Kodak China Moment

On my way to the store today, I had a distinctly China moment. I'm not sure why, but some migrant workers are digging a trench along the road (by hand of course) and so the sidewalk is more congested than usual. As I was passing a loudly coughing, smoke-belching Soviet-era contraption of some sort, I was straining to listen to the music of a dusty old blind man playing the erhu (two-stringed high-pitched violinish traditional instrument) accompanied by a younger man, just as dusty, playing a xylophone-type instrument. They seemed very accomplished, but I was distracted by a passing three-wheeled bike with a pile of salvaged wood at least the size of a Volkswagen that was passing by in the street. At the same time, the workers pulling an ancient earth-tamper (apparently powered by the previously mentioned safety hazard) were distracted by me. Obviously their province has never been visited by foreigners before, because the guy steering the tamper just about twisted his head off staring at me, and I'm sure his eyes will never fully retract into their sockets. Of course I didn't have my camera, but I don't think a simple picture could capture the flavor of the scene.