We were awoken at 7:30 on our 2nd day in Weihai. Considering the train trip we had ahead of us that evening we were hoping for a sleep-in. I guess most Chinese would consider 7:30am a sleep-in. Anyway, we had a breakfast of noodles and rice. Authentic? Of course, but not my ideal start to the day. I'm a cereal, toast and tea man in the mornings and I discovered a long time ago that no amount of travel will change that. Not long after breakfast we went to have a look around Weihai. Ken accompanied us and as a tourist guide he stunk, whisking us around the seafront area of the city, seemingly its nicest area, in a few minutes before marching us back to the apartment. Weihai, as previously mentioned, has nothing of interest to tourists and from what we saw it has little of interest to locals either. It was your average Chinese city; big, impersonal, dirty and grim, made to feel all the more so by the slushy, wet and overcast conditions. This is a picture of me in Haiya Park that lines the seafront, somewhere that, according to Ken, is very beautiful and popular with locals in the summer months. The park was populated by various statues and copper/brass structures. I couldn't resist a picture with these cute little penguins, their symbolism, as with all the structures we got to see in the park, totally lost on all of us. In the background you can see construction, a common sight and, even here in Weihai, the face of modern China. Weihai, Shandong province, Eastern China. February 6th, 2006
