| Legole.Com Discover china. Explore the beauty and wonder of the land, people, and culture of China. |
 |
|
|
|
 For any visitors to Kaili, the lively Sunday Market is definitely worth a visit. Because many Miao people live nearby and walk on the streets, you can fully enjoy the beautiful traditional dresses worn by the Miao girls and women. In recent years, more and more Miao girls prefer the trousers and jackets worn by Han Chinese girls to their black pleated skirts and embroidered jackets. However, they still wear their hair in a traditional manner piled high according to the style of their village and decorated with plastic combs, ribbons and even plastic flowers instead of silver.
The vegetable and fresh food section varies according to the seasons but there is a profusion of fresh vegetables year round. There are many varieties of colorful fresh vegetables sold in this market, such as a wide assortment of mushrooms, different varieties of fresh cabbage, plenty of red tomatoes, neat bundles of mustard plant and so on in the spring time and more tomatoes, bamboo shoots, aubergines, gourds and cucumber-like plants in the autumn.
Don't miss the herb section. Different kinds of herbs, such as root ginger, wood ginger and coriander, are on sale.
The meat section is just nearby. Pork, beef, chicken, duck and frozen fish are on sale in this section. Numerous stalls sell every conceivable item of the animals' anatomy-nothing is wasted in China. There is a spectacular array of stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys, head, lungs and ears of animals which can all be sold separately. Beef is now popular and is cheaper than pork. Beautiful bamboo baskets contain live chickens. The locals prefer to buy fresh for the pot. Chicken, duck or spotted quails' eggs are still coated with the lime that turns the yolks bright and the whites a gelatinous opaque substance after they have been buried for 40 days. Surprisingly, the fish in Kaili is not fresh but frozen. Not far away are all sorts of noodles.
In the market, fresh fruits are always present all the year round. A wide range of fruits such as apples, pears, bananas, oranges, tangerines, pomelos, monkey peach and so on can be found in this market.
To satisfy the needs of the many local people who have traveled quite a distance to the market, there are a lot of snack stalls. Various distinctive snacks are prepared for people, with toasted bean curd being the most favourite.
One of the most interesting things to see in this market is the area given over to birds. People, especially the old people, bring their favorite birds here to show off their singing and fighting ability to their friends. Men bring their pets here in bamboo cages, often complete with a fitted cover. Some buying and selling also takes place here.
Embroidery silk, decorations, silver rings and earrings attract the attentions of Miao girls and women. Chemical dyes are on sale since many of the Miao women spin, weave and dye their own cotton cloth. A few embroidered and woven pieces made by the older women are sold to the younger girls to attach to their costumes. Recently, silver rings and ear-rings of the Miao are fashionable among the Han Chinese. Men and women can been seen bending, shaping, forging and buffing up small items of jewellery. There are also some stalls selling modern factory-made clothing.
Other stalls sell a range of herbal remedies. The display of dead rats is not for sale but to demonstrate the efficacy of the poisons offered. Other things such as kites, pottery jars, paper money and incense are also on sale here. Everyone will enjoy the beautiful display of baskets of every shape and size made from plaited bamboo.
The people here are much less sophisticated and they help each other at the Sunday Market. Government units set up stalls and perform good deeds. You might see people cutting hair, doctors taking blood pressure, the agricultural college giving advice on insecticide, railway staff helping with timetables and others mending radios and televisions. |
|
|
|
|
|
