Next stop: Canton

I read somewhere (well, on Reddit, actually) that during the 1980s and '90s some cities in China began to adopt flags and seals as official representations (a common practice in Japan). However, late in 1997 the central government announced a ban on these symbols of local governments. Why is this of interest? Well, I was hoping to find some kind of emblem announcing to the world where Shu-E and I will be located on what will most likely be our final tour in the Foreign Service. I haven't been able to confirm whether the above flag was ever an official ensign, but everything I could locate online seemed to suggest that at one point in time this was the city flag of Guăngzhōu 广州, the capital and largest city of the southern Chinese province of Guangdong 广东省.

I received the news before we left on our trip to Hokkaidō 北海道 and Taiwan in mid-February. It was the end of an ordeal that began with the official start of the bidding process last October, one which had me seriously considering whether I should take early retirement. The new assignment will see me return to the world of Consular Affairs after a three-year stint as a General Services Officer. Hopefully this tour will take me right up to mandatory retirement but there's still a lot of groundwork that needs to be done before that can happen.  

It was never my intention to turn into an "old China hand" when I joined the Foreign Service in 2012. In fact at the time we left Taiwan and moved to Washington, D.C. I was hoping to leave the Mandarin-speaking world behind, and work in all the continents with the exception of Antarctica (and if there was a post there I might've considered it). Now, by the time I reach retirement half my career will have been spent in the People's Republic of China, though I'm not complaining - it's good to still have a job in the current environment (until the inevitable reductions in force), and good for my wife to be close to Taiwan. 

I've been to Guangzhou a couple of times before (here and here), so I have some familiarity with the city. Unfortunately, guidebooks on Guangzhou in English are short on the ground, which is why I bought this Japanese-language guide at Kinokuniya 紀伊國屋書店 while we were in Sapporo 札幌. It isn't very up to date due to its being the 2019-20 edition, but so far it's been the best I could find. It also covers Xiamen (Amoi アモイ in Japanese), Guilin 桂林, the Pearl River Delta 珠江デルタ and southern China 華南地方: 

Things were very quiet here in Beijing 北京 while Shu-E was away for almost all of March. Unlike in Japan, often in China I don't feel like going out to eat, sightsee, hang out in foreigner-friendly bars or to do much of anything in general. Mostly I order meals from delivery apps, and if I do go out it's usually for walks on afternoons when the weather is good. Like on this day when I decided to introduce my Chinese Taipei 中華台北 jersey to the locals: 

Many trees were in bloom as the weather warmed up...:

…except for that one day when it snowed (for only the second time since winter last year, and the first since November), and the flakes didn't stick to the ground:

The weather soon reverted to preparing for the arrival of spring. My wife doesn't think this is a sakura tree, but whatever it is every year it's the subject of a lot of photos and selfies:

The leisure boats have resumed their cruises along the Liangma River 亮马河:

I returned to Beijing at the beginning of March but Shu-E remained in Taiwan to spend more time with her family and friends, before coming back this past weekend. She shared a few photos via WeChat while she was away, including these bizarre figures at a park in Fengyuan 豊原. She wasn't sure why they were there, but assumed they were related in some way to the recently celebrated Lantern Festival 元宵節:

Toward the end of her stay Shu-E traveled to Penghu 澎湖群島 with her brother and one of her sisters, along with a friend who hails from the archipelago, where they stayed for a few days. Below are some of the photos she shared via WeChat.

I have never been to Penghu, though my daughter has. In recent years my wife has gone back and forth on the subject of wanting to live there. Initially she suggested the islands as a retirement location, then backpedaled when I agreed, bringing up concerns such as the windy winter conditions and the relative lack of health care facilities when compared to the main island of Taiwan. But after this most recent visit and upon learning of the social welfare benefits handed out by the local government to the islands' elderly residents, plus the relatively lower cost of housing, her pendulum has swung back into positive territory. Until I agreed with her again, which means she now wants me to visit in winter (conveniently around the Lunar New Year holidays) to ascertain conditions on the ground for myself:

The heart-shaped weir seen in the background behind Shu-E and one of her sisters is Penghu's most famous landmark and features prominently in virtually all tourist literature on the archipelago:

I remain on the fence, at least until I've experienced the dreaded Penghu winter for myself. On the one hand, it would be great to live so close to the ocean (the archipelago is known for having some of the best beaches in Taiwan) and there would be a lot of interesting places to explore. But on the other hand, there isn't much of an expat community (at least that I'm aware of), which would leave me isolated from friends who live on the "mainland", and any travel outside of Taiwan would probably have to involve overnight stays in Taipei 台北 or Kaohsiung 高雄, which would add to the expense (an important consideration for when living on a fixed income). But Shu-E does point out that living close to the water would probably make me happier (based on time spent in places like Okinawa 沖縄 and the Seychelles).

I suppose we could buy two retirement homes, one in Penghu and the other close to her family on the main island...

🤔

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean our daughter frequently sends us photos of her life on on campus and in town, such as this shot of wild turkeys on a residential street:

One day it's wild turkeys, the next it's an ice storm. Amber reported that her classes on the day before Valentine's Day had been canceled due to an inch or so (2.54 centimeters) of snow.  And while that doesn't sound like much, the university erred on the side of caution because the year before during a similar ice storm there were people who apparently fell and broke their arms. Also,  according to our daughter, using road salt isn't allowed in Oregon:

Amber also reported this bird appeared to be enjoying the weather despite not having flown south to escape the snow:

Spring in the Pacific Northwest can be gorgeous when it isn't pissing down with rain:

Amber had free time at the end of finals and before the official start to her spring break, so on one afternoon she drove to nearby Albany to visit the Historic Carousel & Museum: 

Back on campus she took advantage of the student discounts available to see Quinn Carson & Bone FX perform, being very impressed with the show:

The following day she drove out to the coast to see the sea lions in Newport:

She also found time to enjoy a crepe dessert at a place just off campus:

During the spring break, Amber drove several hours north to spend a few days with her aunt in the Seattle area, where she bonded with Ellie, her cousin's corgi:

Returning from Seattle to Corvallis, where more flowers bloomed between bouts of rain:

And that's where things stand here in Beijing in the spring of 2025 - Shu-E is back from Taiwan and Amber has started another quarter at Oregon State. At the moment my current supervisor in Beijing and my future overseer in Guangzhou are trying to come to an agreement as to when I will depart the former and arrive at the latter, with both sides arguing that their respective sections are short-staffed, and thus in need of my services. And while it's nice to be wanted (especially after the battering my fragile ego received during the bidding process), not much consideration seems to have been given as to what I would actually like to do. 

Oh, well. Just three more years, three more years...

Who's the seal point Siamese that could've been a sex machine to all the chicks if only someone hadn't decided to cut off his (shut your mouth!)...

Hey, I was only talking 'bout Timi! (You're damn right!)...