Ice

It serves me right: I mocked Dalian for its lack of winter, balmy moderate temperatures, and questioned why exactly it had ski resorts just outside the city.

Hence, Sunday evening, it took revenge. Temperatures plummeted, it rained, froze, snowed then froze, and icy Siberian winds claimed the streets for their own. Monday's daily high was -7, and my ayi duly acted as though the apocalypse was nigh and we would all freeze.

More worrying was Dalian's approach to ice management. China not being a believer in grit, the streets around were transformed into an ice rink, made worse by the efforts of the shovel gangs to clear the snow (thereby revealing the ice beneath). Having slipped, stumbled and staggered my way home from school, I enquired why exactly China does not use grit - apparently it damages the roads. This is perhaps true, but the lack of grit on the roads probably damaged the local economy, as no vehicles dared the ice, and definitely damaged me. I have the bruises to prove it.

Thankfully, Dalian appears to be merely flexing its wintry muscles - temperatures are now back above 0, and it is all starting to melt. Now it is not quite so very cold, I am rueing the fact that I missed the opportunity to take pictures of snow covered Mao statues. He would have made such a good Christmas card.