#2: [08-Nov-14]

1-Aug-2026

23N101E: The Mangoes Are Ripe

After driving for over four hours on national highways and motorways, Fuli and I finally arrived in Ning'er, where we turned onto a small road heading south-west into the mountainous area. Compared to yesterday's route to 23N 100E, this path was even narrower, making it completely impossible to pass oncoming traffic or execute a U-turn along most stretches. Landslides were still frequently visible, with rocks tumbling onto the road. As we drove, we prayed for good luck today. However, ultimately, a massive landslide blocked the entire road. An excavator was clearing the debris, but it appeared unlikely to finish anytime soon. Consequently, Fuli waited in the car while I got out to walk to the confluence point three kilometres away.

The road undulated with the mountain terrain. Looking at the map earlier, I had assumed this township road would ascend continuously, but the actual reality today was that it went up and down across various hills and valleys. Thus, I could only alternate between gasping for breath on the ascents and navigating the slipperiness on the descents. Finally, the village shown on the map as Daxiechang appeared. Passing through the village, on a slope planted with mango trees by the roadside, I quickly located 23N 101E. After taking photos, I switched on my voice recorder to log an audio entry and sat down to rest. The road I had come from lay just four or five metres ahead of me. Villagers returning home after farm work occasionally rode past on motorbikes, casting inquisitive glances. Eventually, a villager stopped, looked up, and asked me, "What are you doing sitting in my mango orchard?" I replied with a smile, "I'm looking for the intersection of an integer degree of longitude and an integer degree of latitude, right where I'm sitting." Whether or not she understood or accepted my explanation, she simply continued on her own: "The mangoes are ripe, pick some for yourself!"