 |
| Dihua Street Market (view from inside the Yongle Fabric Market building) |
Wednesday was my last day of teaching for the week before Chinese New Year. I only had my morning kindergarten class, which I let get more out of control than usual as we just played games and goofed around. Somehow I've earned the nickname Crazy Teacher Bum-Bum from my students, which I've done little to stop. Each of their parents bought snacks for their lunchtime party, and I got to sample some rice cakes, crackers, and weird but delicious chewy seaweed candies from Japan that I'd never seen before. Since I had to bike up to Zhongshan for my Mandarin lesson, I decided to stop at Dihua Street to check out their annual New Year market. For the three weeks prior to Chinese New Year, the otherwise quiet market of dried foods (more for commercial than individual retail) transforms into a crowded street packed with locals buying candy, dried foods, and other miscellany for the holiday.
 |
| Dihua Street Market |
 |
| various people on ladders promoting their shops |
 |
| candy by the pound was the most common commodity for sale |
 |
| often vendors use pictures of satisfied customers to promote their product |
 |
| I can read the Chinese but that doesn't mean I get it |
 |
| veggie chips seemed to be the second favorite commodity |
 |
| veggie chips by the pound |
 |
| and more candy |
 |
| Dihua Street Market |
 |
| Dihua Street Market |
In the middle of the market is Xiahai City God Temple (霞海城隍廟), which on the 13th day of the 5th lunar month has one of the liveliest celebrations in honor the city god's birthday (I missed it last year due to work). The rest of the year, worshipers flock here for the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人, the god of Love) to make an offering, state who they are, what attributes they want their future spouse to have, and what they will do in return for having their wish granted. For awhile a Taiwanese co-worker was trying to get me to go with her to do this, but it never came to fruition, which is good, lest I accidentally end up married.
 |
| Xiahai City God Temple |
 |
| Xiahai City God Temple |
 |
| Dihua Street Market |
* * *
 |
| the random things you find when snooping around vacant buildings |
No comments:
Post a Comment