I’m going through pictures and videos I took while in China, and I’ll be posting the ones that I think share a lot about what it was like to live in China and Chongqing and that I hope will be of some interest to you. They’re all short videos, 2 minutes or less.
This first one was a common sight on the sidewalk at night; small sidewalk restaurants sold fresh fish pan-broiled in hot spices with veggies. As you can see, there is a basin of oxygenated water keeping the fish alive. You pick out the fish you want and the guy weighs it on the scale; you pay by weight. As you can also see, the fish was flopping around too much. It really shocked me to see this the first few times, and then I got used to it. When he chucks it down the sidewalk, he’s throwing it to the person who will cook it. I know we think it’s gross to kill and eat meat on the spot, but without access to good refrigeration, this was the safest way to eat meat in China for a long time, and now it’s tradition.
This second video is of the block where I lived; it begins as I step through the main gate where my apartment was located, and continues to the end of the block. The thing I remember most is all the noise of this street. This was during the lunch/naptime block, so there were fewer people on the street.
This block is where I caught buses to go to the train station, bus station and to V's house and the entertainment/shopping district of Shapingba, where a few other friends lived. (I had to cross the street and walk a ways further to take buses to R.'s and T.'s homes.) This block is also where I bought beauty items, tea drinks, street snacks and other misc. items. Crossing at the end of the block led to the subway station and the Yangjiaping (my 'hood) main entertainment/shopping district, where we went for the big grocery store, bank, movies and nicer restaurants. I spent a considerable amount of time walking this stretch of my city, and I made friends with some of the sellers who set up on this block.
If you have any questions about anything you see in the videos, please ask and I will answer in the comments.
The fresh fish on the street video is a little disturbing but that's only because I can't stand watching anything being killed. My father used to hunt pigs and kill them with his friends (I heard the squeals from a distance) and it always made me sad, even if I knew a yummy pig roast would soon follow.
ReplyDeleteThe other video, the street one, that's my cup 'o tea! I love all the action and the pulse of the city. I should do a video like this of Miami Beach's Lincoln Road. It would be fun!
I think I would possibly have been a vegetarian in China....I could not get over the killing of anything. I am a wuss.
ReplyDeleteThe second video...that is the lunch/quiet time??? Oh my gosh...crazy.
Thanks for sharing. So glad you documented so much of your time in China.
Reminds me of the Seattle market fish throwers... only their idea is to keep it OFF the ground.
ReplyDeleteI just hope fish is the only live thing you get to choose and have killed in front of you before being cooked... ugh. just ugh.
ReplyDeleteI would not survive ten minutes in china! lol!
I have cleaned my share of fish and have even taken them off the hook and over the coals in a matter of minutes, but I try to keep the fish off the ground! Interesting videos. I hope to get to China someday, having traveled in Japan and Korea
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