06/04
2007
Layers of Culture
The bottom layer, 15-feet below, is there, but you can’t see it. The Southern Yue kingdom placed loose rock to make a street here 2200 years ago.
Working our way up, the Tang dynasty built-up the road with large cut stones 1400 years ago.
At street-level, present day Guangzhou-nites zip by with their shopping bags from Adiddas and Gioradano. Some of them pause long enough to look through the Plexiglas windows, sponsored by Coca-Cola, and consider the exposed ancient street.
I watch over it all. I’m sitting at the window on the second-floor McDonald’s, relishing my first hamburger in over two months. The fries are pretty nice too. The Coca-Cola isn’t bad either.
I think I’ll get an ice cream cone.
Kels, what’s their regional specialty?
Rice.
Sorry I had to do that. Guangzhou was formerly known as Canton. So, anything you eat in a Cantonese restaurant originated from here.
I manage to work in a different dish each day. Today’s was rice with egg, tomato, and sweat and sour sauce. Lovely.