A Place Not to Park Your Vehicle in Ganzhou

At Liuhepu (六合铺) in Ganzhou:

People Live Here
No Parking!!!

Not in Africa: A Brief Story of Taking the Train Out of Guangdong

In a waiting room at the Huizhou Railway Station
(photo doesn't include the children mentioned in this post)

As I approached my seat after boarding the train in Huizhou, the 8-year-old boy who would be sitting across from me excitedly announced to his mother and younger sister, "A European!"

Before I could helpfully correct him, I heard him less certainly suggested another possibility. I then decided it was now best not to correct him.

After all, I'm not identified as an African every day.

The train's seats were sold out, and there were a number of people who had bought standing-only tickets. It had been a while since I had taken a non-high-speed train like this one, but most things seemed the same. So much life.

As the train began moving, I found it hard to get excited about being on the train for another five hours. Yet I knew most people were likely in for a longer ride. Anybody there for the final destination still had more than 27 hours to go. Five hours now seems pretty good. Did I mention my ticket cost less than eight American dollars?

It took some time, but eventually I entered a train-Zen state of mind. There was so much to take in. The 8-year-old boy and his sister carried on at times, but, unlike their mother, I soon appreciated the entertainment. For what it is worth, my brother and I at that age would have been far less peaceful under such conditions.

Now I am in Ganzhou. No, that's not a typo for Guangzhou. I could've made it there in much less time. I'm out of Guangdong province and now in Jiangxi province.

This is my second time in Ganzhou, but it has been a while. More about this place, so far from Africa, another time.

Oh, that boy and his sister . . . they still had more than 4 hours to go after I disembarked the train. I'm guessing mostly all went fine.

Unlucky Duckies in Huizhou

Today on a street in Huizhou, Guangdong, I saw a bunch of a ducks restrained in a truck.

I don't speak duck, but some of them sounded as if they were complaining. If so, it would be hard to blame them. I didn't stick around to see if I could learn their fate, but I feel safe guessing it isn't anything they'd be happy about.

For a more cheerful, or at least more free, duck story, there's my confrontation last year with a mighty duck in Xiapu, Fujian.

Eight Assorted Thursday Tweets About China

In terms of news about China I saw in my Twitter feed, today felt especially heavy and had much to digest. Below are some those tweets which made their way onto my screen and especially caught my attention. Most include links to to relevant pieces. I deliberately left out tweets providing some discussion on a topic that I have covered at length before and is in the news once more. I hope to address the topic in a later post.

whoa. Chinese police literally broke into a professor's home while he was doing a live interview w/VOA & demanded he stop talking. "I am entitled to express my opinion. This is my freedom of speech," he said, before the line went dead https://t.co/X3pRR3IzVu

— Te-Ping Chen (@tepingchen) August 2, 2018

A searing critique of Xi Jinping’s leadership by Tsinghua U law professor Xu Zhangrun, brilliantly translated (with copious notes) by Geremie Barme. https://t.co/CijS3xJAoe

— Mike Forsythe 傅才德 (@PekingMike) August 2, 2018

China's MeToo movt is highlighting the astonishing bravery of the country's women. In addition to universal pressures, Chinese women lodging allegations face detention, police cover-ups, online censorship. No lawyer would take the case below: https://t.co/pBOnKWXvK4

— Eva Dou (@evadou) August 2, 2018

What worries me about this is the government's emphasis on women from 'good' backgrounds getting married and having biological children, which I've seen in policy language. Definitely a red flag https://t.co/zLglyMXlyY

— Rui Zhong 钟瑞 (@rzhong_notes) August 1, 2018

High-ranking Chinese monk accused of sexually harassing nuns https://t.co/1312ZRPEf7

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 2, 2018

EXCLUSIVE: Huawei has applied for a security clearance in the Czech Republic, which would give it an official stamp of approval from a NATO ally and allow it to bid on restricted govt contracts & build critical infrastructure. My latest for @thedailybeast: https://t.co/IAtenZ4dEE

— B. Allen-Ebrahimian (@BethanyAllenEbr) August 1, 2018

A selection of my poems translating the names of schoolchildren crushed in the #WenchuanEarthquake—names like Elegant Moon, Heart of Humanity, & Wave of Dew. These poems are also my response to @aiww's efforts for those responsible to be held accountable.https://t.co/KiaakqwEtc

— Ian Boyden (@_IanBoyden) August 1, 2018

Beijing in 1949. Rare color photos taken by Vladislav Mikosha, a member of the Soviet delegation for the founding ceremony of PRC. pic.twitter.com/0Y7LCS51qJ

— Jin Xu (@xujnx) August 1, 2018

A Chance Chat in the Park with a Uyghur in Southern China

Another park in another Chinese city

Not so long ago on a quiet day at a park in southern China, I saw a man with two energetic children. After saying hello to them, the man and I started talking. I soon learned he was Uyghur and from far away Xinjiang, where he still had family. Having recently read reports about deteriorating conditions for Uyghurs there, I asked about their situation.

Sounding and looking like he had felt compelled to utter the exact same words not just now but many times before, he first explained his pride in being a Chinese citizen and his support for the Chinese government. Then he returned to his gaze to me and explained how the situation in Xinjiang wasn't at all good for them. What he shared was depressingly consistent with what I had previously learned.

I thought of the conversation today while reading a piece recommended by Josh Chin:

“The phrase adem yoq (‘everybody’s gone’) is probably the one I’ve heard the most this past year.”

It’s virtually impossible for Uyghurs to talk about what’s happening in Xinjiang. That makes this account from Gene Bunin, the rare foreigner who speaks Uyghur, a vital read. https://t.co/Po8pfJsuM1

— Josh Chin (@joshchin) July 31, 2018

An excerpt from Gene Bunin's piece:

At one point last year, I made an effort to see a friend in Xinjiang who had deleted me [from WeChat] but whom I really wanted to see. Navigating our friend networks, I set up a time and a place, and we met. In retrospect, I almost wish we hadn’t. Our lunch together was an incredibly silent and awkward one – there was too much to say but everything felt taboo, and there were entire minutes when we just sat there. It didn’t look like anyone was monitoring us, but my friend looked really worried all the same. When I passed him samples of a book I was working on, he only cast them a glance but didn’t flip through the pages. When I asked him if a mutual acquaintance of ours was still around, he told me that he “didn’t know” that person anymore, before adding: “Right now, I don’t even know you.”

I too will recommend reading "How the 'Happiest Muslims in the World' are Coping with Their Happiness". And I will wonder what has happened to the man, his children, and the rest of his family since our chance discussion at the park. I didn't ask for a way to contact him in the future. That might have been better for him.

A Cat and Dog Debate the Best Peppers for Steaks in a Restaurant Chain Ad in China

Houcaller (豪客来) is a widespread Western-style steak restaurant chain in China, and I have seen it, and some imitators, in numerous cities. A recent promotion of theirs recently caught my eye as I was passing a bus stop in Shenzhen.

The ad features a red pepper steak with bones and black pepper steak without bones. The ad asks who is more correct in their tastes. The cat apparently prefers the red pepper steak and the dog prefers the other. I would have associated a preference for bones more with dogs, but maybe the black pepper would win them over after all.

Beside the dog is a Chinese phrase which can be interpreted as "Dare to be black" or "Of course, black". But it's also a bit of pun, presumably intended, because in slang the phrase means "dare to mock yourself".

I haven't tried either of these steaks, so I can't help settle this debate. I think the last, and perhaps only, time I went to a Houcaller was about 8 years ago far to the north in Anyang, Henan. It was a fascinating experience. I'll save that short story for another day. No cats or dogs were involved.

A Room With Better Views than Internet Connections

Regarding the tale of my problems uploading photos and such, all is much better now. A change of location did the trick. After easily connecting to the internet with a VPN, I tested things out by uploading a photo to Blogger which, like most of Google's services, is blocked in China. All went well. And I haven't had any major problems since.

To celebrate, here are two photos taken from the room in Shenzhen where I experienced much frustration with my internet connection:

At least I enjoyed the view, even though you could say that some of it was blocked.

Dreams of Being Able to Easily Upload a Photo

My uploading / VPN woes continue. By this time tomorrow, I hope to be somewhere where I don't need to walk to an elevator lobby and stand with my laptop in order to upload a photo or send an email. Yes, I dream big.

Since the previous two posts touching on this topic include photos of shirts I have seen in Shenzhen, I will continue that theme.

Now, I might visit some sites that aren't blocked in China. Oddly enough, I'm finding that browsing online without using my VPN is unusually fast, including for unblocked U.S. sites. I don't think it's a dream.

An Accumulation of VPN Frustrations in Shenzhen

Fives days ago I wrote:

I had planned on sharing so much more this week, both in terms of photos and thoughts. And I have more than enough to share. That's not the problem.

I didn't identify the problem though. It had to do with something I mentioned eleven days ago:

Yesterday I spent a lot of time troubleshooting why sometimes websites loaded at decent speeds yet I couldn't upload anything. As I am in mainland China, I wondered if the Great Firewall had something to do with it, since I was using a VPN to access blocked sites.

The problem significantly worsened. Browsing online with my VPN had become painful. And even one inconvenient trick I had found to upload photos no longer worked. However, visiting sites not blocked in China while not using a VPN was rather painless. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever seen video from a U.S. site load so quickly in China before.

I am still not sure what is causing the problem. But I suspect my best hope is in something that has worked in similar cases before: change locations. Fortunately, at least in regards to this issue, I will be doing that soon.

Along with what I wrote five days ago, I also shared a photo of a shirt on sale at Dongmen in Shenzhen. Two days ago at Dongmen I saw somebody wearing the same shirt. Tonight I finally managed to upload it.

And the world turns.

An Accumulated Thought From Shenzhen

I had planned on sharing so much more this week, both in terms of photos and thoughts. And I have more than enough to share. That's not the problem.

For now, here is a shirt I saw tonight for sale at Dongmen in Shenzhen.

Hard to argue.

Signs You Can Visit in One Day an Apple Store and the Happy Valley Theme Park in Shenzhen

In front of the Apple Store at the Holiday Plaza shopping mall in Shenzhen

World Cup Spirit at Restaurants, Bars, and Urinals in Shenzhen, China

Unlike at a mall in Hong Kong, I didn't come across any malls in neighboring Shenzhen showing every FIFA World Cup match. However, I did see some bars and restaurants in different parts of Shenzhen which were promoting the World Cup or showing games, such as these two eating & drinking establishments which are next to each other at the Central Walk Shopping Mall:

There were other bars, at least some of which are popular with foreigners, showing matches at the same mall. For part of the third place playoff match between Belgium and England, I went to The Brew. Even though I showed up late, I was still able to get a table with a great view.

For the championship match between France and Croatia, I decided to watch from my hotel room, in part due to it beginning at 11 p.m. China time. Fortunately, my a combo of a fast enough internet connection, a fast enough VPN connection, and Telemundo meant all went reasonable well. I couldn't understand most of the Spanish commentary but "GOAAAAAALLLLLL!" was pretty clear.

And finally . . . I saw an especially unexpected sign of the football spirit in Shenzhen in restroom urinals at several different malls.

I didn't hear anybody shouting "GOAAAAAALLLLLL!"