Fortunes and Accessories on a Shaoguan Stairway

Early this afternoon in Shaoguan, Guangdong, I saw a person offering fortune telling and related services.

Another notable hat in Shaoguan

This evening almost exactly seven hours later, I saw a person selling mobile phone covers and other assorted accessories for electronics.

One of many "mobile moments" I captured today

Both of them made use of the same corner on a landing of a pedestrian bridge staircase — just at different times. In addition to raising a number of intriguing issues, the variety of offerings available at this single location today captures some of the spirit of what I have observed elsewhere in Shaoguan this weekend.

So my own prediction for the future: I will just say don't be surprised if things as different as bamboo rats, xiangqi, marketing for pole dancing lessons, and Little Red Books all appear here soon.

A Greeting from Shaoguan

One man who saw me taking photos on a bridge in Shaoguan today greeted me and then offered to pose for a photo. As typical in such cases, I didn't pass up the opportunity.

Friendly guy. Had I not been so focused on another task, I would have asked about his hat.

Chickens in China Not Crossing the Road Today for Different Reasons

Today in Haikou: Why did the chicken.... wait, no, it doesn't look like he made it that far.
Posted by Erik-Nicki Johnson on Thursday, October 22, 2015

Whatever the fuller story for the chicken in Haikou may be, it doesn't seem likely to be a happy one (if no photo appears above, the link on the date leads to it). So on a related yet happier note, today in Shaoguan:

The first time I saw this hen she appeared to be looking inside cages with birds for sale as pets. I wondered what she was thinking, surely something profound. This time she was on her way to join her companion, here eating within sight of the caged birds:

Despite living in the middle of a city, these two lovely domesticated fowl are free to roam about, which has some obvious pluses. Unlike a chicken I once saw in Malaysia, though, I have not seen them show any desire to cross the road next to their home. The answer to this different riddle may have something to do with the large number of cars and motorbikes passing by.

As to these chickens' ultimate fate, I am not sure. Perhaps that riddle is better left unanswered.

Complicated Romances and Bloodthirsty Pencils: Two New Chinese Movie Posters

Two of the movie posters outside a theater at the Fengdu Road Pedestrian Street in Shaoguan especially caught my eye during recent days. One, for the poses and expressions:

Youth Never Returns (既然青春留不住) premiered at the Montreal Film Festival, which provides this synopsis:

When Wang Jinhui enters university, he immediately becomes one of its most popular students, certainly to the girls. But not Zhou Hui. When he asks her to help him cheat in exams, she reports him instead. Still, she does help him study, and eventually they warm to each other. They become a couple. An unsteady couple, with ups and downs -- lovers, enemies, lovers again. And finally a breakup. Years later, having become a successful restaurant operator, Wang Jinhui learns about Zhou Hui’s ill health. He comes to help, but once again they separate. Is there one more reconciliation in the cards?

And if Wang Jinhui now becomes ill, will Zhou Hui run the restaurant in his absence? Or given how the cheating incident worked out, will she instead report him for tax evasion to help rekindle their love yet again? Indeed, more ups and downs could be in store. Youth Never Returns opens in China on October 23. If offered free tickets, popcorn, and really good beer, I will consider going.

The other movie poster caught my attention because it reminded me of the Death is Here 3 movie poster I saw last year in Zhanjiang. Yes, folks, the terrifying giant pencil is back.

In addition to gratuitous cleavage, other movie posters for Campus Mystery (笔仙魔咒) include gratuitous gore, upskirt views, and water. I haven't yet seen them displayed in Shaoguan.

For reasons I can't explain, this movie did not premier at the Montreal Film Festival, so I will not share a proper synopsis. Instead, I will share a guess about the plot:

After Wang Jinhui enters university, an evil giant pencil convinces him to cheat in exams. But Zhou Hui, his occasional lover who has an interest in tax law, discovers it isn't a number 2 pencil as required and . . .

Wait, maybe I shouldn't confuse films. Anyway, whatever the real plot, if any, presumably a really big pencil appears in the movie, which is all you can ask for. Campus Mystery opened in China last Friday, and I will consider seeing it as well, assuming similar conditions. Given my curiosity about the pencil, though, I am willing to forfeit the popcorn and beer in a plastic bag is good enough.

These two movies probably don't best represent the overall state of movie-making in China today, but they still remind me of a recent conversation I had about Chinese movies with a high school student in Zhongshan. She said she used to only enjoy foreign movies. But now she was finding more Chinese movies she enjoyed and believed they were getting much better. She is definitely not alone in her opinion

On its opening weekend in China, Campus Mystery didn't captivate as many viewers as a number of other movies and only grossed U.S. $840,000. Recent domestic success stories for the Chinese film industry, comedies Goodbye Mr. Loser and Lost in Hong Kong, fared much better though. And showing that ants can trump pencils, even in a market clearly gamed to benefit domestic films, the foreign film Ant-Men, also opening in China this past weekend, came in number one grossing over $43 million.

A Game of Real Leaps in Shaoguan, China

As I observed and photographed life at a location on Shengping Road in Shaoguan, Guangdong, two girls behind me played a game involving action poses and dramatic jumps. More about Shengping Road, a small bit of which appears below, another day. Today is for the girls, who enjoyed viewing their captured moments and happily posed for a somewhat more typical photo before I left. They provided an entertaining example of how children can still have a lot of fun without electronics or extra equipment.

Day and Night at the Tongtian Pagoda

Shaoguan's 3-year-old Tongtian Pagoda (通天塔) replaced a pagoda built in the mid-1500s and destroyed in the mid-1800s. It sits on a small island where the Wu and Zhen Rivers meet to form the Bei River. Below are two photos of the pagoda and the Beijiang Bridge (北江大桥), which opened 30 years ago, taken from nearby vantage points but at different times of the day. People can have strong preferences for one viewing time or the other.

Multitasking at the Zhen River in Shaoguan

A return to the mobile theme is not far away — more on the fishing theme someday too.

Severed Fingers and Haunting Chocolates at Pizza Hut in Shaoguan, China

It's that special time of the year in China. You can feel it in the air, even in Shaoguan, Guangdong. Which means, of course, Pizza Hut has pulled out its special Halloween menu.

And Pizza Hut's excitement over Halloween in China doesn't end there. Halloween-themed M&M's characters are available as well.

Curiously, a Halloween M&M's pizza wasn't available.

But more Halloween fun is available elsewhere. An RT-Mart, a Taiwan-based hypermarket chain similar to Walmart or Carrefour, I visited in Shaoguan now has a Halloween section.

A bit of Halloween spirit is nothing new in parts of China, and these signs of the holiday in Shaoguan may reflect the holiday's growing popularity. I won't still be in Shaoguan during Halloween, so I won't have the opportunity to see if related festivities arise like those I have come across elsewhere in China, including Changsha a few years ago. I haven't noticed any indications trick or treating will be a big thing though. The RT-Mart didn't even have a Halloween candy section.

A Change of Room Views in Guangdong

A view outside the window where until yesterday I recently stayed in Zhongshan, Guangdong:

A view outside the window where I am staying now in Shaoguan, Guangdong:

I wouldn't characterize the differences between the cities using these two photos, but I appreciate the change of scenery afforded by my new room nonetheless.

While I have had an easy time viewing many scenes since arriving in a city I have never visited before, I have not had an easy time viewing my own blog due to significant challenges connecting to my VPN, which I need to access a variety of blocked-in-China services. Although some potential fixes did not offer a lasting solution, things may have returned to normal, my normal at least. As usual, I can't be sure why, but in many ways much of life is like that.

Alley Cats in Zhongshan

The other day in Zhongshan I met two Chinese alley cats in, of all places, an alley. I saw one cat expertly catch a butterfly — looked like it tasted rather good. The other cat was more open to petting and also far more talkative. After I made a quick trip to a nearby place, soon both were quiet. You can figure out what happened from the photos. Not sure it was better than butterfly though.

An American friend who earlier saw these photos in a less clear sequence jokingly asked, "They became quiet because you turned them into cat on a stick?!?!"

Well played, perhaps more than the person realized. I have occasionally seen restaurants and people in food markets in this region of China selling cat. I can't say I have seen anything similar in Zhongshan, but I also haven't looked. Anyway, the cats I met seem to have a relatively good life, though they probably wouldn't mind more butterflies. Or chicken from the nearby food stall.

An Opportunistic Pose in Zhongshan

I often aim to capture "real life" moments in my photography. In those cases, ideally I would like the subjects in the photos to be unaware of my, the photographer's, presence as that can impact their behavior, including small details of body language. Sometimes it doesn't work out as hoped though. Today in Zhongshan, one captured moment reflected two possible results when my presence has been detected: wondering what I am photographing and posing.

Well played. Admittedly, it wasn't what I expected. But both reactions have their own "real" stories to tell as well.

Scenes Around the Camões Garden in Macau

Over three years ago in Macau I met someone who had made a day trip from Zhongshan to buy milk formula from New Zealand. Yesterday for the first time, I made the same trip, though not for milk formula. Near where I am staying in Zhongshan I boarded a direct bus to the border between Gongbei, Zhuhai, and Macau. After the one hour, 27 RMB (about U.S. $4.25) bus ride, I crossed the border in my shortest time ever, easily less than 15 minutes to pass though both mainland China and Macau immigration. Returning to Zhongshan at night was also simple, though the bus cost 28 RMB instead. The trip would likely have taken much longer had I gone during the recent holiday.

The Camões Garden is part of a set of famous sites in Macau which extend southward. The many winding streets just to the West, North, and East see far fewer tourists, yet like Macau's nearby Three Lamps District, which is also in Freguesia de Santo António (St. Anthony's Parish), they have their own charm. I spent a rather pleasant hour an half walking around the area beginning around 5pm. For yet another side of Macau, below are some photos from my walk with any streets names written in Portuguese, which along with traditional Chinese is typical in Macau.

Rua Ribeira do Patane and Avenida do Almirante Lacerda

Rua da Palmeira

Tou Tei Temple 

One of the many examples of European architecture in Macau

Other varieties of architecture

Meeting point of the steps Escada do Muro and Escada do Caracol

Rua do Patane

Intersection of Rua de Tomas Vieira and Rua de Coelho do Amaral

 Rua de Coelho do Amaral

Calçada do Botelho

View from the Camões Garden towards Zhuhai across the Qianshan Waterway 

Another view from the Camões Garden

 Stairs leading towards Travessa dos Calafates

Cat eating above a sign for Calçada do Galo

Street vendor selling food at Rua de Cinco de Outubro

Street vendor watching video at Rua da Ribeira do Patane