Cheap Milk Tea in Hengyang

Black Tide in Hengyang sells inexpensive milk tea, but a street vendor near a Hengyang elementary school sells it more cheaply at only 2 RMB (about US $0.33).

I tried the taro flavor. It didn't compare to Black Tide's milk tea, but, as the vendor's customers likely appreciate, it is hard to beat the price.

A Chinese Hair Accessory Brand With a Genuine Name

Like the Chinese clothing brand Weles, a Chinese brand of hair accessories with stores in a number of Chinese cities indicates its products are also sold outside of China in places such as Europe and the U.S. Unlike Weles, what attracted me to the brand was not a slogan. Instead, my interest in puns caused me to appreciate the non-Chinese name of 斐卡瑞 (Fěikǎruì) when I passed one of its stores in Shanghai.

Whether or not the pun was intended, if any of their products appeal to you, a list of their stores should help you find a genuine Fayekerry in China.

A Women's Clothing Brand Acting Its Role in China

Weles (威兰西) is a Chinese women's clothing brand based in Fujian province. What first caused me to take a closer look at Weles was a sign hanging inside a department store in Hengyang, Hunan.

I am still pondering the advertising slogan "Act my role".

Whatever meaning one finds in the slogan, according to Weles the brand's name was inspired by the American actor and director Orson Welles. And the Weles website currently features images of a Caucasian female and includes nonfunctional icons for several online services popular elsewhere but blocked in China—Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

source

Weles appears to want to project a Western image and at least imply it is known in Western markets. It certainly would not be the only Chinese brand with such goals—a topic I will touch on again in the future.

A Great Wall and the New M&M's World in Shanghai

A two-story M&M's World recently opened along Shanghai's popular Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street. A press release stated:

M&M’s is the world’s biggest chocolate brand and a popular and growing brand in China and across Asia. The brand, in partnership with Mars Retail Group, which operates the M&M’s World stores across the globe, selected Shanghai as the ideal city for the first M&M’s World store in Asia, due to the city’s truly global feel and appeal. The location in the Brilliance Shimao International Plaza made perfect sense for the world’s biggest chocolate brand, as East Nanjing Road is the busiest pedestrian street in China and a highly visited tourist destination in Shanghai.

In addition to M&M's chocolate candies, the store sells a wide variety of M&M themed goods.

And staff offer their assistance for the numerous photographic opportunities which beckon.

During my visit on a Wednesday afternoon, the store was not packed but had a steady stream of visitors. Despite all of the attractions, though, a few people appeared less-than-captivated.

Of particular interest to me were the store's localizations for the Shanghai market—such as the Shanghai-themed shirts, Chinese lanterns, and M&M's characters in panda costumes.

One stood out above the rest, and with mixed emotions I can now say I have seen the "Great Wall of Chocolate".

Regardless of the wall's apparent popularity, only time will tell for sure whether the store has lasting power similar to a more famous wall in China or faces the same fate as a Shanghai Barbie store.

Motorbikes on a Bridge's Sidewalks in Changde

A photo of a bridge crossing a river in a set of Changde street scenes may have left some readers with questions.

So . . .

Yes, the areas on either side of the road appear to be sidewalks designed for pedestrians. The common-in-China tactile guideway in their centers—for blind pedestrians and not motorbikes—is one clear sign.

Yes, I saw a number of other motorbikes on the bridge's sidewalks during my two crossings.

Yes, motorbike riders used the bridge's road as well.

During rush hour, motorbike traffic was especially heavy and there was a regular stream of people pushing their motorbikes up stairway ramps to use the sidewalk.

Notably, using the stairs and sidewalk provided a shorter route to the bridge from some locations, since the bridge's roadway could only be accessed at a point much farther away.

Finally, no, unlike the signs at a bridge Chengdu, I did not see any signs indicating whether or not any of this was allowed. Whatever the case, it isn't quite like driving a car across a pedestrian bridge.

Fourteen Changde Street Scenes

To provide a look at some everyday scenes in a yet another city not known to many outside of China, below are some street scenes, including a pedestrian street, from Changde, Hunan. Like a set of scenes from Yangjiang I earlier shared, it suits my purposes that locals would likely consider many of them to be mundane.

My time in Changde was briefer than planned, but I managed to cover much ground in less than three, mostly overcast, days. Regardless, I saw only a small portion of two urban districts, and the photos are just a small taste of a prefecture-level city with more than 5 million people.

Different China Stories for Walmarts in Zhanjiang and Changde

Several months ago in Zhanjiang's Chikan district I saw a Walmart in a shopping center next to the Nanqiao River.

Partly because Walmart has over 350 Supercenters in China and last year announced plans to "open 110 new stores in China between 2014 and 2016", I didn't find it remarkable. I had already seen a number of Walmarts in other Chinese cities.

What was remarkable, though, was that only about 300 meters (about 1000 feet) away I saw another Walmart.

I had never before seen two Walmarts so close to each other. The second store appeared newer and was clearly more spacious, although they both seemed to sell the same breadth of goods. Employees at both locations said they were not aware of any plans to close either store and the two locations were needed given customer demand.

These two Walmarts stand in contrast to another Walmart I saw more recently in a city over 15 hours away by car to the north – Changde.

The store was remarkable to me for a different reason. It was the first Walmart I have seen in China which had been closed down.

A closed entrance now serves as the backdrop for a flower stall.

The store is also remarkable because, as reported by China Labour Bulletin, in June a local arbitration committee:

formally rejected a compensation claim by Walmart employees who were laid off by the company following a store closure in March. The local authorities meanwhile have been putting intense pressure on the workers to accept an unofficial settlement offer from Walmart of an additional 3,000 yuan [US $485] each.

As Xinhua reported in July, the local authorities weren't entirely successful:

Since then, 63 workers have signed an agreement to accept a settlement from Walmart of 3,000 yuan (488 U.S. dollars) each in addition to the compensation package to end the dispute.

The remaining six workers were not satisfied with the arbitration and insisted on filing lawsuits.

"We don't feel respected in the whole process," said Huang Xingguo, head of the store's trade union.

"Even though they (other workers) accepted the settlement, they are forced by living pressures, not by their will," he said.

At present, the trade union of the store and four former employees have sued the Walmart store in separate lawsuits, and the five suits have been accepted by the Wuling District people's court, he said.

Whatever the results of the lawsuits may be, the closed store is part of Walmart's restructuring for its overall growth in China. As the stores in Zhanjiang, planned new stores, and the choice for Walmart's new CEO—the previous head of Walmart China—better reflect, Walmart still has big hopes for the Chinese market.

SpongeBob SquarePants Street Food in Changde

During my brief time in Changde, Hunan province, not only did I notice a hot pot restaurant with golden arches similar to the McDonald's logo, but I also saw a mobile food stall with another touch of American culture.

The umbrella promoted a Chinese brand of milk products for children — Mengniu's "Weilaixing" (未来星). I didn't ask how the umbrella made its way there, and such seeming mismatches are not a rare sight in China. Given the sole item being sold, I was mostly just attracted to the idea of SpongeBob SquarePants stinky tofu.

A Hot Pot Restaurant in China with the Golden Arches

In Changde, Hunan province, I was not surprised to see a sign with the well-known logo of a American fast food restaurant chain.

I was also not surprised that a busy McDonald's could be found next to the sign.

I was a bit surprised, though, to see only a short walk away a similar looking logo on a sign for the restaurant Moguofang (魔锅坊).

The restaurant, located in an underground shopping center, also sported the familiar-looking logo on its storefront sign.

Moguofang's golden arches aren't exactly the same as the Golden Arches, but I doubt most people would be aware of any difference without directly comparing them. At least the apparently inspired-by-McDonald's restaurant, Wichael Alone, that I previously saw on a trip to Wuzhou had flipped the arches. The Moguofang example reminds me more of a restaurant in Shanghai with a logo similar to the one for Google+.

Moguofang is a restaurant chain and the questionable logo doesn't appear in any photos I have found online of its locations in cities such as Changsha and Shanghai. The logo also doesn't appear on the website for Moguofang. So it is possible the logo is just a local inspiration.

Finally, no, you can't buy a Big Mac at Moguofang. But if you want a spicy hot pot, then you are in luck. Try asking for a McHotpot.

Google+ and g+ The Urban Harvest in China

Google+, like most of Google's other online services, remains blocked in China.

This is the secondary logo for Google+:

g+ The Urban Harvest is not blocked in China and will soon open another location in Shanghai at the popular Grand Gateway 66 shopping mall.

This is their sign at the mall when I recently passed by:

Described on Time Out Shanghai as "equal parts open lab and restaurant", g+ The Urban Harvest states on Shanghai WOW!, "we believe that freshness and sustainability play key roles in maintaining a healthy and natural lifestyle". According to company's website, which at the moment is largely nonfunctional, the "g+" stands for "Green Plus".

This is not the only time in China "g+" or "g plus" has been used as part of a name for a business, including some which existed prior to Google+. For example, the now-closed Club G Plus opened in 2006 in Shanghai and used "G+" in its logos.

Nonetheless, the similarity of the g+ The Urban Harvest logo and the Google+ logo is remarkable. I can't add much more to this tale, but for more information about the restaurant you could download the Urban Harvest app on iTunes.

Unsurprisingly, they don't appear to offer an app on Google Play.

Weinermobiles and Dragonmobiles

One day long ago when I was walking near the Washington Monument in Baltimore's historic Mount Vernon district, something passed by which made me feel like I was in a surreal dream. But I was indeed in the real world, and for the first time I saw one of the famous Oscar Mayer Weinermobiles.

A modern Weinermobile in Minnesota. (Photo by Jonathunder — license details)

While I was in Shanghai recently for short period of time, a vehicle with a different theme similarly grabbed my attention.

But no vanity license plate

The "dragonmobile" displayed advertising for a nearby China Gold retail location in Xujiahui, and a group of people in the back played live music. The tune didn't seem as a catchy as the hot dog variation of Oscar Mayer's bologna song though.

Mr. Bean Furniture in China

At a large furniture mall in Changde, Hunan, this store especially caught my attention:

Mr. Bean can be appreciated for more than just the humor he provides, and the furniture store's branding raises issues about how Mr. Bean is perceived in China. It was not the first time I have seen a No. 1 Lovely Bean (小憨豆) store in China. The company (成都雄峰家具有限公司) is based in Chengdu, Sichuan, and they have shared photos of their team conducting assorted activities, perhaps in team or Mr. Bean spirit. You can learn more about the company on its website (in Chinese).