Holiday Patriotism and Mooncakes in Zhongshan

Today at the Dasin Metro-Mall (大信新都汇) in Zhongshan there were patriotic signs of the ongoing National Day holiday.

Today is also the Mid-Autumn Festival. Like elsewhere in Zhongshan, the conjunction of holidays apparently inspired some "Buy One Get One Free" sales at the mall. Perhaps because of the overlap, I noticed just one sign which only mentioned today's holiday.

Mooncakes are a popular feature of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Unlike last year, this year I have no sightings of Hello Kitty mooncakes or mooncakes for dogs & cats to share. I saw both of those in Macau, so maybe a short trip would have fixed that.

Instead, for some mooncake spirit here is a photo of an advertisement for mooncakes from Starbucks at Lihe Plaza in Zhongshan:

A single Starbucks mooncake costs 59 yuan (which at the moment equals U.S. $8.88 — how lucky). A barista pointed out it came in a fancy box which looks like a lantern. It isn't hard to find even pricier mooncakes for sale in China.

Or you could go somewhere like Walmart and buy tiny mooncakes for about 2 yuan (about U.S. 30 cents) each. The ones with black sesame filling and salted egg yolk aren't bad.

National Day Sales in China: Buy One Get One Free at War Ground

As usual, National Day in China means . . . sales.

This year is a bit different in that the Mid-Autumn Festival happens to fall during the seven day National Day holiday period, which has been extended to eight days this year to accommodate both holidays. Some stores have played off the double holiday theme this year with variations of "Buy One Get One Free" sales.

For example, a New Bailun LP (Xinbailunlingpao) store I passed today in Zhongshan displayed a "Buy One Get One Free" sign.

And so did a YG-Niubailun store nearby.

Both of these stores sell sneakers with logos remarkably similar to New Balance's — fascinating story there for another day.

Now I can't mention holiday sales in Zhongshan without bringing up War Ground - a military-themed clothing store. Two years ago, I noticed that a War Ground store in Zhongshan had a sale for International Women's Day. Later in the year, I saw that they also had a sale for National Day. Today I briefly stopped by the same store. The promotion there was toned down in comparison to two years ago, and I didn't see any explicit mention of the National Day holiday. But there was a red colored "Buy One Get One Free" sign.

You can decide whether this counts as a National Day sale or not. Perhaps they decided they could have a sale but it would be best not to mention the holiday directly. War and all that.

Clouds Over Zhongshan

Yesterday's clouds in Zhongshan caught my eye. Today for the same reason more did. So on this second day of the National Day Holiday period in China, below are eight photos of clouds which also capture a bit of life in Zhongshan and the variety of architecture there.

A National Day Moon and Soccer Show in Zhongshan

The last post of September included a photo of the moon. I happened to have a good view of the moon today, so I will start October in a similar fashion.

The clear view of the billowing clouds also caught my eye.

Today is National Day in China and the beginning of a long holiday period. Once again, I find myself spending the holiday in Zhongshan – a city bordered by Foshan, Guangzhou, Jiangmen, and Zhuhai in Guangdong province. Two years ago, I shared photos of people in Zhongshan spending National Day with patriotic flags and without flags. I didn't arrive in Zhongshan until the late afternoon today, so I won't be doing the same this time. Instead, here is a photo from tonight of the west end of the Sun Wen West Road Pedestrian Street:

And yes, already things nearby were getting wild and crazy as usual.

I assume those are wigs. And that's all for today.

Moon and Tower in Foshan

Bell Tower at Foshan Lingnan Tiandi

This should be the last post for September. Things have been somewhat light here lately, but I have much bigger plans for October. Enjoy the rest of the month.

Vivo & Oppo: More Mobile Color in China

Contrasting phones from Apple and Xiaomi appeared in a recent post. For more color, two current promotions in Guangzhou for the Chinese brands Vivo and Oppo.

A Selfie Dress for Sale in Zhuhai

One recent post referenced a sign at the Zhuhai Port Plaza underground shopping mall. A more recent post referenced a new mobile phone from Xiaomi marketed as being great for selfies. While looking for something else, I realized I had a photo of something which brings these two topics together: a  dress on sale for 35 yuan (about US $5.30) at the Zhuhai Port Plaza.

Among other possibilities, the "Selfie" dress would be fitting for somebody interested in taking a meta-selfie.

Apple & Xiaomi, Red & Blue in China

iPhone7 Red advertisement in Zhuhai

Like elsewhere in the world, Apple sells red iPhones in China. Unlike elsewhere in the world, Apple's promotions for the phones make no mention of their connection to (RED) — a charity that directs contributions to be "invested in HIV/AIDS programs in Africa, with a focus on countries with high prevalence of mother-to-child transmission of HIV". In addition to Chinese sensitivities regarding AIDS and (RED) displaying a picture of the Dalai Lama on its Instagram page, Josh Horwitz suggested another possible reason for Apple's notable omission:

Overseas charities like (RED) occupy a precarious position in China. A law enacted in January requires all foreign NGOs operating in the country to find government sponsors, register with the police, and submit yearly reports on their financing, plus jump through other hurdles. The regulations, which remain frustratingly vague, have sparked fear among nonprofits in China. Some worry that the government might use the rules as a pretext to kick them out of the country.

Shawn Shieh, a Hong Kong-based expert on Chinese civil society, says it’s possible Apple’s partnership with (Red) could be seen by authorities in China as incompatible with parts of the law.

Apple hasn't publicly clarified the issue. In any case, it isn't hard to spots the localized promotions for the phone at stores in China.

And now at some Guangzhou metro stations, and presumably many other places in China, it isn't hard to spot signs of a blue phone recently released in China — in fact, only in China.

Xiaomi's Mi Note 3 is also available in black though. And it has no stated connection to any charities. Instead, Xiaomi promotes it as a great phone for selfies. In a review of the phone, Mitja Rutnik describes some of the hardware and software which may lead to a more beautiful you, at least in your selfies:

With a powerful 16MP front facing camera, it is clear that Xiaomi is really trying to capture the imagination of its beautify-addicted user base, as it was clear in their marketing for the phone. Crazy video packages and gorgeous models aside, the phone uses face scanning to find the different zones of face and provide more accurate (if that is even the word to use) changes to the user’s visage. Eyes can be pinpointed for enlargement, the chin can be singled out for easier slimming, and the cheeks can be airbrushed to remove spots, to name a few options.

There are even different settings in order to add what could be described as “virtual makeup” to take it to the next level. Xiaomi even made a big deal about their new AI Beautify working for men just as well as women.

Even though it makes less explicit mention of color, Xiaomi's marketing may be deliberately playing off people's awareness of the red iPhone, particularly in the Mi Note 3 ad with strong contrasting blue and red colors. In any case, at the moment both Apple and Xiaomi likely face more direct competition from other companies, such as Huawei and Oppo. More about those companies and their promotions, colorful or not, another day.

Rest in Guangzhou

Liwan Lake Park (荔湾湖公园)

More Rest in Foshan

Lianhua Square

Reflection, Sweetness, and Rest in Foshan

Charming Bridge (韵桥) at Liang Garden (梁园)

Durian and black glutinous rice with frozen coconut milk (榴莲忘返)

Zhongshan Park

And to those who will be celebrating a new year, Shanah Tovah.

Mistaking All at a Shopping Mall in Foshan

For a brief amount of time on a recent day, I thought the two shopping centers in Zhuhai with signs stating "All you can get here" and "All is here" had been upstaged by a mall in Foshan — a city bordering Guangzhou and not far away from Zhuhai. But then I looked at another sign and realized I was not now at the All Shopping Mall. Instead, both of the Ls in "All" were actually the number one.

I am tempted to argue the A11 Shopping Mall should have a used a font in their logo which makes a clear distinction between the two characters. But I would like to hear their logic for this design. Perhaps the similarity is intentional, though that isn't necessarily a good justification.

In any case, their online presence does clearly make use of two number ones in their name. So yet again, sometimes all is not as it appears.