Keeping out the bugs...

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Similar to the market back home in the good ol' US of A, there is usually the factory, the middle man, the other middle man, the distributer, and then the actual store where one can purchase a product. One cool thing about China, while they may require the use of ID in many, many places (to buy a cell phone, a train ticket, a plane ticket, and stay in a hostel, etc. ), they do not require anything at all to go to the wholesale markets.

Because of the one-two punch of constant humidity/heat and mosquitoes, many people have these sweet China famous inventions of mosquito door nets. The door stays open, the net stays closed, cool air passes through the room, and the wee beasties stay out (mostly). The secret is the magic magnetic strip that runs down the middle of the net; an instant auto-close feature of a pretty low-tech trick. The door mat isn't very hi-tech either. It just keeps the floor looking a bit cleaner, but I still like it anyhow.

The two of us hopped on our bicycles, rode to the market (a four story densely-packed death trap of a fire hazard), and marched right into the middle of it all. Phrase book be damned, we were going to buy a mosquito door net and a welcome mat.

The phrase book failed us miserably. As did any attempt for me to draw what it was exactly that I wanted. Before long Elizabeth told me she was heading home for a beer. So that was it; I was now alone, determined as I'll ever be, and still lacking both net and mat. I had pretty much every vendor in the entire wholesale market talking to everyone else, save for me, trying to figure out what in the hell I was talking about.

Long story short, I filled my bicycle basket three hours later and three dollars lighter. The mat says 出 入 平 安 or chew ru ping an or "enter exit safely & soundly." The mosquito net doesn't say anything at all, but it’s pretty darn cool.

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Photos

Our Humble Abode
Check out that sweet mosquitoe door net outside our apartment. You want one too... just admit it.

Comments

[Eddy S]

I think some campers would have loved these at times!