Day 26 - Loudi to Xinhua

Start: Loudi, Hunan province
End: Xinhua, Hunan province
Distance: 100km
Time: 6'02"
Avg: 16.6 k/h
Max: 46 k/h
Total: 1702 km
Total riding days: 17
Roadkill: Chicken
Riding hours: 0840 - 1600

Dust! You hear quite a bit on the news about massive projects
involving tunnels, canals, pumps and aquaducts to move water from
China's watery south to drought-prone north. But you don't hear much
about the Great Chinese Dust-moving scheme. Basically the way it works
is that every vehicle in the country is pressed into the dust-moving
effort, carting huge tonnages of dust around the country to ensure
that the stuff is evenly distributed. That they go to such lengths is
surprising, given that the whole land is already coated in a thick
layer of dust of many colours, red, black, white, grey, green (yes,
even green). Those not employed in hauling dust are paid to create the
stuff, squatting by the roadside, in courtyards, on their front
porches, smashing coal, rock, concrete, rubble, stones, bricks,
whatever they can lay their hands on into smaller and smaller pieces
until at last it reaches that magic consistency: dust. Then people
come along with special up-turned brooms to flick it up into the air.

That's all I can think of today. Dust. It has to be seen to be
believed, how dusty this place is. But you can't see it, for the film
of dust on your eyeballs.

Xinhua - I don't know anything about this place. Usually I like to
Google the town I'm staying in to find out a few key facts.
Unfortunately Xinhua shares its name with the official Chinese
government news agency, so I can't find anything relevant.