An Anti-Epidemic Sale in Hong Kong

Atelier de Courcelles, a multi-brand store for children's fashion, has a shop in Hong Kong's Harbour City shopping mall. Like a number of other shops in the mall, it has been having a sale.

Unlike a number of other stores in the mall, though, their sale directly mentions the reason the mall has seen far fewer customers than usual during the past couple of months — the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Anti-Epidemic Sale has been ongoing for at least several weeks. One can only hope there will soon be good reason for it to end.

Hong Kong Buses with The Force

Four years ago I shared photos of displays with a Christmas touch promoting the release of Disney's Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai. I haven't seen anything as grandiose in Hong Kong for this year's release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Perhaps that is just because I haven't actively looked for anything. In any case, the best I can do now is to share photos of some of the buses I have seen in Hong Kong with advertising for the movie.

Given my previous interest in advertising on Hong Kong trams, I will keep an eye out for any Star Wars trams. No luck yet though.

This Dog's For You: Budweiser Advertising at a Dog Meat Restaurant in Yulin

Tomorrow is a special day in Yulin, Guangxi — the first and biggest day of the Yulin Lychee and Dog Meat Festival. And for the first time, I will be observing the festival person. I hope to better provide some important context that I feel much past reporting in Western media about the festival lacked. So there will certainly be multiple posts here in the future about dogs in Yulin, the festival, and the more general culture of eating dog meat in China.

To get the ball rolling, in the spirit of highlighting the everyday side of eating dog meat in China I will first share a photo of one of the easy-to-find restaurants which feature or serve dog meat in Yulin year round like many (many) other restaurants I have seen across China — no festival required. So here is the Camphorwood Dog Meat Restaurant (樟木狗肉管) on Dabei Road:

Restaurant signs with advertising for alcohol — typically baijiu or beer — are a common sight in (at least some parts of) China, and the Camphorwood Dog Meat Restaurant didn't pass up on this practice which at the very least helps save money on signs.

So if you want to wash down your dog meat with a cold (or outdoor / room temperature) American Budweiser beer, Camphorwood might be the perfect place.

The signs with Budweiser advertising would really be something if they included Budweiser's retired dog mascot Spuds MacKenzie.

Regardless, the Budweiser slogan on the sign says, "Be Your True Self". So fear not if you don't want dog meat. According to the sign you can get assorted cow or pig innards & meat there too — also with a Bud.

A Lingering Father's Day Display in Yulin

At least one sign of Father's Day in Yulin could still be found today at the Nancheng Department Store (南城百货).

It isn't unusual in China for holiday displays in stores or restaurant to remain long after the respective holiday is long past. The special Father's Day promotion was over according to the posted dates. But perhaps people could still get a deal if they asked.

Uncle Sam Wants You in Yulin, China

Uncle Sam wants you . . .

. . . to work at a Color Lady (出彩丽人) beauty care store in Yulin, Guangxi.

This is far from the first time in China I have seen Uncle Sam in job advertisements. But it is the latest I unexpectedly found myself face to face with this popular symbol of the United States and pondered its usage here.

We Made It in Wuzhou

Budweiser ad in a KTV lobby in Wuzhou

The Billside Rivierh Mini-Mini Jumbo Wuzhou Bus in Hedong

I had intended that a post about a Jumbo Wuzhou Bus parking area with art above it would be the last on the Jumbo Wuzhou Bus theme. But then I had an opportunity to ride the mallest Jumbo Wuzhou Bus. I did. And that post was supposed to be the real end of it all.

Really.

You know where this is going . . . Yes, this will be another Jumbo Wuzhou Bus post. The reason? Well, I saw a remarkable mini-mini Jumbo Wuzhou Bus tonight.

Two things made this bus grand enough to notice and to share. One, I saw it in the area locals would call Hedong (河东). I hadn't seen one there before. Two, before I had only seen larger Jumbo Wuzhou Buses with advertising. This was the first commercialized mini-mini I had seen.

The ad is for the "Billside Rivierh". I'm guessing they were aiming for the "Hillside Riviera", but I can't say for sure. What I can say for sure is that this ends the Jumbo Wuzhou Bus theme.

OK, I'm not totally sure.

An Apparent Mismatch for a Name: Mini Jumbo Wuzhou Buses in Guangxi, China

Hong Kong formally names its minibuses, like the one which appeared in the previous post, "public light buses". Wuzhou, a city in the Chinese autonomous region Guangxi, also has minibuses. But instead of "public light bus" they have another name on them.

The "Wuzhou" and "Bus" parts of the name "Jumbo Wuzhou Bus" make obvious sense. "Jumbo" is less clear, though, since these are minibuses. If that is the jumbo size then what's the mini size?

A larger bus can help begin to clear up the mystery.

They have the same name on them, which is the name of a bus company. This is clearly stated in smaller Chinese print elsewhere on the buses.

Like buses in Hong Kong, some buses have advertising.

However, you won't see advertising quite like what's on the minibus in the previous post. Hongkongers have greater political rights and more freedom of speech than people in mainland China. The "Tell Right From Wrong, True From False" slogan was part of a campaign for the Labor Party's attempt to win a 2018 Kowloon West by-election. But China still limits Hongkongers' rights to a degree that leads some people to claim Hong Kong doesn't have real democracy. These limitations were evident in Kowloon West election when the Labor Party's original candidate, Lau Siu-lai, was barred from running due to her previous stances regarding Hong Kong's self-determination.

Back to more mundane matters . . . in Wuzhou there are buses in between the mini Jumbo Wuzhou Bus and the regular-sized Jumbo Wuzhou Bus in terms of size. So here are two mini-plus Jumbo Wuzhou Buses:

The word "珍宝" in the Chinese name for Jumbo Wuzhou Bus would often be translated as "treasure". But it is also a loanword in Cantonese meaning "jumbo" because of its similar sound to the English word. Like in Hong Kong, Cantonese is a commonly spoken language in Wuzhou.

I can't shed more light on what inspired the choice of "jumbo". But if you want to dig more, it might be worth looking into the Guangzhou buses with a similar name and logo.

Advice from a Minibus in Hong Kong

Holiday Coke & Mahjong in Jiangmen

Things are still slow in these parts, thanks to the lunar new year holiday. But life progresses nonetheless. Some mahjong even happened today in Jiangmen, Guangdong.

The Lunar New Year Spirit Is Already Coming Out in China

The Lunar New Year, also known in China as the Spring Festival, isn't until February 5. But it isn't to early to see signs of it in China's stores.

Yesterday at a store for V.S. Holiday, a men's clothing retailer headquartered in Zhongshan, China, I saw a sign announcing their Spring Festival sale.

And not long after that, also in Zhongshan, I saw employees setting up displays of Lunar New Year items for sale at a Carrefour.

Notably, at both V.S Holiday and Carrefour there were also clear signs of the upcoming Christmas holiday as well. So much holiday spirit . . .

Sales, Gift Cards, and a Turkey Leg: Some Retail and Personal Thanksgiving in Zhongshan

Most Americans would likely be surprised to learn that Thanksgiving is celebrated, even if just to a minor degree, in China. This isn't using the word "Thanksgiving" to refer to a traditional Chinese holiday with similar themes. This is the Thanksgiving celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November as in the U.S., though with some differences.

Based on my own observations and conversations with people, my sense is that in general people are far less aware of the holiday than Western holidays such as Christmas and perhaps to a lesser degree Halloween. And those who are aware of it tend to be younger in age. In short, I would describe it as not being a big deal, but it's there to a degree. Yes, "a degree" leaves a lot of wiggle room, and I need it here.

Like with many other holidays in China, some retailers are happy to jump at the opportunity to use the holiday for a promotion. For example, in Xiaolan, a town roughly 20-25 km (more than 12 miles) from Zhongshan's central area, the entrance to a Superior City Department Store had a distinctly Thanksgiving theme.

The signs explicitly mentions the Thanksgiving holiday along with a special opportunity to earn a 50 yuan (currently about US $7.20) shopping card if you spend at least 888 yuan. The number 8 is considered very lucky in Chinese culture, and its use is unlikely accidental even in the Thanksgiving setting.

I can't answer why the gift card isn't 88 yuan as well. And admittedly, it wasn't entirely effortless for me to sort out the English message on the sign, which notably doesn't appear in Chinese.

I believe the intended meaning is something like: "Now is your only chance. Miss it and you'll have to wait another year."

In central Zhongshan, I saw a few other Thanksgiving sales.

China Gold jewelry store

Xiaomi Mi Home Store

Erke — a Chinese sports brand

Also, you could buy a Thanksgiving themed gift card at Starbucks.

Or you could participate in a Thanksgiving event at Meten — an English language school chain — which took place a couple of days after the holiday.

And I came across one American-style restaurant — Hey Farm —offering a special Thanksgiving meal.

Now I will switch to a brief account of my personal Thanksgiving experience — in particular my dinner in Zhongshan. The Hey Farm option didn't appeal due to the lack of turkey. I suspected a few other Western-style restaurants might have special meals for the day, but I figured they would already be fully booked.

So I focused on a option that has worked well in the past, including last year in Wuhan, and planned on a buffet at a Western hotel. This year, things didn't go quite as smoothly. I initially expected to eat turkey at the Sheraton Zhongshan Hotel. However, to my surprise that afternoon I discovered they wouldn't have a turkey or anything else special for the holiday. After that, I went for plan B and just showed up hoping for the best.

I am pleased to say the Hilton Zhongshan Downtown indeed prepared a turkey for their buffet. There didn't appear to be anything else special to Thanksgiving in their offerings but no matter. I scored a whole turkey leg, and the cranberry sauce gravy was excellent.

Additionally, for the first time ever I drank a Haizhu beer — a brand from neighboring Zhuhai —with my Thanksgiving meal.

Yes, shrimp, snails, and bamboo too

To top it all off, I also enjoyed a good dose of horse milk baijiu. I must say I enjoyed the flavor, not easy for a 52% alcohol drink to manage.

Merriment followed.

So thanks to Zhongshan for giving me a taste of Thanksgiving as I'm used to having back in the U.S. The horse milk baijiu really made it though.

A Wolverine Barbecue in Zhongshan

Fog Machines, Doves, and Target Heads: More Singles Day Promotions in Zhongshan

Dancing for Singles Day in Zhongshan, China

A number of promotions for Singles day began early last week in Zhongshan. In one of the many signs that retailers weren't content to celebrate Singles Day on just one single day, on Saturday, the day before the holiday, a Chotef (周大发) jewelry store at the west end of the Sun Wen West Road Pedestrian Street held a Singles Day promotion including performances.

During the late afternoon, I saw some women dancing, similar to an earlier Halloween performance elsewhere in Zhongshan. Unlike what I saw at a similar promotion at a jewelry store in Ganzhou, there wasn't a dancing dinosaur, but at least there was a fog machine.

When I passed by later during the evening, I caught the end of another performance.

For a change of pace that many children seemed to particularly enjoy, afterwards a magician performed.

A live dove appeared thrilled about its magical appearance.

I didn't return to this location on Singles Day, but presumably there was more of the same. Elsewhere, I didn't notice much occurring other than the typical sales for the holiday.

But there was one thing which really caught my eye. Earlier, I shared an example of a Singles Day promotion at a store for the Chinese clothing brand La Chapelle. A La Chapelle store at another mall in Zhongshan was holding the same promotion, except they had a display I hadn't seen before.

Using dartboards for heads in a Singles Day promotional display of women's clothing seemed . . . off target. Since this didn't seem like something I would miss and I was later near the first store I had noticed, I double-checked, and indeed it had no similar display. So perhaps La Chapelle didn't intend for its stores to depict women's heads as targets, and this is a single lone example.

In any case, though some stores have concluded their Singles Day promotion since the holiday is over, some haven't. So if you want to enjoy Chotef's special deals for the holiday, you have until November 19 — eight whole single days extra.

From Halloween to Singles Day at Toys "R" Us in China

Not so surprisingly, the Halloween sale at a Toys "R" Us in Zhongshan, China, ended on Halloween — October 31. Also not so surprisingly, it was only a short time before the store began another promotion. From November 2 until November 11 Toys "R" Us will celebrate Single's Day with a sale on a variety of toys.

As described by Lisa Lacy in an Adweek article about the holiday not taking off in the U.S.:

Singles Day started out [in China] as an anti-Valentine’s Day movement among college students in 1993. They picked 11/11 because it’s a date comprised of ones. The concept: Treat yourself.

Alibaba co-opted it in 2009 as an excuse to push winter coats, and the rest is history: Since then, China’s online audience has grown to more than 800 million consumers by Alibaba’s count. Along the way, Singles Day has matured into the single biggest shopping day in the world—selling more than $25 billion in 24 hours last year.

Children are indeed single, so I suppose it fits. The promotion is perhaps more reflective of how many businesses use a variety of holidays for promotions without necessarily intending any deep connection between the products on sale and the actual holiday.

Many other retailers in China are having Singles Day sales, including a store for a Chinese clothing brand that is a short walk from the Toys "R" Us.

The impact of the holiday on sales, including online, will be closely watched to see if it provides further indication that China's economy is slowing. In any case, if you are thinking of buying a mini foosball table, now might be your best time — especially if you're single.

Source

Black Dumplings, Gourds, and a Meaty Mannequin: Halloween Spirit in Zhongshan, China

In past years I have shared Halloween-related scenes from cities such as Taipei in 2011, Changsha in 2012, Shaoguan in 2015, Shenyang in 2016, and most recently Changsha again in 2017. The posts have numerous photos of people in costumes, promotions, and food. Perhaps some day I will fill in some of what I missed sharing here, which includes Halloween experiences in Dalian, Shanghai, and Zhuhai. But for now I will share a sample of what I saw in Zhongshan, since it is where I spent Halloween this year.

One of the earliest signs of Halloween I came across was a promotion at 7-Eleven stores which began weeks before the holiday. Yes, I gave the three black cuttlefish items a try.

The dumplings were tasty with some Sriracha-style sauce, but a couple of them were rather soggy. The sausage was too dried out. The cuttlefish balls were OK. None of it was as good as the black spidery pizza I tried at Pizza Hut in Shenyang two years ago. At least 7-Eleven had a special price for getting the three together. Not all the items were specially made for Halloween, but the dumplings are now gone.

To wash down all of that cuttlefish ink, 7-Eleven had a special Halloween deal on . . . Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey lemonade and cola drinks of course.

Moving on . . .

Three years ago I saw a Halloween display at n RT-Mart in Shaoguan. This year in Zhongshan, RT-Mart kept up the Halloween spirit.

Their selection possibly surpassed what was available at a Toys "R" Us in Zhongshan. Also, the display had a dark area inside of it where glowing items could be tested.

A Carrefour in Zhongshan similarly had Halloween items for sale.

Carrefour took it up another notch, though, with a Halloween gourd display.

The Shiqi Dasin Metro-Mall had a Halloween-themed food fair as part of celebrations for the one year anniversary of its newest section.

Several nights before Halloween, the fair was packed.

None of the food itself was any different from what could appear at any other food fairs, but at least one of the sellers was in the holiday spirit.

There was also occasional dancing.

On Halloween day there were a variety of activities. The Lihe Plaza shopping mall appeared prepared for a musical performance, but I didn't stick around to listen.

One popular gathering area that night was the central outdoor area at the Central Power Plaza shopping mall, where there were several people painting faces as part of a promotion.

By 10 p.m on Halloween night at the Shiqi Dasin Metro-Mall, many of the vendors at the food fair had already packed up and departed. But even with a now sagging arch, there were still photographic opportunities.

Some bars, including one at the mall, also got into the holiday spirit. In part because most are far separated from one another, I didn't bother with a pub crawl — so no photos. I also won't be sharing a set of photos of people dressed up for the holiday. See the earlier posts for plenty of those. But here's one of a pirate sitting at McDonald's on Halloween night:

Finally, for the first time ever I will award a winner (of what I happened to see) for best Halloween spirit. Carrefour wins hands down. No, the Halloween items for sale or the glorious gourds aren't what led to this special distinction.

Instead, I introduce the Halloween Dried Meats Witch:

Perhaps that will become a popular costume for next year.