Day and Night at the Tongtian Pagoda

Shaoguan's 3-year-old Tongtian Pagoda (通天塔) replaced a pagoda built in the mid-1500s and destroyed in the mid-1800s. It sits on a small island where the Wu and Zhen Rivers meet to form the Bei River. Below are two photos of the pagoda and the Beijiang Bridge (北江大桥), which opened 30 years ago, taken from nearby vantage points but at different times of the day. People can have strong preferences for one viewing time or the other.

Multitasking at the Zhen River in Shaoguan

A return to the mobile theme is not far away — more on the fishing theme someday too.

Severed Fingers and Haunting Chocolates at Pizza Hut in Shaoguan, China

It's that special time of the year in China. You can feel it in the air, even in Shaoguan, Guangdong. Which means, of course, Pizza Hut has pulled out its special Halloween menu.

And Pizza Hut's excitement over Halloween in China doesn't end there. Halloween-themed M&M's characters are available as well.

Curiously, a Halloween M&M's pizza wasn't available.

But more Halloween fun is available elsewhere. An RT-Mart, a Taiwan-based hypermarket chain similar to Walmart or Carrefour, I visited in Shaoguan now has a Halloween section.

A bit of Halloween spirit is nothing new in parts of China, and these signs of the holiday in Shaoguan may reflect the holiday's growing popularity. I won't still be in Shaoguan during Halloween, so I won't have the opportunity to see if related festivities arise like those I have come across elsewhere in China, including Changsha a few years ago. I haven't noticed any indications trick or treating will be a big thing though. The RT-Mart didn't even have a Halloween candy section.

A Change of Room Views in Guangdong

A view outside the window where until yesterday I recently stayed in Zhongshan, Guangdong:

A view outside the window where I am staying now in Shaoguan, Guangdong:

I wouldn't characterize the differences between the cities using these two photos, but I appreciate the change of scenery afforded by my new room nonetheless.

While I have had an easy time viewing many scenes since arriving in a city I have never visited before, I have not had an easy time viewing my own blog due to significant challenges connecting to my VPN, which I need to access a variety of blocked-in-China services. Although some potential fixes did not offer a lasting solution, things may have returned to normal, my normal at least. As usual, I can't be sure why, but in many ways much of life is like that.

Alley Cats in Zhongshan

The other day in Zhongshan I met two Chinese alley cats in, of all places, an alley. I saw one cat expertly catch a butterfly — looked like it tasted rather good. The other cat was more open to petting and also far more talkative. After I made a quick trip to a nearby place, soon both were quiet. You can figure out what happened from the photos. Not sure it was better than butterfly though.

An American friend who earlier saw these photos in a less clear sequence jokingly asked, "They became quiet because you turned them into cat on a stick?!?!"

Well played, perhaps more than the person realized. I have occasionally seen restaurants and people in food markets in this region of China selling cat. I can't say I have seen anything similar in Zhongshan, but I also haven't looked. Anyway, the cats I met seem to have a relatively good life, though they probably wouldn't mind more butterflies. Or chicken from the nearby food stall.

An Opportunistic Pose in Zhongshan

I often aim to capture "real life" moments in my photography. In those cases, ideally I would like the subjects in the photos to be unaware of my, the photographer's, presence as that can impact their behavior, including small details of body language. Sometimes it doesn't work out as hoped though. Today in Zhongshan, one captured moment reflected two possible results when my presence has been detected: wondering what I am photographing and posing.

Well played. Admittedly, it wasn't what I expected. But both reactions have their own "real" stories to tell as well.

Scenes Around the Camões Garden in Macau

Over three years ago in Macau I met someone who had made a day trip from Zhongshan to buy milk formula from New Zealand. Yesterday for the first time, I made the same trip, though not for milk formula. Near where I am staying in Zhongshan I boarded a direct bus to the border between Gongbei, Zhuhai, and Macau. After the one hour, 27 RMB (about U.S. $4.25) bus ride, I crossed the border in my shortest time ever, easily less than 15 minutes to pass though both mainland China and Macau immigration. Returning to Zhongshan at night was also simple, though the bus cost 28 RMB instead. The trip would likely have taken much longer had I gone during the recent holiday.

The Camões Garden is part of a set of famous sites in Macau which extend southward. The many winding streets just to the West, North, and East see far fewer tourists, yet like Macau's nearby Three Lamps District, which is also in Freguesia de Santo António (St. Anthony's Parish), they have their own charm. I spent a rather pleasant hour an half walking around the area beginning around 5pm. For yet another side of Macau, below are some photos from my walk with any streets names written in Portuguese, which along with traditional Chinese is typical in Macau.

Rua Ribeira do Patane and Avenida do Almirante Lacerda

Rua da Palmeira

Tou Tei Temple 

One of the many examples of European architecture in Macau

Other varieties of architecture

Meeting point of the steps Escada do Muro and Escada do Caracol

Rua do Patane

Intersection of Rua de Tomas Vieira and Rua de Coelho do Amaral

 Rua de Coelho do Amaral

Calçada do Botelho

View from the Camões Garden towards Zhuhai across the Qianshan Waterway 

Another view from the Camões Garden

 Stairs leading towards Travessa dos Calafates

Cat eating above a sign for Calçada do Galo

Street vendor selling food at Rua de Cinco de Outubro

Street vendor watching video at Rua da Ribeira do Patane

More National Day in Zhongshan: War Ground, Budweiser, and Fake Sprouts

On this last day of the long holiday, light mention of three more things (other things here, here, and here) which caught my attention in Zhongshan, Guangdong, on National Day:

1. Earlier this year in Zhongshan I saw a Women's Day sale at the military-themed clothing store War Ground. So it wasn't surprising they also had a National Day sale.



I wonder whether they will have a Christmas sale.

2. I didn't see anything specifically mentioning National Day, but along with some other nearby temporary tents a Budweiser promotional tent appeared to be targeting the holiday crowds. Although it declared "Made for Music", any time I passed by I only saw Western movies offered as entertainment.



Budweiser products were available as well. Some of the people who watched the movies even drank them.

3. As seen in one of the photos in an earlier post, a new fad in China has made its way to Zhongshan. Sometimes referred to as fake sprouts, a wide range of plantlike hair pins are now available. On National Day they appeared to be selling well, as they were elsewhere in China, and I saw many younger people with fake plants sticking out of their head.



I gave it pass. I did have visions of wearing an entire bonsai tree on my head though.

People in Zhongshan Without Patriotic Flags on National Day

On China's National Day I saw a number of people displaying Chinese flags, some upside-down, in Zhongshan, Guangdong. Most people didn't have any flags with them though. So below are twenty National Day photos of people not displaying Chinese flags in areas of Zhongshan similar to those in the earlier posts. The photos show a little more of how some people in China spent their time during a big holiday.

Some people I saw ate cotton candy.

Some ate ice cream.

Some ate noodles.

Some collected recyclable trash.

Some wore cosplay costumes.

Some wore shades.

Some paid for shade.

Some paid for hair clips with fake sprouts.

Some didn't want to pay.

Some jumped.

Some drove.

Some floated.

Some rode at the back of a scooter.

Some rode at the front of a scooter.

Some road alone.

Some received a ride.

Some waited to give a ride.

Some walked with family.

Some walked alone.

And finally, although not carrying a flag, some wore clothing with a flag-inspired design, just not the Chinese flag.