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.

The Fufeng Pagoda, Mountain Climbing, and the Chongyang Festival in Zhongshan

One of the photos in the previous post which shared my excitement two days ago about seeing yet another rainbow in China included Zhongshan's Fufeng Pagoda (阜峰文塔) in the distance. Yesterday afternoon, I stopped by Zhongshan Park and climbed Yandun Hill (烟墩山) for a closer view.

Had I been at this same spot when the earlier rainbow appeared, I believe I could have easily captured them together from there.

As with visits to the park in previous years, the tower was closed, so unfortunately I couldn't climb higher for a hopefully clearer view of the park's surroundings.

I took another path down the mountain and was surprised to see apparently new netting which not only blocked access to the adjacent green areas but also several other paths.

I didn't recall seeing anything like that at the park before. The large numbers of police and China Militia around the park were also unusual.

But for anybody who was confused about the changes, there was at least one sign that explained the conditions.

They were due to the upcoming Chongyang Festival (重阳节 — Chóngyángjié), also called Double Ninth Festival in English. One of the traditional activities for the holiday is mountain climbing. The sign indicated people could begin their holiday ascent as late as half hour after midnight that night but would need to leave the park by 1:30 a.m. The park would later open at 6 a.m. on the day of the holiday and close at 6 p.m. Then the park would reopen at 5 a.m. the day following the holiday for normal operations. The sign also asked people not to light fires, smoke, or bring anything that could explode.

A little after 9 p.m. yesterday night I returned to the park and found one of the more popular entrances filled with people and lined with police.

From there, the path from there to the top of the hill was a lot more crowded than it had been during the day.

Other than the many people, security, and rope nets, there wasn't much else that was unusual at the park. I did meet some people under a tent doing some community service by highlighting the dangers of illegal drugs though.

At first I feigned surprise that they were selling so many types of illegal drugs, but they quickly set things straight — perhaps an especially good idea with all of the police around.

This wasn't my first time to participate in some Chongyang Festival climbing. My most memorable experience was the time friends in neighboring Zhuhai invited me to take a night hike up Banzhang Mountain, which is a much more challenging climb and affords more open far-reaching views.

Zhongshan had other sites open this year for the holiday, such as Dajian Mountain (news article in Chinese), with higher climbs as well. But this year's holiday climb still had its charms. And now I have finally seen the Fufeng Pagoda up close at night — definitely no rainbows in the sky.

Straight from National Day to Halloween: Another Toys "R" Us Promotion in China

The month-long National Day holiday promotion Toys "R" Us held in China, which featured deals on toys such a Nerf guns and Hamsters in a House, ended yesterday. Today, a Toys "R" Us store in Zhongshan hadn't skipped a beat and had already moved on to the next great thing: Halloween.

Most of the related items appeared to be on a single rack sitting at the front entrance of the store.

I wasn't at all surprised by the Halloween promotion or it lasting from October 9 to October 31. After all, I've seen more impressive displays of Halloween items for sale before, including at an RT-Mart in Shaoguan. And last year in Zhongshan I saw a promotion running during the same period of time. That one was a bit more surprising, though, since it featured a Halloween sale on cosmetics.

More Toy Guns and Hamsters Too in a Holiday Sale at Toys "R" Us in China

Last week I posted about Toys "R" Us commemorating the founding of the People's Republic of China with a holiday sale featuring Nerf guns. I had seen the toy gun special at two different stores in Zhuhai, China. The very next day after writing the post, I happened to come across a Toys "R" Us store in neighboring Zhongshan. Unsurprisingly, this store offered the same deal.

Despite the sale, perhaps some parents don't think the best way to celebrate the holiday is to buy a gun which shoots projectiles, even if cushiony. Fear not, Toys "R" Us had another holiday special, this one on Silverlit laser tag guns.

Some people may even find creative ways to use both types of toy guns at the same time.

For people who just aren't into any sort of gun, there were some other items on special as well. For example, if you fancy hamsters with a penchant for burgers, Hamsters in a House can do that.

Notably, according to the sign this special didn't start for two weeks until after the ones for the guns. I don't know why. I also don't know if these hamsters would appreciate a Nerf or Silverlit gun.

In any case, the month-long holiday promotion at Toys "R" Us ended today. This doesn't affect most toys sold there, but you will now have to pay more for some guns and rodents.

Toys "R" Us Celebrates National Day in China with a Special Deal on Toy Guns

A "Golden week Toys Fun" promotion at a Toys "R" Us in Zhuhai, China

Whether in Mudanjiang far to the north or in Zhongshan far to the south, during recent years I have shared some of the National Day sales I have come across in China. Recently in Zhuhai, a city bordering Zhongshan on China's southeastern coast, I saw a promotion that might strike some people as more notable than others because of the retailer and products involved.

The promotion was at Toys "R" Us. Although the U.S. based company no longer has stores in its home country, stores still exist elsewhere, including China. Asia in particular has been a bright spot, and the company hopes to sell its stores there, though there are complications at the moment.

So I wasn't very surprised to see a Toys "R" Us promotion for National Day at two different stores in Zhuhai. And I wasn't surprised the "Golden Week" holiday sale lasts for over a month. And I also wasn't surprised by the "I ♥ China" roller coaster on some of the signs.

But I will admit, they did do something I didn't see coming. They commemorated the founding of the People's Republic of China by featuring a special price for a Nerf toy guns combo — the N-Strike Elite Retaliator and the Microshots N-Strike Elite Firestrike.

Save 49.9 yuan! (about U.S. $7.25)

Retaliate against who? The signs didn't specifically say.

In any case, the special on Nerf guns reminded me of my old posts about children in China conducting "war training exercises". Now, to commemorate the founding of the People's Republic of China they can do it at a discount.

Another National Day Sale at War Ground in Zhongshan

Three years ago at a store in Zhongshan, War Ground — a military-themed clothing retailer — had a sale for China's National Day, which commemorates the founding of the People's Republic of China. I wasn't surprised at seeing the sale in Zhongshan, since earlier in the year I saw the same store having a sale for International Women's Day. Last year I saw the store having a sale on National Day, but none of the signs visible from the outside made an explicit reference to the holiday.

Not only is it now National Day once again in China, but today I arrived in Zhongshan once again. So of course I checked the store. This year it is back to having a clearly labeled National Day's sale.

A later post will feature another National Day promotion in China this year. It is at a retailer much more familiar to people outside of China and perhaps inside as well. Their promotion has more bang in it than the one at War Ground.

Burning Down The House: Scenes from the Hungry Ghost Festival in Ganzhou, China

Near Jianchun Gate (建春门) in Ganzhou

Last Thursday next to the ancient city wall alongside the Gong River (贡水) in Ganzhou, Jiangxi, I noticed a number of people burning ghost money — imitation paper currency.

Near Donghe Bridge (东河大桥)

Thursday was the first of three days in Ganzhou when people conducted rituals for Saturday's Hungry Ghost Festival (中元节), also known in English as the Ghost Festival, the Yulan Festival, and Zhongyuan Jie. The holiday is similar to the Qingming Festival in terms of burning paper replicas to send items to people in the afterlife. The National Library of Singapore has a useful overview of the holiday in general while also pointing out some details specific to Singapore and other countries while also covering some differences between Taoist and Buddhist beliefs regarding the holiday. Baidu Baike has an article (Chinese) detailing some of the specific practices in various parts of China.

On Saturday, while walking down Xijiao Road (西郊路) I noticed a lot of smoke in the distance. And that is how I stumbled upon one of the multiple sites the local government had established for the burning rituals.

The video below captures more of the living reaching out to spirits there.

At a location next to the old city wall bordering the Zhang River (章水), I came across another sanctioned site — this one more scenic.

Near Xijin Gate (西津门)

While there, I saw some people preparing to send a house, car, and other items to the spirit world.

Soon flames began engulfing the house.

The video below captures later stages of the house's journey and also some of the other offerings occurring in the near vicinity.

One advantage Saturday provided was a rare break from the recent hot weather. One disadvantage Saturday provided was occasional strong winds. The video below was taken later at the same area and captures how ghost money was flying about, sometimes while burning, at times. I didn't see anybody get hurt, but it was definitely worth staying alert.

During the earlier evening I came across another approved site, this one at an area where buildings had been demolished between Xijin Road (西津路) and Xingan South Road (新赣南路).

I also saw offerings being made or signs of recent offerings on a smaller scale at a number of locations which didn't appear to have been designated by the city. All of the government approved sites I came across had government employees, easily identifiable with their red hats, keeping an eye on things. The site near Xijin Gate also had a few chengguan, urban management officers, around. There were frequent sounds of firecrackers around the city, but I only heard a single one go off at the approved sites. Apparently since it was isolated explosion — unusual —a chengguan who clearly wasn't happy about it didn't intervene beyond sharing a stern word.

In my personal experience, I have never before seen so many people observing the holiday elsewhere in China. I'm not sure whether that speaks more to luck or regional variations in the holiday's observance, though I suspect the latter has a significant role. In any case, there was a lot of fire in Ganzhou during the holiday and possibly many pleased ghosts as well.

A Riverside Can in Ganzhou

I'm not yet finished with what I had originally hoped to post today. Uploading three large video files through a VPN across the Great Firewall added to the challenge, but I'm happy to say at least that part has been successfully completed. For now, below is a related photo taken next to the Gong River which serves as a bit of a teaser.

Much more burning is on the way — most of it somewhat controlled.

A Flower Ice Cream and Giant Hummingbird Mural in Hong Kong

Happy Fourth of July to the U.S. folk. Remember, fireworks don't work without fire. And rose-shaped ice cream attracts giant hummingbirds. Goodness can result from both of these things. But nothing is totally safe, so please take care and have a joyous day. Those giant hummingbirds are enchanting yet ravenous.

Alongside Shelley Street in Central, Hong Kong