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Winterlude

« H E Liuzhou Life :: Food and Drink :: About Liuzhou :: Chinese Holidays :: email
posted Saturday, 26 January 2008

It could get quiet round this blog for the next week or three. There are various reasons for this.

1) It's freezing. We are having what is being reported as the coldest winter for 15 years, or 50 years depending on which paper you read. Whatever, it is cold. It seems impossible to buy a heater anywhere. They have all sold out. The local rag even printed a picture of no heaters!

 No heaters

There have even been reports of snow in rural areas. Most people here have never seen snow.

This state of affairs means I don’t go out much. The city may have disappeared. I don’t know. Luckily, I stocked up the freezer. Not that I really need a freezer. Certainly the fridge is warmer than the rest of the house.

Also my random thoughts will go unreported as I find it extremely difficult to type while wearing three pairs of gloves.

2) We are coming up to the Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year as it is known in the west. New Year’s Day is the 7th of February, but already things are beginning to close down. The supermarkets have stopped selling things I actually want to buy and instead stocked up on ‘gift packs’. Of course, no one ever gives these gifts. The only acceptable gift is hard cash.
 
The upcoming year will be the Year of the Rat. The year of the pig which we are leaving behind wasn’t exactly a great success for the poor pigs. There was an outbreak of pig disease and pork prices went through the roof.
 
Anyway, the whole country will grind to a halt for about three weeks. Newspapers don’t publish. Websites aren’t updated. The only thing to do is watch television and eat. I have already been invited to three dinners. We spend 15 days eating the same food with the same people, but in different houses.
 
So, I will be back if I survive. 

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comments (1)


1. Nanning FZ left...
Saturday, 26 January 2008 9:52 pm

"no heaters"? There are more than one in Nanning! Come here to buy!!

And good luck to us trying to survive from the same Spring Festival dinners!