When you watch the sky...

[Lucy]

Wonderful photos! Thank you for sharing! Yes, the middle one: could you tell us please, what's that interesting building?

[The One]

The sky looks awesome in China!

[Monade]

The middle one was taken in Colorful Riverside (a sight located in Burqin, Aletai, Xinjiang China)
That building is a kind of watchtower or signal station.

But I couldn't sure whether it is ancient building or an imitation...
That place wasn't easy to approach...and the horse near the signal station was a fake one I didn't know why they put a fake horse there but it looked good in sunset


Glad to know you like them 

[Nighthawk]

Together with Peru (Machu Picchu, to be more precise), China is my number one place see one day Oh glorious day.

The only problem is the language barrier. I only know a bit of Chinese - and that bit's confined to curses and swear words

I blame "Firefly"!

[Markus]

Hey Monade,

clear skies in Shanghai? You must be kidding me! 

Yes, these are very beautiful pictures. Each is fascinating in its own way... The tall trees on the first one, the piece of the Great Wall with the low sun in that half-desert landscape on the second, the utterly blue sky with the white clouds on the third. Very well done; thank you for sharing!

Cheers!

Markus

[Monade]

Oh,Nighthawk, I love Machu Picchu too! I get knowledge of Machu Picchu from books about archaeology, I have longed for there from when I was a kid

In fact, language barrier isn't a big problem in visiting China. Since China is a multinational country and the wide land, even feel at home in Mandarin Chinese, there also exsist language problem in places like Xinjiang, where Uygurs formed the majority in local minority nationality and Uygurs speaks Uighurs……

Just take preparing like to learn some local customs, which are different in each part of China, or just find a good guide  
Respect local tradition and customs is enough to provide a wonderful journey. And China isn't short of good guide who good at English and most Chinese are very hospitable
So don't afraid of the language barrier
And welcome to China


So Markus you didn't stay for a long time in Shanghai!
In China' s South - East coastal areas, when the winter came, dry weather always bring clear blue skies……without clouds!   but it's very rarely of course……
And in summer, a few days before the typhoon came, the sky will be so blue that……totally inconceivable  

PS: in the second pic it wasn't the Great Wall It's a individual signal station. The existing Great Wall ends in Gansu Province in the west side, not extended into Xinjiang
I love the way you describe the pictures

[Nighthawk]

In fact, language barrier isn't a big problem in visiting China. Since China is a multinational country and the wide land, even feel at home in Mandarin Chinese, there also exsist language problem in places like Xinjiang, where Uygurs formed the majority in local minority nationality and Uygurs speaks Uighurs……

Dunno if you've watched "Firefly" - it's an excellent scifi western show that got tragically cancelled, in which chinese culture prevailed over american at one point, so everyone knows a bit of Chinese. Pretty much the same way everyone knows at least a few words of English nowadays.

That's where I got the swear words from Granted, they don't always pronounce them right. Exactly like English nowadays

More precisely, everyone knows a few words of Mandarin Chinese.

Just take preparing like to learn some local customs, which are different in each part of China, or just find a good guide  

I think I'll need a guide who'll have enough patience to wait while I sit atop every damn hilltop, read my Little Black Book of Chinese Poetry and get all introspective and mushy for the next few hours

We sit together, the mountain and I,
Until only the mountain remains.

So don't afraid of the language barrier
And welcome to China

It's like I'm already there

And in summer, a few days before Typhon came, the sky will be so blue that……totally inconceivable  

Selective reading ftw.

[Monade]

Dunno if you've watched "Firefly" - it's an excellent scifi western show that got tragically cancelled……

Oh, that's "Firefly", I didn't know about it ever before So it put on from 2002-2003 ? I found it was 9.5 score in IMDb, WOW!

We sit together, the mountain and I,
Until only the mountain remains.

You left me totally speechless...WOW！
Li Bai's Poem! Oh!
I googled to get that. I have to say it's really amazing to read Li Bai's poem in English version
That translation is so brilliant! By Sam Hamill, right? I like that!
However, there is fewer mush in original text

I HAVE FOUND 12 ENGLISH VERSIONS OF THIS POEM JUST NOW!

All that I can say is ...........
 WOW!  

[Nighthawk]

Oh, that's "Firefly", I didn't know about it ever before So it put on from 2002-2003 ? I found it was 9.5 score in IMDb, WOW!

That's the one

Browncoats, unite!

(Slight correction: according to Wikipedia, the USA and China merged into one culture. Not that it makes a lot of difference )

There's also a fantastic "Firefly" movie, "Serenity", but I wouldn't recommend watching it before seeing the 13 episodes of the series. You'll understand once you see the film

Serenity

"You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with 'til you understand who's in ruttin' command here!" (Jayne Cobb)

It's the show where you'll learn such lovely phrases as "wo de ma he ta de fong kung de wai sheng dou" and how to wish your enemy "da xiang bao za shi de la du zi"

That translation is so brilliant! By Sam Hamill, right? I like that!
However, there is fewer mush in original text

Yup The only thing I changed was the end of the first verse, where I wrote "I" instead of "me", but beside that purely cosmetic change, that's Hamill

I HAVE FOUND 12 ENGLISH VERSIONS OF THIS POEM JUST NOW!

Yeah, and that confuses me to no extent - I find one version that I really love, then another that's okay, then yet another that's great... Make up your damned minds, already

[Markus]

So Markus you didn't stay for a long time in Shanghai!
In China' s South - East coastal areas, when the winter came, dry weather always bring clear blue skies……without clouds!   but it's very rarely of course……

Indeed not, just for a couple of days in 2008 and 2009 when I went to China for two solar eclipses. But it was enough to get an impression of the Shanghai skies. I had read in the travel guide that Shanghai rarely has really blue skies: when it's not cloudy it's often hazy instead. Everybody told me the same, and I made the same experience when I was there.

The eclipse of 2009 I observed outside Shanghai, and we had a little luck with the weather there. But in the city itself the eclipse was clouded out, which was doubly cruel because there had been some unusually clear days before that. Such a pity because so many millions of people could have seen the full glory of a total solar eclipse, millions of people of which many won't ever get a second chance for that.

Cheers!

Markus

[Monade]

There's also a fantastic "Firefly" movie, "Serenity", but I wouldn't recommend watching it before seeing the 13 episodes of the series. You'll understand once you see the film

Serenity

"You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with 'til you understand who's in ruttin' command here!" (Jayne Cobb)

It's the show where you'll learn such lovely phrases as "wo de ma he ta de fong kung de wai sheng dou" and how to wish your enemy "da xiang bao za shi de la du zi"

Thanks for the introduction
Interesting, and it reminds me of Douglas Adams' series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy   Indeed I am also reading Mostly Harmless now. I feel a little similar in their style.  
Thank you Nighthawk, I will search more about it and try to find the series, then the film

Yup The only thing I changed was the end of the first verse, where I wrote "I" instead of "me", but beside that purely cosmetic change, that's Hamill

That cosmetic change is excellent  I think in this position "I" or "me" is both fine in grammar, and “I”  rhymes. And in original text, “I” is even more accurate
Sometimes to read more version could provide not only more viewpoints but a brand new mix version made by reader self

Indeed not, just for a couple of days in 2008 and 2009 when I went to China for two solar eclipses. But it was enough to get an impression of the Shanghai skies. I had read in the travel guide that Shanghai rarely has really blue skies: when it's not cloudy it's often hazy instead. Everybody told me the same, and I made the same experience when I was there.

The eclipse of 2009 I observed outside Shanghai, and we had a little luck with the weather there. But in the city itself the eclipse was clouded out, which was doubly cruel because there had been some unusually clear days before that. Such a pity because so many millions of people could have seen the full glory of a total solar eclipse, millions of people of which many won't ever get a second chance for that.

Oh I must apologize for the weather that day  
Yes, it's a pity that it ought to be a solar eclipse presented in millions of people. Now I feel the bitter of your saying...


Back to the topic 
These days the night sky is mixed by purple and pink, paper coulds float with some bright stars decorate
quiet and peaceful

[Markus]

No bitterness, Monade!

I knew how the climate is when I booked the journey. And we were quite a bit outside Shanghai where we got a hole in the clouds just for totality, so I did see the black sun. I'm just sorry for those that stayed in the city.

And one year before that, when we observed another eclipse in the Gobi desert, we had wonderful conditions, so that one was pretty much perfect!

Cheers!

Markus

[Markus]

Watch out for the Geminids tonight and don't forget about the lunar eclipse at the next full moon.

Cheers!

Markus

[Monade]

Watch out for the Geminids tonight and don't forget about the lunar eclipse at the next full moon.

There was heavy cloud cover above, I have missed all  the meteor showers happened in my life for all kinds of reasons
Looking forward to the lunar eclipse nest week

[Markus]

Hey folks,

it's just a few hours until the lunar eclipse begins. Here, the weather is finer than expected. Right now it's clear outdoors, let's see if that lasts long enough for me to get a glimpse of the shadow of the earth again.

The partial eclipse begins at 6.33 CET in the morning, totality starts at 8.41 CET. But for most of the Europeans and South Americans the moon sets before totality starts. In North America you can see all of the eclipse, in Asia the moon rises when the eclipse is in progress. Kuwaitis get no eclipse this time.

Cross your fingers for clear skies, and cheers!

Markus

[Luth]

Yes, I know. The forecast man told us about how we won't be able to see the end part of the eclipse, as the moon hides before it, and how it will never be completely dark, etc etc... To say, as soon as he finished to explain all that, that it will be so cloudy that we won't be able to see anything 

If clouds happen to let me have a glimpse of the eclipse, I'll be able to watch it from the train from 6.40 to 7.30 more or less... But as I say, clouds are expected (not wanted  ).

[Markus]

Hey Luth,

it's not really much better over here as clouds are expected to roll in just for eclipse-time. But I'm going to try to see something of it, anyway.

I won't be too disappointed if it doesn't work out. Firstly I wouldn't be able to see the Red Moon this time, anyway, as it sets before totality. Secondly I've seen so many eclipses already that I can afford to miss a minor one.

That being said, GET AWAY YOU GO**AM F***ING CLOUDS! THERE ARE PEOPLE DOWN HERE WHO WANT TO SEE SOMETHING, SO MOVE YOUR FAT UGLY A**ES AND GET THE F**K OUT OF F***ING SIGHT, G*DDA**IT!

Now, THAT being said you can find all the details here and some text here.

Cheers!

Markus

[Luth]

Is not a cloud, but hides anyway. 

[Lucy]

I haven't seen anything, but we have a beautiful, milk-like mist here.

[Markus]

Hey folks,

there was only one single cloud here at eclipse time! Unfortunately it covered all the sky from horizon to horizon. Had it come just a few hours later, I would have seen the eclipse...

Well, there's still the solar eclipse on the 4th of January which will be a sunrise eclipse for most of Europe. Let's hope for clearer skies then! I'll give you details before this year ends.

Cheers!

Markus