A "GRAND" day

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It was finally the weekend! I am excited to be able to take my hiatus from work. Today I think I will travel to the Grand Canal. I heard that hundreds of boats use it each day to exchange their goods and travel to faraway trading cities. There is a dock not too far from my shop, so I am excited to see how this whole man made river thing works. As I walked up to the canal I couldn’t help but notice all of the activity that happens around here! I haven’t seen this many merchants in the same place ever before. I see a huge boat, bigger than I could imagine, being loaded with tons of silk, probably headed for Byzantine or the Islamic Empire. There is also a few guards around here, this place must be very important to have such serious militaristic protection. All around the canal are small stands of handmade goods such as pottery and jewelry. Maybe I will buy a pot to place on the counter of my store! Watching this ship was the most amazing sight, and then it came to me… How does it get over a hill? I stared at this wooden beast stroll into a metal box and get trapped inside. I kid you not the ship began to rise, slowly but surely it made it’s way up and over the other side of the hill. Some couple was watching me, dumbstruck, as I saw this ship overcome the hill and the husband explained to me that it was called a pound lock. I had a short conversation with them and realized that the women never said a word. This is normal because the men in China are definitely more in control than the women. However, she was dressed in all pink and was on her tippy toes the entire time. This I knew of course was the most prevalent sign of wealth for a couple because the wife had her feet bound from birth, and the husband was able to provide her with the most beautiful pink die I have ever seen. I am glad that I came here today because I was still able to advance my knowledge of China and the culture even after living here for so many years. I wonder what other treats I could come across about our beautiful country.

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