Red Hot Chili Peppers

Now that it's consistently below freezing in Shihezi, it's time to get some spice into my life.   I spent all last year building up my spice tolerance by eating Sichuan every week, and now I don't have to ask for restaurants to make my dishes "微辣" (weila, mildly hot).  Very exciting, as my options have widened considerably (with some fanning of the tongue still occurring).

I wouldn't be able to get my "la" on if it weren't for these little things: 辣子 (chili peppers).




When the sun is at its hottest in the summer and even into the fall, these things are out drying on the pavement all around Shihezi. Doesn't matter if it's a sidewalk -- the chili peppers claim their space. Lots of people also dry them in their own home, either hanging out their windows or sitting on their windowsills. (My Chinese neighbor does that because she doesn't trust the cleanliness of any lazi she doesn't dry herself.) Outside of the city, the chili pepper business takes on a much bigger scale. They are spread out on large areas of more or less barren land (which Xinjiang has a lot of).




I saw these drying fields on the way back from a hike in September. My fellow passengers were amused by my great interest in what to them is mundane scenery.





Far from mundane! What a surreal landscape.