The Aftermath of Typhoon Hato in Zhuhai: The Bay Bar Street on Shuiwan Road

After surveying the damage at the Lianhua Road Pedestrian Street and near the waterfront at Qinglu South Road from Typhoon Hato in Zhuhai I headed to the Bay Bar Street (海湾酒吧街), also known as the Shuiwan Bar Street (水湾酒吧街) and simply Bar Street. This section of Shuiwan Road just one block from the waterfront is lined with restaurants, clubs, and, not so surprisingly, bars. I typically stop by there at least once any time I am in Zhuhai because of the food at a favorite place. The bar street was also notable for the thick green canopy covering most of its length thanks to the rows of trees on either side.

After the typhoon, though, much of that canopy was gone and the scenes seemed surreal. Below is a set of photographs taken only hours after the typhoon had hit there. In addition to the numerous fallen trees, they capture people taking photographs, making their way through debris, collecting scrap material, cleaning up, and attempting to cut some of the tree branches. This is one street that even after the cleanup is finished where the effects of Typhoon Hato will remain easy to see for a long time to come.

The Aftermath of Typhoon Hato in Zhuhai: Near the Water in Gongbei

Though it wasn't as dramatic as the damage on the Lianhua Road Pedestrian Street, just hours after Typhoon Hato hit Zhuhai there were downed and damaged trees on Yuehai East Road as well.

There were also a number of downed road signs not far from the waterfront.

When a yield signs yields

More worrying was one partially damaged street sign which slowly swung above people walking by, typically unaware of it.

Perhaps in part because it was difficult to go elsewhere, many people were out as usual at the coastline walking area along Qinglu South Road (Lovers' Road).

Buildings in the distance are in Macau

Thought it wasn't hard to spot damage there as well.

Portions of the stone railway had been destroyed.

Buildings in the distance are in Zhuhai

Some of railing could be found on the other side of the walkway.

Even with the debris around, one young man rolled about on his self-balancing scooter.

Off of Qinglu South Road, Lian'an Road was easy to miss. It had been hidden by yet another fallen tree.

Further along Lian'an Road were more signs of the storm.

At this point, I came to a portion of Shuiwan Road which had been especially transformed by the typhoon. More to come . . .

The Aftermath of Typhoon Hato in Zhuhai: The Lianhua Road Pedestrian Street

Looking east down Qiaoguang Road from the intersection with the Lianhua Road Pedestrian Street

The Lianhua Road Pedestrian Street leads from the land border between mainland China and Macau to areas farther north in Zhuhai. Along and near the well-trafficked pedestrian street are many restaurants, hair salons, clothing stores, and other businesses. Below are some photos taken just hours after powerful Typhoon Hato hit Zhuhai, China — obviously not a typical moment for the street. The scenes capture some of the destruction there and how life continued, such as people walking through and around large fallen trees, a man petting a dog at a typically closed-off construction site, and one of the very few stores on the street already welcoming customers once more.

My Own Experience: Typhoon Hato Hits Zhuhai

Yesterday at the Lianhua Road Pedestrian Street in Zhuhai, China

After seeing a curious tweet early in the early evening two days ago, I discovered Zhuhai had a fair chance of soon being directly hit by a typhoon. I pondered the weather forecast. I pondered the fact that I had recently arrived in Zhuhai and was now staying only a couple of blocks from the water.

I had earlier noticed that rain was headed this way, but Google's concise weather forecast left out the tiny detail of "TYPHOON". The more detailed reports I now checked indicated the typhoon would be classified in the Western Hemisphere as category 1 — the weakest category for hurricanes using the Saffir–Simpson scale which goes up to category 5. I figured my best bet was to ride it out and assume I might not accomplish much the next day. Not deeply concerned but feeling like I might as well get in the spirit, I headed to the supermarket to stock up on supplies — including the ingredients to make my first peanut butter & jelly sandwich in several years.

Long story short, I stayed up very late enjoying most of my emergency supplies, including a bit of gin purchased at a 7-Eleven, while tracking the storm and going down a YouTube rabbit hole. The storm hadn't hit when I finally went to sleep sometime around 7 a.m. When I woke up the storm was over, and my room seemed much warmer. I soon diagnosed the problem: my hotel had no electricity, except a backup supply powering the hallway emergency lights.

After eating another peanut butter & jelly sandwich, I headed out to walk around Gongbei, the subdistrict in Zhuhai with the only land-border between Macau and mainland China. I am no expert on powerful storms, but I questioned how the damage I saw could be the result of just a category 1 storm. And I thought that there surely must be some deaths in the region.

When I arrived at Gongbei Port, the typically busy immigration channel to Macau was closed. One foreigner I met there expressed concern he would not able to cross in time before his Chinese visa expired that day. Before I left the area, though, power had been restored and police were giving signs there was reason for hope. It opened later in the day.

As I walked around other parts of Gongbei during the remaining daylight hours, I saw some areas had their power restored, though some of those remained without running water. Some streets reminded me of scenes in the movie Planet of the Apes. When I returned to my hotel at dusk, this part of Zhuhai still had no power. I decided to stay put expecting that finding a better option would prove too challenging. I successfully took a cool shower in complete darkness, and tried to go to sleep early with the help of some American over-the-counter sleep medicine. I woke up slightly before midnight to discover that power had been restored and turned on the air conditioning before returning to bed.

Today while surveying more of the damage I saw that some parts of Zhuhai still remained without power as of this afternoon. That didn't stop one restaurant from serving its special roasted goose, which I enjoyed while sweating in the heat.

I also learned today that the storm had quickly gained power and made it up to category 3 (category 10 storm, the highest, using Hong Kong's system) before making landfall in Zhuhai. That explains what I have seen much better. At the moment, there are sadly 16 confirmed deaths — 8 in mainland China and 8 in Macau. In a series of later posts, I will share photos capturing capturing some of the damage at various locations in Gongbei, Zhuhai, and how people dealt with it. I will update this post with links to those.

Also, yes, I am obviously no longer in Bengbu. I had planned to continue with Bengbu-themed posts a little longer until the typhoon derailed my plans. Although I don't plan to return to Bengbu in the near future, I hope to post more about it later.

Anyway, admittedly part of me is disappointed to have slept through the biggest storm I have ever experienced. But at least that way I avoided any temptation to immerse myself as I often like to do.



Update: Posts with scenes of damage from Typhoon Hato in Zhuhai:

1. The Lianhua Road Pedestrian Street
2. Near the Water in Gongbei
3. The Bay Bar Street on Shuiwan Road
4. A Fallen Tree on Baishi Road
5. The Midtown Complex
6. More From Gongbei
7. The Recovery

A Bengbu Photo Request

One day in Bengbu while I was walking outside at a shopping complex, a woman sitting in front of a small convenience store got my attention and indicated she'd like me to take her photo. So this happened:

It wasn't the first time somebody I didn't know in China, or even Bengbu, asked me to take their photo. The people who make the requests haven't fit any noticeable pattern in terms of age or gender, and it doesn't happen often — perhaps once a month at most on average.

I have questions. I don't have answers. That's fine. It was a good moment regardless.

"Because he's a ...": A Young Man in Bengbu, China, Succinctly Explains Why He Doesn't Like Barack Obama

Not long after finishing a post about people giving nazi salutes in Germany and the U.S., I stopped by a pedestrian street in Bengbu, China, for some late night food and a break from the bad news. As I waited for my corn on the cob to be grilled at a food stand, I spoke to several locals. To my surprise, one person said he recognized me. Indeed, a mutual friend of ours had shared a photo including me.

Soon a young woman and a young man approached. The young woman introduced herself as an American. Her English wasn't fluent, and she spoke with a strong Chinese accent. She said she had been born in the U.S. in a way which suggested to me she hadn't grown up there, but I didn't inquire further. The young man was from Bengbu.

The light conversation soon meandered to American politics. I learned the young man liked Donald Trump. He then added he liked Clinton as well. From the context I assumed he meant Hillary Clinton. It was an interesting mix, but again I didn't inquire further. I just hoped my corn would finish cooking soon.

A little later when it came up that I liked Barack Obama, the young man quickly replied he did not.

Somebody saying they liked Trump and Clinton but not Obama truly piqued my curiosity, corn or no corn. So I asked, "Why don't you like Obama?"

With a self-satisfied smile, he cheerily replied in English, "Because he's a nigger."

I looked away to gather my thoughts. After a brief moment, I turned towards the young woman and said, "Please take him away."

Her reaction suggested she understood why I had made the request. In any case, without any further words exchanged she walked away with him. A few moments later I glanced back and saw them talking. I hoped the young woman was able to explain things to some degree.

I have no illusions about the amount of racism in China. There's a lot. And many times when I have come across it in individuals, I have tried to better understand and constructively push back. I have never responded like I did the other night in Bengbu before, but the choice of words and manner of delivery hit me. In the heat of the moment in an informal setting, I sought a way to make an impression that might have some tiny bit of positive impact when, admittedly, I wasn't sure I was in the right frame of mind for constructive conversation.

A few years ago in Chongqing, China, I met another young man who also expressed he didn't like black people. In that case, I engaged in conversation, but what followed also caught me by surprise:

After I pushed back against some of his following points, he sat quietly in thought, and I wondered if I had made an impression. A minute or so later he broke his silence and asked, "Are there people in America who don't like black people?"

I replied, "There definitely are." I assumed he was curious about racial issues in the U.S. So I thought it could be valuable to shed some light on the immense challenges the country still faces, despite recent progress.

But before I could continue, he triumphantly declared, "You see. So I'm right."

And so I must question whether the young man in Bengbu would have expressed himself in the same manner without news such as that about white nationalists and white supremacists in the U.S. making its way to China. I don't doubt racism would exist in China without any American influence. But perhaps some in China feel emboldened by what they see happening in the U.S. now. As somebody who would hope the U.S. could use its soft power for good, it is an especially troubling question to consider.

Stars & Stripes on a Boy and Motor Scooters in Bengbu, China

Today at a pedestrian street in Bengbu, Anhui province, I briefly met a little boy wearing clothing with a red, white, and blue stars & stripes design.

Nearby, I saw a familiar stars & stripes design style on a motor scooter.

A very short walk away from there, I saw another type of stars & stripes design I have also seen before in China.

And across the river, I saw yet another red, white, and blue design.

All of this happened to come across my path in a span of less than 90 minutes. I saw more related designs later in the day and none of them struck me as out of the ordinary. The designs raise questions about American influence, or soft power, in China. In the next post, I will share a disturbing example of how that influence may be having an impact in an unfortunate way.

Bengbu Tracks

Near a railroad crossing on Yan'an Road in Bengbu

Nazi Salutes from Chinese in Germany and White Nationalists in the U.S.

There is a certain irony in Chinese traveling all the way to Europe only to get arrested for expressing themselves in a country where they were far, far freer to express themselves. Over a week ago two Chinese citizens visiting Berlin, Germany, apparently thought it would be a grand idea to take photographs of themselves giving the Nazi salute in front of the Reichstag building. This was, in fact, a really bad idea for several reasons including that:

The Chinese citizens are now facing charges for "using symbols of illegal organizations" which could carry a fine or a prison sentence of up to three years, according to the police.

The Nazi party is banned in modern Germany, and its symbols and imagery can only be used for purposes such as teaching or historical research.

However, they should feel fortunate no passersby responded as one person did this past weekend not far away elsewhere in Germany:

Police say a drunken American man was punched by a passer-by as he gave the stiff-armed Nazi salute multiple times in downtown Dresden. . . .

Police say the American, who is under investigation for violating Germany’s laws against the display of Nazi symbols or slogans, had an extremely high blood alcohol level. His assailant fled the scene, and is being sought for causing bodily harm.

It isn't clear whether these men were expressing support for any Nazi ideals. But in the U.S. this past weekend, white nationalists took things to another level, a clearly intended level, by protesting in Charlottesville, Virginia, while carrying a variety of flags, including the Nazi flag, and giving the Nazi salute. One man who had previously shown much interest in Nazis plowed his car into another vehicle near counterprotesters setting off a chain reaction causing multiple injuries and one death.

There have been many powerful and thoughts thing written about the protests, the violence, and the reactions. I will simply share one of the powerful images widely shared this past weekend which especially spoke to me:

The photo actually appears to be from a protest last month in Charlottesville. One of the earliest postings was on Instagram (source of the above image). There was also an early Facebook post that identifies the officer as Darius Ricco Nash, who responded.

Regardless of when the photo was taken, it speaks to the events of this past weekend and to many others. And it is a very American photo. There is both bad and good in that.

Dutch and Tolkien Possibilities for the Starbucks Grond in Bengbu

In regards to the "Grond Open" sign displayed on the opening day of a Starbucks in Bengbu, one reader pointed out that "grond" is a word in Dutch. I had noticed that as well. But since the word translates to "ground" in English and the Dutch phrase for "grand opening" is "grote opening", I didn't see strong reason to believe the sign was a result of the Dutch language.

Another reader excitedly (I imagine) shared that Grond is the name of a battering ram in the novel The Lord of the Rings. Author J.R.R. Tolkien wrote:

Great engines crawled across the field; and in the midst was a huge ram, great as a forest-tree a hundred feet in length, swinging on mighty chains. Long had it been forging in the dark smithies of Mordor, and its hideous head, founded of black steel, was shaped in the likeness of a ravening wolf; on it spells of ruin lay. Grond they named it, in memory of the Hammer of the Underworld of old. Great beasts drew it, orcs surrounded it, and behind walked mountain-trolls to wield it.

Here is how Grond was depicted in the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) directed by Peter Jackson:

Source: Lord of the Rings Wiki

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence and all, but I feel safe saying there wasn't a gigantic battering ram at the Starbucks nor were there images of Grond in any promotional signs. Perhaps Starbucks should consider it for the future, though.

Although the Dutch language and a fictional battering ram may not explain the "Grond Open" sign, along with the conversations about the sign I had with people at the Starbucks they are indicative of the various paths and questions that can be raised when trying to identify the cause of English which appears to be incorrect or unusual in some way in China. As one reader who has much experience in translating Chinese text to English mentioned, looking for explanations often leads one down a rabbit hole. Sometimes it even leads to a Grond hole.

Trying to Explain the Starbuck's "Grond Open" Sign

In a comment about the sign with incorrect English — "Grond Open" — for a Starbucks on its opening day in Bengbu, Potomacker suggested reasons why English errors on signs are more common in China than in Singapore and included this as a factor:

I'm very confident that more than one employee at this new franchise can read English and recognize the error. But to speak up has no upsides and only downsides. It means that the manager must reorder the signs (more work); the printer must admit that he has no quality control (loss of face); there is a delay in getting a corrected sign on display (horrors, a potential loss of income!) Whereas a Singaporean business owner might express gratitude to a stranger pointing out an English error in a business text, a mainland employee who catches a similar mistake has learned by example to just keep silent and pretend that everything is perfect.

In reply, I will share two relevant conversations I had at the Starbucks along with some impressions. I don't have answers to some of the questions they raise, part of why I don't feel like I know why this "Grond Open" mistake occurred and why it was allowed to be displayed.

While I was taking a photo of the outdoor sign, a young Chinese man who had been sitting inside approached me and asked me a few questions. His family lived in Bengbu, he spoke English, and he had studied for the past year in Toronto, where he would return once school was back in session. I took the opportunity to ask him whether he noticed anything wrong about the sign. He said he didn't, so I asked him to read the English words. What he said sounded like "ground open". After I asked him what it meant, he appeared genuinely confused as he looked at the sign and said he didn't know. This struck me since people in China who have studied English are typically more skilled in written English than spoken English. Also, the Chinese text immediately below could have acted as a cue to what the English text should have been.

I also showed a photo of the sign to one of the Starbucks employees who spoke at least some English and asked her what she thought of it. She recognized the sign and pointed out it was for their first day. When I asked if there was anything wrong with the English on the sign, a deliberately leading question, she said "no" and smiled. Based in part on her expression, I wasn't convinced she hadn't noticed a problem. My past experience interviewing people in China led me to believe I wouldn't be able to effectively and comfortably explore the matter in the present environment, so I didn't pursue it. After I pointed out that "Grond Open" was a mistake, she explained the sign had been made by a local company.

These are conversations with just two people, but already there is plenty to consider and ask.