A Change of Pace for Thanksgiving

While checking out at a grocery store two weeks ago during a long day in Changsha, I noticed a shirt worn by someone nearby.

More than the creative spellings, the last city listed on the shirt especially caught my attention. Not only is it uncommon in China to see mention of Baltimore, but via multiple airports in Shanghai and another in Chicago I would fly there the following day, which proved to last much longer thanks to time zones and the International Date Line.

My return to Baltimore proved to be too short, but I managed to take care of some pressing matters, eat lunch where they look at the stars, and appreciate a few sights.

Since departing Baltimore I have eaten near the border between Texas and Louisiana.

I have also seen a large gopher tortoise coming out of its burrow in Florida.

My recent American travels are a good part of the reason posting has been light lately. There will be no stories this year of how I spent the holiday in Hunan or mystery photos of where I spent it in a bordering province. In the near future I will return to China, but before that I will do something I haven't done in a decade: spend Thanksgiving in the U.S.

I am not sure what is exactly on the menu, but eating habits here differ from those where I was recently in Guangdong. It seems the tortoise is safe.

Scenes at Wuya Lane in Shaoguan, Guangdong

As described when featuring the Nostalgia Book Room and Wuya Lane Old Book Room, Wuya Lane (吾牙巷) in Shaoguan, Guangdong, is "home to a variety of establishments including places selling & buying old currency and other collector's items, a restaurant specializing in donkey meat, inexpensive hair salons, and 'hair salons' which appear to offer services far more intimate than a haircut". The photos below were taken over several different days at the lane which runs between Wenhua Street and Fuxing Road. The people who use the lane are no less diverse than the establishments which line it.

Two More Mobile Moments on Stringless Sculpture in Changsha

The stringless serenade never ends — neither do the opportunities to sit and check your mobile phone.

I'm less sure about what the other statue is doing.

YOLO Coming Soon in Zhuhai

At an under-construction (and now possibly open) establishment at the Shuiwan Bar Street in Zhuhai

More is coming soon here too . . .

Two Mobile Moments on Stringless Sculptures in Changsha

Earlier this year at pedestrian street in Changsha I considered "the competing interests between those who wish to use a suitable sculpture for an extended period of time as a place to sit with others who desire to use it more fleetingly for photos". When I stopped by a shopping center during a recent day in Changsha, I saw people using two previously-noticed sculptures with stringless string instruments for the former purpose.

In both cases, not only was someone taking advantage of a place to sit but their attention was focused on a mobile phone – a theme for some future posts about Changsha.

A Sight to Capture in China

Blue skies with clouds have caught my attention in China before. On a bridge in Shaoguan, I saw them catch somebody else's attention.

Another College Student's Part-time Job on a Street in Changsha

On Huangxing Middle Road in Changsha last week, I saw a college student handing out leaflets. As I passed by she paused before handing one to me. After I looked at the leaflet in her hand we both laughed. It advertised an English language school.

She reminded me of a college student I met in Changsha three years ago. Both students handed out leaflets as a part-time job but the pay has changed, increasing from 40 yuan to 50 yuan (U.S. $7.84) for four hours of work — a sign of how paper leaflets remain a common way of advertising and how labor costs have risen in China.

From Shaoguan to Changsha: A Brief Look at a Long Day

After reaching a boarding platform at the Shaoguan Railway Station last Wednesday morning, I headed in the wrong direction. To ensure the high-speed train didn't leave minus a confused passenger, staff asked me to board the nearest train car. The long train appeared to be two trains connected together, and there was no way to pass from the one I had boarded to the one with my reserved seat. Fortunately, finding a new seat wasn't a problem. During the 1 hour 44 minutes needed to reach my destination 480 km (298 miles) away, I was the only person sitting in the train car I had entered.

After arriving at the Changsha South Railway Station, instead of taking a taxi with a bust of Mao Zedong as I had done two years ago, I took the subway which had opened more recently.

In my hotel room I discovered one of the lightbulbs needed replaced. I notified hotel staff and not long afterwards left my room. In the elevator lobby I saw a hotel employee walk towards my room with a light bulb. Minutes later my room had more light. The elevator lobby, where I had watched the employee remove the light bulb from the ceiling, now had less.

I hit the streets of Changsha with a number of goals in my mind, most related to seeing what had and had not changed since my previous time there. Since my stomach desired lunch, my first destination was a new favorite for Liuyang-style steamed dishes on Jixiang Lane (吉祥巷). My old favorite and an old new favorite on the same lane are both long gone.

As expected, a variety of options, many spicy, were available in the steamer.

As not expected, the fish I chose was far from spectacular. I may branch out to other lanes next time.

I then made my way to the Kaifu Wanda Plaza. Behind it a pair of men encouraged me to try their specialty of pig and chicken feet.

Being full, I passed on their offer. And I soon passed some non-foot meat for sale nearby.

While walking down Yongxing Street (永兴街), a man sitting outside a mahjong room requested I take his photo. I obliged, and he convinced a woman to join him.

Later, near an area with a number of mobile phone stores and markets, I met two boys sharing a chair . . .

. . . a boy with a Chinese sanjiegun . . .

and a sanjiegun-less mutt.

Upon reaching the mobile phone markets, I checked out their current selection.

I then walked to a large shopping district around Huangxing Road and saw a Minions mascot . . .

. . . a child with a dog . . .

. . . and a couple of other mascots, these for Dianping.

The mascots were part of a promotion at a mall which, similar to many other promotions I have seen in China, concluded with dancers.

The dancers conclude this set of photos as well.

I was in Changsha for less than 24 hours but still managed to cover much ground. The above photos capture just a small portion of what I saw. In the future, I will share more, including updates to some earlier Changsha-related posts. And perhaps someday I will return to the elevator lobby to see whether it has regained its earlier brightness.

Some of Today's Lunch Space

On the plus side, the restaurant in the building has pretty good food and an excellent view.

On the negative side, I didn't get to use the telescope today.

I had hoped to have a bit more posted by now to help serve as a prelude to the above. I also hope to soon post the material, though in a more postlude-like fashion.

A Mobile Moment in Nanxiong, Guangdong

A crowd surround these pots for sale when I passed by less than an hour earlier.

Regarding the mobile theme, I have been rather mobile myself since yesterday and such joys will continue for about another day or so, depending on how you count. More about that, including my brief but eventful time in Changsha, once I am in a slightly more settled state.

Another Small Space in Shaoguan Filled with China's Redder Days: The Wuya Lane Old Book Room

The Nostalgia Book Room isn't the only place buying and selling old books and other older items on Wuya Lane in Shaoguan. Another place is the similarly small and appropriately named Wuya Lane Old Book Room* (吾牙巷旧书房). Like The Nostalgia Book Room, it opens when it opens and was closed almost all of the times I passed by.

Fortunately, one evening I arrived just before the door was about to come down. I was able to take a photo of the packed up room.

To peruse the many items call Mr. Mo (莫) at 18344499159 to have a better chance of finding an open door.




*Once again, I took the liberty of providing an English name. "书房" is often translated as "study" (the room), but I thought "book room" worked better in these cases.

A Small Space Filled with China's Redder Days: The Nostalgia Book Room in Shaoguan, Guangdong

Wuya Lane (吾牙巷) between Wenhua Street and Fuxing Road in Shaoguan is home to a variety of establishments including places selling & buying old currency and other collector's items, a restaurant specializing in donkey meat, inexpensive hair salons, and "hair salons" which appear to offer services far more intimate than a haircut. The place which most caught my eye there has the Chinese name 怀旧书屋 (Huáijiù Shūwū). Since no English name is listed, I will take the liberty of calling it The Nostalgia Book Room.

Numerous older books, posters, electronics and other memorabilia fill the small store. Many of them are connected to China's Cultural Revolution. Despite all of the upheaval and terror it brought, many in China today look back fondly on those days or part of what they held.

Chinese author Yu Hua, who grew up during the Cultural Revolution, sees some of the nostalgia for the Cultural Revolution as a sign of people's discontent with today's China:

In today’s China, more and more people speak in positive terms about the Cultural Revolution and hanker for a return to that era. Most of them don’t really want to turn the clock back: It’s mainly their dissatisfaction with current realities that fuels their interest in revolution. The itch for revolution, of course, may have different triggers. Some people are alienated by the increasing materialism of Chinese society, but many more are outraged by the emergence of interest cliques that marry political power to business profits.

But a quote of a Chinese musician in German sinologist Barbara Mittler's "Popular Propaganda? Art and Culture in Revolutionary China" suggests how people can have positive feelings about the era's culture without connecting it to any specific political message:

My generation likes the model works; they are our youth. Yes, there are people who dislike them, too, but really we do like them. Indeed, when I was young, eighteen or so, I needed art so much, we all did. And then there were just the model works as our food, and we actually thought they were quite great. Jiang Qing [Mao’s wife, who was in charge of the production of model works] used really good performers, writers, artists, and musicians. Of course this was propaganda for Mao’s thoughts, but it was also simply good art, it is all against these imperialists and their attacks, yes, it is, but it is also good art, really.

These are just two perspectives out of many on a complex topic which has generated much research and discussion — part of why I found the The Nostalgia Book Room so fascinating. Another part is simply the history. And old books and electronics . . .

Below is a closer look at the store. Some photographs were taken just after it opened and before all of the items had been set up as desired. If you wish to visit*, as far as I can tell the store opens when it opens. In other words, it is best to call Mr. Fan (范先生) at 0751-6109085 or 8979819 or you might be out of luck.

*Some online maps identify Wuya Lane as a street (吾牙街), but store signs and standard address plates in the area identify it as a lane / alley (吾牙巷).