This Little Pig Went to Market

Aside from the spectacular food here in China, perhaps the most interesting things have been in the local markets.  In each city that I’ve visited, I’ve enjoyed experiencing the local markets to observe some of the various and sundry offerings.  Most recently, I decided to travel to “Old Shanghai” to walk through some of the markets there.  Though there were a variety of items being sold, the most interesting finding was the lifestyle and history of the people there.

Shanghai is a city of tremendous diversity.  You can see from previous posts the extent of the architectural diversity, however there is also a significant difference in the standard of living among the Shanghainese (yes, that is a word).   In the shadow of spectacular western-style condominiums, are these older dwellings that house millions of people within the city.

These photos were taken as I was walking through the alleyways of Old Shanghai.  You can see the narrow corridors that connect throughout these very old apartments.  There were many people out and about and I often had to back up to let others through who were carrying laundry, bikes, etc.

A view from the sidewalk.  A few things to note here:  First, you are seeing how many Chinese do their laundry.  Dryers may be present, but are certainly not the same as in the West.  Therefore drying clothing outside is very common.  I have seen laundry hanging all over the city (on fences around parks, draped over car windshields, etc.  Second, you will notice air conditioning units.  There is very little central heating in Shanghai – including in my apartment.  This was one of the edicts of Chairman Mao, no central heating south of a certain arbitrary point on the map.  Instead, we have the air conditioning units which you can see here.  As it gets colder, we’ll use the air conditioning to warm the apartments… Jen’s going to love it here.

Here are some outdoor sinks.   These are the only water supply to these alley apartments.  I saw people cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry (notice the washboard on the lower left of the second photo) in these sinks.

Market food…not exactly the same as the Bethlehem Fair.

Now, this is interesting.  As you may know, Chairman Mao was losing power in the latter half of the 1970s.  To insure that he shored up enough power within the government to maintain control, he issued in what was called the “Cultural Revolution”.  This was a quite brutal and tragic portion of Chinese history and has had significant societal consequences to this day.  One of the goals of the revolution was to destroy many of the relics of Chinese history.  The picture above is a very old sculpture on an antique doorpost in Old Shanghai.  You will notice the faces are scraped off the people in the sculpture – this was done by the Red Army during the revolution.  Also, here is a painting of Chairman Mao that was done at that time.  The hanging laundry is only coincidental…

As I was leaving the market, I noticed a small family selling ducks.  I took a step to look closer, and saw the father butchering a recently purchased duck…  It was then that I noticed that Chinese markets are rated PG-13.  I snapped this picture just before they asked me to stop taking photos and leave.  Enjoy!

A Stroll Down the Bund

As mentioned in one of the posts below, I am noticing that Shanghai is a city of significant diversity.  According to my tour and travel guides, this is largely due to the sustained foreign influence that the city has experienced throughout its history.   As I have walked around the city, the different districts have clearly shown French, British, and other Western influences.  One of the most remarkable (and most recognizable) sights that I have seen was walking along the Bund.  The Bund is a collection of buildings along the coast of the Huangpu River in downtown Shanghai.  There are over 15 different forms of architecture used in each of these buildings and they coalesce to form a truly magnificent skyline.

The Bund skirts along the edge of the Huangpu River.  If you gaze across the river you will see the eye-popping skyline of Pudong.  The Huangpu River separates Shanghai into the Puxi side (on the west side where I live) and the Pudong  side (to the east).  Despite its size and scale, Pudong is very new – most of the buildings are less than 12 years old.  If you had visited Shanghai in 1990, this section would have been little more than rice fields.

Needless to say, it was a great afternoon.  As I walked along the riverside, I was routinely asked by Chinese visitors if they could take their picture with me.  At first all of the attention went to my head and I thought that this was due to my striking good looks or witty charm.  Unfortunately, after some research I found that this is a common practice…nice…

Like any good Midwesterner, I have a distinct affinity for Mountain Dew.  I have not found it since I have been in China, but saw it being sold at a little kiosk on the Bund.  I quickly bought one for 2 Yuan only to find that it tasted more like Squirt than Mountain Dew.  However, I did appreciate the nuclear yellow-green color of the bottle!

Apologies for the Redundancy

To warn you, this post will be a bit redundant.  If you scroll down to the bottom of this blog, you will see a post that references one of the first meals I had in China.  Honestly, since that time I have seen, smelled, and tasted more unique foods that I knew existed.  The Chinese cuisine is so markedly different from the US or Western Europe, one cannot help but be surprised, appalled, or delighted by it on a consistent basis.  Since the cuisine is such a cultural phenomena, and also since it has been an absolute assault on my taste buds, I though it worthwhile to provide you with an overview of some of the dishes that I have consumed over the last few days.  Bear in mind, the last two I did not consume…I merely gagged at the sight of the menu and thought I’d pass along the experience.

Pig ears with Chili sauce.  The texture of marinated cartilage is quite interesting and reminded me of the jellyfish we ate an earlier meal.

Fish.  If you look closely, you will see that the fish is whole.  Once I got over the charred little eyes staring at me, it was a fantastic meal.  The entire group picked at the fish with chopsticks throughout the meal.  To the bottom left is chicken with gristle (listed as such on the menu) and the top left is duck liver cakes…  When I asked, one colleague laughed and said “Just try”.  Not bad.

Duck Tongue – Bone in.  For those of you who may think that the tongue does not have a bone in it, it does.  Once you forced the idea of this actually being a birds tongue, it wasn’t bad.

Various menu items.  Per the note above, I nearly gagged upon reading them.   The turtles were actually swimming in a tank at the entrance of the restaurant.  Once you order, they’re fished out of the tank, bludgeoned to death, cooked and served.  I don’t think it was the same process for the mule.  The menu was full of these types of items.

Lastly, after several days, I finally decided I needed a reprieve.  Therefore, I stopped by the local McDonalds for a burger.  Since it has been some time since I have eaten McDonalds, I decided to spoil myself by ordering a pie…your guess is as good as mine.  However, truth be told, it wasn’t bad.

Born to Be Wild

As many of you know, I am residing in Shanghai until the middle of December.  In order to maximize my time in China, I have planned many of my weekends to insure that I can see many of the important sights around the country.  One of the first items on the agenda was to become a bit more acquainted with Shanghai.  Shanghai is a magnificent city that has benefitted (and sometimes suffered) from several diverse foreign influences.  As I researched how to rapidly become more acquainted with the city, I stumbled across a unique tour company called Shanghai Sideways (www.shanghaisideways.com).  Though I am not typically a fan of the organized tour, this seemed to stand apart for several reasons, primarily the format.

I boarded the motorcycle promptly at 9am on Saturday, which was piloted by Floride (which is NOT pronounced like the toothpaste ingredient...oops) to embark on a tour of the city.  The tour was absolutely fascinating.  I was able to see several parts of the French Concession, Old Shanghai, and The Bund.  The tour showed not only the city’s architectural diversity, but also the socioeconomic diversity as well.  There were times that we would pass an exotic Italian sports car on one side of the road, and on the other, individuals would be doing their laundry on a washboard.

Below is a brief video that provides an overview of the ride.

Needless to say, the tour exceeded all of my expectations.  There was equal time spent on and off the motorcycle, which allowed for a more up-close view of Shanghai.  We were able to see a Chinese Wedding (which uses more fireworks than July 4^th in Manhattan), street food (no digestive symptoms yet), and experience the traffic of Shanghai up close (thank Heavens Saturday AM traffic is light). 

Oh, one more thing.  Having simply survived hours in Shanghai traffic, I feel like I have a new lease on life and have made an important decision.  Effective immediately, I am selling everything I own and buying a motorcycle to tour Asia…don’t try to talk me out of it.