now experiencing the fragrant aroma of saigon
The countryside around Panyu is rapidly being converted from farmland into factories and freeways (the photo above is construction of the Guangzhou Dongsha-Xinlian Expressway). With the New Guangzhou Railway Station being built only a couple of kilometers away from here, soon even the factories will give way to Guangzhou’s urban sprawl. Hopefully, they’ll at least keep the billboards to remind people what the natural environment used to look like.
The factory canteen here has some of the best food I’ve had in China. The food in most restaurants is heavy, meaty and oily. Here, there are plenty of vegetables, great variety, and it’s extremely delicious. Today, I had mushrooms sauteed with pork, ginger and scallions; stir-fried yu choy; garlic shoots with ham; braised duck and tofu; and summer squash stir-fried with pork. With rice and the Cantonese-style soup that I’ve become so fond of. It’s all self-service, so I can take as much as I want of anything. Luckily I get to eat in the manager’s room, which is at the top tier of the dining options at the factory. There are separate areas for office workers and factory workers.
An extravaganza of ferries this morning. First the Lamma ferry to Central. Next the Star Ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui. Finally, the CKS ferry back to Dongguan. I always enjoy crossing Hong Kong harbor on the Star Ferry. Delightfully anachronistic in this city of dozens of tubes routing all manner of traffic quickly and efficiently under the harbor. Some of the best views of Hong Kong, and all for only HK $1.7 (a bit under US $0.22).
Without a doubt, the best way to get between Hong Kong and China is by ferry. I was excited to discover today that the Humen ferry terminal is only about seven kilometers from the Kin Tai printing factory. There is only one boat per day in each direction, but I’ve made sure to time it right to get to Hong Kong and back to the factory tomorrow morning. Immigration and customs is a breeze, and the ferry speeds along at an average of 60 km/hr, making the trip in an hour and a half that would otherwise take three hours by car and train or bus. So much more pleasant.
Things are starting to pick up a bit with the printing here today. Unfortunately, the other two books that are supposed to be on press this week (Elvis at 21 and Brian Froud’s World of Faerie) are both falling behind schedule. There’s been a power shortage throughout the Pearl River Delta this week, and neither printing company has been able to run their presses. So I’ll take this opportunity to run back to Hong Kong for the night to take care of Trinh, who’s been running a 102º fever. I’m leaving Antarctica in the capable hands of Ken (above right), who is a wizard on press. Unfortunately, he is leaving to join another company at the end of this month. Bummer.
Day one of six weeks that books are going to be printing more-or-less continuously. First book on press is Antarctica. We’re printing this with stochastic screening, which is quite an unusual process in China, requiring a huge amount of trial and error. After working for fourteen hours continuously, we are one-thirty-fourth of the way through printing the book. Hopefully it will start moving a bit more smoothly soon.
Things are about to start getting real crazy with work. I’ve got five books to print at three different factories next week – Antarctica, Brian Froud’s World of Faerie, the UK and Australian versions of Elvis at 21, Wellness at Warp Speed, and Love is the Solution. All this, and many more books continuing to print constantly through the end of July. To make matters worse, Ken – my guy in China – is quitting at the end of June. Luckily, Usana will show up to help out after he’s back from his trip to Central America sometime around the start of July.
I just got off the phone with Terran, who wanted to see where I’m at right now, and what the printing press looks like. I’m checking the printing of a 2008 calendar for the artist Jeff Soto. It’s a little bit of a challenge, since the proofs are marked “not quite the right color”, so I’ve got to guess as to what the right color is.
