in autumn

Set an alarm to 05:00, take a taxi to the train station, get onto the train, switch in Hangzhou, and get off in Tonglu (桐庐), take another taxi — to arrive 4 hours and 330 kilometers away from home. For a hike. Maybe it’s crazy, but the alternative is to stay home. You’ll have plenty […]
October 12, 2025
Mary in Qibao

Mary in Qibao

We’re in Qibao (七宝古镇) — an old water town swallowed by the city of Shanghai, now turned into a tourist attraction. In the center stands a moon bridge, surrounded by heavily renovated buildings that now house shops selling fridge magnets or bites such as ⁠tangyuan, scallion pancakes, red bean cake, and parts of pork or […]
October 11, 2025
Empty shops

Empty shops

If you squint your eyes, you can still see a busy little street here. The shops on Wangxin Road (王新街店铺) near Gaoqiao (高桥) in Pudong, were built in the late Qing Dynasty but now face an uncertain future. They’re not labeled for demolition (the character 拆 isn’t shown), but there are many tags of landlords […]
October 11, 2025
Neighbourhood Temple

Neighbourhood Temple

On Xiaohongshu, I searched for village names in the area where we live on Xiaoshongshu and found an old decaying house from the Qing Dynasty that caught my eye — just seven kilometers away! The uploader mentioned that the building — named the Gulu Guandi Temple (顾路关帝庙) — was built in 1910, to be used […]
September 6, 2025