07.20.23

the first thing you'll notice flying into mainland china is the housing developments. they'll come first in at a slow trickle, one or two at a time. a few small buildings uniform in height and design. i wouldn't blame you if you looked outside and doubted your own eyes. vast swathes of farmland interrupted by little housing developments set up like dominoes. 5 or so solitary buildings next to each other with nothing in between and nothing surrounding but farmland and a long, skinny road to the next development.

then it thickens. the buildings get bigger and wider and before you know it there are neighborhoods and farms and factories and sometimes a stray building without duplicates or even a pair. it happens before you know it and before you can understand the first buildings. even normal (?) places look like playsets from above but when you're seeing something that wouldn't make sense from any perspective it's another world of confusion.

then you see little, thick wishbones sticking out of the ground. they're smaller than the buildings but they must still be big. they're all in a row and they go on for miles and miles, and then suddenly there's a long skinny and gray patch connecting them. the gray will cut out and come back in at points but the wishbones remain.