In about 12hrs I will be waiting to board the plane that will take me back to Toronto, Canada. These past 3 and a half months have been an eyeopener for me in many ways and to see different parts of China with my own eyes.
I wonder if the hustle and bustle lifestyle of Hong Kong/China has left a mark in me?
Being born and spending the earlier portions of my childhood in Hong Kong, I still have many fond memories of the schools, games, shops, markets, and local landmarks. With the constant development in Hong Kong, many of these practices have adopted new faces or have been eliminated. I wonder how it will be like when I come back again?
I haven’t had time to sort through the photos from my Guangxi trip so it will have to wait till I get back to Canada. Right now I just have to figure out how to fit everything into 2 suitcases!
Temple Street is perhaps best known for its night market. The market contains anything from antiques, paintings, toys, ‘novelty’ toys, clothes, walking sticks, flashlights, cellphone accessories, karaoke discs, fake watches, handbags….
There are very no price tags in Temple Street because the prices are tailored to different customer. The bargaining phenomenon between locals is quite a sight.
“How much is this?”
“This is a 200yrs old masterpiece. For you, $340″
“Wah, you crazy?” starts walking away
“Very good price already…$240″
“$150.”
“You think I don’t need to make money?!…ok ok I will sell it at cost $210″
“Here is $200.”
“Ok ok”
It is interesting to note that all these stores are setup and disassembled daily and yet they are still so neat and organized.
I had the privilege of seeing some behind-the-scenes store operations from the street.
Another attraction of Temple Street are the outdoor restaurants where the patrons have to share tables in the middle of the street. Apparently the seafood is very good because they can have large open-fires in the kitchen for the woks.
This is the temple courtyard that the street derived its name from. Here some elderly gentlemen are practicing most advanced level of meditation.
There are also a stretch of road filled with fortune telling tents. A lady told me I have dragon blood coursing through my veins and that I should go inside her tent to learn more about it! HA!
In Chinese tradition, the middle of the seventh month is the ghost month where the ghosts and spirits come back to visit. The ‘temples’ for the festival were constructed out of bamboo and tin sheets. These structures can be assembled and taken apart in a matter of days.
During the festival the living descendants pay homage to their ancestors by burning incense, paper money, and leaving food in front of alters.
The food was prepared on site, anyone interested can join in on the feast.
There was also an auction on the side. The host is very extremely loud and was competing for attention with the main show.
There was a golden alter on the side and during intermission another set of performers dressed in black and ran in circles…for 10minutes.
The elderly people enjoying the show or catching up with friends.
The primary objective of the show is to provide entertainment for the dead, hence they are always performed at night. There are lots of lot banging and high pitch noise, apparently it attracts the ghosts (wonder how they found out?!).
I think they did very well with the make-up and costumes. Personal favorite is the guy on the right (I assumed he’s the bad guy!).
As a kid, I often walked by these festivals with my mom. Even though I didn’t understand any of the rituals or the foreign dialects, it was interesting to re-visit these very traditional practices.
People heading home after a long work day.
At the bus station.
While waiting at the taxi stand a driver takes a few minutes to clean the hood of his taxi.
