Shenzhen

Last weekend, Tom had a paper to write (actually, he's had/he has a paper to write every weekend this month -- this semester abroad is a lot more work than that whole undergrad study abroad deal!) We decided to use our visas' second entry into China to go just across the border from HK into the "Special Economic Zone" of Shenzhen for the weekend for cheap shopping, hotels, massage and dim sum.

Shenzhen was established as an experimental "Special Economic Zone" in 1980, which means it basically shares a birthday with Tom. China wanted to try out a market-based economy, but didn't want that darn capitalism to infect the rest of the country in case it didn't work, so it took the formerly sleepy fishing village of Shenzhen (kept that sleepy on purpose, since it was so close to the bastion of capitalism that was and is HK) and turned it into an experimental town.

The experiment was a success. Shenzhen is now the wealthiest city in China -- if not the most cultured. It's weird to visit a city that is only 30 years old. A lot of the skyscrapers are comparable to those that you can find in Hong Kong. The shopping is ubiquitous. The art scene is slowly, but surely, growing.

But there's still an unfinished vibe to Shenzhen. There are a lot of young, single men standing on the street corners at night to no apparent purpose. There's a kind of "dangerous adolescent" tinge to the air. Tom and I didn't like to wander around in dark streets at night by ourselves (the opposite was true of Beijing -- wandering around in dark alleys at night seemed to be the thing to do).

But to start from the beginning. To get to "real China" from HK, all you have to do is hop on the metro's East Rail Line (the line I take to Chinese University's main campus) and stay on it until the end. Then you pop through customs and there you are! If you're not an American, you can pick up a Shenzhen-only visa right at the border. If you are, you have to use one of your two entries (for which you pay a lot of money -- this is what happens when we make it hard for Chinese citizens to come to our country!). Right as you cross customs you can see one of the more famous shopping spots in Shenzhen: Luohu Commercial City. This is a 6-story mall that sells all manner of knock-offs -- specializing in bags, shoes, and cheaply tailored clothes.

We went there (picked up a couple of pairs of eyeglasses -- eye exam and all! And a purse...and a suitcase...and some "Deisel" sneakers for Tom...) and were pleasantly surprised to discover a restaurant inside where we had some of the best food we've gotten since being here. It was loud, and crowded, and we stuffed ourselves with dim sum only to find that the very cheap dish of "beef soup" that we'd ordered was actually a huge entree that the chef was making at a special station next to our table. Needless to say, we left there stuffed.

The other main appeal of Shenzhen was our hotel. It was a relatively old-school multi-star hotel, that had been bought by a Crowne Plaza, and included a state of the art gym and spa facilities. Being able to spread out all his notes on a big desk made Tom very happy, and getting to work out with a TV tuned to international CNN made us both happy (and I don't even like working out).

We also took the internet's advice and went to a local spa for the day. Since we didn't go to the one recommended for tourists, no one spoke English at ours, but through sign language and a patron who was kind enough to translate at one point, we figured it out. Tom and I were sent to our respective dressing rooms by gender, and then rendezvoused for Thai massages in the same room. Our masseuses were nice, and one knew a tiny bit of English -- the 100 minute massages flew by.

After that, Tom and I wandered around the spa in our silly regulation-issue outfits and checked out the variety of entertainments available inside -- there were rooms for watching movies, rooms for surfing the internet, rooms for playing ping-pong and pool, rooms for getting manicures and pedicures, free fruit smoothie bars, restaurant areas, and big whirlpools. It was no surprise that people can spend days at a time inside. We played a little ping pong, but the whole 100 minutes in a dim room getting massaged deal left us with the urge to do something more energetic than hanging out in a spa. We headed back out into the bright sunshine...

The other really interesting thing we did in Shenzhen was wander around Dongmen Pedestrian Street. This is a part of the city where the locals actually shop, and it was full of families out enjoying the sun, vendors selling fresh melon, dumplings, and lamb kebob, and all manner of goods directly off the truck from the factories. It felt like the most Chinese thing that we've done in all of our travels, and it was cool to wander around and feel completely immersed in a different culture. I rustled up lamb kebobs for us and went to McD's for the addictive iced coffee (I know, I know, that's not actually a different culture -- but a Chinese McDonald's is not the same creature as one at home). We didn't buy anything there -- and we hadn't brought the camera, so we didn't take any pictures -- but it will remain one of my favorite memories of this semester.

By Monday we were ready to come back to HK and our routine of classes and our tiny apartment...

Tailors in Hong Kong continued

Following our initial meeting with the tailor, Tom and I got ready to go back yesterday for the first fitting of the suits, and lunch. We dressed nicely, probably out of a desire to appear more legitimate, and showed up on the dot of 12:30 pm.

Jack welcomed us warmly, and got us cool drinks to sip while he wrapped up some other business. After about 35 minutes of sitting in the office (during which I still couldn't quite believe that we were actually going to be taken out to lunch -- and not in the bad way -- by Tom's tailor), we headed out. He took us to Gaylord, which is rated the best Indian restaurant in HK, and we proceeded to have a feast.

The food was delicious -- and Jack helped me to a serving of basically everything -- but the more surprising bit was that the conversation was delightful. Jack chatted a little about his childhood in Karachi (when it was still in India before partition) and later Bombay, and how when he and his brother started their business in HK they used to split breakfast and lunch with each other because they were trying to pay off their business loan as fast as possible. He told us about some of his business travels all around the globe, and gave us more life advice (but good-naturedly admitted that he knew he like to give "a lot of advice."). He invited us to come to one of the monthly or so dinners he and his wife hold at their house for various customers of his...

Basically, he seemed like he was genuinely interested in people from all over and from all different stages of life, and enjoyed helping two law students out a little bit. After our absolutely gut-busting lunch, we headed back to the shop for Tom's first fitting (and the beginnings of the suit look great!). Jack sent us on our way with handshakes (for Tom) and hugs (for me) and an appointment for next Monday. We left his shop feeling like we had just had one of the most delightful experiences, not only from our time in HK, but in general.

Tailors in Hong Kong

I'm taking a break from mainland-China-related posts (although I have a couple up my sleeve -- more thoughts on our big trip and some on our mini-break this past weekend in Shenzhen) in order to write about getting a suit tailored in Hong Kong. Because it's awesome (so far).

Hong Kong is known for having a ton of tailor shops -- although plenty are just tourist traps that do a mediocre job. Most of the mediocre ones have "touts" -- guys who stand on the corners (especially along Nathan Road, which is a major thoroughfare right near our apartment) and ask every foreign passerby "Tailor? Copy watch?" They often stand in front of the stores selling Rolexes just to add a little much needed legitimacy to their endeavor. But it is possible to find a really good tailor through word of mouth -- people in Hong Kong have opinions about their tailors the way curly-haired people have opinions about their hairdressers.

Anyway, Tom knew from the beginning that he wanted to get a few suits tailor-made here, and I quickly agreed that such items should be written into the budget because I still feel guilty three years later about the time when we first started dating, and I offered to pick up his dry-cleaning, left it in my car overnight, and all of his suits got stolen by a crackhead who broke into the car, hacked out my stereo, and deposited a turd next to my car on his way out... I suppose it is possible that it was actually Finkin.* But I digress.

After doing extensive research, Tom finally asked one of his professors whose style he admired where he got his suits. The professor pointed him in the direction of a gentleman named Jack Balani of Riviera Fashions. With the afternoon off, Tom and I decided to visit.

As is usual on our Hong Kong adventures, we blundered at first. Following various hallways throughout what we were somewhat sure was the right building, we stumbled into the office of a George Balani (Jack's brother-in-law). He pointed us in the right direction, and I believe called his brother-in-law to warn him we were coming. But finally, we opened a nondescript door on the 6th floor into Jack's private office.

Apparently, people usually make appointments. But, Jack was very gracious and welcoming and asked us immediately what lovely customer of his had directed us there, as he knew that people don't just stumble in off the street and onto the 6th floor.

We told him, and then chatted for awhile about our experiences in Hong Kong and what Tom was looking for in a suit. Jack pulled out several wool swatches that he said were appropriate for a lawyer (i.e. not too flashy -- no My Cousin Vinny suits here). He also brought us gin and tonics, for which I was very grateful, what with the heat of the day and the fact that I needed something with which to amuse myself while Tom was being measured.

Jack quoted his price, and although Tom had come in ready to bargain, the price was so reasonable that I could see the fight go out of Tom's face within seconds. He managed to get Jack to throw in a couple of shirts with the two suits that he ordered, and then commenced the measuring.

Altogether, we were there for ~45 minutes, but this was just the first fitting, which is apparently nowhere near as important as the next one in which the fabric is actually draped around the customer, etc. Jack and Tom discussed style, and then Jack invited us to come back tomorrow for lunch before the second fitting. That's right, Tom's tailor is taking us out for lunch tomorrow. We are having Indian food, though the options were Chinese, Indian, or club sandwiches, really anything we wanted. This may be standard practice in Hong Kong, but it's still pretty damn cool.

In the process of chatting, Jack also learned that we two whippersnappers are getting hitched next summer, and in the delightfully familiar manner that I've never experienced in American culture, gave us advice about living frugally in our marriage, etc. etc. [Side note: the day after Tom and I got engaged, when we were taking a taxi back from the hotel room with which he'd surprised me, we lucked into a taxi driver from a southeast Asian culture who gave us a full 20 minutes worth of advice that he'd gleaned from 40 years of marriage. Unasked for, but much appreciated :-)]. Jack gave pointers on what Tom should wear for the wedding, and then invited us for dinner at his house (!). I'm not sure if the offer will stand, but I'm looking forward to seeing.

We learned that Jack, having never graduated from high school, started out as one of the "touts" on the corner more than 50 years ago, making $13.75/month. After 4 years of that, he got a small business loan from his father and opened up a storefront, growing his business from there. Now, he travels all over the world catering to thousands of clients, and has enough money to drive what he un-self-consciously describes as a jealousy-inducing car. One that he said he would send to pick us up for that dinner at his house. Tom and I had to contain our giant grins and exclamations of "That was SO COOL" until we exited the building.

Can't wait to see what the suits end up looking like! I may have to get one or two myself...

*This sentence possibly written by Thomas.

Contemplation

Contemplating our trip to China has proved a more involved process than I had expected. In some ways, I was surprised at the western touches that we encountered, although I shouldn't have been, as Beijing and Shanghai are major cities with international connections. In other ways, like a movie that you just can't get out of your mind, China was different, not just from home, but from the "home" that we've crafted in Hong Kong.

Our trip was naturally divided in two geographically, but also in some ways emotionally and intellectually. Shanghai was lovely -- the French Concession reminded me of Buenos Aires, and the Bund reminded me of old New York (Tom said it reminded him of Chicago, but I haven't been there yet). There were cool shops and artists and lots of visitors in town for the Expo. Our hostel was spacious, and cozy, and served a killer scrambled egg and coffee breakfast for quite cheap every morning. If I were going to live in mainland China, I think it would be quite pleasant to live in Shanghai.

But it was Beijing that really captivated both me and Tom. Beijing was harder. By that I don't mean that navigation was more confusing, or people less accommodating. But my brain was stretched a little bit more while we were there. Maybe it was the strangely quiet streets; maybe it was the CCTV cameras all over Tiananmen Square; maybe it was the group of middle-aged ladies we saw dancing all together in the park one evening. Maybe it was because we actually got to spend some time with people who lived in Beijing, and who could give us some insight into daily life there.

I think the presence of Communism was in the back of our minds much more when we were in Beijing. It felt a little bit like a city that was waiting for the other shoe to drop -- I couldn't tell if I felt that because I'd read that I was supposed to feel that in the midst of China's "meteoric" economic growth, or if the city really did have bated breath, but there was something there.

Perhaps that sense was well-captured when Tom and I visited my friend Kevin at his workplace "Disney English." Disney English is a new venture on the part of Disney Co. to teach children English through the tribe of characters in the Disney library. It's a brilliant idea -- middle-class parents line up every evening with their little ones to check the place out, and they're signing up dozens at a time. All of these kids will develop a strong association between speaking English and Disney characters, and presumably a life-long loyalty to the Disney brand. And China wants these kids to learn English. Maybe it's an emphasis on education that has always been there, but it seems like there is some kind of informal national mandate to "catch up" with the outside world (although not totally connect with it, see, e.g. the Great Firewall).

But, like a lot of the "catching up" happening in China, it felt a bit manufactured. Kevin -- who is wonderful with kids and fantastic at his job -- would be just fine teaching without the Disney paraphernalia. And there's a reason that "disneyfied" has developed as a term (has it developed as a term? Maybe that's just me...)...the place was cheerfully sterile.

I'm not explaining myself very well (Peter Hessler could do it better :-)). Because the manufactured "catching up" is paired with very genuine people who are living this whole change that is happening in China right now, and that doesn't feel disneyfied at all. All I know is that both Tom and I came away from the city wanting very much to study Mandarin, hard, and return in a few years to try and delve a little deeper.

All for now (it's bedtime in HK). But more on "real China" soon!