Buckets o’ eels
(Fish for sale on Shantang Jie: Suzhou, China)
Seeing animals for sale in China often makes me wonder how differently similar animals are treated closer to home. Here in China I see it all the time; once when travelling near Tai Hu (the Tai Lake) we passed a man at the roadside clutching a turtle, larger than a dinner plate for sale. It was upside down and held by one leg, but was clearly living. Apparently they are better, fresher.
Shantang Jie is possibly the most famous street in Suzhou, having been preserved as a national heritage site. It offers the usual tourist traps; silk shops, the occasional museum and several galleries. Walking the length of it is a strange pursuit as halfway down, along the ancient canal, a change occurs. The tourist haven of pretty wooden shop houses and manic activity spills under a road bridge and then disappears, leaving the traveler looking upon food stores selling meat or vegetables or (like this one) live food. On this side of the bridge, I feel fine for a few minutes and then I become aware that I am the subject of everyone’s attention. It is less busy here with much staring and shuffling about. There seem to be no tourists here – not even local ones and generally, unless I am with a local, I turn pretty swiftly back to the bustle and noise of the busier area. After all, looking at couples having their wedding photos taken on a bridge is slightly less galling than these buckets of sad sad fish.
– Today Rosie is in the UK, mounting a search for her lost bag –
