Reunion with a friend and his family in Xiangfan (Part 1) 2010/8/13 
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The Japan time is shown in the following pictures, one hour later than the China time.
All the following pictures are from 1920x1080i60 video clips.
Xiangfan is a 2800 years or longer old historical city in Hubei, equivalent in a sense to a prefecture in Japan. The Han river runs through it, dividing it into new Xiangfan (located north and including Fancheng District) and old Xiangfan (located south and including Xiangyan District). It joins the Chang (or Yangtze) river in Wuhan, Hubei.
My 10-year-long friend was at the Xiangfan station to meet me around 17 o'clock, 8/12/2010. We shaked hands, hardly holding back our tears. Together with him and his son, I left the hotel, visiting his house to reunite with his family after 10 years of separation. The friend and his wife were the same, nothing changed, as a decade ago. They were as bright and modest as before. The six people returned to China in August, 2000. We had kept good company for 6 months in that year. Since I arrived in China on 8/9/2010, I always stayed in the hotels that were reserved and paid by the friend and the family. Particularly, the 8/12-8/13 hotel is the best in Xiangfan. They also bore the expenses for transportation. My appreciation is beyond any type of expression.
The unwanted return to China ten years ago should have made the family's life difficult since then. They overcame the difficulties and now the friend runs a company together with a few employees. Once construction-related, it now raises shrimps in several large ponds. The nephew helps the company and said shrimps can get easily accustomed to fresh water in the ponds.
I was particularly pleased that the daughter graduated from a university this June and got a job this August in Wuhan and that the son finished the 2nd year in the famous technological university in Dalian, Liaoning, this July, and intends to study in the graduate school. I felt very glad, because ten years ago they just entered a junior highschool as a junior and an elementary school as a 5-th year student, respectively, in Yokohama, Japan. They must have had some difficulties in finding good schools and studying in China. After returning there, the nephew worked as a truck driver in Shanghai and now helps the friend's company. The niece were unwillingly married and now has three children (with the youngest as an only boy). Her situation is now my only concern about the family.
The parents and children have nearly forgotten the Japanese language, and I conversed with the daughter and son in English. The niece and nephew still remeber some Japanese words, and I talked with them in Japanese and sometimes wrote Chinese characters, common between the two countries, to communicate between us.
The following picture is a scene from the hotel in the morning of 8/13/2010. The hotel is the best in Xiangfan and had been reserved by the friend. I had arrived at Xiangfan from Wuhan on the previous day. While staying in China, every city that I visited was dimly visible in the distance. What kind of smog it was, I wonder.
After viking-style breakfast with the son, the nephew took me to Hanjiang (the Han river). A video photograph taken of a crossing from the taxi:
Cars can turn right at a red signal just like in the USA, probably under the conditions that
the driver should take care of the pedestrians. Both pedestrians and cars seem not careful.
Nontheless, I had never seen any accident while staying in China.
Suction pump facilities in Hanjiang that seemingly supply water to nearby factories:
Changhong Great Bridge and a fisherman:
People that wash in Hanjiang disregarding a "Washing prohibited" sign:
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We then took a taxi to cross the Changhong Great bridge and visit the Xiangyang castle:
．．We entered the castle through the Linhan gate (
):
．．
．．Passing the gate, we saw houses and apartment biuldings on both sides:
．．
．．
．．We walked to the right in the above picture, nearly toward the south. There are all kinds of shops on both sides of the southbound road.
．．The 2010/8/18 Google map aerial photo with the yellow walk path and red suction pump location indicated:
．．
．．Walking 600 meters, we saw and passed through the Zhaoming Tai (
):
．．
Walking 700m further, we found and entered the Xiangfan Museum. It used to be a disco before being opened recently, according to the nephew in the late 20s. Near the entrance, we saw many old famous men depicted on wall plates. Tufu (
) is standing slightly rightward from the center:
．．This museum exhibits real and artificial articles that existed between 200000 years and several decades back from today:
．．
．．For example, a bronze dish in the late spring and autumn period (
):
．．
．．For example, a Xinshao bronxe ji in the early warring states period (
):
．．
．．A statue of Zhuge Liang (
, born in the year of 180):
．．
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We returned from the museum to the hotel. After I had an afternoon nap, the friend took me to a tea shop, where the woman master showed us how to prepare and drink two kinds of tea (
and 
). It was similar to the procedure that was shown the day before to me by the friend. He bought tea ceremony sets and 500 grams of each of the two kinds of tea leaves for me. The master weighed and packed them into plastic bags, which were then vacuum-packaged () or air-packaged ():
Walking out of the shop after the friend paid, I found the next-door residents eating supper on the sidewalk:
I heard that they eat on the sidewalk in the morning and evening because it is cool outside.
The right-hand woman is the master, while the man having a bag under the arm is the friend.
Below is a general outdoor dining site:
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We, the 9 people including the two children of the niece, enjoyed supper at the friend's house. Afterwards, we all visited Hanjiang to enjoy the cool evening breeze. While finding taxis near the friend's house, we saw the streets crowded with shops and people. The following picture shows four people playing mahjong:
Watermelos were sold on the street:
We enjoyed the cool evening breeze along the Han river:
Passing under the Changhong Great bridge, we moved to a garden for the children to ride a
toy car:
Reunion with a friend and his familiy after 10 years
(1) 8/ 9/2010: Leaving Tokyo Narita to Shanghai
(2) 8/10/2010: Visiting small-eating streets and Shanghai EXPO
(3) 8/11/2010: From Shanghai to Wuhan
(4) 8/12/2010: Sightseeing in Wuhan
(5) 8/13/2010: Reunion with a friend and his family in Xiangfan (1/2)
(6) 8/14/2010: Reunion with a friend and his family in Xiangfan (2/2)
(7) 8/15/2010: Return from Xiangfan to Yokohama