'Tis the Season for Star Wars in China

Signs of Christmas are easy to find in China this time of the year, and in the past I have shared holiday scenes from Putian, Quanzhou, Wuhan, Zhangzhou, and Hong Kong. But none of them included TIE fighters or Imperial Stormtroopers. The idea of mixing Christmas with Star Wars will make some people cringe with memories of the fascinatingly terrible 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. But at the IAPM shopping center in Shanghai the two have been combined in a more harmonious manner to promote the upcoming release of Disney's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Some people will still cringe due to the further commercialization of Christmas, but in China most people attach little or no religious meaning to the holiday and the government has more concerns about the potential "religionization" of Christmas.

Below are scenes at the shopping center from this past weekend, including Friday when several of the Star Wars displays were still roped off. Christmas trees with light sabers, starfighters, female models wearing Star Wars themed clothing, armed Star Wars figures, and an unarmed Santa Claus (unless you count his bell) all make appearances. Many of the photos capture the variety of people who interacted with the displays or the modern design of the shopping center itself. IAPM couldn't be more different from the simple outdoor market which existed at the same location less than 10 years ago and sold fakes imitating some of the luxury brands now available at posh stores there. The shopping center, its visitors, and Disney's new hopes in China are all signs of how much the country has changed since the first Star Wars movie opened 38 years ago in a land far, far away. . . .

From China Pantry to China

Authentic American-Chinese shopping center food for sale in Texas

Yet another visit to the U.S. is complete. I have returned to China with cleaner lungs, a bigger belly, and a refreshed mind. I now look forward to tackling a number of more time-sensitive posts related to the cities from Chongqing to Shaoguan where I have spent time in China this year. I also have a few other pieces in mind which also would be best to share before 2016 rolls in.

So during the next few weeks I will try to refrain from posting many "what just happened or what I saw today" pieces, though I don't expect to be fully successful in that regard. There's always something . . .

A Thanksgiving Dance With a Turkey

My first Thanksgiving in the U.S. in 10 years was similar to many others in the country. So I will share just one holiday moment — a four-year-old girl (almost five!) dancing in a shirt with her own turkey art.

A return to China themes (and China) soon . . .

A Change of Pace for Thanksgiving

While checking out at a grocery store two weeks ago during a long day in Changsha, I noticed a shirt worn by someone nearby.

More than the creative spellings, the last city listed on the shirt especially caught my attention. Not only is it uncommon in China to see mention of Baltimore, but via multiple airports in Shanghai and another in Chicago I would fly there the following day, which proved to last much longer thanks to time zones and the International Date Line.

My return to Baltimore proved to be too short, but I managed to take care of some pressing matters, eat lunch where they look at the stars, and appreciate a few sights.

Since departing Baltimore I have eaten near the border between Texas and Louisiana.

I have also seen a large gopher tortoise coming out of its burrow in Florida.

My recent American travels are a good part of the reason posting has been light lately. There will be no stories this year of how I spent the holiday in Hunan or mystery photos of where I spent it in a bordering province. In the near future I will return to China, but before that I will do something I haven't done in a decade: spend Thanksgiving in the U.S.

I am not sure what is exactly on the menu, but eating habits here differ from those where I was recently in Guangdong. It seems the tortoise is safe.

Scenes at Wuya Lane in Shaoguan, Guangdong

As described when featuring the Nostalgia Book Room and Wuya Lane Old Book Room, Wuya Lane (吾牙巷) in Shaoguan, Guangdong, is "home to a variety of establishments including places selling & buying old currency and other collector's items, a restaurant specializing in donkey meat, inexpensive hair salons, and 'hair salons' which appear to offer services far more intimate than a haircut". The photos below were taken over several different days at the lane which runs between Wenhua Street and Fuxing Road. The people who use the lane are no less diverse than the establishments which line it.

Two More Mobile Moments on Stringless Sculpture in Changsha

The stringless serenade never ends — neither do the opportunities to sit and check your mobile phone.

I'm less sure about what the other statue is doing.

YOLO Coming Soon in Zhuhai

At an under-construction (and now possibly open) establishment at the Shuiwan Bar Street in Zhuhai

More is coming soon here too . . .

Two Mobile Moments on Stringless Sculptures in Changsha

Earlier this year at pedestrian street in Changsha I considered "the competing interests between those who wish to use a suitable sculpture for an extended period of time as a place to sit with others who desire to use it more fleetingly for photos". When I stopped by a shopping center during a recent day in Changsha, I saw people using two previously-noticed sculptures with stringless string instruments for the former purpose.

In both cases, not only was someone taking advantage of a place to sit but their attention was focused on a mobile phone – a theme for some future posts about Changsha.

A Sight to Capture in China

Blue skies with clouds have caught my attention in China before. On a bridge in Shaoguan, I saw them catch somebody else's attention.

Another College Student's Part-time Job on a Street in Changsha

On Huangxing Middle Road in Changsha last week, I saw a college student handing out leaflets. As I passed by she paused before handing one to me. After I looked at the leaflet in her hand we both laughed. It advertised an English language school.

She reminded me of a college student I met in Changsha three years ago. Both students handed out leaflets as a part-time job but the pay has changed, increasing from 40 yuan to 50 yuan (U.S. $7.84) for four hours of work — a sign of how paper leaflets remain a common way of advertising and how labor costs have risen in China.