To Savor Later: Sensational Sino-Slideshows
It's been a while since we told you to savor anything. To ease you back into it, we've ramped up the visuals. We promise to point you to some great long-form journalism next time, but for now, here's a set of China-related slideshows to feast your peepers on.
“China’s Ultimate Fighting Crickets” by Jonathan Browning
Foreign Policy.com
This slideshow of 23 photos is a photographic primer to cricket-fighting – from the dealers in the markets to the robust specimens themselves and the Cricket Fighting Museum. Our favorites are the shots of the itty-bitty porcelain platters of rice and the big-screen simulcast of the Lilliputian arena.
[OK, we did say there'd be no heavy reading this time. But if these cricket photos leave you aching to know more about the six-legged gladiators, here’s a very readable 6,000-word academic paper on the subject.
“Chinese Cricket-Fighting” by Yutaka Suga
International Journal of Asian Studies
Excerpt: “While it is the norm to give Chinese herbal medicine as a stimulant, some gamblers allegedly make their crickets lick heroin and other drugs to help them fight …. While drugs represent an extreme, some people do employ underhanded tactics such as applying a soothing oil that contains menthol on the cricket’s forehead immediately before the fight, so that the opponent becomes reluctant to fight and runs away.]
“Chinese People on the Train”
China Digital Times
If you haven’t ridden the Iron Rooster recently, why not hop back on for a quick trip? This series of 22 black-and-white snapshots of Chinese train travel shows how versatile the hard-sleeper rail car is, serving the populace as bedroom, dining room, gym, nursery, practice room, salon, study, mahjong den, washroom and general romper room.
“In Focus: 21st Century China” compiled by Alan Taylor
TheAtlantic.com
Over at The Atlantic, they did a two-part series last year where they collected a fantastic array of images taken in China. Our favorites in this set include: a tidal bore that is the opposite of boring, the giant cutlery being employed in crowd control, farmer-inventor’s homemade flying device, the intriguing hobbies that Hong Kongers indulge in when they find some open space, the panda cub, and the little-known sport of horse-fighting. (49 photos)
“In Focus: Scenes From China” compiled by Alan Taylor
TheAtlantic.com
Here is an earlier set of photos, again culled from the likes of Associated Press, Reuters, Getty Images and Xinhua. We were particularly taken with the shots of: a distraught and suicidal bride dangling outside her window, a sinkhole in Beijing, precision whipcracking, and an elderly farmer with some intense eyebrows. Also, we find out what the word “HAPPY” has to do with bikinis. (48 photos)
So, which are your favorite photos? Tell us in the comments below.
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