Why Did a Person Display an Upside-Down Chinese Flag in Zhongshan?

A sharp-eyed reader asked a question about this photo from a post featuring people in Zhongshan displaying Chinese flags on National Day:

The person is flying the flag upside-down. Does it have any significance there as it does here in the US? Or does it not really matter there?

Similarly, not too far away I saw a street vendor who also had an upside-down Chinese flag. Both cases were atypical. In a more famous case, as captured in a photo shared by the Chinese news agency Xinhua, an upside-down Chinese flag appeared during the opening ceremony for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Xinhua's caption to the photo:

Basketball star and flag-bearer of Chinese Delegation Yao Ming and nine-year-old Lin Hao, a pupil fron quake-hit area in southwest China's Sichuan province, parade into the National Stadium at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 8, 2008. According to media reports, when the May 12 tremor struck, Lin Hao risked his life and suffered multiple injuries for rescuing his schoolmates from the collapsed buildings. He was later awarded the title of "Teenage Hero in Earthquake Rescue and Relief." (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Some may question how a nine-year-old could qualify as a "Teenage Hero". It may simply reflect an imperfect translation of the Chinese word "qīngshàonián" (青少年) which can refer to a broader age range, such as 10 to 19 years-old, and can also be translated as "adolescent". More people may question how an upside-down Chinese flag could have escaped people's attention during a meticulously planned opening ceremony.

But the biggest question was, similar to the examples I saw in Zhongshan, whether the upside-down flag reflected a simple mistake or a deliberate act, since it can be a sign of distress or political protest. Even if the boy didn't intend to communicate anything negative, perhaps the person who gave him the flag did.

In all of the cases, I don't know the true intentions. However, similar manufacturing/assembly mistakes are not uncommon in China. And the difference between a normal and upside-down Chinese flag doesn't appear to be as visually salient as it is for other flags, such as the flag for the U.S. So people may be less likely to notice or to care. Also, if it were an act of negative expression and widely interpreted as such, all of these people would be taking a huge risk. A recent example of publicly raising an upside-down China flag in protest possibly occurred in Hong Kong, but people can more freely express themselves there.

Personally, without evidence showing otherwise, I would assume the person in the photo from Zhongshan was not boldly expressing himself. I wouldn't say it is impossible he was though.

China should be aware that others make similar mistakes. Not long ago the U.K. government prominently placed two flags at the signing of a trade agreement with China. They correctly oriented China's flag. But they weren't so lucky with their own flag, something which was described as "a terribly British thing to do".

People in Zhongshan with Patriotic Flags on National Day

Yesterday was the National Day of the People's Republic of China (PRC). For many it meant the beginning of a long holiday period. For many others, it meant the beginning of a busy period serving people on holiday. Whether due to travel or lack thereof, some Chinese are now in Zhongshan in Guangdong province, a city named after a famous person born in one of its villages. He happens to be the founding father of the Republic of China (ROC), which preceded the PRC and continues on in lands more commonly known as Taiwan. The whole ROC in Taiwan thing does not thrill most in the PRC, to say the least, but people here have positive views of Sun Zhongshan, also known as Sun Yat-sen.

While walking around Zhongshan (the city) yesterday, I saw some examples of people showing a bit of patriotic spirit with PRC flags, whether by carrying them around, placing them on their vehicle, or selling them. Not surprisingly, I didn't see any ROC flags. Below are photos of the examples I happened to notice and managed to photograph in the order I encountered them. The flags aren't always easily visible and one case involves non-living battery-powered individuals. Nonetheless, the photos capture some of the holiday spirit, people, and sights yesterday in Zhongshan. For those familiar with Zhongshan, all of the photos were taken at locations on either Yuelai Road, Fuhua Road, or the pedestrian street on Sun Wen West Road. For those less familiar with Chinese history, Sun Wen is yet another name for Sun Zhongshan. One can only imagine what he would say were he in Zhongshan city today.

Scenes from the Three Lamps District in Macau

A few weeks ago an uncharged second battery meant I couldn't take any photos where I ended yet another day in Macau. Two days ago during the late afternoon I returned to the same streets, this time with ample stored electricity. Much remained the same, though more lanterns hung above due to the recent Mid-Autumn Festival. Metropolasia provides a description of the vibrant area in Freguesia de Santo António I was happy to visit yet again:

Rotunda de Carlos da Maia, at the heart of the historic "Three Lamps District", is not really a sightseeing spot as such, but it is one of Macau's most popular shopping areas and one of the best places to see how the locals live, and experience the city's day-to-day life in its most unpretentious form.

The roundabout and its offshoots are packed with small shops, boutiques and street vendors that specialize in inexpensive clothes, mostly surpluses and seconds of genuine brand-names, and there is also a decent choice of authentic eateries and street food vendors around, to take care of the culinary side.

After the first photo of the Rotunda de Carlos da Maia, the following photos appear in the order I took them. They capture some of the goods for sale, environment, and life in Macau's Three Lamps District — not far from the historic districts and casinos frequented by tourists.

The Love Kids Boutique in Macau

A scene from yesterday evening in Macau:

That is all for today, but tomorrow I will share many more scenes from a part of Macau which receives far less attention than Macau's casino resorts and colonial era historic sites.

Today's Interview Subject in Zhuhai: Me

While I waited for a meal at a Singaporean restaurant at a mall in Zhuhai today, three college students approached and asked if they could interview me. They were all business English majors and as part of a class project needed to interview foreigners in English. Considering all of the impromptu interviews I have conducted in China myself, I figured this could be a small way to do something more in return. As I was about to agree one of them added, "Oh, and we need to video record the interview."

In similar situations in the past students had simply requested a photo, but their teacher desired more compelling evidence. After I commented the video request was rather unusual, one student shared that all of the foreigners they previously found had refused upon learning about it. I wasn't at all surprised. And the student added that if she was similarly approached while in another country, she would respond int he same way.

Still, I decided to submit myself to their questioning. But I felt inspired to add a stipulation: the one student would lend me her hat to wear during the interview. We had a deal.

After I finished my meal, the interview was recorded on a Huawei mobile phone. The questions were light and typical, such as "What's your favorite city in China?" Soon they had sufficient material and stopped recording, though the conversation continued afterwards with me now taking the opportunity to ask a few questions. It isn't an interview I would want shared with the world, especially in video form, but I will likely survive if it isn't deleted as promised. Hopefully none of it appears out of context in a surprise China Daily piece.

The students' challenges reflects a tension in China between schools seeing value in their students speaking with fluent (or more fluent) English speakers yet seemingly not valuing it enough to invest money to make it happen more regularly in environments where "natural" opportunities are few. More thoughts on this issue another day.

And yes, I really wore the hat.

Mid-Autumn Festival Lanterns in Taipa Village

From last week in Taipa Village, Macau, here are some holiday lanterns for today's Mid-Autumn Festival lit up at night along with two children and a dragon:

Turning Down a Shave in Zhuhai

Since injuring my leg last week in Zhuhai, to keep the wound and bandaging dry per doctors' orders I have altered my body-cleaning methods. A high concentration of hair salons offering inexpensive "head washes" near Zhuhai's border with Macau has helped. A head wash which includes a head massage and often a shoulder & arm massage as well typically costs about U.S. $2.50 to $3.30 and lasts about 15-30 minutes. To make the most out of these difficult times, I have made the sacrifice of visiting multiple establishments to compare them, though evaluations are complicated by usual large variations of workers' skills within a single establishment.

Today I tried yet another salon. The experience reminded me of many others in China in terms of the persistent and sometimes blunt sales pitch for other services and pricier options. For enlightenment, here is a key part of the conversation I had with the hair washer, translated into English, which followed several attempts to convince me of the glories of a cleaner face:

Would you like a facial?
     No thanks.

Your beard is rough! How about a shave?
     No thanks.

It's ugly.
     Thank you.

I will admit I was surprised. Other salons here didn't offer shaving.

She kept on trying until I stopped replying to her comments. After that, all was good and my hair was soon clean. As usual, at the end they seemed rather amused I didn't want my hair blowdried.

A Determined Plant in Zhuhai

When I was in a condition where walking a lot was not an issue (such days shall return), one day I saw a plant in Zhuhai reaching through small openings for freedom . . .

. . . or sunlight. The plant overcoming a less-than-ideal placement and an metallic obstacle provided a a bit of inspiration.

Mobile Fruit Sales in Zhuhai

Near the Walmart in Gongbei, Zhuhai

Diaper Spillage Averted in Macau

A good save the other day in Macau by men on opposite ends of a flatbed wagon:

None of the boxes of diapers hit the ground. These diapers, which are designed to avoid another type of spillage, were apparently being delivered to locations in Macau. Given this area's close proximity to Macau's border with Zhuhai, many of the diapers are likely destined for locations in mainland China, whether as personal purchases or part of a grey market which I first looked at several years ago. During my recent time in Macau and Zhuhai, I have revisited the topic. Later, more about what I found, including how goods not only flow out of Macau through the grey market but into it as well.

Lighting Up for the Mid-Autumn Festival at Portas do Cerco

The above scene at Portas do Cerco shows a bit of how Macau is sprucing things up for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. I share the photo also because I will not need to cross the border between Macau and Zhuhai as much as I have been for the past several days, reflecting improved conditions regarding my recent injury. I think I will have a story about that to share soon. Whatever the case, I look forward to returning to some pieces I had hoped to post last week.

Standing Firm at the Macau-Zhuhai Border

Approaching Portas do Cerco, the Macau side of the immigration checkpoint on the border between Macau and Zhuhai

Thanks to an incident earlier this week, I have been crossing the border between Macau and Zhuhai far more than I had ever expected. Many other events were unexpected as well. More soon . . .