Beneath the Haze

A pale grey, smoggy, hazy sky, streets decorated in China's National flag, buildings decorated with brightly coloured signs and the streets crowded with people.

Some walk past me, some double take as they realise that my black locks don't belong to a fellow Chinese, but to a Westerner.

Others look out for me and roll along side me on their trainers with wheels shouting 'Hey Lady, You want a bag? Louis Vuitton? Prada?

There are others who are oblivious to me taking pictures, as they pose for another to build a pre-wedding photo album; a Chinese tradition.

The streets and buildings are connected together by electrical wires that hang above your heads in a haphazard manner.

The wires are not only a source of electricity, but have a multi-function as a clothes line for laundry.

Street food is on every corner.  Squid and chicken on sticks are key favourites of cooked food.  Fruit on skewers are the uncooked alternative.

There are people that cycle by with massive loads to carry.  This guy is carrying a 'small load' compared to other pictures that I have seen.

There is a continuous hum in the air filled with chatter and horns beeping from cars and scooters, as they navigate around obstacles (a.k.a people) in the road.

The peace amongst the chaos is People's Park.  Cards and board games are how some spend their afternoons; either playing or watching.

Others take a moment out of the humid heat to wander around the various exhibits.  Dior was my favourite choice.  It was interesting to see how creative geniuses started, how their art evolved over time and how all the pieces were created.

Ni Hao Shanghai

Jet lag and last nights introduction to Shanghai night life had taken its toll and left me craving grease. Dim Sum, which can only be described as the East's version of Spanish Tapas, was the answer. Jasmine Tea, Turnip Cakes, Xiaolongbao (Shanghai's famous soup dumplings), Hot and Sour Soup, Roasted Duck, Pork Belly; it was all delicious.

Yuyuan Garden was my first experience of Chinese architecture sat on water.  It was very picturesque.

Inside the rockeries was a tea house, where we sat and went through the chinese ritual of drinking tea.

The Lychee tea was my favourite; known to be good for the stomach.  Apt considering the delicate state of my stomach following last nights drinks.  I also liked the concept of the teas that bloomed in the cup, although the taste wasn't my cup of tea.

The Chinese culture is heavily into ornaments, objects and animals that symbolise certain meanings.  Sat with us on the table whilst we drank our tea was the Bull Frog with a coin in its mouth; symbolising wealth.

There was also an abundant amount of Koi swimming in the ponds.  The Chinese believe that Koi symbolise good fortune and prosperity.

As I wandered around Shanghai, I realised that the Chinese were quite quirky.  They were perfectly happy to leave their laundry, (hopefully clean, although you can never be sure) hanging openly in public spaces.  I even got a picture of one lady hanging out her fish...

There was also the parading of disabled people, which I found quite shocking.  One man was carting around another without limbs to soulful music in an attempt to get cash from those passing by.

The hardest thing to get used to was this incessant need for the Chinese to spit.  Hearing the sound of them clearing their throat from deep down and then horking it out, always got the gag reflexes going.  An eye opening and interesting first day in Shanghai.

The Teacher

Tap, tap, tap... that was the sound of heels on a tile floor. And then came the happy shriek of my friend, 'The Teacher', as she ran towards me and grabbed me in a bone crushing hug.  I've known 'The Teacher' for as long as I haven't and it was surreal yet unbelievably familiar to see her again.

My trip from the airport to her flat was my first hair-raising experience in China.  I spent the entire taxi ride hiding behind my hands, reluctantly witnessing the driver narrowly escape crashing into other nearby cars on the road.

My first taste of authentic Chinese food was a more pleasant experience.  We went to a little restaurant in her apartment complex and had some beef and noodles.  It was full of flavour and lots of chilli; nothing like the gloopy concoctions that we get in the UK.

Over Dirty Martini's, 'Teacher' educated me on the must know's of the Mandarin language; how to count to a 100 and how to understand/give directions.  The first so that I could understand the cost of things and most importantly to be able to barter.  The latter so that I could direct a taxi driver.  So for my future memory here's what I learnt:

Numbers
(First part is the pinyin that translates Chinese characters into English characters and the Italics are my pronunciation based on what I could hear the sounds to be)

1 = yi (Pronounced ee)                     6 = liu (Pronounced leo)
2 = er (Pronounced ar)                     7 = qi (Pronounced chi)
3 = san (Pronounced san)                8 = ba (Pronounced baa)
4 = si (Pronounced se)                     9 = jiu (Pronounced jio)
5 = wu (Pronounced ooh)                 10 = shi (Pronounced sh)

100 = yi bai (Pronounced ee bai)

quai = quid (Pronounced quai)
you zhuan = turn right (Pronounced yo dwai)
zuo zhuan = turn left (Pronounced zo dwan)

Circus Acrobatics

Birmingham's Library Opening festivities ended on Sunday with the Circus Acrobatics, who were dressed in red, white and blue.

Up first was my French Amie showing off her skill with the hula hoops.  I have never seen her look so youthful; all lit up inside as she hula hooped.

The Circus Acrobatics was an interesting show, which had no problem drawing in the crowds.  They had us moving from one side to the other to watch...

...a lady collecting books with an umbrella as she hung from a rope...

...to see a lady trying to read a book as she flew in mid-air, upside down...

...to some jumpers jumping over things...

...and people...

...some of the gymnasts were reading books in the most uncomfortable of positions...

It has definitely been a fun weekend and a great way to open Europe's largest library.

RED In The Library

RED is the sculptural flash mob that we managed to catch in the gardens on top of the library.

In bright red they weren't hard to miss, but each communicated a story with their body language as they mingled in the crowd.

My favourites were this lady and little boy...

I have no idea what they were talking about, but I love the expression on the lady's face as she gobbled a cherry tomato...

And the story of this man...

And this woman...

...meeting as if by chance on top of the library...

...the start of a budding romance...

Bollywood Opening

Europe's largest library opened in Birmingham this week.  Saturday was opening weekend and the streets were full of entertainers and crowds circling them.

Birmingham has a large Asian population and it was no surprise that there was Bollywood Dancing in the open space in front of the library.

The first was an Asian group of girls.  Reminded me of my Diwali Show dancing days when I was young.  Although I had a nice clean stage floor and not the cold pavement that they were so bravely dancing bare-footed on.

I haven't danced to the sound of Bollywood since I nearly slipped and fell on the stage due to my ill-fitting outfit.  But despite my last experience I could still feel that leg twitch to the sound of the drums.

They seemed to be the only Asian group as the others were caucasian.  That flick of the hip seems to be an Asian thing that we were innately born with, as they weren't quite managing the hip wiggle.

Except for one lady who impressively knew all the words to the song.  I wonder if she actually knew what it meant.  But nevertheless, her singing along showed she was enjoying herself.