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| A mid-September sunset shows the colors of Shanghai like never before. |
Having arrived back in Shanghai in mid-September, after a long summer in Michigan and various other parts of the states, I was greeted by the most beautiful sunset of any I've seen in Shanghai. Periwinkle, lavender, magenta, and vermillion steamed from a molten epicenter of cadmium yellow and gold (even the finely attuned iPhone eye couldn't improve upon this).
In a word the skies were awesome.
The unfortunate and toxic reality is, that without the dangerous particulates suspended in mid-air this gorgeous animation doesn't happen.
As if unexpectedly entering the realm of drifting medusae while snorkeling. It's easy to be carried away by the intense colors meant to serve warning as to what belies the poor soul ignorantly invading the mesmerizing choreography of lappets. In this case, simply breathing during mildly, strenuous exertion is enough to do some damage according the environmental air quality reports.
The truths of Shanghai are starting to emerge for me. After spending the first year here as a tourist on extended holiday the veneer is starting to wear thin. As I told Kris, upon my return, this maybe the year I see Shanghai for what it is. However, being the perpetual optimist, I promised to keep an eye on the beautiful side as we gasp like golden carp out of water.
Within a few days my optimism was rewarded by the aftermath of a typhoon reaching the shores of Shanghai. On successive days the clouds spun in from the east they seemed to ride upon the rays of setting suns accompanied by the chorus from some Mozartian opera relegating the skyline to a humble silhouette.
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| Typhoon clouds envelop a Shanghai sunset. |
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| The last of the typhoon clouds float past a Shanghai sunset. |
