This little chicken went to market on a bus
Today, I looked through my slides from my first trip to China. That was a wonderful trip as we saw Western China as well as Beijing, Shanghai, and the Yangtze River. We traveled with Adventures Abroad, a company I can recommend. We were lucky on this tour as there were only 4 of us traveling to Western China. Our guide was a young Chinese woman who had immigrated to Canada. Her English was excellent and she was personable and willing to tell us of her life in China. Very interesting!
We learned that Chinese do not show affection in a physical way. No kissing or hugging between parents and children. “Lily” did not agree with this and enjoyed cuddling her young son. She also told us that when she graduated from college, she was not given a choice of employment. She was assigned to be a professional witness to executions and she witnessed many of them. She said that Chinese feel that executions of criminals are a benefit as there are too many people in China.
I liked “Lily”. She selected a varied menu for us at each meal and I cannot recall eating more delicious food…ever. She thought I was unusual as I could not stop exclaiming over how delicious the food was. She played a trick on me by ordering a pickled snake skin appetizer and once she ordered duck’s tongues. The snake skin had a rather rubbery consistency and not much taste that I can remember. The duck’s tongue was not anything I’d ask for again either. The tendon running down the center of the tongue was like a bone that had been boiled until it was pliable. Amazing that the Chinese would think to cook these things!
Here are some photos that I took in Fengdu, a town on the Yangtze that is now underwater. The poultry rode to market on the top of the bus. I don’t think the farmers rode up there, but I only saw them after the bus had stopped.
Chinese farmers solve the poultry transport problem