planes are made of paper to be burned at the grave for the spirit's use in the future. It is best not to come too near these processions, for a stranger is not welcome at such times. Above all, do not try to take pictures.
A village usually has only one business street and here you will find a simple inn, its unpainted tables under an awning of patched blue cloth. You can get a good bowl of noodles and soup here if you are hungry—and plenty of tea. If you are willing to wait, the inn-keeper will perhaps make you some scrambled eggs to eat with a bowl of rice, a dish of green cabbage, and bean curd or a brown fish. The bean curd you will not like at first but try it until you do—it has valuable protein qualities and is the poor man's meat.
Don't be disturbed if people in the villages are afraid of you. They simply have not seen anyone who looks like you. And since the dogs will bark at people they don't know—and often bite—it is best to keep away from them. The Chinese do not fondle pets and therefore dogs may bite you out of sheer surprise!
Everything in China is owned by somebody and so there is no place where you can pick fruit or fish or hunt unless you go into the mountains. There you will be free, for there are few gaming laws. But elsewhere, don't take anything. The Chinese guard their property carefully.
