When I stopped by a j
ewelry store with a notable logo on the afternoon of its opening day in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, there were a few customers inside, but all was otherwise quiet. Especially given the hot weather and low pedestrian traffic at the time, this wasn't so surprising.
When I stopped by again later in the early evening, the weather had cooled down and the activities to celebrate the grand opening had heated up. Given what I have seen at a variety of promotions elsewhere in China, I wasn't too surprised to see somebody wearing an inflatable
Tyrannosaurus costume entertaining people, especially children.
At an entrance to the store, somebody else was creating balloon animals and sculptures. I have seen the same thing at a number of jewelry stores elsewhere.
There was also a stage set up besides the store. While I was there a woman sang, also not so uncommon for events likes this one.
But then things came together in a way that wasn't so typical in my experience, and it was something to behold.
I didn't know a
Tyrannosaurus could move like that.
On reflection, the movements were somewhat similar to
how some cockatoos dance to music. Not only are birds dinosaurs, but the
Tyrannosaurus is more closely related to a bird than to a Stegosaurus. Perhaps that's what the person had in mind, though I am not aware of any birds dancing quite the same way.
In any case, the dancing felt a bit surreal to watch. I can't put the experience fully into words, so I have shared a bit of it in the
video below. Although the
Tyrannosaurus stopped dancing, or whatever it was doing, and returned to other activities while I watched, I kept filming a bit longer. There is more to observe than just the dinosaur, though it steals the show.
Take a look:
