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Thursday, March 3, 2016

Taking the Dog for a Ride in Jieyang

I didn't see anybody asleep on a moving motorbike today, but I did see one especially awake rider.

dog with a front seat view rides a motorbike with a man in Jieyang, China.


It reminded me of a dog riding on a different pair of wheels two years ago in Hengyang. I don't see dogs on motorbikes every day, but I wouldn't call it an unusual event. More rare is successfully capturing the fleeting moment.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Leaving an Ephemeral Mark: Another Lesson from Jieyang

Yesterday two lessons came to mind after unexpectedly making an impression at a Jieyang shopping center.

Today at the same location, a related lesson came to mind: even when an impression you make appears to be nearly set in stone, it can quickly disappear.

a flat unmarked patch of dried cement


On the side, I wonder what was going through the mind of the bank security guard as he watched me take a few photographs of this patch of ground. I may have made a longer lasting impression that way.

Monday, February 29, 2016

Leaving a Mark: Lessons from Jieyang

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary when I approached a shopping center in Jieyang today, including the various obstacles in my path such as the motorbikes, the common-in-China stools, or signs indicating a bank's dedicated parking area.

front of a shopping area with parked motorbikes, plastic stools, and parking signs


So as I walked to get a closer look at a storefront sign, I effortlessly weaved my way without much thought. But then suddenly I had a sinking feeling.

Soon I was reminded of two important lessons about life.

1. How you make an impression on the world often happens in ways you don't expect.

large footprint in wet cement


2. You won't be the only person to leave an impression.

small footprint in wet cement


On a more pragmatic note, I'm mildly pleased I decided to wear a worn out pair of shoes a bit longer despite having already purchased a replacement pair.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

A Sunny and Fishy Day in Jieyang

After a number of cloudy days Jieyang, today's clearer skies inspired some to head outdoors.

woman drying a large number of tiny fish on a table standing in the street in Jieyang


After all, the weather was good for sunning your fish.

drying tiny fish in the sun

Friday, February 26, 2016

Resting on the Go in Jieyang

Last year I was impressed by a man sleeping on a motorbike in Hengyang, Hunan. Today in Jieyang, Guangdong, a similar sight zipped by.

child sleeping on a moving scooter in Jieyang, China

Despite the closed eyes, though, the apparent grip on the side of the motorbike makes me question whether the child is asleep. Either way, it was a reminder there is nothing like an early afternoon nap.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Assorted Links: Hurt Feelings, Less Love, Less Info, and Mao's Holy Mangos

It has been a while since I semi-regularly did "assorted links" posts, and I would like to return to the practice. To kick things off, here are a few links with brief excerpts and little or no commentary.

1. David Bandurski addresses some questions about a common phrase heard from China when it is not pleased with foreigners' or other countries' actions or words:
In 2007, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told reporters that diminutive Saint Lucia had “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.”

This was quite a feat for Saint Lucia’s 183,000-odd residents, given China’s population of more than 1.3 billion.

Is China really so sensitive? Why must it resort to such petulance? . . . And what on earth did Saint Lucia do?

2. Lilian Lin and Chang Chen report China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television has suspended yet another gay-themed show:
The Web drama, which follows the lives of four high school students played by fresh-faced actors, has generated buzz on social media ever since it went online about one month ago. The show’s Beijing-based production house said that the drama was viewed more than 10 million times in the day after it premiered.

3. Edward Wong and Neil Gough report that gay-themed shows aren't the only thing the Chinese government is further clamping down on:
Chinese leaders are taking increasingly bold steps to stop rising pessimism about turbulent markets and the slowing of the country’s growth. As financial and economic troubles threaten to undermine confidence in the Communist Party, Beijing is tightening the flow of economic information and even criminalizing commentary that officials believe could hurt stocks or the currency.

4. Finally, Benjamin Ramm tells the fascinating story of how mangos became "holy" during China's Cultural Revolution:
To quell the forces that he had unleashed, Mao sent 30,000 workers to Qinghua University in Beijing, armed only with their talisman, the Little Red Book. The students attacked them with spears and sulphuric acid, killing five and injuring more than 700, before finally surrendering. Mao thanked the workers with a gift of approximately 40 mangoes, which he had been given the previous day by Pakistan's foreign minister.

They had a huge impact.

It's hard to top the mango story. So that's all for now.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

A Brief Look at Some Movie Posters in Jieyang

Building with the Rongjiang Theater on its upper floors

It has been a while since I shared two movie posters which caught my eye in Shaoguan, Guangdong. So I will mention when I passed by the Rongjiang Theater today in Jieyang, Guangdong, I noticed a poster for Mermaid (美人鱼), a new movie from Hong Kong (a review).

Mermaid (美人鱼) movie poster in front of the Rongjiang Theater in Jieyang, China


On the poster was a schedule for today's showtimes.

movie showtimes at the Rongjiang Theater in Jieyang

Notably, two of the three movies are in Cantonese, a common dialect in Guangdong. Most people in Jieyang speak the local Chaoshan dialect, which is very different, in their daily life. But the few people I have asked told me they are able to understand Cantonese, if not speak it. The third movie is in Putonghua, a standardized form of Mandarin and China's official language.

Nearby were other movie posters. One pair represented future and past movies with a space theme.



Like the Midnight Whispers movie poster I saw months ago, the Star Wars poster includes an error. This one made me think of The Shining (spoiler alert: relevant movie excerpt). Perhaps the error wouldn't have occurred had they used the Chinese poster, though that version raised other questions.

I had intended to see if there was anything interesting to say about the Space Panda movie. But an online search first led me to a potentially seizure-inducing video about the Space Panda video game. I am guessing it is of no relation to the Chinese movie, but it has left me feeling like its best to stop here regardless.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Heading Downstream in Jieyang

Today in Jieyang I didn't see a goat.

But I did see a boat.

boat speeding down the Rongjiang North River in Jieyang
Speeding down the Rongjiang North River

Saturday, February 20, 2016

A Question, a Fire, and a Repeat Sighting: One More Goat Post

Yesterday was my first day in a while not to see a goat in Jieyang. But thanks to two readers, it wasn't an entirely goat-free day for me, though, so I will briefly return to the goat topic.

One reader asked "What's with all the goats?" To be clear, Jieyang isn't overflowing with goats. The examples I have shared were isolated incidents during days when I covered much ground. After showing a goat-milking photo to one local, she said she didn't think it was common. That's been my impression as well. But I have seen far more goat milking on Jieyang's urban streets than anywhere else in China.

The other reader shared some rather unfortunate goat-related news. 300 goats recently burned to death on a truck which caught fire near its destination in Liuzhou, Guangxi. I won't be sharing the graphic photos of the fire and its aftermath, but Shanghaiist has them. The incident is terrible regardless, but I wonder where the goats were headed. I doubt it was a petting zoo.

To end this post on a cheerier note (not a high bar there), I will sneak in another photo of goats on wheels, this one from today. It provides more food for thought regarding the goats' diets. One goat was munching on the tarp covering its cart.

Five goats on a parked motorbike tricycle cart. One goat is eating the tarp on top of the cart.

The tarp was one of several clues including the vehicle, the broom, the bucket, and, of course, the five goats which give me the confidence to declare these are the same five goats I saw speeding down the road earlier this week. As far as I can tell, this is my first repeat sighting. I will take it as further encouragement to move onto other topics.

Friday, February 19, 2016

Chinese State Media Tweet About Xi Jinping's Special Visits

The Chinese Communist Party's People's Daily received an important visitor today. They were inspired to report it on Twitter, which is blocked in China.

People's Daily wasn't the only state-media organization in China to receive a visit from Xi today and tweet about it. Xinhua made appropriate use of quotation marks in one of its tweets.

They also shared a heart-touching moment.

In its excitement, CCTV didn't feel inhibited to declare "exclusive" on something which happened within their own studio.

CCTV really loves inspections after all.

Unsurprisingly, there was a bit of commentary on Twitter.





Of course, none of this is a joke.

If these tweets aren't enough to satisfy, one can head to Medium where David Bandurski translated a portion of a poem about Xi's visit written by a deputy editor at Xinhua. Bandurski described it as a "steaming heap of sycophancy". That is also not a joke.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Undoubtedly Trashy: Goats Eating in Jieyang

I thought I might be on my way to a goat-free day, but, of course, this afternoon I came across some goats yet again in Jieyang. A older man had just bought some fresh goat milk and appeared amused when I photographed the goats. We spoke briefly and thinking about the ambiguity of the Chinese character 羊 (yáng) regarding sheep, goats, and other Caprinae I inquired about the name of these fine animals. Not to my surprise, he went with 羊 (yáng) on its own.

What most caught my attention about these particular goats wasn't their number (only two) or their mode of transportation (walking with their human). I earlier mentioned that while buyers like the man I met today could be assured of the source and freshness of their goat milk, there were still unanswered questions which could be of concern such as those pertaining to the goats' diets. So I watched silently as one of the goats munched on . . . something.

goat eating trash on the ground in Jieyang, China


And with that food for thought, I think it can be said not only has the recent goats-on-wheels series come to a close for the time being but now the broader goat series as well.