I don’t think I ever posted these photos. This was when I was in Beijing two summers ago, July 21, 2005, a Thursday to be exact. In the late afternoon I decided to ride my bike and explore further out into Haidian district (海淀区). My start position was Wudaokou (五道口), near BLCU.

It looked like suburbs to me but is still considered the city. But there weren’t any tall buildings around that way, it was more residential and a lot dustier. It had turned dark and I was pretty far away from where I came. I was a little lost. I’d been to the Summer Palace (颐和园) before and knew it was close-by. I thought if I could be pointed in that direction I could find my way back. I asked a guy riding his bicycle for directions.

He told me to follow him. Instead of taking me towards the Summer Palace he took me into a college campus (中国农业大学 or China Agriculture University). I didn’t stop him because I didn’t see any harm to keep going. I just wondered where we were going. We ended up at his home on campus. Him and his father lived in two small rooms connected to their garage/shop. His name was Gao Linbo (高宁波).

Linbo still had some work to do that day. After I decided I wasn’t in a hurry, that there wasn’t much I could do but wait until he could show me the way, I settled down. They were nice to give me a bowl of rice and some vegetables left over from their dinner. I remember it was very salty and good because I hadn’t eaten. We couldn’t communicate too well because my Chinese was pretty poor. They seemed glad to have a guest and I was glad to rest.

Linbo’s father and I played chess. His father won of course. Did you see a missing pawn with a nail in its place? I was at their place for about an hour. I watched them at work and helped out by holding a lamp. I’m not quite sure what they were making but I know the cuts had to be exact. I think he said the part was going to be used in Japan. I took a picture of his spec sheet which had Japanese on it and a Japanese company’s name too.

After his work was finished, he guided me part of the way home until I knew the way. When I go back to Beijing I should visit him and his father again. The last photo is of Xiaojia River (肖家河), which is near 农大 (NóngDà)

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