Donald Flapping and Cleaning Squat Toilets in China for a Special Day in the U.S.

Over four years ago on a day in November I found myself rather depressed and at a loss for words. The only thing I could think of posting was a video I had recently recorded while at a shopping center in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, China.  I didn't though, so here it is now:

Today, both for balance and resolution, is a video I later took in a bathroom at a clothing market in a former bomb shelter under a hill in Wuzhou, Guangxi, China.

With that, I feel a non-insignificant amount of cleansing occurred today. Of course, things aren't completely clean, but still . . . they're much cleaner than before.

The K11 Musea Shopping Mall Playing It Safe in Hong Kong

Due to COVID-19, not all of the usual entrances to the upscale K11 Musea shopping mall are now open. And at those which are still open, a test awaits visitors.

As long as the infrared body temperature check doesn't detect a fever, people are free to enter. Temperature-checking technology that scans from a distance doesn't require each person to be individually approached with a hand held device — an advantage over those devices in both terms of efficiency and social distancing.

A Day When Police Didn't Stop Me From Taking Photos at Nanqiao Market in Yulin, China

Nanqiao Market (南桥市场) in Yulin, Guangxi

In numerous cities in China and elsewhere in the world, I often visit wet markets. Each one has its own character, and they offer a glimpse into local culture. They can also be a great place to pick up some cheap and tasty prepared food. Last month in Yulin I stumbled upon the Nanqiao Market (南桥市场) on Jiangbin Road (江滨路). I took relatively few photos, since the market was rather quiet and many stalls weren't in use at the time.

I hadn't planned to mention this market around now, but my first experiences there provide some useful context for a story I have to tell. So I will add that while I was there on the first Monday of May, no police officers stopped me from taking photographs and no strangers clearly prepared to block access to certain areas accompanied me uninvited. Instead, my time there was relatively uneventful, except for meeting two friendly boys excited to meet a foreigner. In addition to the one above, below are some more photos I took there that day, like I have taken without problem at many other wet markets in China.

Wet market on a wet day

"Pork row"

Some dry goods for sale at the wet market

Many stalls didn't have any activity

One boy does his homework. One boy provides entertainment.

I of course freely roamed about.

Some color

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.

Watched By a Gigantic Panda in Yulin

I am working on a post about the opening of a new shopping mall in Yulin, Guangxi, which speaks to a variety of issues in China. While I don't share a lot of video, in this case I feel it is quite useful for communicating some what occurred. However, uploading the video across the Great Firewall will require more effort and time.

So for now, I will just say my recent time at this new mall has helped me gain appreciation for the fact that even after all of these years in China I'm still not sure what to think when a gigantic panda intently stares . . .

stares . . .

. . . stares, I say, at me.

Good times. After this, the world only become more unusual when the panda danced on the stage. The moves were at times, shall we say, intense for a creature of such a size. Or really any size. At least the panda was distracted from me. I hope.

More later.

Two Valentine's Day Sellers in Jiangmen

I believe it is February 14, which in parts of the world is Valentine's Day.

Tonight on Shengli Road in Jiangmen, I passed two nearby places where people could buy last minute flowers.

The second photo captures intense bargaining. Perhaps some people would prefer their love to pay whatever it takes to get some flowers. In this case, tag team action between the couple sought a better price.

Well played.

Scenes from Piggish Hong Kong Lunar New Year Fairs at Victoria Park and Fa Hui Park

As in the past, Hong Kong recently held Lunar New Year Fairs in 15 locations for a period of seven days. Five years ago I shared a number of scenes from the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair and the Fa Hui Park Lunar New Year Fair in Hong Kong. This year I had the chance to visit both again. Below is a set of photos capturing a variety of scenes from the two fairs. I visited Victoria Park Saturday evening and Fai Hui Park Sunday afternoon just before the Lunar Near Year. In general, the fairs were much as they were five years ago with the exception that were many more pig-themed items for sale — not surprising since it is now Year of the Pig. Like before, the photos capture a variety of stalls and the large crowds. And of course there a few scenes from their respective flower markets. One thing is deliberately missing though. The politically themed stalls at Victoria Park, which I featured five years ago, will appear in a later post.

Fa Hui Park Lunar New Year Fair

One of the entrances to the fair

A dense crowd

Basketball is off limits

Pigs and more

Giant stuffed ancient coins

More pigs

One of the locations to get some fair food

Ah Tak - the green “keep clean ambassador” for Hong Kong's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department

Some of the many flowers for sale

Not all flowers found a home in time

Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair

Simply making one's way from one side of the aisle to the other through the very dense crowd proved quite challenging.

Yes, pigs

Some Hong Kong pride

Bubbles abounded

Slower than a crawling pace

Shirts with messages of some sort

Putting ladders to use to sell pigs

One last pig-themed stall

The trash overflowed

Non-trashy and unwilted colors

These flowers sold shortly after I took the photo

And that's all for now. For Lunar New Year Fair photos taken in other locations, last year I visited the Taipei Lunar New Year Festival at Dihua Street and Macau's Lunar New Year Festival at Tap Seac Square.

A Watching Bird in Mong Kok

Having another pair of eyes is often useful . . .

At the Fa Yuen Street Market in Mong Kok, Hong Kong

A Game of Xiangqi, a Shop, and a Look Back at 2018's Travels

Soon 2018 will be over in China. For the last post of the year here, it would be hard to top one with another photo of people playing xiangqi. This evening on Mazhou Street (麻洲街) in Zhongshan I stumbled upon a lively game:

The player wearing red slippers had to temporarily leave the game. After all, nobody else was around to take payments at the small convenience store across the street.

For me 2018 began in Taipei, from where in mid-February I made my way to Jiangmen in Guangdong province via Macau and Zhuhai. I spent two months in Jiangmen and of course saw some xianqi games — whether they were during the Lunar New Year or accompanied by various forms of smoking. Then I headed to Yunfu where I explored wonderful karst topography and a historical street. Next, in Zhaoqing I also explored much history and nature. Getting caught up on other matters meant I haven't yet shared much about the city here, though at least I managed to share my impression of the wonton's at a restaurant there with a logo rather similar to McDonald's. Similarly, I didn't manage to post much about Qingyuan, where I saw a rainbow for the first time in a while.

Next I returned to a familiar location, Guangzhou, whose towers provided a stark contrast with my previous recent locations. Then it was on to Hong Kong where I caught some FIFA World Cup football in a mall and, of course, more xiangqi. After Hong Kong, I returned to the land of the Great Firewall and had some peculiar problems using some sites it blocks while I was in Shenzhen, though at least my location had a striking view. I had growing suspicions the issue was quite local. In fact, my problems were resolved after arriving in Huizhou, although the problems were only growing for some ducks there. Once again, catching up on matters and such led to me blogging very little about a city. But such was not the case when I made my way Ganzhou in Jiangxi province. During nearly two months there, I observed much burning during the Hungry Ghost Festival, more rainbows, and, yes, more xiangqi — both during the day and at night.

I then traveled from Ganzhou to Zhuhai by bus, and I finally found some Hot Chicken Wing and Wasabi Oreos to try. After Zhuhai, I moved on to yet another familiar city, Zhongshan, where I have been since. Left out of this account are various days trips I made to Macau, one of which allowed me to see the Macau Lunar New Year Festival.

Personally, some of the most unexpected parts of the year for me was the amount of time I spent in Guangdong province and that I never made it farther north than Ganzhou. On several occasions I planned heading much farther north, including to Shijiazhuang in Hebei province and relatively nearby locations, but life is complex — sort of like a game of xiangqi.

There is so much from the past year I still want to share and write about. Hopefully at least some of that happens later. But now, I will spend the last half hour of 2018 by exploring a tiny bit more.  

Apples, Trees, and Santa Hats: More Christmas Scenes from Zhongshan, China

During this blog's life, I have shared Christmas scenes from a variety of cities in China such as, in chronological order, Wuhan, Putian, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Hong Kong, and Wenzhou. The Wuhan post includes general information about the holiday in China that still largely holds. To complement the scenes of a Christmas Midnight Mass in Zhongshan I recently witnessed this year, below I will share a set of photos capturing some other aspects of how the holiday was celebrated in Zhongshan, even if just for fun with little or no religious connotation. The post isn't as extensive as many of the earlier posts and none of the displays I saw were as elaborate as the somewhat surreal Star Wars Christmas display at a mall in Shanghai several years ago. But they offer a peak at the holiday in yet another city in China.

Not at all surprising, one of the first signs of the holiday I noticed on Christmas Eve night were two young women setting up a display of traditional-in-China Christmas apples in decorative boxes for sale.

I wondered about their choice of location in the midst of a small informal night market in front of Fuye Square. All I can say is that just as I was about to walk away they already had potential customers.

Not very far away on the Qijiang Bridge, I saw more people selling Christmas apples.

At the time they were keeping an eye out for relevant authorities some other vendors thought soon might be on the way to stop such activities.

On the other side of the bridge, the Central Power Plaza shopping mall had a large Christmas tree outside.

Unsurprisingly, it was a popular location to take photos, including for a group of women wearing Santa hats.

On the nearby Sun Wen West Road Pedestrian Street, more Santa hats could be found.

On Christmas Day, I stopped by Lihe Plaza. In addition to the Christmas tree outside, there were also giant reindeers and a Santa Claus above the main entrance to the shopping mall.

In one open air pedestrian area there was a market set up with a theme mixing Christmas and Pihotrain — a young Shenzhen-based company with Disney-like ambitions.

Most of the vendors in the market were similar to those I have seen in the same location when the market has had other themes. But at least one vendor added a Christmas touch with decorations.

And one vendor even added Christmas apples to their selection.

We're back to the apples, so this seems like a good time to say, yet again, "that is all", at least for Zhongshan. Some day / year I hope to share past Christmas scenes that never made it here from at least two cities not mentioned above. Until then, enjoy the apples.