Writes of Passage

Chekiang is an eastern coastal province in China, bordering Jiangsu, Shanghai, Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujiang and East China Sea.

• Hangzhou
• Ningbo
• Wuzhen
• Wenzhou
• ..

There is one tennis court at Sheraton Hotel which is vacant most time.

Majiang at Tianyi Ge; first batch; libraries; 凝晖堂
史学大师全祖望 Quan Zuwang by the 月湖 Moon Lake;
The Tea Museum

Foot massage

I shopped at the jewelry 老凤祥 Lao Fengxiang. It has a similar tear drop bracelet like that of Tiffany.

The subway is being built, coming your way very soon.

tennis court at Sheraton Hotel

Sheraton Hotel

a lady with a cart

Smile ..

the subway is coming your way … soon

I wasn’t hungry having just gulp down a taro drink. But I just wanted to eat because so much foods were on display around Drum Tower even I had a different dinner in mind. Never got to my planned dinner.

More pix on FB

Ningbo 宁波 城隍庙
Sept 20, 2010
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The making of the moon cakes

Mid Autumnal Festival 中秋节 was approaching (9/22), 月饼 is the center piece of the celebration. Those freshly made moon cakes are delicious. I went there around 2pm, wasn’t crowded. I didn’t know its for locals or a tourist trap, or both.
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撒尿牛肉丸 Pissing beef balls? I’ve never heard of this one before. 哗众取宠 try to please the public with claptrap or what? It doesn’t sound appetizing.

It was a hot and sticky night in Ningbo 宁波 (ning bo means Tranquil Waves), a seaside little town in northeastern of Zhejiang province, or 280 km (174 mi) south of Shanghai, with little over 2 million inhabitants. After the museum, I went to the Drum Tower, and basically ate myself to death: two meals plus taro drink in two hours. Then went to check out a sporting store for tennis balls because Sheraton has a carpet court and they provide equipments: two rackets a a bag of used balls. The nature thing to do was to buy a can of balls. It cost RMB38 per can, about US$5.5 (at 6.8 exchange rate). I must have winced. The salesgirl immediately took out a plastic bag loaded with new lose tennis balls with brands I’ve never heard of.
“Wu yuan.” 5 yuan each.
I was somewhat incredulous to see new balls being taken out of the cans. Oh well, I’m only a frog in the well.
South of 余姚江 Yuyao River and 丰化江 Fenghua River where they converge with Yong River 甬江 is the city center. Ningbo is building a subway, and 中山东路 Zhongshan East Road is obviously part of the loop. 和义路 Heyi Lu/Road to my right is the new 5th Avenue where spacious and glittering Louis Vuitton leads the way. Behind the mall’s the water front of Yuyao river. Crossed over ZhongShan Dong Lu is the colossal shopping compound, Tianyi Square 天一广场. Note: the world is flat, really. It gets trite that everywhere you go, you see the same brands back here in the USA, they differ only in currency. American influence is undeniable but how long it is going to be?
It

This is how wiki defines a museum:

A museum is a building or institution that houses and cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary.

This pretty much sums up what/how I feel about a museum.

Defending Zhenhai, Belaboring French Army
The Zhenhai’s Defence War is an important battle in the Chinese-French War. On February 28, 1885, Gu Ba, the commander of the France Far East Fleet, led the navy to invade Zhenhai. Under the leadership of the Armymen and people of Zhenhai, Liu Bing-Zhang, the governmental inspector of Zhejiang Province, concerted actions towards the foreign counterparts. The army and militia set up a joint defence, sharing the bitter hatred to deal with the invaders. Thus they made up of a steel great wall of uniting as one. They smashed the myth that the western big powers, so-called “ship firm and cannon sharp”, couldn’t be defeated. It was only a complete victory that China defeated foreigh [sic] aggressions of modern times. The Defence War and Zheng Nan Gun Great Victory (The Liang Shan Hill) ensembled a song of triumph about the army and people of China against French, composing a glorious page in the modern history of Chinese resistance against foreign aggressions.

This stele was at 镇海口海防历史纪念馆 Zhenhai Coast Defense History Museum, as of Sept 19, 2010. Grammar and spelling aside, the museum ought to do a better job to get the French admiral’s name right. It isn’t Gu Ba for Pete’s sake, it’s Anatole-Am

I spotted this sign at Shanghai Expo

请勿踩踏
文明参观

Please don’t trample
Civilized visit

It stands by a ceramic fountain with little water inside.
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This is posted at the entrance of 镇海口海防历史纪念馆 Zhenhai Coast Defense History Museum in Ningbo:

温馨提示
穿背心, 拖鞋者谢绝参观

Warm prompt
Sleeveless garment, slippers are not allowed.
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To remedy, the museum provides shoes ..
I was forced to wear this pair
Thank lord it fit
Thank lord the shoes were disease free .. 香港脚 (Athlete’s foot) was on my mind the entire time
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This time in China, I saw many places with the 温馨提示 Warm prompt signs. In the public bathrooms, there were plenty of wenxin tishi signs even when there weren’t any bathroom tissues installed in each booth. Yup, the tissue was located centrally in one location. Nevertheless, the signs indeed warmed my heart. China is trying hard to improve its software.
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Gargle. Golfer felt something in his throat and asked me if gargle would help. It drew a blank at first because I didn

The Grand Lotus Spa is an upscale salon in Ningbo with few locations. I went to the one that’s next door to Sheraton hotel.

史学大师 全祖望, stands by the 月湖 Yuehu, the Moon Lake. Next to it is a neat 李宅青年旅舍 Ningtown Lee’s Youth Hostel, looking out at the Tea Museum. The standard room RMB 168 yuan with private bathroom and a TV.

Ninghui Hall is made of brick and wood dates back to Qing Dynasty. It houses ancient stone tablets and calligraphy works. It has the fragrance of Chinese ink and blends in harmoniously with its surroundings.