Yesterday, for the first time in 2 weeks, Yinchuan could see Helan Shan, the mountains between the Yellow River and the Alax Plateau to the west. And so there was a sunset, and another biking photographer at the lake, who said to me, "Hello. Good evening."
Usually "Hello" is the entirety of the English part of the conversation, which then degenerates into me shrugging my shoulders until the other party gives up and moves on, wondering how I came to have such a bad tic.
If you come to China, try to learn some Chinese before you come. You'll be glad you did. Don't count on things like, "Our English-speaking staff...." I'm not a guided-tour kind of guy. I almost never take them in America. But for 238Y ($35) I can see 4 places in one day, transportation and admission included, with a tour. Or I can take a taxi and see just one place for the same price. The tour saves a lot of hassle. And my tour group is expected to number: 2.
And if you have a hard time explaining what you want to the "English-speaking" staff at the tour company, imagine trying to explain it to a taxi driver who doesn't read Pinyin.
