I've just opened an account at Panaramio, and I'll be putting a few of my more interesting pictures on there. This aint no travel blog, but if anyone is interested, you can find my account here, and in theory at least, they should also be geotagged... the idea is that they can also be seen in Google Earth. Plenty more to be added at a later date..... enjoy.
I recently went through this process just last month, and what a 12-hour marathon it was. I'm very pleased to report that the results, however, made it worthwhile. It involved several costume changes, a trip to some nearby mountains, and lasted until well after the sun had gone down.
Wedding photography is very big business here in China. You can tell that simply by the sheer number of these photography places that can be seen in any city or town. The cost is usually upwards of 4000RMB (way more than the average monthly salary), so maybe that helps to explain why it needs an entire day to carry out... then a few weeks for Photoshopping (wrinkles and blemishes disappear... looks just like me, but better! Then the obligatory skin whitening), then more time for printing and binding, since photos are then made into a fancy book, plus huge prints are made, more than a metre across.
Though it's not the place that we used (mainly due to a combination of the ridiculous pricetag and the way-too-pushy staff), there's a place on Xi'an's South Street that I like, because they have live models in the window to advertise their business. You can sometimes see the people going out, or returning from, their outdoor photoshoots, resplendent in their wedding clothes (or whatever costumes they're wearing).
Here are some pictures that I managed to snap of some other folks having there pictures done, though unfortunately not in their intended setting - here they are perched on the curb in the middle of Xi'an's South Street. I remember the day well. This was 12th May 2008, the day of the earthquake in Wenchuan. Though there was little damage caused here in Xi'an, everyone certainly felt it. As everyone poured out into the street these folks joined us... I suppose it didn't seem like a good time to stay indoors and change their clothes.
I'm sure these people will be thinking about their experience today - exactly one year after the earthquake happened.
One myth that needs to dispelled is that fact that dog meat is widely eaten. First off, China is massive - it's the size of a continent. You can't tar over a billion people with the same brush. Some people here do eat dog. Those people generally live in the far northeast of China (since I understand eating dog meat is predominantly a Korean practise), and in the far south of China (Cantonese people). As far everyone else.... Well, to be honest, it is actually very difficult to find dog meat. There are a few restaurants that include dog on the menu, but if you ask about it they very rarely have it. Also, dog meat is considered "winter food", since it is said to have a warming effect onthe body. I have to confess here, I did manage to track down a restaurant that sold it. I tried it.... it's just meat. Didn't taste weird, it's just meat. However, I did find it to be full of bones and gristle, and for that reason I won't be eating it again.
Getting back on topic though, there are only a few things that you can find back home that can also be bought here. (I think the dish that's the closest to being the same on all continents is sweet and sour pork. But just don't ask for sweet and sour chicken/beef/prawns, since this will be met with a mixture of confusion and disgust.) So... what do people eat? It varies a lot from place to place, with each province staking claim to its own unique dishes and flavours. Here in Shaanxi province, here are two of the most popular:
Liang pi. This is basically cold noodles, covered in chilli oil. Somewhat amusingly, you can also get "hot cold noodles", which I like to call "noodles".
This one is a very commonly-seen snack in Xi'an - rou jia mo (meat and bread). Its often called a "Chinese hamburger" by Chinese english-speakers. Usually, this is stewed mutton (though sometimes beef) and gravy put inside some flat bread. Awesome.
You can often see people selling things out on the street. Puppies. Little baby chicks (ideally, these should be pink, green or blue). This month I've seen a guy, on two occassions, attempting to sell a rock. An actual rock. It was about the size of a small child's head, light grey in colour, with some dark grey circles on it.
A guy and his rock
Apparently this pattern makes it special, and therefore commands a price of something in the 4-digit range. (I sincerely hope that the guy that was selling that thing is still there - if she's not then it may indicate that someone has bought it. If that is the case, I may feel compelled to track down said buyer and beat him, or her, senseless. If only to get my hands on the rock, obviously.)
Another great job is the guy THAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY GIVE MONEY TO that will design a signature for you. Apparently it's cool to have a cool signature. Apparently people are too dumb to come up with one on their own.
Then there's the young ladies who clap for a living. Literally - clapping. Their task is to stand at the front of a shop and clap their hands together. I understand the idea behind this is simply to attract attention; once you've glanced over in their general direction, you will inevitably be drawn into the store where you will empty your wallet. I wonder what rigorous selection-procedural hoops need to be jumped through to reach those dizzying career heights.
Possibly the occupation with the largest number of workers in China also fits into the category of that's-not-really-a-job-is-it. Last, but by no means least, it is the good folks that stand by the door of so many stores and restuarants, and welcome you inside. Literally: Just stand there and say huan ying guang lin ("Welcome, and please grace us with your presence"). Then once you get inside, customers are often vastly outnumbered by the number of shop assistants or waitresses. Just ordering food in a restaurant herecan be a 3-waitress job. One to hold the menu, one to write the order, one to just stand by (in case of emergency?).
I'm told this may be partly in response to the fact that the population here is just so damn big. There aren't nearly enough jobs to go around, so jobs are just invented. In a situation like the one described above (shops, restaurants) I suspect the over-abundance of staff is meant to be a sign that the business is successful and can offer great service.
To be fair, I once had a non-job. My sole task: to arrange files in alphabetical order.
