Snow, Slush, an Acrobatic Performance

  Shanghai, China
Monday, January 28, 2008

Day Seventeen - rounded off with diving, in mid-air, and juggling
"Shanghai's sort of different. Not what it's portrayed at all in the media. It does well for foreigners. I like it too."
"China is rising. Of course, it's not going to be given an embarrassing or negative image."
Actually, Shanghai was beginning to wear thin; novelty and all. It felt increasingly time to move on.
Today, the weather's been slushy, brought on by increased snow fall. It was very puddly and awkward trying to avoid them and the drips dripping off plastic sheeting covering the nearby market stalls. I ventured among them to find a fast noodle eatery. A guy with his two sons were preparing 'Nu Ro Mien' (noodles and beef). Just what the doctor ordered. It was rather small and cramped inside. As soon as I'd polished off the food, I left and moved gingerly along in the wet conditions. A guy was selling apples. I bought three for one yuan each.
Three guys; one with a fag hanging out of his mouth, were playing cards, gambling small amounts of money over a small oblong level table. The cards were briskly distributed while the coins lay to one side in a pile.
Inside a recommended DVD store, I came across The Great Race, starring Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, a comedy classic I hadn't seen in eons. It was a DVD-9 copy, so cost a few yuan more than basic DVDs. I hope it plays OK from start to finish.
I made my way to the station entrance and passed an immobile scruffy guy with his umbrella. he just sat still, in the rain, head down for some reason. Not everyone's getting the chance to enjoy the prosperity hitting China, it seems. It was difficult for the traffic to break to a stop in the wet conditions. Everyone else, pedestrians and all, were getting in each other's way.
At Zhongshan Park, the guy of yesterday was still selling the laser spinning tops.
I got off at People's Square. After encountering some friendly Chinese who wanted to stop and chat, I made my way to Fuzhou Road and browsed in some bookshops. I came out with two classics; cheaper than other books. It was amusing down at the entrance to the biggest store. The security guard stamped my receipt and quickly covered the books in a plastic bag, The rest he left for me to do.
On Nanjing Lu, I dithered around for awhile looking for the elusive Star bucks, but couldn't find any, so made do with a packet of French fries and a paper beaker of hot chocolate. Workers and servers in fast-food outlets are usually young, fitting in with fast-food culture. It was amusing looking at the dark blue caps they were wearing back to front down the backs of their heads, as part of their uniform.
I'm by now well aware that any encroachment onto Nanjing Lu will encourage equal encroachment by the harassing fake sellers. One young woman was busy trying to flog plastic lit-up flying saucers. They are placed on a pedestal from where you pull a cord which releases them spinning up into the air. She wasn't having much luck. A Chinese guy got into a dispute with her over the price. She followed him a few yards. Then had the effrontery to chase after me:
"Hello! Hello!... Here, here."
She took one out of the plastic bin liner and shot it into the air.
"Twenty."
"Twenty! No thanks."
She continued to persist.
Wearily, I continued to resist:
"Nooooo!"
"Nooooo!" She imitated and jeered.
So much for politeness and having the right to refuse.
I left her hanging after me in mid-air, much like her flying saucers.
Legging it to the theater, I met an on line rush of Chinese pacing the other way. "Why weren't others walking my way," I exasperated, and let-out some anger.
"They get beneath my skin, too, another foreigner remarked."
They're just going with the flow."
"Exactly, going with the flow without analyzing the consequences, analyzing it, or understanding how we do it in the West."
If it wasn't for whistle-blowing traffic wardens at zebra crossings, there would be unleashed pandemonium.
Waiting to cross one T junction, one was ordering people from straying to far from the kerb, and that included me.
Legging towards the theater, still thinking about the massive Chinese Muddle, I was accosted by yet another fake watch seller; no end to them:
"Two hundred for two..automatic."
I resisted pacing my way.
"One hundred."
He continued to badger until I'd got clean away and frustratingly entered the confusing front which is The Shanghai Center, and threw in the towel by asking a security patrol officer where the theater was.
Watching a nightly performance of the Huangpu Acrobatic Performers was a fitting round-off to the day.Left aligned photo tag:

Performers peresenting themselves, end of sho

The 90 minutes consisted of  extraordinary balancing acts of crystals, lanterns, other performers;Right aligned photo tag: hoop-spinning, plate spinning, Left aligned photo tag:

Spinning Plate Perfromance

guys diving through hoops, a couple flying clutched to each other and a giant satin scarf; an excellent magician who had three eggs wedged between three of his fingers, and did a skilfull act of catching them back into place. It was all good fun, traditionally Chinese,  and a terrific performance Right aligned photo tag:

More athletic Performances

worth the ticket price if you ever visit Shanghai.
Before the performance, a recorded announcer said that cameras weren't allowed "anywhere' in the theater, due to infringement of Intellectual Property Rights.
A few fished out their digitals and mobiles. Chinese didn't care, and don't, about enforcing their own laws.Left aligned photo tag:

Pyramidal Balancing

At Jin'An Temple Station, a man collapsed onto the ground and couldn't get up. His companion picked out his cell phone and called for help. Me and a foreigner continued to glance back:
"Should we ask if he needs help?"
I agreed.
"It's OK, the companion replied. I'm calling his boss to take him home."
"OK, then."
One or two passing Chinese stopped and stared.
"You don't see many Chinese stopping to help, except to gape with glee. This is a ME society."
The foreigner walked on. I stumbled at seeing the entrance to the subway.