On Sunday morning I posted about my
Halloween weekend experiences in Changsha, Hunan province, which were minimal compared to my experiences during the same weekend
last year in Taipei. But of course, Halloween day had yet to arrive. During the next few days I saw far more signs of the holiday around a popular central shopping district. To provide an example of American culture's growing impact even in China's interior regions, I will share some of what I saw.
Several shopping centers at or near the popular Huangxing Road Commercial Pedestrian Street were in the Halloween spirit. For example, the New World Department Store had some typical Halloween decorations.
The Fashion Time mall was spruced up for the holiday as well.
In addition to the decorations, the female staff wore eye masks.
And some of the staff in individual stores dressed in other styles.
Yesterday, one shopping center even had a Halloween Cosplay Party. During my few minutes there, I saw a couple of dance routines.
Although I saw no examples of kids trick-or-treating, I did see two kids dressed up.
Despite the fact they were not seeking candy, I felt guilty I had none to give them. Fortunately, they had no eggs.
Halloween night was rather busy at the clubs and bars near the pedestrian street. For those who did not come equipped, there were a number of people opportunistically selling Halloween supplies.
Of the people who dressed up, most seemed to be wearing the face masks or other items that could be purchased on the street. But not all...
Several of the larger clubs were decorated for the holiday and packed with people dancing and drinking. Although the staff typically wore costumes, most of the customers did not. None of the clubs I saw charged a cover fee (making it easy to take a quick look), and the song Gangnam Style was playing when I entered several of them.
Although many of the bars on a popular bar street were decorated for Halloween, the one I like to call "Kobe Bar" did not.
Instead, it appeared to be decorated for another holiday.
I don't know, ask Kobe.
Finally, although the above may provide a feeling that much of Changsha was in the Halloween spirit, it certainly didn't feel that way to me. Even around the pedestrian street many stores had no Halloween decorations. And farther away I did not notice a single sign of Halloween.
Or Christmas.
That's all. At least until next year, this likely concludes the Halloween theme. I likely won't be here to observe it, but I expect the Halloween spirit will be found in even more Changsha places next year.