Friday Funny Sept 30, 2011

So this is where babies come from in China!

Enjoy your family this weekend.

Two ladies for tea

With a nod to "Little Britain"...

My friend Eliza took me to this tea market, the Dabutong Tianshan Tea City. Fascinating place! Who knew that an entire three storey rabbit warren could be dedicated to and profitable in the sale of tea and tea brewing accoutrements? I learn something new every day....

The aforementioned tea market

At an angle

I don't why, but I find this perspective way more interesting. 

Art teachers, help me out!

Intriguing street scene

Local with yoke carrying pictures.
I almost typed "local yokel"!

Close up

Entrance into the market

View from the second floor

There were stores after stores after stores after...
you get the idea.

A particularly attractive shop

Lots of loose tea

If you don't like it loose, you can buy it in brick form.

The label proofreader was away the day they printed this wrapper.

 A necessity if you are going to make tea and
at the tea market, it merits its own room.

You'll also need one of these.

Or if that's not your style, some of these.

I know. They're so cute and tiny, you'd probably need to fill them up
eighteen times just to get a decent serving of tea.

This adorable little tea scoop would help you do the job.

Thought that was adorable?
Check these out.

A close up would help.

What are these things? Good question.
All will be revealed later to those who read on further.
In the meantime, marvel at their cuteness.

Here I am, about to partake in the tea ceremony at
one of the little stores.

No, this other woman was not my friend, Eliza,
just a friendly, helpful local who was in the shot.

I was patting this little fellow.

Why is he here? What is his function in the tea ceremony?

I will tell you. It's considered good luck and respect to the gods to pour a little bit of tea over him before each new batch is served. You remember all the adorable little figurines we saw before? Same idea, different form.

Here's a whole collection of stuff involved in sampling a cup of tea.

A different angle of above stuff

Everything has tea poured on it!

Let  me see if I can do an adequate job of explaining the whole affair.

These darling little handless tea cups are heated/sterilized in that big covered pot you see on the background.  Meanwhile, the vendors have fetched water from the Boiled Water Room. They pour it over various types of tea leaves in little tea pots. Once the tea has steeped a while, the server pours it out, first on the animal/fruit/god/all of the above of their choice, then into the tiny tea cups for those sampling. 

The cups are so hot they needed to be picked up with tongs.

Note the stone underneath everything. It doesn't matter if it gets wet.
Some times they use a wooden tray with slats instead.

All in all, this was a very relaxing experience.
Now, where is the bathroom? All that tea...

Friday Funny Sept 23, 2011

Sure beats a close shave!

Thanks to Marilyn and Tim for their assistance with this week's Friday Funny.

Elizabeth goes the Longhua Park of Revolutionary Martyrs May 21, 2011

Yeah, I know. It's about time I posted this. What is that famous saying? Right, better late than never. So just read and enjoy.

The Longhua Park of Revolutionary Martyrs-how's that for the name of a park? I feel more comradely just typing it. It's also called the Longhua Martyrs' Cemetary. If you are looking for monumental sculpture, then this is the place for you! But first, Longhua Pagoda, part of the Longhua Temple site.

I can't even recall with which association I did this tour. I do know that we didn't have time to go into the temple, but thanks to Wikipedia, I can tell you a little about it:

It is the largest, most authentic and complete ancient temple complex in the city of Shanghai.

Actually, I'm not going to tell you any more in case I decide to visit this place "properly". What I did learn, courtesy of our fantastic guide, Spencer Dodington, is that this temple was used in the movie "Empire of the Sun". Cool!

The newly reconstructed front gate of the temple site.

Now on to the park. First, Wikipedia gives us some background info:

The Longhua Park of Revolutionary Martyrs is a great place to visit if you have the time. Situated next to the Longhua Temple, it provides an extra reason to make the trek out here. The park is on a site of mass execution. [Nice! Don't I take you to all the cheeriest places?] The Kuomintang carried out a purge of suspected Communists here in 1929 – a long, underground tunnel will lead you [We walked through that tunnel!] to the exact place where the remains of many victims were found and to the jail where prisoners were held. Less morbid, and more interesting, are the excellent, massive Soviet-realist sculptures that dot the grounds.

In the middle of the park is a museum about the Martyrs. [We were almost kicked out, not my fault-for a change.] The most fascinating thing about this place is how young the Communist revolutionaries were – many teenagers held significant posts in the movement. There is also some nice artwork in the museum, but there isn’t a lot of useful, historical information in English. [Not a surprise to those of us accustomed to touring in Shanghai.]

Our first monument, with many more to come...

You're actually getting a two-for-one here.

The succinctly named "Monument" ( I wish I could make up stuff like this) is in front of 

 glass pyramid-adorned building called the Memorial Museum. 

Another view

As we approached the museum, this sculpture came into sight. 

I don't know how you could miss it. 

It's HUGE, monumental even.

It's called "Liberating Shanghai". 

"Martyrs Who Died on May 30" sculpture

Talk about bold and dramatic.

I love having people in these shots because they give you a sense of scale.

Close up...great pecs!

Of course, this is still a park, so you have locals doing unspeakable things to the flora.

Buddy here was rubbing the tree, but stopped when I snapped the picture.
I have no idea why. Something about camphor, I think. 

Moving right along, we came upon this piece of art.

"Agression With One Mind" sculpture

Hmmm....who comes up with these names?

Close up

Yes, I know these subjects don't look Chinese. Blame it on their Russian art teachers. 

Next, the Martyrs' Grave, off to the left side of the Graveyard of the Unknown Martyrs.

So confusing, I know!

Close up of the end of the row.

Now the Graveyard of the Unknown Martyrs, 

which was spittin' distance away.

Not sure if you can make it out, but the Everbright Fire was actually burning.

It was just like the Eternal Flame on Parliament Hill. 

Next, we went through that tunnel you read about earlier.

Somehow I don't think it looked this tidy back in the Revolution.


On the other side, we checked out the Detention House.

As a sign explained to us, the Detention House, also called the Longhua Prison, was controlled by the Kuomingtang. The prison was built in 1916 to detain revolutionaries and patriots (trying to figure out why both would be imprisoned. Maybe it was at different times). From 1927 to 1937, it was used to detain communists and patriots. Well, that makes way more sense. Riiight...However, there is still so much I have to learn, and more importantly, retain, about Chinese history.

The Detention House's fairly grim interior 

This was the Gate Tower, built in 1920, restored in 1991.

We left the park the way we came, seeing a few different things along the way.

The Steles Garden

A final monument for you, one half of the 
"Independence, Democracy, Liberation and Construction" sculpture.


So now you know where to go if you're ever in the mood 
for grand, over-the-top pieces of art.

Friday Funny September 16, 2011

I had only been back in China 20 minutes when I stumbled upon this beaut.

Mr. Reluctant Relocator said I could be an honorary member. 

Hmmm...

I'm not only a member, I'm also the president.

Friday Funny September 9, 2011

Time to make fun of Canada.

So, only dead animals then? I'll make sure to bring in my ex-parrot. 

Shanghai Yacht and Boat Club revisited May 19, 2011

I forgot to include these photos in the Part Two post. My faux pas.They are definitely worth publishing. They put a smile on my face every time. To refresh your memory, Eliza was our hostess and Beth, Tamara, Cynthia and I the guests. Eliza is a brave woman, that's all I can say.

The Reluctant Relocator tried crashing a wedding.

Every yacht club needs one of these open, thatch-roofed jobbies.

When they clean the toilets here, they really clean the toilets!

Beth did her inspection.

Everything A-OK!

Crab fishers

Love the contrast between old and new, East and West.

It's like time has stood still. 

Note bridge in background.

The troublemakers fun bunch had lunch.

Tamara, Beth and me in the back,

Cynthia and Eliza seated.

Thanks again, Eliza, for a memorable time.