China's Costco

Today in Guangzhou I went to the frozen section of Costco. Walking in the old part of town, we went first to the Ching Ping Spice Market and then to the wholesale frozen meat dealers.

The spice market is really interesting with huge sacks of spices, herbs, rice, dried fruit on view. The sellers try to sell us saffron because I think foreigners come here to buy it. It is really inexpensive compared to what we get at Safeway in the States. But I try to explain that Americans don’t use much saffron in our cooking. They aren't convinced.



The market is housed in an old colonial building. Behind it are small alleys that allow access to homes. People are playing mah jong, negotiating prices, wrapping thing up to be ported away.

In front of the market the hustle and bustle is non-stop with young guys pushing dollies or pulling carts laden with boxes and bags. Old women scurry around, backs bent, carrying their own precious cargo. Spice merchants call out to us and to each other; little kids run around between stalls, playing together.

The old streets of the old town are lined with old trees and old buildings, some of which were obviously beautiful specimens before the revolution.

All up and down the streets in this area are small garage-like offices, open to the air with a desk inside. And against the back wall a big sturdy freezer door. These places sell frozen meat. You just make your order with the person at the desk and they have it in their freezer. Some sell beef, some pork. They have posters up showing what they sell. Some even have photos of platters of shrimp and appetizers (just like you can buy in Costco!).

Shamian Nursery

Today in Guangzhou we arrived at the White Swan Hotel, an old luxury hotel that has always catered to all the couples getting their adopted babies. The hotel is on a small island called Shamian where many foreign consulates were located before they went to more modern digs.


The island was actually not an island once upon a time, but during the revolution the area was made into an island to protect the foreigners living there. The island has old colonial buildings and a great park running down the length of the island. Banks, consulates, homes were on this island where pretty much only foreigners lived.
Now, no foreigner is allowed to live on the island.

But dotted all around are these neat bronze (or fake bronze) statues showing life from the 1800's. Chinese women in Chinese dress waiting for the bus next to western dressed people, Chinese children playing with western children, a guy with a camera, kids reading books... It is supposed to show the mix of western and Chinese life on the island.

Weekend afternoons the park is full of people playing, exercising, gossiping. Couples or parents and teens play badminton, groups kick around a feathered hackey-sack things, kids play on the playground.

Stores around the hotel sell baby clothes, engravings made from photos of families, tee-shirts, and Chinese souvenirs. Many offer free rental of stollers.

And in the hotel all of the other guests, save a Texas businessman, are parents waiting for paperwork to go through on their new family member. Many have older Chinese kids and are here for another cute little baby. The families need to wait around for about 3 days for paperwork to get completed at the consulate. What better place than this beautiful islet, surrounded by trees and river, with beautiful surroundings? There is even a charming church that glows pink in the sunset.