Years 2009-2012 Breningstall.com

The Longest Way 1.0 - one year walk/beard grow time lapse in China

The Longest Way

Christoph Rehage's long walk across China (2007-2008): 4,646 kilometers

Christophe Rehage:

Nov.9th 2007 - Nov.13th 2008 // one year on foot // 4646km through China // unlimited beard & hair growth // Homepage: http://www.thelongestway.com // Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CRehage // musical score by The Kingpins (http://www.myspace.com/theoneandonlykingpins) and Zhu Fengbo

Additional info:
- I never finished my original goal of walking to Germany. Instead, I walked for a year and roughly 4500km, passed the Gobi desert, and then decided to stop walking for now.
- All of the distance from Beijing to Ürümqi has been completed solely on foot, straight good old walking. There are instances where you can see me in the video sitting on a plane or riding a boat, but those are during breaks I had to take from walking, either to sort out bureaucracy issues or to take care of some personal things.

If you have any additional questions, please refer to:
http://www.thelongestway.com/frequently-asked-questions
http://www.thelongestway.com/extras/miscellaneous-advice
and get the Google Earth file here (1KB):
http://www.thelongredline.com/TLW.kmz

Via Shanghaiist

African-American player cannot be considered for the MVP award in Chinese Basketball Association

By coincidence, I caught a bit of the Xinjiang vs. Guangdong Chinese Basketball Association matchup on TV the other night and I was impressed with the Xinjiang's team's play. Not being a big basketball fan, I didn't know that Quincy Douby has been such a dominant player this year.

The New York Times reports,

It’s a chant normally reserved for Chinese players, who are the only ones eligible for the Chinese Basketball Association’s most valuable player award. But as Quincy Douby stepped to the free-throw line recently with his team’s Game 3 victory in the finals guaranteed, the partisan home crowd was glad to make an exception. As Douby swished his two foul shots, the roars of “M.V.P.!” filled the arena...

Despite his place in the record books, Douby is ineligible to win any other award other than the All-Star Game M.V.P., which he did in March by scoring 44 points — another single-game record for the league. Instead, Douby will have to settle for a more unofficial honor: best foreign player of all time, a title he was given by gaining 84 percent of fans’ votes in a recent online poll.

“I didn’t come here with a lot of personal goals,” Douby said. “But for them to say that and for them to acknowledge the way I play, it means a lot to me. It makes me want to work harder.”

Full story.

The story begs the question: Why can't a black player be eligible for the Most Valuable Player award in the CBA? Or an American one? If China wants its domestic game to get better, they should make a Chinese player earn the award.

Photos: Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, China | Heading Back Into Town (Pt. 4 of 4)

These photos of the Princess Castle ruins were taken in Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, July, 2010.

Tashkurgan township (seat of Tashkurgan Tajik County) is nestled in a corner close to the Chinese borders with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan and near the Khunjerab Pass.

For more details, see Photos: Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, China, Part 1.

Photos: Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, China | Princess Castle (Pt. 3 of 4)

These photos of the Princess Castle ruins were taken in Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, July, 2010.

Tashkurgan township (seat of Tashkurgan Tajik County) is nestled in a corner close to the Chinese borders with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan and near the Khunjerab Pass.

For more details, see Photos: Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, China, Part 1.

Photos: Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, China | Mountains and Valley (Pt. 2 of 4)

These photos were taken in Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, July, 2010. For more details, see Photos: Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, China, Part 1.

Photos: Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, China | On the outskirts of town (Pt. 1 of 4)

These photos were taken in Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, July, 2010. We arrived in the high elevation Tajik town after a spectacular drive of several hours on Karakoram Highway from Kashgar.

Tashkurgan township (seat of Tashkurgan Tajik County) is nestled in a corner close to the Chinese borders with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan and near the Khunjerab Pass.

There is not much of note in the town center- it is essentially composed of two or three main streets- but there is some beautiful scenery surrounding it. On the northeast side of town travelers can find the ruins of Princess Castle and also wander through the immense valley below it, also populated by yaks (we visited the valley first).

The valley has a sign that proclaims, "WELCOME TO ALAER GOLDENGRSS LAND LOCALFOLK PAR." There are some tents in the valley. They look like they may cater to tourist picnics but we were unsuccessful in my efforts to procure any merchandise from the proprietors (like a bottle of water). Still, sometimes it is nice to be in a quiet area.

Tashkurgan, Xinjiang: Mountain Photo in Black-and-White

More photos from Xinjiang can be seen here.

Karakoram Highway

The Karakoram Highway is the highest international paved road in the world. These photos are from the stretch connecting Kashgar to Karakul Lake and Tashkurgan, a popular route for travelers in China's far northwest.