Life in Serene Waves

I thought I'd do a little research about this city I'm temporarily calling home. About 7,605,700 people live in Ningbo, a city whose history dates back to 4800 BC. That's an old city, even by Chinese standards. The characters in its name literally translate to "Serene Waves," which, as a coastal city with major trade ports, seems appropriate. I haven't actually gotten to the ocean yet, so I don't know if the waves here are serene or choppy, but I'll take their word for it.

On another walk along the river, I found this woman burning weeds and brush on the path outside her garden. Contrary to popular belief, this isn't a witch's broom, it's just an Asian one. In Thailand our brooms look very similar. Made out of stiff twigs tied together, they actually work very well.