China is a noisy country, I don't think anyone who has visited or lived here would disagree with that. Common sounds that are heard on a daily basis include car horns, scooter horns, bicycle bells, shouting, mobile phones ringing, children crying, road works, buildings being demolished, buildings being repaired, people hawking up the phlegm in their throats, people spitting out the phlegm in their throats and my favourite, fireworks. At least with fireworks, you (normally) get the accompanying sights, the beautiful colours lighting up the smoggy skies of Wuxi. After a while though, the noise seems so normal, it is almost unnoticeable. However, this morning, my ears must have been a little more sensitive, because all the noises seemed much louder than usual. The upside of this was that I could actually hear the birds twittering in the trees as I rode down a quieter lane way. Lovely.
7.30am at my favourite intersection in Wuxi, where a delightful symphony of sounds greets the humble bike rider on her way to work .......
Assessing the situation...
Inching out into the intersection ...
Nearly in the middle of it ... and not brave enough to continue to ride and take pictures after this one!
Today, I was a little distracted as I got ready to go to work. I was racing around, checking I had anything for Beijing, pre-cooking my dinner for tonight (I hate the plane food in China), drying my hair, the usual. Then the noise started, which I would normally ignore, but this morning it really, really annoyed me. So, I took a video of it to share (excuse the dirty windows in my apartment) - fireworks about 2km from my apartment, at 7am this morning. Listen out at the end for the scooter alarms that always begin ringing as soon as someone breathes near them.
Fireworks at 7am
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