South China, Fujian Province, Zhan Zhou.

A very clean city, one reason is the multilevel system developed to keep it so.
The very first line of defense are on foot ....


usually, not always, it is an older woman with a broom...


The secondary line, 3 wheel motorized cleaner.
To pick up missed trash, the operator caries a 3 foot set of chopstics..


Third line, a bigger sweeper..
[


The big guns, sweeper and street washer...


Food is very important in China. Working, we ran late for lunch.
I offered to skip it, but nobody was was willing to even entertain the possibility.
The problem was that we were so late, even the restaurants were closed for the usual post meal siesta.

Except for this street 4 table eatery with a yellow awning. As luck had it the owner finished his lunch, but his helper was still eating and so the door was still open.


Behind the counter, the main ingredients ...





And the stuff that makes it work...





The end result, a bowl of goodies, a symphony of taste....



An impromptu farmers market on a side street, bordering an industrial area....




I have no idea what these flowers are....




...but the trees they grow on are everywhere in this town...

very nice.

What are the black spots around AC units?

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max
I have no idea what these flowers are....

African Tulip Tree

[en.wikipedia.org]

Very invasive but pretty.

Paul

Very invasive but pretty.

better than Very invasive and ugly.

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space-time
Very invasive but pretty.
better than Very invasive and ugly.

Not necessarily. If it's ugly then people are happy to get rid of it but if it's attractive then it becomes more difficult. An individual African Tulip tree in bloom is stunning and most people would love to have that in their gardens. Just the one, can't do any harm and then the seeds spread and it starts invading other areas.

Here in the UK there are a few wonderful looking alien plants that because of how they look have been allowed to flourish and now they can be a bit of a nightmare. Very pretty Himalayan Balsam is destroying river banks and wildlife habitat. beautiful wild rhododendron is pushing everything else out of our woods and forests. Japanese Knotweed is an amazing architectural plant introduced in Victorian times. It is incredibly difficult to eradicate and can break through concrete a foot thick.

Paul

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space-time
very nice.

What are the black spots around AC units?

If I had to guess? I’d say mold.

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Spiff
If I had to guess? I’d say mold.

I would have guessed that it's concentrated air pollution residue.

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GGD

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Spiff
If I had to guess? I’d say mold.

I would have guessed that it's concentrated air pollution residue.

Possibly a combination of the two.

---

It is what it is.

I am not sure, mold tends to have additional scattered splotches outside the main body, but it would be logical for this tropical climate.
OTOH, I have not really seen that kind of black spots in northern cities with even greater pollution factor...

How long are your work trips over there, and how often? Very curious, and jealous.

At least couple times a year in Asia, 3 weeks at a time in China, sometimes a week in Vietnam, or India.
Europe may be a bit more often, but the trips are shorter, usually a week to two at a time...

You ever showed us stuff from India? I'd love that.

I'll dig it up, thanks...