Henan is so different from Guangxi. Guangxi has mountains, Henan's flat as a pancake. Guangxi has the Gulf of Tonkin (or Beibu Gulf as it's known in China) which is pretty, Henan has the Yellow River which is not. I'm a water person, knowing that I'm near water makes me happy, and I find it hard to be so landlocked.
Also, in Guangxi, it was so... clean. People used garbage cans, kids didn't use the sidewalk as their own personal toilet. The instances of spitting were relatively low. The air was much cleaner and I didn't have my "Zhengzhou cough" the whole time we were away. It was such a pleasant change.
Niels and I have wondered why people in Henan just don't seem to care about their environment. Henan is the province with the largest population and most of which come from the countryside. In the countryside your backyard is also most likely your garbage can, there's no municipal garbage service, the fields you tend are probably also your toilet, you're lucky if you have running water. And when you come into the city the views one may have about the environment are often brought along. This may explain why people do some of the things they do in the city. But I could be wrong, I don't know.
Views like these are why I have such problems with living in Henan. People don't care about their surroundings and aren't willing to change it. And it's why it makes me nuts to return from my trip, look out my kitchen window and see this...
