ABSTRACT
Beijingers, after I’ve answered their question about where I live within the United States, invariably respond with a puzzled expression and a wrinkled nose. They have heard of New York, San Francisco, and perhaps a few other places, but Montana requires an explanation, and that I place it on their mental map. But even more predictably, when I tell them that I’m not working in Beijing but just traveling through on my way to the western provinces of Qinghai or Gansu, they cluck in sympathy. So poor, so undeveloped, so backward. Why would a Westerner go there on purpose?
