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| It looks like a shopping mall, but all the shops are specialists wholesalers |
The next day Rocky and I drove to Yiwu, about an hour and a half north of Yongkang. Rocky’s family has a shop there in China Commodity City (often shorted as CCC). Rocky’s family company, Zhejiang Jinlixin Hotel Suppliers, produces cast-iron plates and bases, and also wholesales kitchenware to the hotel and restaurant trade.CCC is a huge wholesale market in Yiwu and claims to be the largest in the world – and it could well be true. It’s positively massive and is separated into 5 different buildings (Districts) which house major product categories, and each of the 5 floors within them is dedicated to sub-categories of manufactured goods. Their shop is in the kitchen and bathroom hardware market in District 2. The range of goods is absolutely mind-boggling with shops so specialised that making choices is nigh impossible.
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| Singing traditional songs |
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| Lakeside in Yiwu |
These features in China are real attractions for social interaction and an outlet for the usually three generations of people living in apartments in a way that’s quite different to Australia. Activities range from playing cards and Chinese chess to singing traditional songs (with musicians and portable amplifiers) to exercising, dancing and tai chi.
Cities like Yongkang and Yiwu which are geared towards manufacturing and the export trade are quite different to Quzhou. They are wealthier, busier and the pollution levels are higher. For the few days Yongkang and Yiwu I had a persistent cough and visibility was quite low. I can understand more now when my students write about differences between hometowns and cities in their assignments – the impact that manufacturing has on the economic, social and atmospheric environments. See Beijing air pollution off the charts.
Yiwu also has more restaurants with different cuisines, particularly middle-eastern as they are a large proportion of the buyers there. I have also seen and met representatives from Italy, France, Poland and Germany while in Yongkang and Yiwu who are either buying or supervising the manufacture of goods to their designs.
The bus trip back to Quzhou this morning was also interesting. We all watched the first part of the the in-bus movie three times as the player kept rebooting itself at the same point – Unfortunately I’ll never know how "Brilliance of a Withered Flower" ends.
Also I was feeling a bit uncomfortable because the heating on the bus was off (or not working), the temperature felt about 10-15C and my feet were getting quite cold. However, in comparison it felt like an oven when I got out at a toilet stop. I was almost chilled to the bone in minutes from the freezing wind blowing across the service station forecourt AND through the very naturally ventilated toilet block! Forecast today, -2 to 9C.
Mind you it’s probably no different to a toilet stop at Blackheath in winter on the way to Lithgow.
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| A tableware shop - note the Arabic writing |
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| New apartments in the same colour scheme as the (burned-out) pagoda in the park |
The bus trip back to Quzhou this morning was also interesting. We all watched the first part of the the in-bus movie three times as the player kept rebooting itself at the same point – Unfortunately I’ll never know how "Brilliance of a Withered Flower" ends.
Also I was feeling a bit uncomfortable because the heating on the bus was off (or not working), the temperature felt about 10-15C and my feet were getting quite cold. However, in comparison it felt like an oven when I got out at a toilet stop. I was almost chilled to the bone in minutes from the freezing wind blowing across the service station forecourt AND through the very naturally ventilated toilet block! Forecast today, -2 to 9C.
Mind you it’s probably no different to a toilet stop at Blackheath in winter on the way to Lithgow.
