Begging in Suzhou

As mentioned earlier, I got to Suzhou quite late in the day, and had no more than an hour or so of sunlight left. The sun sets at around 6pm, which I find remarkably early, though maybe I just haven't gotten used to the idea that it's already mid-fall. Or maybe it has something to do with China's wacky timezones - basically, the whole country is under a single timezone, so who knows what the times would actually be if they had split it out geographically.

While waiting to meet up with my friend at the bus stop, I came across this fellow sitting on the sidewalk:


The writing, upon close examination:


Basically, it translates to, "Very Hungry. Kind people, please buy me a boxed lunch. Thanks."

I had nothing to do, and had actually thought about talking to beggars for sometime to understand them better. This guy also seemed relatively clean and healthy, so I was puzzled as to why he didn't just go work for his food like everyone else his age. I was hoping he would make for good, perhaps even meaningful conversation.

And so I decided to go across the street to buy a boxed meal. For 7 RMB, I got a Black Peppered Beef Fried Rice (黑胡椒牛肉炒飯) to go. I walked across the street, and asked him if he was hungry. He made no reaction. I placed the bag carrying the boxed meal next to him, but he still did not move. I was puzzled; did he not hear me? Isn't this what he wanted? Isn't he surprised that somebody actually got him something to eat? Why wouldn't he thank me, or at least acknowledge me? I decided to give him some distance - it was clearly somewhat awkward. A took several steps away, and watched him for a minute or two between the rest of the walking crowd. He did not move at all. Disgusted, I walked away... but then decided to circle back from the other direction. By the time I had reached his position again, he was gone - I could see him walking in the distance with the plastic lunch sack. So much for gratitude. At the same time, he had left for me a unique opportunity...

With nothing to do but wait for my friend, I decided to do just that. And so I waited... at the very spot the fellow had sat at. At first I was embarrassed - just about everybody that passed read the chalk writing by my feet, and looked at me funny, especially as I stood around and txted my friend. However, after awhile, I got more comfortable, and sat down on the sidewalk, in the very position my ungrateful predecessor did. Many people looked at the writing, then looked at me with pity. I couldn't help but flash a smug smile. When they seem perplexed, I laughed out loud. I'm sure they had never seen such a happy person starving!

Many gawkers had passed by, but for the first several minutes nobody offered anything at all. There was a girl standing several feet away on the sidewalk, who seemed either to be waiting for someone, or perhaps wanted to help me but was too shy to talk to me. We made eye contact a few times. I smiled at her too, just like the rest, but she did not budge from her spot. A few moments later, she disappeared.

I got out my Lonely Planet book and started reading it. The text was in English, a highly prized language that Chinese people tend to dole out plenty of money to learn, which made the scene all the more bizarre. At one point a Caucasian guy was walking extremely fast along the sidewalk in my direction. We made eye contact and I smiled. He said, "Ni hao," in Mandarin Chinese. I replied back in English, "Hey man, how's it going?" He made no reply and kept walking - most likely he was in a hurry or he just couldn't hear with his headphones on.

After about 10-15 minutes, there was a young couple walked past me. I looked up and the girl eyed me cautiously. I smiled gently, and she slowed and turned around. Walking towards me, still with a hand clasped with her boyfriend's, she tentatively asked me in Chinese, "Sir, where are you from?"

"I am from USA," I replied back. She recoiled in shock. She could not have imagined someone from the richest of nations begging on the streets of China! I continued, "The US is bankrupt and our economy is in shambles, so that is why I am here."

She looked at me with great pity. "Why don't you take 5 RMB then?" She pulled a small bill out of her purse.

The gig was up - there was no way I was taking money. I smiled, and explained to her that I did not actually write the chalk writing - I was the "kind person" who helped out the one who was here before. I just happened to be sitting here waiting for a friend, and really am not starving. She smiled in relief and and her boyfriend laughed, deeply amused. They walked off into the distance, the only ones to stop by and offer help during my short, tacit begging career. And I enjoyed the experience so much that I forgot to ask them why they had decided to stop in the first place.

A few minutes later, my friend arrived, and called me to let me know. I had her take a picture of me, which was difficult due to the high foot and bike traffic as well as the fact she was so embarrassed to be associated with me sitting by the chalk writing (loss of face and everything):



Fun times. I guess I didn't get to see much of Suzhou, but I think they should seriously consider making that section of the sidewalk into a tourist attraction...

Peach Vendor

So I was walking home on the street and there's this guy selling peaches sitting on the sidewalk. He calls over to me in Mandarin:

"Sir, would you like to buy some peaches?"
I turned around - I hadn't eaten all day, and realized I hadn't had fruit ever since my stash from Sanya ran out a few days ago. "How much?"
"I sell at 5 RMB ($0.75 USD) per 斤(approximately half a kilogram, roughly a pound)."
"No that's too expensive. I'm sorry, but I only have 10 RMB ($1.51 USD) to spend on food today." It was true - I've run up a tab of 78.7 RMB for the week, leaving only 21.3 RMB out of my 100 RMB budget with two days left. I could not afford to throw money away. I start walking away.

"Oh come on! How about 4 RMB per 斤??"
I continue walking. "Thank you for your offer, but 4 RMB is too much."
"Okay, okay, stop right there. Why don't I give you 3斤 for 10 RMB?"
I stopped walking. "I told you I only have 10 RMB to spare. I haven't eaten yet today, and I plan to get a big bowl of noodles for 5 RMB. There's no way I can afford to subsist on only a few peaches."
"They'll last for a week! Don't be stingy - buy more now and save them for later! Here, try a piece!"

The man clearly wasn't understanding what I was saying, but he was persistent. He cut a sampler piece from a sample peach for me and handed it to me with his grimy hands. I tried it. I found it to be suprisingly sweet. Or maybe it's because I hadn't eaten all day.

I started to reconsider a little. "Okay, what if I just bought 1 peach? How much would that be? One peach is slightly less than 1斤, right?"
"No man, no one buys just one peach! That's ridiculous!! I'll give you 4 peaches (slightly more than 3斤) for 10 RMB, how about that?"
"I told you I have to eat something substantial today - peaches won't do. I only have 10 RMB. I'll buy 2 peaches for 5 RMB."
"Oh come on! I'm giving you a special deal! No one sells for this low!"
"There's no other way." I handed him the money, but all I had was a 10 RMB bill.

"See! You have 10 RMB!" He tries to give me two more peaches instead of my change. "Just buy a couple more! You won't regret it!"
"How about this, if these peaches are good, I'll come back in a few days and buy some more from you."
"I won't be around then! It's National Holiday Week and I'm not going to be doing business for the next several days. Look, you shouldn't care about this kind of pocket change, you should be focusing on figuring out how to make big money!"
"Uh huh, just give me my change." He reluctantly handed me 5 RMB and I walked away with 2 peaches.

Then I went to the noodle shop near my house and decided to get some fried rice with my remaining 5 RMB instead. It smelled so good; the hot, salty, fluffy-textured substance was perfect.

The peach vendor was right - most of the time, I should allocate my time more efficiently and not worry about 1 or 2 RMB here or there. However, this period of time is one I have designated for the purposes of this particular goal, and I was not about to break off from that, regardless of my own hunger, even less so because of what other people think.

Portrait of Mr. Chiu

I met Mr. Chiu in the OCT (Overseas Chinese Town) Park, a theme park/residential area that houses man-made Shenzhen attractions such as Windows of the World, Splendid China, Chinese Folk Culture Village, and Happy Valley. He was pulling weeds out of the flower bed by the road when I decided to stop by and help him. I had been walking for over an hour and was going to see more of the park before heading back, but decided it was better to look for something else to do (I forget sometimes I have no schedule and can do whatever I please - this is one instance I actually remembered and was well rewarded for putting my plans aside).


Mr. Chiu would not let me help him initially, so we just chatted at the beginning. He first apologized for his poor Mandarin even though it was mostly intelligble to me; he said he hasn't spoken Mandarin in a long time, as everyone around him including his supervisor spoke Cantonese. Mr. Chiu was from Maoming, Guangdong in the South and had come to Shenzhen after his boss at the factory told him of the new opportunities here. However, the work is hard, and he is already in his early 50s. In the mornings he cleans the streets and works on maintaining the gardens in the afternoon until 6:10pm. He works everyday outside of national holidays, and earns about 1100 RMB a month, roughly 35 RMB (about $7 USD) a day, though he is given free meals and lodging. His wife also works in the complex, but their 3 sons are in Guangzhou.

I asked Mr. Chiu about his background, and he said that growing up, he did not like to study. Consequently, he only went to school until 3rd grade before he quit and helped out on the family farm. His sons also were not fond of studying, and had all quit in middle school. They enjoy playing mahjong, and, Mr. Chiu says proudly, are quite good players; however, perhaps they are not good enough, as they have lost much money gambling away their money. Mr. Chiu also said he wasted quite a bit of money on cigarettes, a habit he had picked up since he was 19 through friends. The supervisor gets mad when he smokes while he's working, but nonetheless he can't help himself sometimes.

I asked Mr. Chiu if he had dinner plans, and he said that usually he eats in the cafeteria with all the other employees of the OCT Park. The food there is quite terrible, but it is enough. I asked him what he liked to eat, and he said that sometimes if he has a bit of extra savings, he would buy some pork lard/oil to add flavor to his rice.

After talking for quite some time, I convinced him to have me help him weed the garden, as he was falling behind due to our conversation. We worked at it for some time until about 5:40pm, when he said he was going to call it a day. I invited him out to dinner, but he repeatedly declined me out of politeness and also because he felt embarrassed to be dressed in workman's clothes in a nice restaurant. I told him it was no bother - my shorts were not so clean either after all the gardening, and my t-shirt was nothing formal. We compromised in the end - I would buy him dinner but it would have to be take-out. So we washed the mud off our hands at the nearby water faucet and headed over to the plaza.

We asked around the various restaurants, but Mr. Chiu was clearly intimidated by the high end restaurants even when we were only inquiring about take-out possibilities. In the end, there appeared to be not too many take-out places in the area, and so we settled on getting some prepared food to go from the supermarket. I got a plate of cold noodles, 4 chicken drumsticks, and a couple cold drinks for the two of us, all for about $27 RMB ($4 USD). We ate together outside and chatted some more before exchanging phone numbers. He offered to take me to the subway stop via his bike, and so I pedaled to the subway with him in the back - quite an experience, due to my lack of experience biking with a load and with the local traffic patterns - where we parted ways.



On reflection, I think it's time I get out of my own world and do my best to really connect with people from different backgrounds, to understand them better. This reminds me to greet and be nicer to the people we often tend to never see or talk to - the garbage collectors, street cleaners, etc - and not take for granted their hard work in maintaining the various parks, city commons, etc. At the same time, such interactions may be delicate, and it is important to try to approach from a humble position in order to avoid natural class biases and unbalanced social interactions.

Unsuccessful Bargaining

"Excuse me... would you like to look at artist?" A saleslady appeared from around the corner. I turned around. "Are you Chinese?" she continued, in English.
"I can speak Chinese," I replied back in Mandarin.
"Ah, where are you from, Hong Kong?" the lady was relieved to be able to switch into Mandarin.
"No, USA - I'm an ABC."
"I see. Well we have an exhibition here - take a look around and see if there's anything you like."
"What artists are shown here?"
"We have a bunch of different artists."

I walked around some, but my eye was on this one amazing scenic painting on the wall to the left, near the corner. The bright, purple colors were arresting - they just jumped out of the picture. It was extremely rare to see such a color set in Chinese paintings, and it was so well done.



"That one looks brilliant."
"It is very nice. They are part of a set. Together, these are the four seasons."
"That's Summer?"
"Yes. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter" she said, pointing across, from left to right.
"I also like Spring. Very colorful."
"What about the other two... you don't like them?"
"They're okay... but Summer is definitely the best."
"You know, we also sell them here." Obviously I had noticed, as there was a small green card with a price at the bottom of every painting. The tag was on the Winter portrait, and it said 4200 RMB.

"Are they sold together as a set or individually?"
"Well... preferably a set. We do have individual ones over to the right."

The saleslady led me to the other corner of the room and pointed out a couple paintings. One was Spring, and the other was some indiscernible season. They were nice, but not as nice as the ones on the other wall.

We moved back to the original 4 Seasons set.
"So you really like these, huh?"
"I do, I do... but... I don't have any money!" I averted my eyes, looking down at the ground and laughed as I finished.
"Well... how much would you pay for these?"
"Hmm... if I were to buy... how much would they be...?"
"A single painting would cost 900 RMB, but I can give one to you for 700 RMB. If you buy all of them, I can actually give you a discount there as well. I can do it for this:" She types out 3600, then discounts it to be 3200.
I looked at her in disbelief. "I can't do that!! That's like $400 USD!!"
"But it's art!"
"But I have no income!!"
"Well, what do you do?"
"I don't do anything! I travel!"

“Come on, why don’t you offer a price regardless?"
“No, I’m really in no position to buy.”
“You know… we take credit card...”
“But I won't be able to pay off my credit card!”
She laughed. “Well, you know you can pay now, and just spend less later on.”
“But I have a budget!”
“These days a lot of people pay first... and cut future spend from their budget.”
“Yeah and that's how the US got in trouble...”
“What do you mean?”
“The US consumes all these goods... all stuff this stuff that China makes, and now look - China is getting rich and the US is in debt.”
“But we make all this really cheap stuff!”
“But it's all stuff we don't need! They just sit around for a few years and then end up in a garage sale where they're discounted by 90%. “
The saleslady laughed again.

I continued, "Look, my point is, I don't really want to offer a price... because I'm embarrassed.... I really don't have any money! This is really out of my league. You're looking in the wrong customer segment. I am unworthy to even consider buying such art. You shouldn't waste your time with me."
“But when you get a job, and have a house, you’ll have something to decorate it.”
“But right now I am on vacation, and while I am wandering, I have no use for it. What will I do with it? Where will I hang it? In my tent?"

I really didn't want to buy anything, given my frugal spending habits, but at the same time, it was a lot of fun just negotiating. And because I really didn't want to buy anything, I was negotiating really well, the words in Chinese were flowing out very naturally, and I was very convincing, mostly because I was brutally honest. Plus, haggling with the saleslady made for good conversation, and who knows, maybe I could afford to spend a little extra here and there...

“So if I were to buy... I think the most I can afford is... 400-500.”
“USD??”
“No!! RMB! If I could do $400 US, then I can afford to pay for it at 3600 RMB, and we wouldn’t need to talk any further.”
“Uh huh. Yeah, that’s too low…”
“Right, I know.”


I changed the subject.
“So, how is business here? So-so?”
She laughed. “Not all that great.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah, we're about to close down and move out.”
“I noticed you have people outside trying to get people to come in…”
“You are quite observant.”
“Well, they spoke to me in English as if I was a foreigner, saying 'Hello, hello, would you like to come see our exhibit'...”
“You do have a different, more foreign fengge (風格) about you...”
“Oh really...”
“Although your Chinese is really good…”
“It's okay…”
“So what are you doing in China?”
“I was here for to watch the Olympics…”
“Isn't it expensive...?”
“No, not so bad... I have friends who got some tickets from the lottery. It was about $20 USD for volleyball, which comes out to be about 140-150 RMB.”
“Ah… so what are you going to do next?”
I tell her of my plans.
“Sounds like a good life…”
“Yeah… it will be interesting.”
“Well you'll have to go back to work eventually... right?”
“Who knows. You know, you can make a lot of money teaching English these days.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah the pay is pretty good."
“So you'll end up making good money. And when you do, and get a place, don't you want something beautiful to hang on your wall then?”
“But I have no income now!”

“Okay... how is this…" She types out 2400 RMB.
“$300 US?? You’ve got to be kidding. You know how many meals I can eat, how many days I can survive with that?”
“But how will you know you will find something you like somewhere else in China?”
“China is so big… I’m sure I’ll find something somewhere else.”
“It'll be hard to find something you like... it's unique...”
I decided to draw up an analogy. "Look, it’s just like with girls – there are lots of pretty girls out there, but I don’t go around trying to collect every single one.”
She laughs, “No, it’s different… it’s art!”
“I think it's similar enough.”
She relented. “Okay fine… how about this:” She types out 2100.

Prices were coming down, but it was still rather unaffordable. I decided to offer a price, one that I felt would be within my means. So I countered, “Okay, I think the most I can offer is 1000.”
“1000?? 1000 is way too little.”
“I know, but I don't have any money! It's already a stretch for my budget!”
“I'll tell you what... I can give it to you for 1200.”

There was a moment of silence. I began to get slightly scared. I didn’t want to actually have a real shot at buying the painting. What was I to do with those 4 magnificent scrolls? Seriously, hanging it in my tent was truly a joke!

“Okay… but I think that’s still a bit too much.”
“You know, the paintings are originally 4200! You know how much I dropped the price by?? 3000 RMB! You know how many English lessons I can buy? I can get like 3 months worth!”
“Well, let me think... An English lesson is probably around 200 RMB an hour, and so yeah, if you only get 1 lesson a week, you can get about 4-5 lessons a month.”
She looked embarrassed. “English lessons cost that much?”
“Yeah, good money, eh?”
“Well heck, if it was that easy I'd do it too... if I knew English.”
“Well after I teach you, maybe you can give your own lessons!”
“But I don't have any money…”
“That's okay - just give me a bigger discount on the painting!”
She laughed.

I tried to drop the whole thing and walk away. “Look, I was joking around with you, I just wanted to practice negotiating and practice my Chinese. I really don't want to buy it! I don't know why I'm even here, considering it!”
“It's because you really do like it. And also, I know you really don't want to buy, so I'm giving you a really good price. You know, they make excellent gifts, perhaps for your parents...”
“Well, since I like it so much, can I take a picture?”
She laughed dismissively at my joke.

“It’s too bad you like something so expensive.”
“I guess my tastes are too...”
“Too refined," she completed.
“I'll tell you what - I'll buy for 1100.”
“Come on, then! Why not 1200? It's just 100 difference! That's like 3 cups of coffee!”
“No, it's 200! I went up 100, so why don't you split the difference now.”
“You know, everything's more expensive now... even the paper.”

I decided to change the subject and ask about how the business model worked.
“So how does it work? Do you buy the paintings from the artist, or do you sell and split the earnings with the artist.”
“We split the revenue with the artist.”
“How does the split work?”
“That I would not know.”
“How does it work for you? Are you salaried or do you get a commission?”
“We have to hit a monthly sales target, but we're salaried.”
“So you don't have commissions? Like you get a cut of the sale?”
“No.”
“So then you shouldn't really care, eh?”
“Well it has to be reasonable! Within certain bounds…”
“Well is there a price that the artist sets for you?”
“Yes, I already gave that to you – you already have my lowest price!”

“Hmm, well you see, I still don’t really want to buy it. You see, I have to run to Wangfujing, and it would be inconvenient to carry these.”
“Oh we can put them in nice boxes. See they roll up easily, and we can give you a bag. It wouldn't be bad at all.”
I walked to the painting and felt the silk paper.

“You know, Wangfujing is expensive.”
“Yes... and so is the Forbidden Palace!”
She laughs. “But at least it’s cultured here.”
“I have to agree.”
“What are you going to go buy?”
“I’m going there to look for more Olympic souvenirs.”
“They are all overpriced.”
“Are they going to be around later?”
“They should be.”
“Do you think the prices will come down?”
“Um, they should… but I don’t know for sure.”

I contemplated buying the Olympic souvenirs later, perhaps for cheaper, and using the money for now. However, I really just didn’t want to pay extra to buy something I didn’t really want. So I decided to force her hand. I said, “I see. Well thank you for spending so much time with me looking around, but I really don’t think this is right for me, and it’s best I be going and not wasting any more of your time.” I started walking out, and the saleslady panicked and rushed besides, me saying, “Okay, okay, we’ll do it for 1100. But I have to go ask for permission – you stay right there.” Then she muttered to herself, “Ah, geez… It's just 100 stinking RMB…”

The saleslady talked to her manager, and they walked over to the painting.
“This one?” the manager asked, pointing to the set of four.
“Yes.”
“For how much?”
“1100.”
The manager compared it to the price on the wall and frowned, seeing it was really quite a difference.
“He's just a student, just graduated, and so he doesn't have much money.”
“Ugh... okay...”
I couldn’t help but be apologetic. “I’m sorry, 真的不好意思…”
“It’s fine. Note that there is a 5% tax, so the actual price is:” She multiplied thru and arrived at 1155 RMB on the calculator.
“Okay...”


We walked back out to the counter. The saleslady whispered to me, “You know, you got a very good deal... we never sold a piece for that low...”
“What do you mean? Every piece is different.”
“Yeah but for the same artist, all the pieces are usually around a certain price range.”

The sale was completed, and I was both happy as well as annoyed that I blew 1100 RMB in 30 minutes, while taking time away from the time I had allotted to go to Wangfujing with. However, it was a memorable experience, and I decided to capture it. “Do you mind if we took a picture?” I asked the sales lady.
“A picture?”
“You know, for memories...”
“With me?”
“Sure.”

I passed the camera to someone else and we posed for the picture:



As I walked out, the sales lady followed me a little past the front door.

“Are you still going to Wangfujing?”
“Not anymore. My train is at 7:30. When do you close up?”
“Oh, about 5:30pm.”
“I see. Well, I enjoyed speaking with you. Farewell!”

I walked out and we waved goodbye. I then ran to Wangfujing, now with 4 long boxes in a plastic bag between my two hands, and 1155 RMB poorer.

China Visa

So today I finally got my China visa, though people weren't kidding when they say it's quite a hassle. The first time I tried to drop off my passport and application was on Wednesday, after I had spent a good amount of time thoroughly reading through the Chinese Embassy's website. I studied the requirements, made sure I got every little piece, and even tried to visit at the recommended non-peak hours (of course I didn't get up early enough, but it didn't matter, when I got there, there was no line anyways).

The lady at the window looked through my paperwork. Passport? Check. Application? Of course. Passport-sized pictures? Yes. Plane ticket? Enclosed as well. She eyed me closely a few times. Then she pushed all of my documents back to me, and said that I still need to show documentation for a hotel reservation. I protested that I was not staying at a hotel; I was going to visit a friend. She responded that in that case, I would need an invitation letter from my friend.

So Wednesday night, I had my friend in Beijing write me a letter and email it to me. I printed it out, and on Thursday, I once again set off for the embassy to try my luck a second time...

Once again, everything went smoothly... until the invitation letter. This time, the woman at the window frowned. "This is a copy," she stated matter of factly, "and we do not accept copies."
"But my friend is currently in China! It would take some time to get the actual document!"
"We only take actuals or faxed copies," She added, tersely.
"Fax copies?" In my disbelief, I had to check twice. She nodded.

Defeated, I headed out of the embassy somewhat annoyed. They accept fax copies but not printed copies? What kind of logic is that? Don't they look exactly the same except fax copies are slightly less readable?

I was not immediately sure what my options were. I did not own a fax machine, and would have to designate one for my friend to send to. In addition, I don't think my friend has a fax machine either, and since Beijing and New York are 12 hours apart, that probably means one of us has to be up in the middle of the night trying to send/receive this fax. Clearly, this was not ideal.

However, another idea struck me. I took a bus back to the Times Square area, and asked around until I found a Staples. I checked with the store clerk, who said that they can accept faxes, and gave me the fax number. Next, I found a Fedex Kinko's around the corner, and set my brilliant plan into motion: I would fax my copy of the invitation from Fedex to next-door Staples!

The copy came out, the only difference major difference being that it was slightly harder to read, and there was also a line on top which said "FAX" and had a timestamp. With renewed energy, I marched back towards the embassy for a third time, and successfully submitted my paperwork without further incident. Indeed, perhaps even if they knew how I obtained my fax copy, it wouldn't have mattered. After all, I had provided what they had requested, they had abided by their strict but silly regulations, and no one was any worse for it. And it's not like I forged the invitation letter, right? Utterly ridiculous regulations should be handled via utterly ridiculous workarounds.