Each weekday morning I get my 10,000 steps by walking to a different area of the city.  Ohhhhh…… the things I have seen.  Let’s take the food markets for example.  They can often be found on a very narrow street lined with old apartment style dwellings that have survived the Shanghia city goverment ‘s demolition, at least thus far.

Quarters are very cramped and sanitation conditions leave more than a little to be desired.  It’s not uncommon for someone caring a potty pot to bump into you on their way to  dispose of the families “business” from that morning.  In door plumbing is not aways available and many families live in one room of an multi room apartment.  This is a local toilet.  A nice one I may add.

I digress.  Lets get back to the market.  Here is a great example of bird flu in the making.  I love how the live chicken looks on at his fallen comrades that were sacrificed for tonights dinner.

Not interested in chicken – how about some sea food.  I see this man every morning shelling oysters, scallops and clams.  I have never seen ice or any form of refrigration for that mater – the water source is a garden hose and yes he is doing this on the sidewalk.

If you are in the mood for duck.  It is easy to find one hanging around at your local butcher.

Oh and don’t forget the parts inside – 

Pork is a favorite here. Plywood, a few milk crates, a sharp knive and a pig is all you need to set up shop.  Touchingthe meat before you buy it seems to be encouraged.

As much as I loved shopping the local markets in Paris – I think I’m going to stick with the westernized grocery stores for now.

One of China’s most famous green teas is Long Jing (translated Dragon Well), and the renowned West Lake variety was just a day trip away. My journey began on a very modern high-speed train that dropped our group off at the Hangzhou rail station.  From there we pilled into a not so modern bus to the YangMeiLing tea village where Mr.Ying and his family welcomed us as honored guests.    We suitted up in our hats and grabbed our bakets and off we went to hike the terraces of the tea plantation.  We were only able to look – we were not skilled enough to pick.  It was interesting to note only the bud is picked from the bush in the spring time.  The season lasts a short 6 weeks or so.  The pickers , all women are paid the equivlatant of $15 a day to pick.  The work is hard and the days are long.

Once the green tea buds are pick, they are lightly dried by a primative looking machine and then finished by hand in something that kind of looks like a big wok.  This work is only done by men in the confort of their garage.  The tea is highly prized for is smooth flavor and medicinal qualities.  We tasted serval green teas that day and I must say this tea was exceptional.