The Road to Shanghai

(It is scheduled to happen again this week.) So, the five of us found a variety of things to do that didn’t required using our office’s electricity. For me, one of those activities was making my first visit to a Chinese second-hand market. I enjoyed the experience, just as I do in the U.S. This market has stalls for everything - bicycles (I bought 2 for Terry and myself for 180 rmb, or about $22), kitchen appliances, televisions and DVD players (I bought a 220-volt VHS player, which I need for some Chinese language materials), lathes and mills, furniture, etc. My real purpose was to buy a “new” desk for my office, as were one short. I found a respectable polished wood desk for 250 rmb (about $30). So, how did the three of us get back (Gwen and Wang Zhigang from our office came with me.) The three of us rode bicycles. (Wang Zhigang bought one, too, to replace one that was recently stolen.) For the desk, we hired a “ren li che” (people powered vehicle) driver. These are large tricycles with a small flatbed in the back. Other versions have a seat for taxiing people around town. The drivers work really hard. I paid our 5 rmb more than the 25 he quoted to take our desk on a 4-5 mile ride to our office building. At that point, Wang Zhigang and I had a humorous moment of recognition. No electricity meant no elevator - but our office is on the fifth floor! We asked the building guards whether we could store the desk in their stationhouse overnight, but they said they couldn’t do that. So, Wang Zhigang (who is just a little slighter of build than I) and I carried the desk up five flights of stairs. A couple of people heading to their own floor helped for a flight or two, and Gwen’s boyfriend Liu Zheng was their to meet her for lunch and also helped a little. It was an experience to remember. -- Norty