Out of Shanghai Again

A view out the window during my train ride yesterday

Early yesterday morning in Shanghai, I boarded yet another high-speed train. As expected, the long trip on a rail line I've traveled many times provided numerous scenes of nature, small towns, and construction projects — sometimes together and often immersed in smog. As not expected, during the entire trip a short video promoting a recent international fashion week in Xiamen played repeatedly with melodramatic music for all to hear. In case you didn't know, you can play golf in Xiamen too.

After I disembarked, the train sped away continuing its mission of informing riders about the Xiamen Fashion Week. I traveled away less slowly from the train station in a vehicle which felt no need to do so. Soon I was walking about a city I had never visited before and happy to stumble upon an old narrow street full of life. The street abruptly ended at a construction site, next to which stands a temple where I accepted a loquat from a Buddhist nun. My appetite stimulated, I headed back to a place which appeared promising for local-style fish balls. It did not disappoint.

The air quality is not as glorious as hoped, but it is currently better than Shanghai's. It's warmer here too. During the next few days I plan to get caught up on some work, while also taking advantage of the opportunity to learn about another city in China. Ideally those two goals wouldn't conflict very much.

I plan to finish at least one other post before further mention of my current location. So in the meantime, I am curious to know whether any readers can identify the city based on the clues above, the photo I took early this evening in a busy shopping district which appears below, and the bonus clue underneath it. Best guesses are welcome. I will be sure to praise the person with the first correct answer. Or if they prefer not to be publicly identified, the next order of fish balls are on me.

Bonus clue: This water isn't represented on Google's online map but it does appear on Baidu's map

Shanghai Juice Contrasts

Cleaning a fresh orange juice machine inside a Shanghai metro station:

Selling fresh pomegranate juice at a Shanghai bus stop:

Sick and Tired in Shanghai

Today at Qipu Lu in Shanghai

I had planned to be blogging quite a bit more the past week or so since returning to China. Plans . . .

Unfortunately, last week something decided to wreak havoc on my sinuses and seemingly my brain as well. I wasn't sure whether it was virus-related or pollution-related. I considered the latter since it somewhat reminded me of how my sinuses reacted when I first went running in Shanghai's pollution over a decade ago during a trip from the U.S. And yes, after starting to run again during my recent trip to the U.S., I ran in Shanghai during a couple not-so-great days for air (which is most). Whatever I have, it isn't a run-of-the-mill cold for me, especially in terms of how it ebbs and flows. I think I am over the worst.

On a related note . . . yes, it's best to exercise in clean air. And bad air is, of course, bad. That's straightforward. But the science I've seen on the health impact of exercise when polluted air is the only option seems to be a mixed bag. There's reason to think it might be a net good, at least for some health aspects. But these studies focused on Western-style pollution, so it's unclear how the findings apply to China-style pollution — different in both its content and amount.

I have my personal limits though. For example, once I had gotten myself into an outdoor running routine while in Zhuhai and Hong Kong. But that came to an immediate halt upon arriving in Changsha where I spent a couple of months. That first morning I looked outside the window at the awful air and despondently thought "no way".

I would like to keep up the outdoor running, so next time I may try it with a face mask. It's cold outside, so perhaps the heat the mask traps on my face will be a pleasant bonus. Anyway, soon I will be in parts of China with typically better air quality. Hopefully I'm not killing myself. If I am, there are the words of famed cache clearer Chester Walsh: "Like I always say, you gotta die prematurely of something."

So yeah, as the coat in the photo above proclaims, I've been sick and tired. Come to think of it, that applies to my feelings about China's air too.

Love Station Fashion

Clothing store in Shaoyang, Hunan

Multitasking in Chongqing

A boy on a mission earlier this year at the Chongqing Flower Park (重庆市花卉园)

'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.