Leaving a Concrete Mark in Shanghai

During a recent visit to Fuxing Island in Shanghai, a bike blocked my intended path.

Similar obstructions are common on sidewalks in much of China, so I didn't spend much time thinking about it. I wouldn't even need to leave the sidewalk.

Although I was able to adjust my path without much problem, I suddenly had a sinking feeling. In two more steps I found myself on firmer ground and confirmed my hypothesis: I had walked in wet concrete.

I have accidentally left similar marks in China on multiple occasions, such as my previous wet concrete incident earlier this year in Jieyang, Guangdong. So I am somewhat experienced in this area. My shoes were OK, and such is life.

Not long after my latest immersive experience, a woman approached on a path similar to my earlier one. Initially, she appeared to be confused as to why I so strongly encouraged her to stop, which she did just in time. But after looking for a few seconds at where I pointed, she smiled and walked around the patched area of the sidewalk. I soon headed onward myself after finishing taking a few photos of my latest contribution to China's concrete.

An hour later I passed by again and saw others had joined the collaborative project.

The unmarked area of wet concrete fits a theme of more open construction spaces I have come across numerous times in Shanghai and many other cities in China, such as in Shangqiu and in Qingdao. But when I later looked at the photos I had taken, one caused me to wonder about a type of question I don't usually feel compelled to consider in these cases.

Had the bike been deliberately placed in its location to increase the chance of people walking into the wet concrete? It was very well located in this regard, and a more out-of-the-way space in an area used by other bikes was open immediately in front of it. I don't doubt there are people who for one reason or another, perhaps even for art's sake, would do something like this. But it also seems plausible somebody parked the bike in its location without considering the potential impact, and perhaps the space was occupied before.

A question which I probably have a better chance of answering is whether the marks left by me and others will remain for a long period of time or, as when my footprint in the Jieyang concrete patch was removed, they will be short lived. I don't have plans to return to this location any time soon, if ever. So if any readers happen to be in the area someday, an update on the condition of this patched portion of sidewalk just south of Fuxing Island Park's western entrance would be most appreciated.

Snail-Like Flora and a Clothes-Collecting Panda in Shanghai

In yesterday's post about some giant shells I saw in Shanghai, I wrote "Unless I see a large snail sculpture tomorrow this probably concludes the recent series of creativity involving giant versions of things."

You can probably already see where this is going, so I will just share the relevant photo I took today.

As I approached a small green area next to Yanshupu Road in Hongkou, Shanghai, I wondered if I was looking at bushes deliberately cut into the shape of a giant snail. On closer inspection, I discovered the apparent neck and head were one plant and the shell another. They only appeared to be possibly connected from a particular viewing angle and were separated by other vegetation. I doubt my initial impression of a snail was intended.

So close though.

Since I am back on this topic . . .

Not far from the snail, in a community off of Huimin Road I saw what could be mistaken for a large, but not huge, sculpture of a panda.

The panda is one of many which can be found in Shanghai, and they have a purpose beyond any sort of artistic expression. The pandas serve as bins for donating used clothes — just push in the panda's face and drop them in. According to an article in Shanghai Daily about technology included in newer panda bins to facilitate the collection process, a small percentage of the clothes are donated while the rest are recycled into products such as jeans and vegetable protection nets. However, some of the clothes are stolen out of the bins and end up elsewhere.

I have no other sightings of large versions of things to report from today. And I am confident I will be moving onto another topic next, though it too will relate to earlier posts. I will say something about my immersive experience with wet cement, yet again, later.

A Message on the Metro

A recent ride on the Shanghai metro reminded me it would be a good time to write and post more.

More Giant Shells in China

After sharing photos of a giant ding and a a large shell-themed building in Dalian, I considered sharing a photo of shells. Unfortunately (or fortunately for shell-haters) I didn't have anything like that from Dalian. So, instead of shells, I shared a photo of a sculpture with large fish in Dalian.

I wasn't planning to continue the series further right now. But then, after lunch yesterday, I stumbled upon something miraculously perfect.

I am pretty sure the giant shells aren't real.

Based on the flora, some readers would likely also guess they aren't in Dalian. And indeed this scene is farther south. More specifically, the shells rest on the corner of a park at the intersection of Chongqing Road and Yan'an Road in Shanghai.

Unless I see a large snail sculpture tomorrow, this probably concludes the recent series of creativity involving giant versions of things.

A Dalian Fish Sculpture

Instead of a large ding or large shells, a twisting sculpture in front of the Mykal department store at the intersection of Xi'an Road and Huanghe Road in Shahekou, Dalian, incorporates large fish.

 Whether you want to credit smog, fog, or both, you could say the water was murky that day.

A Shelled Building in Dalian

While walking around Xinghai Square in Dalian, I wondered about the purpose of one especially unusual building nearby. When I approached I found the fitting answer.

It would be fitting to now share my impressions of the Dalian Shell Museum's collection, but when I was nearby I decided to spend my time on non-shell activities. Nonetheless, I was glad I took a closer look at some of the building's architectural features, designed by the Design Institute of Civil Engineering & Architecture at the Dalian University of Technology.

A Dalian Ding

Earlier this year I posted a photo of some children under a large ding in Taiyuan. More recently in Dalian, I saw another large ding — this one of the four-legged variety. Although it stands in the middle of a pedestrian street, during my brief time in the area I didn't catch any moments of people walking or sitting underneath.

Large ding on a pedestrian-only section of Tianjin Street in Dalian

Bowing and Waving: Contrasting Statues of Japanese Prime Ministers in China

Steve George, a journalist for CNN International, recently commented on a photo of a statue at a mall in Northeast China.

How Japan is viewed in China. statue of Japanese PM Abe Shinzo, w/ Hitler moustache, bowing apologetically, now on display in Liaoning mall pic.twitter.com/Y9Z6qXbMdE

— Steve George (@steve0george) November 22, 2016

I wasn't surprised to see how Shinzo was depicted or to later discover that the mall is in Shenyang, where six years ago I saw rows of statues depicting the "disgraceful end of the Japanese aggressors" — all in a similar pose — at a museum.

However, the photo also reminded me of a contrasting set of statues I saw several weeks ago between a Starbucks and a Burger King at the ICITY shopping center in Dalian, another city in Liaoning province.

The statues of five world leaders, past and present, were all clearly labeled.

"President of the U.S.: Barack Obama"

"President of France: Nicolas Sarkozy"

"Prime Minister of Russia: Vladimir Putin"

"President of the U.S.: Bill Clinton"

"Prime Minister of Japan: Junichiro Koizumi"

Obama and Putin were the only current leaders of the set, and Putin is now the President of Russia. It was the statue of the previous Prime Minister of Japan which most caught my eye. Unlike the statue in Shenyang, the design showed no sign of humiliation or apology. Or even a Hitler mustache. Instead, the statue of Koizumi was on equal footing with the others and greeted shoppers as they exited one of the two facing elevators.

The statue in Shenyang reflects the anti-Japanese sentiment common in China. But as Chinese traveling to Japan during a Victory Over Japan holiday last year indicated, the full story of Chinese attitudes towards the country and its people is complicated. The statue of the Japanese prime minister in Dalian appears to be representative of a more positive side.

Koizumi did have some small scruff marks though.

Two Cats in Dalian

Posting photos of a dog wearing a dinosaur outfit and a dog with pigeons in Dalian has led to some critical feedback. It can be summed up as "Where are the cats?" Based on previous experience, I shouldn't be surprised.

So . . . this photo includes a cat I saw at Olympic Square in Dalian:

The cat apparently didn't want to be seen.

And this photo includes a cat I saw at Tuanjie Street in Dalian:

The cat apparently didn't mind being seen. It did mind me trying to get close.

I hope these photos have brought some Dalian-style animal balance to the world. Onto other matters next.

A Dog Not Looking for Pigeons or Criticism in Dalian

For better or worse, I only saw one small dog in Dalian wearing a dinosaur outfit. I did see other dogs in the city, though, including one dog peacefully coexisting with many pigeons at Zhongshan Square.

The dog was friendly when approached and minded its own business. Nonetheless, with clear disgust on her face a woman with a child bluntly asked the dog's owner why the dog was so fat. The owner appeared to be taken aback by the question.

I didn't catch the mumbled reply, and I wonder what sort of answer the woman was expecting. I will admit part of me wishes the owner had said with a straight face, "She likes eating the pigeons."

Dalian Dinosaur Dog Spotted

I may have spent too much time reading about U.S. politics this evening. So to clear my mind, and perhaps yours as well, here is a colorfully-dressed dog I noticed (and which noticed me) one recent afternoon in Dalian, a city in Liaoning province to the south of Shenyang.

The Stegosaurus-like plates led me to assume the dog was wearing a dinosaur outfit. I wish the hood had been extended so its full glory was on display, but you don't always get what you want. At least I had the opportunity to cross paths with the dinodog.

Book and Magazine Messages About Trump in Hong Kong

I don't know for sure if the Eslite bookstore in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, deliberately arranged some of the books for sale to express a message.

It would be harder to claim the message on a cover to a Taiwanese business magazine available in Hong Kong wasn't deliberate.

That's all.

Birthday Fanfare for the Common Man

I haven't done a music-related post in a long time. I thought of this because it was recently brought to my attention today is American composer Aaron Copland's birthday. He lived from November 14, 1900, to December 2, 1990.

So below is a video of Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man (1942). A portion of the piece was performed at the celebration for the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States in 2009. The recording below is from farther in the past — 1958. Leonard Bernstein provides a brief introduction before Aaron Copland himself conducts the New York Philharmonic.

Not-So-Hidden Dragon

At Zhongshan Park in Shenyang, Liaoning Province

The U.S. Election, China, and Blogging

I have been asked about the reaction in China to the recent U.S. presidential election. I point people towards "What the Chinese State Thinks About President Trump" on China Digital Times, in part because it refers to a number of relevant pieces.

There is much value in understanding people's perspective on the U.S. election, and it is rather relevant to some of my interests. But I have not dedicated much time asking people in China about the election, mostly because after spending so much of my own time on it, I wanted to focus on other things when "out in the field" — yes, even including Halloween pizzas.

And I saw reasons to focus on other topics here. For example, I remembered readers back in 2012 telling me they appreciated having a place to get away from election news, commentary, and discussion. Elections are important, but so is relative sanity. Had China come up in the election in a way where I thought I could add something to what was already out there, I would have. Overall, I figured my 1 or 2 cents to the world would be better spent focused on things more closely related to my current explorations in China.

The election's effect on posts here was mostly in reducing their numbers or depth. Admittedly the election absorbed a significant portion of my mental energy and time, perhaps too much in respect to what I could or did contribute and how much it could influence that — interesting questions there in general. It mattered a lot though.

Anyway, back to things tomorrow . . .

Trump, Kaine, and "Lock Her Up": An Unexpected Conversation at a Fitting Location in China

A few weeks ago in Northeast China while I walked alongside a river somebody shouted at me "Do you speak English?"

I looked over and saw two men. I replied "I hope so!"

I soon learned that one of the men was Irish and visiting China. The other was Chinese and had grown up in the local area but had spent 15 years living in Ireland. The Irishman asked me about my nationality. After answering, his immediate followup question was "Will you be able to go back to vote?"

He wasn't asking out of idle curiosity. Like some other non-American foreigners I have recently bumped into in China, he expressed great concern over the U.S. presidential election and the ramifications it would have on the rest of the world. He feared Donald Trump winning. When the Irishman called the election "crazy", my mind immediately went to something I would have hoped to never experience — a U.S. presidential candidate declaring that if they won their opponent would go to jail and saying "lock her up" in response to a chanting, supportive crowd.

I briefly thought about politics in the place where I was standing. I also thought about the mountains within view on the other side of the river. I had never been so close to them before. Now they seemed closer in a more figurative sense as well.

Regarding the nearby town next to the mountains, the Chinese man shared reports from locals of how 600 people had died there during a flood several months earlier. Even from our own vantage point, it was apparent they had far less to protect themselves from floods. Life is different on the other side of the river.

Fortunately, the conversation included many cheerier moments. To my surprise, the Irishman had several fascinating stories to share about his connections to the Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine, who has strong Irish roots. Based on his account, many in Ireland are proud of Kaine.

Soon it was time to part ways, and the three of us took a photo together. Afterwards, the Irishman asked, "Is it OK to share the photo? Do people know you are here?"

I pointed across the river and joked, "I think they know I'm here." I gestured to our side and added, "They know I'm here."

They both laughed. And then I asked if I could take a photo of just the two of them. They stood next to each other in front of some trees. I suggested they stand in another location so I could get a different angle. The Irishman immediately recognized why and agreed it was better.

It wasn't usual for either of us to be just across the river from a town and mountains in North Korea.

Some of the Halloween Spirit in Shenyang

Pizza Hut's Black Halloween Pizza wasn't the only sign of Halloween in Shenyang, China. For example, there was a house of mirrors at the Forum 66 shopping mall.

The Palace 66 shopping mall had a little more.

The bare shoulder is part of a non-Halloween Häagen-Dazs advertisement

The Halloween festivities included a "haunted playground".

There was also a somewhat macabre merry-go-round.

The Xinglong Happy Family shopping mall at the Zhong Jie Pedestrian Street had one of the larger outdoor displays.

The vast majority of places displayed no Halloween spirit, but I saw other examples, mostly at shopping centers, restaurants, and a hair salon or two. This year, sadly, there will be no Halloween night report. I had left Shenyang by then and my next location was unusually cold that night. For some Chinese Halloween night scenes,  though, there is last year's post from Shaoguan far to south.

Pizza Hut Celebrates Halloween with a Spidery Black Pizza in China

One of my interests involves seeing how Western companies localize their products and services in China. Sometimes that leads to culinary explorations during holidays, such as trying McDonald's Year of Fortune Burger for the Lunar New Year when I was in Chongqing. Halloween is another holiday which offers possibilities.

Last year in Shaoguan, Guangdong, I noted that a Halloween promotion at Pizza Hut featuring M&M's didn't include an M&M's pizza. So there was no special pizza for me that day. But things change . . . This year, Pizza Hut once again had a Halloween promotion, which I saw while in Shenyang, Liaoning. Instead of M&M's, Vamplets were the main characters accompanying the "Black Halloween" spirit.

Like last year, there were fingers on the special Halloween menu, although the ingredients weren't the same. More importantly to me, the menu had a special pizza which screamed to be tried.

The menu says the Black Halloween Pizza (暗黑魔法烤肉比萨) is made with cuttlefish powder. Like their close relatives, squid, cuttlefish can shoot ink. Given the black coloring of the pizza, I assume cuttlefish ink is at least one ingredient in the powder. Whatever the case, of course I ordered the pizza.

Yes, there is a spider on the pizza. This is not the first time I have encountered a spider on a Pizza Hut pizza. Decades ago at a Pizza Hut in Pennsylvania, US, my brother discovered a spider baked into our pizza's cheese. It wasn't Halloween and spiders weren't listed as an ingredient for the pizza, so the folks at Pizza Hut made appropriate amends. Unlike that spider, the spider on the Black Halloween Pizza is made out of the black dough. Too bad, since it has been a while since I have eaten large spiders.

The black pizza dough spider deserves a closeup look.

The pizza includes New Orleans Roasted Chicken, which seems to be a common thing in China, even if not in New Orleans, and pumpkin as well. The spider web is made out of a mayonnaise so sweet that . . . well, I did my best to scrape it off. There is no tomato pizza sauce, which may be why the waitress brought out some ketchup. I was more happy to see the unrequested appearance of Tabasco sauce. Well done, waitress. It really helped.

Overall, I liked the Black Halloween Pizza more than the pizza with New Orleans style toppings I had along with Pizza Hut's durian pizza in Jieyang, Guangdong. The pumpkin was a welcomed change of pace, but I don't think I will be craving the Black Halloween Pizza anytime in the future, unlike Mr. Panda's black Inkfish Pizza, which I tried in Shanghai.

Maybe next year Pizza Hut will go with real spiders as a topping for a Halloween pizza. I would definitely give it a try.

The Many Faces Around the Mao Zedong Statue in Shenyang

The statue of Mao Zedong at in Zhongshan Square in Shenyang is remarkable for its size and how it fits in with a skyline that continues to be altered by new tall buildings. And on many days, smog adds adds to the effect. The figures surrounding Mao are what caught my attention the most though. The photos below begin at the front and go around in a counter-clockwise direction. There is a lot going on, and I won't try to suggest what most deserves attention or what to take from it all. But the dense scenes are worth a closer look.

Mao Smog in Shenyang

On the same day I saw an advertisement for blue spirits contrasting with a grey sky, I looked down a smoggy street in Shenyang. A view behind me was striking as well.

More about the Mao Zedong statue later.

Smog and Blue Spirits in Shenyang

One the same day I photographed one of the many smoggy streets in Shenyang, a digital billboard also caught my attention. A weather forecast on it didn't offer any specifics but seemed a bit optimistic.

If the contrast lowered people's spirits, perhaps what they needed were . . . some spirits. The digital billboard displayed one possible solution: Tianzhilan.

Yanghe Distillery, whose ads I have seen in many Chinese cities, has some inspiring words about this baijiu:

The heights of heaven radiate hues of blue—the essence of Tianzhilan is loftiness, the upper limits of our imaginations. A glass of Tianzhilan contains the expanses of the heavens, and only those with the courage to soar will experience its beauty.

Assuming heaven is full of clean air, that could do the trick. Some people may be more influenced by the smoggy Red Star Wine ad I first saw in Beijing though. Red Star is also a lot cheaper. At least people have options, if they have the courage.