Dragonboat Festival!

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Dragonboat Festival was today! That means Dragonboat Races (as long as I found the location) and getting to eat with and share a cultural experience with a local family! The only source I could find said that there would be a dragonboat race and festival around 1pm near Zhongtan Subway Station...however I have to get back by 3:10pm to not be late meeting up with our volunteer student host who will take her to her house. I took Line 1 to People's Square and then hopped on Line 3 at the exchange (where my ticket worked, pay attention) and had 7 stops til Zhongtan. On the way there I noticed a closer exchange from Line 3 straight to Line 1 at the Railway Station, but it wasn't all that clearly marked...

I arrived at Zhongtan at 12:50pm and rushed outside finding the inflatable dragon gate thing only 5 minutes away. People were lined densely all along this river, Suzhou Creek, I couldn't get a grAnd view, but I found a spot I thought was decent and started taking pictures - ended up I was near the finish line, while the stage where the performances were happening was WAY on the other side. Just check the pics and videos. There were far too many people with umbrellas, all right at my eye level and poking me in my ears, ha. The sky was intensely blue and clear compared to other days in Shanghai - I swear they must control the weather with all their factories! This had been the first day I had seen so many kids out and about in Shanghai, it was a fun environment despite the few arguments about spots I saw - check the kids chilling on their parents shoulders, ha.

I tried asking around to the locals and English speakers if anyone knew what time the races started but nobody knew, so I tried not to get too deep in the crowd so I could leave quickly cause the subway ride was about an hour. Hence, I didn't notice the stage, singing, and performances until 1:40pm (too late to move closer), but I got a few pictures and videos. I swear I heard the Beijings Olympic Theme played once, ha. They had dragon dances (group and individual), a choir, and some famous singer. The races didn't start until 2:10pm. I gave myself an extra 10 minutes - til 2:20pm - to watch and record two races (for all the SSP'rs who couldn't come because of Ryan Sweeney's Lecture) and then jogged to the subway station. I got a ticket which would have me exit at the Xuhui Station, and should have allowed me through the Line 1/4/3 exchange...but it didn't! I had to jump over three subway entrance/exit stalls to avoid having to pay for an extra ticket - wasting precious time and somewhat precious money! If I had been caught by security I would have gladly just thrown money at them so I could rush off, but I only other patrons saw me so I was good (except for maybe a video, but all foreigners look alike to them, ha).

After reaching the Xuhui station, I ran (yes, literally) straight through Metro City and to the SJTU campus in 5 minutes! I changed out of my sweaty clothes into a slightly dressy attire and then left with Sam, Sae Young, and the our host Shirley We took a taxi to her flat/apartment - no other foreigners in sight - awesome!. She introduced us to her dad Mr. Zhang who served us some light green tea - boiled in natural tea leaves and then we talked until her friends "Simbo" and "Sky" showed up. Her parents could not speak any English (I tried my Chinese every now and then) but her firends She showed us around her house and her parents' bedroom with traditional style setup - it was just missing a desk between the chairs by the window. Her mom came home and then we started eating. Her dad was the chef for most the dishes and they were interesting but quite delicious. There was first with cold dishes - the vegetables, lotus fruits, bittersweet something (looked like potatoes but crisp) along with few meats later such as octopus (seared in oil), fatty pork (Mao Zedong's favorite food - kinda like BBQ), some form of deliciously cooked fish (the whole fish served on the table), duck legs (cooked in some type of soy sauce I think), and a form of vegetarian chicken??.

Mr. Zhang kept getting up to cook more food while Simbo and I tried to get him to just enjoy it with us. I had asked if Shirley had ever tried "cho dtofu" (stinky tofu) and if she liked it. She replied that it was gross to her, but her dad overheard and cooked it for us to also try. The stinky fried tofu was quite pungent and at first was hard to get over, but once you dipped it in some sauce and got it in your mouth you could finish. Though I could only stand about 7 pieces. I felt compelled to eat as much as possible to show my gratitude with they recognized, but it was hard keeping all those new/different flavors down, haha. We had some Zhong Zhi - sticky/sweet rice stuffed with meat and wrapped in bamboo leaves afterwards along with bamboo shoots and some type of soup. The Zhong Zhi was a bit messy and not that sweet but still good. My favorite dishes was the octopus, fatty pork, and zhong zhi (I had 3!).

They gave us the option of red or yellow wine, suggesting the yellow wine as the traditional drink to go along with this meal, so I had some - but he poured me another glass without me even noticing and I had to drink more than I wanted - it wasn't that good.... However, I did learn by doing it inappropriately first that to toast to an elder or more respected person you lower your glass in respect to his when they touch (I guess that goes for any culture probably, but I forgot). The milk tea didn't help drench/cleanse my pallete all that well and for once I was actually relieved to see a coca-cola soft drink. That coke saved me from having to stop eating, some of the food started to be a bit overwhelming.

After dinner, we talked some more, got some information about the cheapest and best places to eat and buy clothes in Shanghai. Then took a very difficult group picture, and got Sherryl's and her friends' MSN emails, and said our goodbyes.

Overall, an extremely worthwhile experience, plus all the food was free!!

See Facebook for my videos!

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Photos

The Entrance to the main viewing area
If this inflatable dragon gate wasn't here I probably would have just kept on walking...haha

Dragon Rowing Teams' Pit
This is where the teams had to gather and would be given a dragon boat. The boats left one by one, parade-style, each with one balloon, not sure what the balloon signified

Several windsurfers and small sailboats
Not sure if these people were hired or just recreational

Exhibition rowers
...they didn't do much, maybe they raced later, after the dragon boats...

Proof I was there
Good thing I still had long hair, no need for sunscreen, ha

Looks like one team couldn't balance very well, haha
Dragon boat being returned upside down to the start with wet rowers in a boat behind. Oh and check out the official by the yellow flag, not a fun position

My view of the stage
...had to zoom in so far, ha

Flags for something.
Could have sworn I heard the Beijings Olympics theme being played for a few seconds when these took the stage, ha

Too many people
and way too many with umbrellas!