- Air Index
- BingTuDon bing translate
- TastyFaith.com
- http://www.aqicn.info/
- China to restrict US journalists from three major newspapers
- Coronavirus: Pound plunges to its lowest level in over 30 years
- Coronavirus: Hong Kong to quarantine all arrivals from abroad
- Back to school for some in China
- Alibaba's Ma donates coronavirus test kits to US
- Trump angers Beijing with 'Chinese virus' tweet
- Coronavirus: How the pandemic has changed the world economy
- Coronavirus: Life inside China's lockdown
- Mount Everest: Nepal's government shuts off mountain amid virus outbreak
- Coronavirus: China wildlife trade ban 'should be permanent'
- Coronavirus Wuhan diary: Living alone in a city gone quiet
- Coronavirus: Nasa images show China pollution clear amid slowdown
- Coronavirus: Chinese app WeChat censored virus content since 1 Jan
- China Uighurs: Detained for beards, veils and internet browsing
- The anti-Chinese prejudice being fuelled in Kenya
- Coronavirus: On the front line in Wuhan
- China economy: Why it matters to you
- The doctor who tried to warn others
- In 60 seconds: Who was China’s Li Keqiang?
- Violent tornado sends sparks flying on streets of Chinese city
- China to restrict US journalists from three major newspapers
- November 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Nov | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | |||||
Jeff and I
are about to board a plane to the States this summer for food, fun and family.
But before we leave China, we have to fill our suitcases with a few souvenirs. We got dried duck tongue jerky for the kiddies,
electric fly swatting tennis rackets, classic chenglish t-shirts. And oh yes,
tea.
But the best
stuff of all came from Chinese Pickers.
If you’re familiar
with the TV show American Pickers, well this place is the Yunnan equivalent.
This old
fashioned swap meet is on the eastern corner of Kunming City Center, tucked
behind red walls that actually look like China.
You can find
stuff made in China that you can’t get at wal-mart, including a tapestry of Mao
and opium pipes.
Hmmm…Should I
get this for my father in-law? I’ll see if they have one of George W.
Vendors sell
lots of funky relics, including jade beads, bronze buddhas
and dragon shaped worry stones. They may not the
best quality or even real, but every piece looks has an interesting story to tell. A snuff box might have survived the cultural revolution. A worry stone could’ve endured a dunk in a
squatty.
An antique fish shaped lock is most likely an fake-tique, but who cares. It’s still cool.
The vendors
pull out a little plastic stool for you to squat on while you bicker over the prices.They pull out their cell phones using the calculator
function so you can punch in the price you are willing to pay.
Haggling is a
true art form in any language. Needless to say, I’m no Picasso. I’m more like the five year old who still eats crayons.
Long story short, I paid more
than what I should for a Mao snuff box, but still less than I’d pay on Ebay.
Even if it’s not genuine, the Mao snuff box is genuinely cool.
I also got a jade worry stone for a good friend. It’s about the size of a baby mango. The lady who sold it to me didn’t look worried at all.
. However, I did resist the “antique” Casio watch and
this man’s flute. He tried hard to get me to buy both.
