A Return to an Antique Market in Changsha, China

Last year I described a weekend outdoors antique market surrounding the more permanent Tianxinge Antique City in Changsha, China. This past weekend I returned. Most seemed the same, although the concentration of sellers seemed to be different in some areas. Like before, I will share photos which capture some of the variety of items for sale, not all of which were antiques, and a bit of the life at the market--including sellers using their mobile phones, eating, sleeping, and of course trying to sell something.

For more scenes, see last year's post here.

A Trip Northward from Zhuhai by High-Speed Rail

Previously, I wrote about my experience traveling by high-speed rail from Guangzhou South Station to Zhuhai when the main Zhuhai station did not exist and I had to take a long taxi ride from Zhuhai North Station to a more central area. I later shared what I saw at the under-construction Zhuhai Railway Station and provided an update when I read the station had opened.

Three days ago I went to the Zhuhai Railway Station.

I wasn't there just to visit, and after passing through some light security I stayed in the waiting area.

After a quiet wait, I boarded a high-speed train.

And I enjoyed the scenery as I headed north.

Guangzhou was not my final destination, so I had the opportunity to visit the waiting area of Guangzhou South Station again (scenes from an earlier trip here).

I would have preferred to eat some of Guangzhou's delicious food, but the station's offerings seemed more mundane. So I picked up a passable tuna sandwich from FamilyMart, a Japanese convenience store chain I became familiar with in Shanghai and Taipei.

Later, I boarded another high-speed train, but this was one of China's faster G line trains. Again, I enjoyed some of the views as I headed further north.

Not all of the scenes were as clear as above, though.

Upon arriving at my destination, I could taste air pollution like I never tasted in Zhuhai. I also noticed a few changes at the train station such as a new area for boarding taxis that is far more orderly and efficient than before:

The taxi I rode provided several signs of my new destination, include the fair starting at 6 RMB instead of Zhuhai's 10 RMB and the bust of Mao Zedong proudly sitting on the dashboard.

During the taxi ride, a highway sign provided an unexpected reminder of where I had started the day far away.

Finally, I arrived at my hotel. Upon stepping out of the taxi I saw a hotel security man probably in his 50s approaching me with a huge smile. Despite it having been a year since my last visit, I immediately recognized him. We created a bit of a scene high-fiving each other.

I've never seen a FamilyMart in this part of China, but I didn't need one. Later that night, I enjoyed a meal at one of my favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurants.

Unlike my arrival here last year, I will not do a "guess where I am" post. I'm back in Changsha, Hunan province. The train portion of my journey from Zhuhai to Changsha took less than 5 hours, including a one hour layover in Guangzhou. The new station in Zhuhai certainly made traveling to Changsha more convenient. Given Changsha's traffic, though, I am now looking forward to the opening of something else under construction: the Changsha subway.

I will not be in Changsha as long as my previous stay, but I should have ample time to make some comparisons between then and now. I have already seen much that has changed.

Views of Zhuhai Without Fences and Walls

For a change of pace from the previous post, here's a view of Zhuhai from Macau sans fences and walls:

Looking westward towards Zhuhai's Hengqin Island across the water from Cotai in southern Macau

And here is a view of Zhuhai without borders:

Looking northward from the square in front of the Gongbei Port immigration checkpoint in Zhuhai

One can continue in this direction for thousands of kilometers before needing to worry about another immigration checkpoint. Though you may first encounter a famous wall.

Fences and Walls Between Two Cities in China

Despite Macau being a part of China, mainland Chinese need a special permit to enter it. I've pondered the border between Macau and Zhuhai, the neighboring city in mainland China, both while looking at Macau from Zhuhai and while looking at Zhuhai from Macau.

I recently visited the western half of Macau's northern border. I found it provides a stronger impression of the border than many other vantage points due to the long stretches of human-made barriers in both Macau and Zhuhai. This area of Macau is connected by land to mainland China or only separated by a narrow strip of water. At most other locations wider bodies of water separate Macau and the rest of China, and no long stretches of border fences or walls exist.

Below are eight photos I took from this area in Macau in the order they were taken as I headed west along the border. In all of them Zhuhai can be seen in the background. If a fence on the Macau side is not visible, it means I stuck my camera through the gratings. See the three links above to earlier posts for more scenes and for more information and thoughts about the border between Macau and mainland China.

Man looking at the new Zhuhai Railway Station from Sun Yat Sen Park in Macau

A partial basketball court in Macau in sight of apartments in Zhuhai

There is video surveillance along the border.

Farther away view of the Zhuhai Railway station with Zhuhai buildings on the left and in the center

Looking westward from the same location as the previous photo

This appeared to be a building for border police.

Public exercise equipment and a child running by

Mountains and new apartment complexes are easy to find in Zhuhai

Please Do Not Urinate While Riding the Xi'an Subway

In response to story a mother from mainland China helping her boy urinate into a trashcan at a Hong Kong subway station, last month I shared a photo of a "no peeing" sign I recently saw in Macau, China. As I later mentioned, many times in China I have seen an adult helping a small child urinate in a public place such as a sidewalk. Although I didn't expect to return to the public urination & subways topic, yesterday my friend Chiaki Hayashi Kato shared a photo of a sign which I think deserves being added into the mix.

She saw the sign in Xi'an, the capital city of Shaanxi province best known for its famous Terracotta Army. In contrast to its bounty of historical treasures, Xi'an has recently experienced several forms of modern development including the addition of a new subway system. The first line opened in 2011 and a second line began running two months ago.

Building a subway system is one thing. Teaching people how you want them to use it is another. According to the Xian Metro's website (Chinese), a variety of campaigns have been carried out to influence passengers' behavior, such as instructing people to stand in line for arriving trains and cracking down on people who are eating or drinking. A current campaign even offers rewards for photographs of "uncivilized" behavior.

What counts as uncivilized behavior? While riding the subway in Xi'an, Chiaki noticed a sign which apparently provides one answer:

In addition to the charming image of a woman helping a little boy urinate on a subway door while two other passengers look on, the poster includes the message:

每个车站都设有卫生间，请勿让小孩在车厢内大小便。

A rough translation is:

All subway stations have toilets. Please don't allow children to urinate or defecate inside the subway cars.

I didn't ask Chiaki, but I feel confident she followed this advice without much inconvenience. And based on her comments, she didn't witness other people not following the advice, so I guess she won't be receiving a reward soon.

Children (and sometimes adults) urinating or defecating on floors while using public transportation may not be best described as "common" in China, but, as an online search will show, it happens. The sign directly confronts an issue that can be uncomfortable for some but difficult to address without drawing more attention to it. If the Xi'an Metro wants its subway cars to be urine-free and excrement-free, the sign strikes me as a rather pragmatic and somewhat colorful attempt to improve the odds. And if the sign is part of an effective campaign, the benefits should outweigh any negative perceptions related to people wondering why such a sign is needed in the first place.

Signs of Taipa in Macau

I now seem to have a somewhat functional VPN. It's not perfect, and I'm hoping to further improve the situation. But at least I can more reliably connect to the blocked-in-China world than previously.

For a sign that things have somewhat returned to normal, I will share a set of photos I took in and around Macau's Taipei Village the other day that all include... signs. I did not initially intend to take so many photos of signs, but after the first few I thought focusing on signs could serve as a way to capture sides of Macau that may otherwise be missed. And Macau presents a unique treat for sign aficionados. Where else is it common to see Traditional Chinese, Portuguese, and English together? As the following photos show, not all signs use all three languages and which languages appear can vary depending on the circumstances.

Koi Kei's billboard on the right side changed. The yellow sign is for another bakery.

The environment of the previously mentioned "no peeing" sign

Maybe I will see the snakes next time.

No flowers today

As requested, I refrained from climbing on the rocks.

I have noticed Macau's outdoor escalators often provide a number of riding tips.

At crowded bus stops in neighboring Zhuhai boarding a bus can feel like a sporting event.

Macau is concerned about dengue fever.

A street sign in Taipei Village

The Old Taipa Tavern (OTT) is in a great location for enjoying a drink, but don't be noisy or mention the rent.

As in Hong Kong, 7 Elevens are common in Macau.

The back of a McDonald's

Another sign of Macau's smoking regulations

Choose a sign to ponder

China's Great Firewall Says Hello

I have not be able to post here for a few days due to significant problems in using my VPN. Without a properly functioning VPN, I am at the mercy of China's Great Firewall. This means a variety of sites are blocked, including Blogger which I use to publish this blog. For reasons I am unable to completely explain, there are occasionally periods of time when I can still reach blocked-in-China sites. If this post publishes, it means I was able to take advantage of one. This actually represents an improvement from yesterday.

My VPN provider is trying to solve the problem, which at least in part appears to be the result of some crafty strategies being used by the Great Firewall, although there are other issues which also concern me. It is almost as fascinating as it is frustrating. I don't know how many others are affected by what I'm experiencing. I also don't know if it is specific to me, Zhuhai, or Guangdong province. For now, I will just add that it was a year ago when I last had so many problems with the Great Firewall.

Hopefully an effective solution can soon be found. Perhaps more on this topic later.

Vivo and the Giant Inflatable Android Robot in Zhuhai

During a recent visit to a shopping district in Zhuhai's Nanping Town, I spoke to salespeople at several stores, each of which sold a variety of mobile phones. Some of what I heard and saw matched up with what I have seen in reports about China's mobile phone market. But some did not.

An example of the former was the apparent popularity of smartphones running the Android operating system. An example of the latter is highlighted in this photo:

Yes, that's a giant inflatable blue Android robot with the logo of BBK's Vivo brand. If you didn't know before, you can probably now guess that Vivo phones run the Android operating system. Vivo is not a Chinese brand often mentioned in the news or always included in charts of mobile phone market share, but salespeople at a couple of mobile phone stores told me Vivo was their top seller. At some other stores it was near the top. And at one store, when I asked the manager to show me something "interesting" after having looked at a Xiaomi phone, without hesitation he brought me over to a case of Vivo phones. I am not able to verify the claims of Vivo sales, but promotions for Vivo were easy to see at several stores in the form of tents or the common-in-China inflatable arch.

There was only one giant Android robot though.

Like the outdoor sales promotions for Xiaomi I saw in the same shopping district, for now this is shared in the spirit of "some of what I saw and heard in one small part of China". Later, I will share a little more in this spirit before discussing recent reports and commentary regarding mobile phone sales in China. I will particularly focus on two brands which have recently received much more media attention than Vivo--Apple and Xiaomi.

Imitation, Creativity, and a Right-Hander's Dream in Chinese Mobile Phones

As I have mentioned many times before (most recently here), a broad variety of mobile phones are designed, made, and sold in China. During a recent visit to Zhuhai's Jida subdistrict, I took a closer look at a store selling phones not made by better known Chinese brands such as BBK, Oppo, Xiaomi, and Gionee. Although some of the phones imitate other brands, some include "micro-innovations" and some can be rather distinctive from phones commonly available in markets outside of China such as the U.S.

Below, I will share four examples of what I found. My intent is simply to stimulate some thought about the mobile phone domain in China.

The iPoone above on the left obviously fits into the "inspired-by-Apple" category--a category in which I regularly spot new designs. The "Think Different" phone I saw in Guangzhou and the iPncne phone I saw in Ningxia also fit in this category.

The phone above on the right has no obvious Apple influence and is just one of the many small clamshell phones available with various images.

The yellow phone on the above right offers a butterfly light show. The shopkeeper made sure I noticed the digital clock on the outside.

The "Dlor" phone on the above left is what most caught my eye that day, so I will provide a few more details about it. These words are above the image of the two hands:

I'm not left-hander
幸福在我的左边
可是........
却不是个左撇子
抓不住你

Numerous instances of the same image with almost exactly the same words can be found on a number of Chinese online sites. However, I was not able to pin down the original source.

One reasonable translation of the Chinese is "Happiness is on my left, but I can't catch you since I'm not left-handed".

If you're now puzzled by the poem or wondering why hands with an extra finger were used (did you notice?), you're not alone. Any Chinese friends I have asked expressed some confusion, and examples of confusion can be found online (in Chinese) as well.

Yes, there are many questions to ask. And all of the above phones raise more general questions such as "What motivated the design?" and "Why would somebody purchase this phone?" The answers to these questions could guide the design of new phones, whether they look like the above phones or not, for people in China and in other markets as well. As I first suggested after seeing the Think Different phone in Guangzhou, even when there are imitations, such phones can be a potential source of valuable insight or inspiration for global mobile phone brands.

Finally, there is one question I will answer now. No, despite it fascinating me, I did not buy the Dlor phone. After all, it doesn't suit me since I'm a left-hander.

More on Inspired-by-Starbucks Stores in China

There are two things deserving further attention regarding the previous post in which I shared an example of a cafe in Zigong with a Chinese name that sounds very much like the Chinese name of Starbucks.

1. In a comment to the post, "Pete" wrote:

If you have to explain the joke...

This made me ponder which Chinese brands I'm familiar with. The the three I thought of were Tsingtao, Norinco, and Seagull. I wonder what the far more than 99% of Americans who aren't interested in the combination of beer, guns, and watches would think of.

I don't doubt Pete appreciates that some of this blog's readers can't read Chinese and are not representative of people in Zigong. So the first line in Pete's comment raises the issue of whether people in Zigong who might consider going to this cafe would appreciate "the joke". The short answer is: I don't know, especially since I am not familiar with the brand recognition for Starbucks in Zigong.

But I still consider it likely that the person who came up with the name is familiar with Starbucks. Again, it would be quite a coincidence otherwise. And in conversations I have had with owners of other stores with possible (or clear) examples of trademark infringement, I have found some might be motivated by reasons not necessarily dependent on the familiarity customers may have with a particular brand. Sometimes an imitation of a brand may be more representative of the owner's own likes or aspirations than of an attempt to deceive others to any degree.

The second part of Pete's comment raises the issue of Chinese brand recognition in the U.S. There were reports of a survey conducted by HD Trade Services indicating that 94% of Americans are not able to name a single Chinese band. The link to the original report, provided by a number of publications, does not currently work, and I cannot find the report elsewhere. So I will refrain from commenting on it.

I will just add that some Chinese companies are now more concerned about whether Chinese consumers think a brand is well-known abroad than whether the brand is actually well-known abroad. One example I have previously mentioned involved a company advertising in London primarily for the perception it provided in China. I will discuss a potential new example in a later post.

2. Some readers may be curious about the stores I saw that "would likely be of more interest to lawyers at Starbucks". So here is one I saw three year ago which quickly came to mind:

Yes, despite the Korean writing, this Sutarbucks Coffee store is in China. Korean is common in the city were I found it--Yanji, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin province--due to its large population of ethnic Koreans and its proximity to North Korea. Like in Zigong, a genuine Starbucks cannot be found in Yanji. The nearest one is about 5 hours away by car in Changchun. Again, I'm not positive this would count as trademark infringement, but I would be rather surprised if Starbucks wasn't an inspiration.

And Pete might be happy I don't think I need to explain why.

A Zigong Cafe With a Familiar-Sounding Name

While scrolling through small preview images of photos from Zigong, Sichuan province, I became curious as to why I took a particular photo 2 years ago. About a second after opening it up I laughed and knew what had motivated me. Since it relates to a recent post, I will share it here:

For those who don't see why this "drink bar" which sells coffee, milk tea, and fruit juice caught my attention, I'll provide an explanation.

The store featured in a recent post, Starbucks, has the Chinese name 星巴克, which in pinyin with tones is spelled "Xīngbākè". "Xing", which means "star", sounds somewhat similar to "sheeng" and "bake" sounds like "bah kuh" (or "bucks" to a lesser degree). The above store's name is 新吧客, which in pinyin with tones is spelled "Xīnbākè". So although the characters all differ, its name sounds very similar to the Chinese name for Starbucks. The only difference is the "ng" sound instead of "n". Especially given what the store sells and its green coloring, it would be striking if the similarity is a coincidence.

Although the store's name jumped out at me, I am not sure whether this could count as a case of trademark infringement. And I've seen other cafes in China which would likely be of more interest to lawyers at Starbucks due to their similar logos and English names.

Like with other possible changes in Zigong, I'm also not sure if this store is still there. All I know is Zigong currently remains without a genuine Starbucks. The nearest one is several hours away in Chengdu. So Xinbake might be the closest you can get to Starbucks in Zigong.

Looking Back at Zigong

Man walking down a relatively quiet street in Zigong, China

Two years ago I spent about 10 days in Zigong--a city in Southwest China's Sichuan province. Zigong was where I perused a dinosaur museum with a "romantic scene", saw more of the various mobile phones for sale in China, watched a Mother's Day fashion show, met a friendly family in a neighborhood of older homes, and chatted with another friendly group of people at a restaurant. It's also where I found examples useful for contrasting the online lives of students in mainland China and Taiwan, comparing Google's, Baidu's, and later Bing's online map services (here and here), and showing how a global online social networking service such as Facebook could potentially address unmet needs in China.

Like almost everywhere else I have been in China, there is more I could say than what I have already expressed here. And soon I will share another another aspect of Zigong which caught my eyes. But first, I want to bring attention to the reason Zigong came to mind today. China correspondent Rob Schmitz first went to Zigong in 1996 as a Peace Corps Volunteer and recently made a return visit. In an article on Marketplace he shares some of the changes he saw in the city and his acquaintances there:

Zeng picks me up in the provincial capital of Chengdu in his brand new Volkswagon bug. Each day, this city limits traffic to certain numbered license plates to curb air pollution. To get around that, Zeng simply bought five cars – one for every day of the week. He’s on the move. At 29 years old, he’s now one of China’s top young artists. "When I was young, I played with toy cars, but I never imagined I’d ever be able to buy one," Zeng tells me as we speed down the expressway.

Schmitz's account reminds me of the changes I've seen since I first set food in China only 8 years ago, whether while living in Shanghai or from revisiting cities such Kunming, Quanzhou, and Changchun. And it makes me wonder what changes I would notice in Zigong after a little more than 2 years. For example, Schmitz notes Zigong's relatively new Walmart, which I saw when I visited (shown in the mobile phone post), but I wonder if the Mall-mart (shown in the Mother's day post) on the other side of the river is still there. What became of the student (mentioned in the Facebook post) who felt "crushed" by the limitations of his college and degree? And has the home of the friendly family I met continued to survive China's relentless development?

I don't know. Although Zigong is on a list of places I would like to revisit in China, the list is long and there is always more to see. Making return visits such as Schmitz's can be incredible, especially in a country changing at a remarkably fast pace. I recommend reading Schmitz's full article here for a taste of those changes.