Got in last night around 10pm, and took a long cab ride to my hotel. First impression – this is a big city, very modern, with many high rises, lots of neon and large flat screen displays. Reminiscent of Tokyo in the sense of population density and modernity.
View from window
Many more image here.
Today, I decided to stay close to my hotel. Took a couple of walks, never straying more than 5 or 6 block from the hotel, The Pavilion Century Tower. The hotel is clearly catering to an international crowd. The breakfast buffet had donuts, croissants, congee, and sushi, and much more. You could have Coco Puffs or an omelette. And looking at the people having breakfast, there were a few who were American or English, a large contingent of Middle Eastern folks, and a variety of Asian groups.
But once I left the hotel, I didn’t see anyone who wasn’t Chinese. I headed to the shopping district for electronics, whic is only a few blocks away. Here’s Geoff’s take on it. An overwhelming array of electronics. At the same time, all sort of fascinating differences. Many bicycles, mopeds, often used to carry goods. I saw fresh foods, propane tanks, electronics, and a wide range of other thngs balanced on the backs of bikes. Some bikes have a 3 wheel configuration, with a small platform on the back to give more carrying area.
Man moving water
I ventured down some side streets and saw shops that were selling Lacoste (or a LaCoste clone), various American brand of shoes and clothing. This area is famous for its clothing knockoffs, and I don’t know what is real and what is not. Hawkers tried to sell me copies of Windows 7 as I walked down the street. I popped into some of the large marts that sell clothes. These area a many booths or small stores all under one roof. I think I startled some of the sales clerks, who looked surprised to see me there. A few tried out their English, which was “Hello, Hello” in a sing song voice. Since I don’t have any Chinese, the communication was limited to smiling. There was an amazing amount of fairly gaudy jewelry, and many knock off clothes
By contrast to the high tech and the clothing, later in the day I went down a street that was where the hardware stores were. You could buy wood, or metal pipes, or doors. Each store specialized in one product type. There were people sitting in front of the shops soldering and welding. It felt a long way from the high tech buzz. There were also people laying out cabbages and beans on blankets.
[...] Went to China [...]