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Buying a crane
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Today I brought a crane.
No, not the heavy-duty, hydraulic, mechanical kind found all over China, thin yellow giants building the New China.
No, instead I got a crane of the feathered kind. A rare black-necked crane no less. It only cost me 20 yuan - less than US$3 - and the seller wouldn't budge on the price.
So I ended up traipsing through the busy streets of the new town and then the crowded lanes of the old town, struggling with this bird, which I think must have weighed 5 kilos or so. It was bigger than your average chicken or turkey.
And in the streets and lanes people turned to look at the foreigner with the unweildy crane under his arm, negotiating his way for man and bird past out-of-town shoppers from distance villages, tour groups four-abreast across cobbled lanes and rings of women dancing in the squares to celebrate International Women's Day.
It must have taken me almost half an hour to get home from Black Dragon Pool [Hei long tan] - and when I got home I had trouble getting the bird into my house.
The problem wasn't so much its weight as its size. My bird had a large wingspan and its height and width meant it was a tight squeeze to get it inside out of the sun and stares of strangers.
The black-necked crane is a protected animal in China and its status is classed as 'vulnerable', which is now I felt as I walked home with the bird. My friend who on the walk out to Black Dragon Pool was quite happy to walk at my side, somehow seemed to slip back 20 or so metres behind me, in an effort to avoid being associated with the crazy foreigner with the big bird.
I had to walk past two police stations, but the only strange look I got from a man in a uniform was a security guard at the back entrance of an old town hotel.
I should explain before you think that I had bought an illegally-hunted bird. The crane was a life-size replica. Left over from the light and lantern display at the Black Dragon Pool.
For two weeks it was free to visit the pool and stroll around the lake admiring the red lanterns, models, and displays. I went a couple of times, enjoying the dynamic shows of light, fabric and reflections. Most the exhibitions were related to the Chinese New Year, though the significance of a figure of a boy pissing on everybody within a 5 metre radius was lost on me.
I saw the cranes in one section displaying various animals - grasshoppers, pandas and bears. There were also a couple in the middle of a small lake.
So a few days after light display ended, I happened to be walking with my friend around the lake, when we saw a pile of models waiting for removal by a bridge. On the opposite side of the road a crew of people were taking apart the animals and objects to salvage the light bulbs, wires and frames.
But off to one side was a crane, sitting untouched on its stand. I found someone involved in the deconstruction, and 20 yuan later I had under my arm the bird of my dreams.
In many countries around the world different animals carry a special symbology - and power. From past observation Chinese sages linked the characteristics of animals to traits they wanted in their own lives. So the animal symbols became reminders, charms and omens.
I'd heard that cranes were harbingers of good luck, but have since found more than that simple explanation - afterall, almost anything in China could be seen as good luck couldn't it?
It seems the crane is more than an endangered species. It is considered the prince of all feathered creatures and is one of the favourite bird symbols. It stands for longevity, because itself has a long life span. The crane also features in many legends as the transport of choice for spirits to ride on, including souls to heavens.
While they might populate myths and legends, in real life there are only around 6,000 left on earth. The bird lives in Siberia, northern China and Tibet - but not all year round. It escapes the cool winters to go to a few lakes and grasslands in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces - mainly Napa lake near Zhongdian (Shangri-la) and Caohai in Guizhou. Not that the winters are particularly warm in Zhongdian.
From what I can tell from photos and descriptions, but bird is reasonably accurate in detail. The crane with the Latin name Grus nigricollis can grown up to 139cm long and has a distinctive red crown patch, black upper neck and black legs - mine had black wire legs and a yellow beak.
Partly because of its remote location, the Tibetan crane wasn't 'discovered' (don't you just hate that word) and described by ornithologists til 1876, making it the last species of crane to get a Latin name and to be filled with shotgun pellets in preparation for a long journey not to the heavens, but to museums and collections in Europe and North America.
The real life and alive birds weigh around 5kg - similar to my crane.
Acording to the Internation Crane Foundation, the black-necked crane is under threat:
Loss and degradation of habitat are the main threats facing the Black-necked Cranes. The problems are the most serious in the wintering areas, where wetlands are extensively affected human activity including irrigation, dam construction, draining, and grazing pressure. In Tibet, widespread changes in traditional agricultural practices have reduced the availability of waste barley and spring wheat.
My own personal crane, which now sits beside me as I write this in the only possible space it can occupy without endangered visitors to my small adode, is also endangered. On my way through the old town I got some envious stares: the bird would look good in most shops or even houses.
One shopkeeper said to me, in a fashion similar to dialogue in that Australian movie the Castle: how much did you pay for that?
- Twenty kwai, I replied.
- That's a good deal, she said, seemingly surprised that the laowai got a bargain.
Now secure on the second story of my house, I have to think of a name for my h¨¥i-j¨«ng h¨¨. Any suggestions?
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