CHINA 2010 TUESDAY 7th SEPTEMBER

The 'CIFIT' economic Conference begins today in Xiamen and part of the Opening Ceremony was shown on CCTV9. Over 1500 delegates are in the city for the 4 day event which explains last night’s event in the park.
In the afternoon I went in search of another supermarket in one of the nearby streets. I hadn’t taken notice before that this supermarket was opposite a mock fort where statues guard the gateway with others on the roof over the entrance. As people were coming and going through the gate I decided I would investigate and casually walked down to a small waterfall with large colourful fish the small pond. As a security guard ignored me I felt more at ease, however as I turned away from the water feature I met another guard who said “hello” to me. I asked “was this a hotel?” as we were stood close to an entrance and he encouraged me to go and take a look. What a lovely surprise to find corridors full of small antique establishments, and such high quality items. I was really taken up with a small flat fan of flowers and butterflies embroidered in wonderful colours and placed on an ornate stand. From the base of the handle a tassel containing small jade beads completed this work of art. Nothing in any of the shops had a price displayed so as the saying goes “If you have to ask the price –you generally can’t afford it!” I met the guard again as I left the building and thanked him saying “it was so beautiful” and then he pointed up – there was another floor to explore and other buildings to view. I said “I would return another day.”
The supermarket was okay but again had a ‘bad smell’ which I soon became accustomed to but it didn’t have a lot of the items I wanted and so I only spent 4 yuan – 2 for a fish and 2 for my vegetables so it will be a cheap tea tonight!
I had to go to ‘Trust Mart’ as Keith needed grapefruit. The price today was 30 yuan a kilo so I was surprised that my 3 pieces of fruit came to 42 after being weighed, and the price on the ticket stated 35.80 a kilo. I went to check but the price shown was 15 for 500gms. I returned to the weighing area where the assistant originally had had trouble trying to find the price of my fruit and a young man on the phone had assisted her. (I had indicated with my hands the price of 30 which he acknowledged.) The young man was still there along with an older man and when I pointed out the discrepancy we all went to check the ticket by the fruit. A discussion continued with the young man eventually producing a calculator. After punching in various numbers he came up with 35 which I acknowledged. Back at the weighing counter a book and pen appeared on the counter so I thought he wanted a signature as I was due a refund. No these items were placed on a set of electronic scales along with a clipboard, some cloths, a large reel of green tape and a few more pens to reach the weight that would print out a new ticket of 35 yuan!

We took another stroll to ‘Bailuzhou Island’ to see if the fountains were running. As we walked by the lake we came to an area that was sealed off to the public but as locals were going under the red tape we followed until we reached a scaffolding barrier where we all had to return and find a way out onto the road. When we eventually reached the bridge over the lake leading to the Island we saw this too had been taped off but someone had broken it despite a couple of soldiers being on guard. I guess no-one is going to stop a local visiting his park! Again something was taking place in the amphitheatre and I went to take a closer look. Being able to see through a gap performers were having a rehearsal and most of the seats I could see were empty. Smoke appeared and the ‘CIFIT’ emblem of a large gold key in the shape of a joined number 8 and 9 (which is why for the last 14 years this gathering has always been held on the 8th of September) moved across the stage. Nearby was an outside broadcast vehicle so it looks as though the event will be on TV, probably tomorrow night when there is to be an hour long firework display. We walked up to the ‘dancing waters’ which we were delighted to see were running. The display is advertised to run from 7.30 to 8pm but when we left just before 9pm it was still in operation. Around this area the low trees had been filled with strings of small lights and large red lamps hung from some of the branches creating a fairyland atmosphere, especially for the young children who were watching the fountains. Despite the number of coaches parked in the immediate area we did not see any of the 1500 delegates!