Places we went in China. We flew to Beijing, then to Harbin (circled in blue). The next map is a zoomed version of the region inside the red box.

From Harbin we took a train to Tahe (circled in blue). The train route followed roughly the green line. Cities underlined in pink are cities that we definitely went through. The next map is a zoomed version of the region inside the red box.

We took a taxi from Tahe to Shibazhan, where we spent 13 of 14 days doing work. One day in the middle we took a taxi to Ershi’erzhan to work with an Oroqen speaker there. On the return trip to the U.S.A., we took a train from Shibazhan to Tahe, then another train to Harbin, and a flight to Beijing, then to the States. The towns circled in blue are Tahe, Shibazahn, and Ershi’erzhan, where we spent all of our time. The green lines indicate rough train or taxi routes. The towns underlined in blue are different –zhan towns – stations set up during the Qing Dynasty and spaced apart about as far as a day’s journey on horseback. Most of them no longer exist. We drove through Shijiuzhan on our way to Ershi’erzhan, and it was only a couple of buildings. Ershi’erzhan wasn’t much bigger. The other two –zhan’s between Shibazhan and Ershi’erzhan no longer exist. Shibazhan is the “18^th station” and Ershi’erzhan is the “22^nd station”.

Some pictures from the plane as we flew over Siberia en route to Beijing. The two maps show approximately where the plane was at the time that the pictures were taken. The flight took about 14 hours, flying directly north (more or less) from Newark, over the pole, and directly south (more or less) to Beijing. There was a 12 hour difference between where we were in China and Eastern Standard Time in the U.S.A.

The hotel room I stayed in for our first night in China – Kaikang International Hotel, Beijing.

Some fun signs in Beijing, not far from Tiananmen Square.

The Forbidden City (the free parts). The first picture is of a tree that I’m hoping my dad can identify...

Tiananmen Square.

A contrived shot at the Beijing airport. Funny chairs...

The view from our hotel in Harbin. The first three shots were from my window, the fourth shot was from Lindsay and Frank’s window.

Wal-Mart is everywhere – even in Harbin. Same with Bose – the company started by the famous MIT prof.

Several pictures from a little boat tour on the river in Harbin.

Pictures from around Harbin.

From the train, near Jagdaqi.

The view from our hotel in Shibazhan.

Plumbing work in the hallway of our hotel.

Some pictures from around Shibazhan, including a brand new park (still under construction); a pine tree that I’m hoping my dad can identify; and a random guy who jumped out of his car to get a picture with us.

The research/recording setup in Shibazhan, including the microphone (in front of the table).

In Ershi’erzhan. This guy apparently bought his outfit in Tahe – it’s a U.S. Army Airborne uniform. The gun he is holding is just plastic. Second from the right is Frank.

Folks around the hotel: 1) me + Lindsay, with the floor-girl and her brother and sister, and two other girls who were somehow affiliated with the hotel; 2) The same two mystery kids + the two massouses; 3) the cook + one of the managers; 4) me + the owner (also owner of a chopsticks factory, and a police officer); 5) me + Lindsay, with one of the receptionists/managers.

At an after-school program where kids learn English. I was the guest teacher this day – the first native speaker of the English that the kids had ever come into contact with. The first picture was taking at the end of the lesson (which I improvised for 75 minutes); the second picture (also after the lesson) is with the teacher (back right), her daughter (front left), the daughter of one of our friends (front center), and two other people. Apparently, the banner in the first picture says something or other about “This English class welcomes the American teacher” – I had no idea that’s what it said until several days after the fact... They must have custom-made this banner overnight!

My adopted Oroqen family. The first picture has my little brother, my dad, and my mom, who is the director of ethnic and religious affairs in Tahe county. She was a MAJOR factor behind the success of our trip. The second picture has Lindsay, as well as my mom, my little sister, and her fiance. In this adopted family, my name is Sari (phonetically [sa:ri], with a long [a:], second syllable stress, and a somewhat palatized [s], but not so much as to be [S]).

Flying back to Newark over the artic ocean, just north of Russian.

Eat, drink, and be merry.... Some very contrived shots of chicken legs, chicken heads, and beer. I’m not really a beer drinker (or any kind of alcohol drinker), but that’s what they drink at lunch and dinner every day. When in Rome... Some other interesting dishes included donkey-meat dumplings and dog-meat stir-fry.