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I'm going to go get a foot and body massage. There are so so many massage places here (legit and illegit ones). I guess the people here really believe in massage therapy. Anyway, it's hard to chose, and find one that is good, clean and cheap. The places catered to Westerners are naturally more expensive. I'm in the market for the ones around 100 RMB an hour! Anyway, here in China it's common for the blind to become massage therapists. I find the concept a bit creepy, but I'm quite curious. I'll see if I like it. Anyway, my first massage is at a spa near my apartment called Artesian. It is very expensive, but they have a promotion for first time customers.
I'm also searching for a good hair and nail salon. At the hair salon you get a head massage with your washing too.
Fa piao - there's this concept of fa piao here. I don't full understand it, but it's an official type of receipt that the customer can get that helps record the store owner/seller's taxes to the government. I've asked about this to a lot of people, and no one seems to be able to really explain it to me. When I was looking for an apartment, the agent asked if I needed an official fa piao, and if I did, I needed to pay an extra 5%!f(MISSING)or taxes that the landlord needs to pay. Additionally, when you go to a restaurant, you have to ask for a fa piao and in return you get a fa piao and these scratcher lottery ticket things. The scratcher tickets are handed out as an incentive for you to ask for the fa piao. Apparently, these fa piaos have some numbering system which correspond to prepaid taxes the owner/seller has paid to the government. As he/she hands out fa piaos, then more prepaid taxes are due. However, taxed sales are only recorded when someone asks for a fa piao. I'm still very unclear about this - if anyone can explain this to me, I'd appreciate it. I want to understand their business tax system here. Keep in mind that everything is still on a cash basis here.... there must not be a good way to record sales? Why can't you prepay a percentage of your prior year's sales and true up at the end of the year? Yes, yes, I know I'm in China.
I had another yummy breakfast today. This time a
cong you bing (green onion pancake) mixed with a fried egg, and sauce, chili paste. You can also stuff a
you tiao (salty chinese donut) in it, but I didn't (too greasy). It was quite tasty, but probably not too healthy.
I ventured over to Huaihai Rd today, another huge street of shops and department stores - including H&M, Sephora. More shopping. The people here love to (window) shop. I've been walking a lot and I've seen tons of shops, but today I saw the first larger selection of children's clothes and toys at a store. I noticed a lack of children's items in Shanghai. I usually look out for cute things for my little niece/nephew, and I've hardly seen shops for toys, baby clothes, and knick knacks. Unlike the States, there isn't a huge market/commercialization of kids' stuff. I guess it makes sense - there are many more adults than children here. Additionally, people can't afford toys and probably just make their own kids' clothes.
I got to thinking about the attitude local Chinese have about the concept of "children".... meaning does having one child mean that children are even more adored and cherished? Or do people feel that the fewer the better - fewer mouths to feed and support? Unfortunately, I actually think it's the latter. I was at the subway stop and a little toddler kept wanting to say hi to all the strangers, and people didn't even smile or wave for the kid! So unfriendly. Anyway, I think I wrote in my other post that my landlord said there's a one time 7000 USD fine for having more than one child. That's not that much. Yes, I know that's what people make in one year, but adoption in the US can easily cost one year's salary. Think about the people that have fertility treatments, artificial insemination, etc. I have no idea how much that stuff costs, but I"m guessing after all said and done, easily $75,000++ USD. That doesn't stop a lot of people (Ok, doesn't stop rich people). I have to remember that China isn't a debt society. People don't take out loans to pay for their fines! Also, I think of the articles I've read about people giving their kids to orphanges, sometimes only because the child has a birthmark on their face! Or in the countryside baby girls are abandoned.... (I hear this sort of thing is improving, but still!) In the States, if a baby is found in a dumpster or something, it makes the 5 oclock news! The American dream includes children (two of them!). I don't think that's in the Chinese dream... because they're not allowed to. That said, I think that the idea of large families just isn't valued....hence the idea of "children" just isn't valued the way Americans do. I'm not saying that I don't think local people love their own child, people don't let themselves have an overall attitude for loving children/babies. Ok, I know that didn't sound really articulate, and I inherently don't really even understand whether Americans actually "value kids", or how we even measure "value". My saying that a country doesn't value children is a bit bold of a statement 😊 Anyway, I'm going to try to understand attitude toward children a bit more.
I ate dinner at a restaurant alone yesterday. I didn't know until I left that I actually went to a Muslim/Chinese restaurant. No wonder there was so much lamb on the menu! Anyway, the dining alone thing wasn't so bad. The restaraunt was a bit more expensive than average - it was clean and so far, no stomach ache.
FYI, Visitors beware: I've read about this in travel books, but I was reading another posting on the travel and expat website about these tea ceremony scams. Attractive Shanghainese women will approach tourists (usually male) and ask them if they want to either practice their English with them at a nearby cafe, or if they'd like to visit a traditional tea ceremony. The girls take these people to a tea house/cafe and then charge them hundreds of rmb for two cups of tea. The doors are guarded by a bunch of men if you try to skip out without paying. Awful, huh?
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ellie
non-member comment
When I was in Birmingham last week I decided to go to a random church near our dorm, it was all white people, but they were having a baby dedication that day. The baby was a Chinese adoptee, I thought it was strange it was a boy, because usually adopted kids from China are girls. But when I looked closer, I think his lip was slightly deformed. It's so sad that someone would give up their child just because their lip is shaped a little funny.