Life in China 2017: A Picture a Day, April 29 –I’ve mentioned before that the town next to us, Dalang, is called the “Famous Sweater Town of China.” They have LOTS of tiny little shops with knitting machines, as well as large factories. Once before, I walked down this road with some of these small shops and saw the knitting machines running. I’ve been wanting to go again, but this time, everything seemed slow. There were people napping and many machines weren’t running. The machines that were going, weren’t knitting, they seemed to be undoing the knitting! China is great at recycling, and I guess unused cloth or knitwear is also valuable to recycle. These are two little shops that had their machines operating. I wish I knew some definite info about this, but I don’t. Last October, I posted some pictures of one of the big sweater markets in Dalang: http://www.myownchinesebrocade.com/picture-a-day-1/2016/10/17/dalang-sweater-market
Costume Fashion Show
Life in China 2016: A Picture A Day, September 16 – When we went to buy some groceries today, we caught an interesting fashion show at our local shopping plaza. It was put on by a business in Dalang, the next town, that does photography. They provide traditional Chinese costumes that you are photographed in. From looking at the advertising brochure, they are done like the ‘glamour’ shots in the USA. I'm not sure about the significance of the antlers the one is wearing, does anyone else know? Twice while we were watching the show, different sales people came up to Leah wanting to know if she liked it, and showing her their big sample book. Leah did dress up for photos once when we were traveling, just a quick touristy set-up, but maybe this would be fun sometime! Hmm, maybe we can get a family photo done??? www.myownchinesebrocade.com
Life in China: A Picture A Day, February 17, 2016
In China, it’s fairly common in casual restaurants to have to pay for your napkins. They usually come in a little box or plastic package of about 6 napkins and cost 1 or 2 rmb/15 to 30 cents usd. Yesterday, the restaurant we went to advertised free snacks and fruit, free water or tea, and free WIFI, then when we got the bill, we were charged for our dishes! 2 rmb per setting! This was a new one for me, but I don’t even attempt to question it! Also, the “3 free of charge (charoe as they wrote)” were the only English words on the menu other than the name of the restaurant, “WIFI’, and another section that said “2 commitments.” See more about Chinese menus in my blog post today. www.myownchnesebrocade.com
Life in China: A Picture A Day, February 16, 2016
Roasted chestnuts! I wish I could take a picture of the way that warm little paper bag feels and smells! But, sorry … I can’t L Roasted chestnuts are my second favorite winter street food after sweet potatoes. I’ve thought of trying to roast them myself and then I think “Why??? These are readily available (except for last night when I asked Jim to get me some at 9PM on a chilly Monday night and the vendors had finished for the day!). So, today when Leah and I were out, we got some. They have a wok style pan with a rotating blade in which the chestnuts are roasted with little black pebbles, supposedly to keep the temperature even. A paper bag full (contents on the plate pictured) costs 15rmb or about $2.30usd. The Chinese also use chestnuts in cooking and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Being gluten intolerant, we regularly use chestnut flour for our baking.
Runaway Groceries!
Grocery shopping in China …. sometimes the groceries try to run away! RT Mart in Dalingshan, China. Photo by Leah
Bi/Tri Cycle Loads
Life in China: A Picture A Day 2016, January 10 - This is a fairly normal sight for my friends who live in China, but the rest of you should enjoy it – it’s surprising what can be carried on a bicycle or cart! Actually, I don’t think I’m surprised anymore no matter what is being carried on a bicycle! Just amused smile emoticon Photo credit goes to Leah, she snapped this today from the back of the scooter when her and Jim went to the grocery store in the nearby town.