In 2009 the only way to get from Chengdu to Hounglong National Park was to fly because the road had been wiped out by an earthquake two years earlier. While driving the final leg of the journey, our van stopped for a construction blockage, so I got out to look around. A young man pushed his girlfriend up to me, and she said: “Hello.” “Nin how.” (My rendition of “hello” in Chinese.) “You speak Chinese.” She was no doubt pretending to believe I had a handle on the language. “That’s all.” Not true, I could also say  “Jiuzhaigou” and “waiguoren,” […]