A Snail's Pace in Zhongshan

A small friendly snail in Zhongshan

Posting has been lighter than usual lately, and by "lately" I mean for a while — which raises the question of what counts as "usual" in this case. Anyway, planning to change that soon — the usual.

A Photo of a Photo of a Man Taking a Photo of an Armed Policeman in Zhongshan

Next to the sidewalk on a gate near the Zhongshan Veteran Cadre Activities Center (山市老干部活动中心) in Zhongshan is a collection of photos posted by the Zhongshan Veteran Cadre Photography Association (中山市老干摄影会).

Unsurprisingly, the photos appear to have been mostly, if not entirely, taken in Zhongshan. I found the photos intriguing for the glimpse they provided of what captures the interest of some people in the city. One photo especially caught my attention not just for the scene it captured but also because it raised questions in my mind about whether I would have taken it at a close distance, despite knowing I would have surely found the scene worthy of a photo.

The photograph by Bao Jin (鲍进) is titled "Don't Move" ("别动") — fitting in multiple ways.

A Wolverine Barbecue in Zhongshan

Fog Machines, Doves, and Target Heads: More Singles Day Promotions in Zhongshan

Dancing for Singles Day in Zhongshan, China

A number of promotions for Singles day began early last week in Zhongshan. In one of the many signs that retailers weren't content to celebrate Singles Day on just one single day, on Saturday, the day before the holiday, a Chotef (周大发) jewelry store at the west end of the Sun Wen West Road Pedestrian Street held a Singles Day promotion including performances.

During the late afternoon, I saw some women dancing, similar to an earlier Halloween performance elsewhere in Zhongshan. Unlike what I saw at a similar promotion at a jewelry store in Ganzhou, there wasn't a dancing dinosaur, but at least there was a fog machine.

When I passed by later during the evening, I caught the end of another performance.

For a change of pace that many children seemed to particularly enjoy, afterwards a magician performed.

A live dove appeared thrilled about its magical appearance.

I didn't return to this location on Singles Day, but presumably there was more of the same. Elsewhere, I didn't notice much occurring other than the typical sales for the holiday.

But there was one thing which really caught my eye. Earlier, I shared an example of a Singles Day promotion at a store for the Chinese clothing brand La Chapelle. A La Chapelle store at another mall in Zhongshan was holding the same promotion, except they had a display I hadn't seen before.

Using dartboards for heads in a Singles Day promotional display of women's clothing seemed . . . off target. Since this didn't seem like something I would miss and I was later near the first store I had noticed, I double-checked, and indeed it had no similar display. So perhaps La Chapelle didn't intend for its stores to depict women's heads as targets, and this is a single lone example.

In any case, though some stores have concluded their Singles Day promotion since the holiday is over, some haven't. So if you want to enjoy Chotef's special deals for the holiday, you have until November 19 — eight whole single days extra.

Christmas Trees and Not Quite Thermal Underwear: Signs of the Season at a Walmart in Zhongshan, China

While some retailers in China have moved on from promotions for Halloween to ones for the upcoming Singles Day, others are already bringing attention to holidays more distant in the future. For example, at Zhongshan's only Walmart* Christmas-themed items are now on sale.

The items immediately greet customers when they enter the store. And near them are indications that although daytime temperatures are still reaching into the low 80s (high 20s in Celsius) the weather in in Zhongshan will get chillier.

However, I don't think those jackets count as thermal underwear. Just to be clear, the problem here isn't one of translation but of categorization. Good luck to anybody trying to wear those jackets under their clothes.

And finally, snow is extremely uncommon in Zhongshan, and rain remains a possibility during winter months. So of course Walmart sells umbrellas as well.

Once again, good luck.




*Not long ago there was another Walmart store, but it is now no more.

Some Serenity in Zhongshan

Whether or not you could use a break from the news, here is a non-newsworthy, but rather peaceful, moment at a small place of worship in Zhongshan:

Shengdi Dian (圣帝殿) in Longtouhuan Village (龙头环村)

From Halloween to Singles Day at Toys "R" Us in China

Not so surprisingly, the Halloween sale at a Toys "R" Us in Zhongshan, China, ended on Halloween — October 31. Also not so surprisingly, it was only a short time before the store began another promotion. From November 2 until November 11 Toys "R" Us will celebrate Single's Day with a sale on a variety of toys.

As described by Lisa Lacy in an Adweek article about the holiday not taking off in the U.S.:

Singles Day started out [in China] as an anti-Valentine’s Day movement among college students in 1993. They picked 11/11 because it’s a date comprised of ones. The concept: Treat yourself.

Alibaba co-opted it in 2009 as an excuse to push winter coats, and the rest is history: Since then, China’s online audience has grown to more than 800 million consumers by Alibaba’s count. Along the way, Singles Day has matured into the single biggest shopping day in the world—selling more than $25 billion in 24 hours last year.

Children are indeed single, so I suppose it fits. The promotion is perhaps more reflective of how many businesses use a variety of holidays for promotions without necessarily intending any deep connection between the products on sale and the actual holiday.

Many other retailers in China are having Singles Day sales, including a store for a Chinese clothing brand that is a short walk from the Toys "R" Us.

The impact of the holiday on sales, including online, will be closely watched to see if it provides further indication that China's economy is slowing. In any case, if you are thinking of buying a mini foosball table, now might be your best time — especially if you're single.

Source

Achieving Balance in Zhongshan

At Sun Wen Memorial Park (孙文纪念公园) in Zhongshan, China

Fruit For Sale as Usual in Zhongshan

Fruit stand on Halloween night

Although it wasn't too hard to find signs of the holiday on Halloween night at some shopping centers, bars, and even convenience stores in Zhongshan, in most places life went on like any other day. And if you wanted some candy, or some fruit, saying "Trick or treat!" wouldn't help very much.

Black Dumplings, Gourds, and a Meaty Mannequin: Halloween Spirit in Zhongshan, China

In past years I have shared Halloween-related scenes from cities such as Taipei in 2011, Changsha in 2012, Shaoguan in 2015, Shenyang in 2016, and most recently Changsha again in 2017. The posts have numerous photos of people in costumes, promotions, and food. Perhaps some day I will fill in some of what I missed sharing here, which includes Halloween experiences in Dalian, Shanghai, and Zhuhai. But for now I will share a sample of what I saw in Zhongshan, since it is where I spent Halloween this year.

One of the earliest signs of Halloween I came across was a promotion at 7-Eleven stores which began weeks before the holiday. Yes, I gave the three black cuttlefish items a try.

The dumplings were tasty with some Sriracha-style sauce, but a couple of them were rather soggy. The sausage was too dried out. The cuttlefish balls were OK. None of it was as good as the black spidery pizza I tried at Pizza Hut in Shenyang two years ago. At least 7-Eleven had a special price for getting the three together. Not all the items were specially made for Halloween, but the dumplings are now gone.

To wash down all of that cuttlefish ink, 7-Eleven had a special Halloween deal on . . . Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey lemonade and cola drinks of course.

Moving on . . .

Three years ago I saw a Halloween display at n RT-Mart in Shaoguan. This year in Zhongshan, RT-Mart kept up the Halloween spirit.

Their selection possibly surpassed what was available at a Toys "R" Us in Zhongshan. Also, the display had a dark area inside of it where glowing items could be tested.

A Carrefour in Zhongshan similarly had Halloween items for sale.

Carrefour took it up another notch, though, with a Halloween gourd display.

The Shiqi Dasin Metro-Mall had a Halloween-themed food fair as part of celebrations for the one year anniversary of its newest section.

Several nights before Halloween, the fair was packed.

None of the food itself was any different from what could appear at any other food fairs, but at least one of the sellers was in the holiday spirit.

There was also occasional dancing.

On Halloween day there were a variety of activities. The Lihe Plaza shopping mall appeared prepared for a musical performance, but I didn't stick around to listen.

One popular gathering area that night was the central outdoor area at the Central Power Plaza shopping mall, where there were several people painting faces as part of a promotion.

By 10 p.m on Halloween night at the Shiqi Dasin Metro-Mall, many of the vendors at the food fair had already packed up and departed. But even with a now sagging arch, there were still photographic opportunities.

Some bars, including one at the mall, also got into the holiday spirit. In part because most are far separated from one another, I didn't bother with a pub crawl — so no photos. I also won't be sharing a set of photos of people dressed up for the holiday. See the earlier posts for plenty of those. But here's one of a pirate sitting at McDonald's on Halloween night:

Finally, for the first time ever I will award a winner (of what I happened to see) for best Halloween spirit. Carrefour wins hands down. No, the Halloween items for sale or the glorious gourds aren't what led to this special distinction.

Instead, I introduce the Halloween Dried Meats Witch:

Perhaps that will become a popular costume for next year.

Only a Few Halloween Jack-O'-Lantern Buckets Left at Toys "R" Us in Zhongshan

More than three weeks ago a Toys "R" Us in Zhongshan already had out its Halloween display. It remained in place this afternoon, but there were noticeably fewer items available — suggesting the Toys "R" Us has made more than a few Halloween sales.

The small jack-o'-lantern buckets seemed to have especially been a hit.

More about the Halloween holiday in Zhongshan later. It's now time for me to see some of what Halloween night is like here.

"Sometimes" in Longrui Village

In addition to dancing and a Lamborghini in Longrui Village, Zhongshan, below is a photo of a cafe across the street from the restaurant mentioned in the earlier post, where a portion of the cafe also appears.

Dancing and a Lamborghini in Longrui Village

Two nearby scenes tonight at Longrui Village (龙瑞村) in Shaxi Town (沙溪镇), Zhongshan:

Longrui Cultural Square (龙瑞文化广场)

Next to a popular restaurant (龙瑞粥城夜夜粥店) 

Some Scenes from the Dragon Boat Cultural Park in Zhongshan

The previous post has a photo of man walking a dog past a xiangqi sculpture at the Dragon Boat Cultural Park (龙舟文化公园) in Zhongshan. The park isn't identified on any online maps I checked, and I only knew what to call it thanks to a single stone at the park with its name. Below are a few other photos I took at the park around the area where it passes under under the Kanghua Bridge (康华大桥) on the south side of the Shiqi River (石岐河 — also known as the Qijiang River (岐江河)). According to an article in Chinese, the park opened last year and stretches quite a bit further than the area I unexpectedly came across.

Unexpected Animals in Two Photos of Scenes in Zhongshan

Twice today in Zhongshan I decided to take photos of a scene only to be surprised by the appearance of animals. In the first case, after taking a photo I noticed that two cats were sitting in the alley. In the second case, a man walked his dog by a large xiangqi sculpture. The previous posts featured two dogs, which also made an unexpected appearance while I took photos of a scene, and a cat. So fate seems to demand I share two photos from today that I probably wouldn't have otherwise thought to pair together.

At Julong Zhong (巨龙中)

At the Dragon Boat Cultural Park (龙舟文化公园)

Keeping an Eye Out for the Dogs in Zhongshan

The previous post consisted solely of a photo of a friendly cat I met at night in an alley in Zhongshan.

For some balance, I will share a photo including two dogs I encountered on another night in Zhongshan.

But the cat theme continues nonetheless . . .

Zhongshan Alley Cat