The Karst Mountains surround Tongren. The city is tucked
very neatly and tightly into one mountain valley. Geographically, the city is
very small. What you see in these photos is what you get.
The haze in these photos reflects the thick humidity that
settles over the city. The humidity can be so heavy that I often cannot see the mountains from the street, even though they may only one mile away. Also, it's not uncommon for clouds to cover the city, and those clouds claim the mountain peaks as their own in their cover. (It's often cloudy here in the Fall. I haven't seen the sun's full rays in at least two weeks. The pictures were captured on a rare sunny day where I could see all the mountains in every direction.)
Some have asked if this haze is really air pollution.
No. Air pollution is not a big issue here. Yes, it does exist but is equivalent
with what you expect in any city with cars, buses, people, etc. This area is
fairly rural. The oppressive air pollution we hear about in Western media does
exist in the larger Chinese cities, such as Beijing. The massive industrial areas in
Southern China, where all of these Made-in-China factories are located, are
also a different story.
What we hear about growth in China is indeed true and is
apparent even in my small city. In the second photo, center right, the row of
tall buildings with the greenish strips are all under construction, as is the
building smack dab in the lower center that looks like it's entirely wrapped in
gauze. One day I counted eight construction cranes slowly adding stories to
their growing buildings.
Construction is somewhat limited in Tongren. Nature does
have her boundaries of where building is possible, as shown in the third photo.
For this image, all I had to do was turn around, with my back facing the city.
See the difference?
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