Sunday-Monday, May 30-31, 2010 - A trip to neighboring Shenzhen

My dad called up my Great Aunt Yuk in Shenzhen and decided to pay her a visit. I have never seen these relatives before, and I am very excited to meet her, especially her daughter, who is currently in middle school. Her son is studying civil engineering in a university in Shanghai, and her best friend, housekeeper, and neighbor also has a son in a Shanghai university. They must be really smart. However, they are still in school, preparing for final examinations, and I am unable to meet them.

We took the East Rail line to Lo Wu, where we will then be crossing the border and going through Customs to Shenzhen. After a relatively painless, short trip on the MTR and then passing the border, we met up with auntie, exchanged a few hugs and tears, and took the bus to her place.

Let me tell you - her place is GORGEOUS. She lives in a high-rise by a lovely park with lychee and cherry trees, a long promenade, and a huge shopping center a few blocks away. When the lychees are ripe, people would come and pick them into a large wicker basket, then sell them on the streets. For now, the lychees are still a sad, pale green. Since auntie is fond of traditional Chinese furniture and decor, she takes great pains in searching for the perfect lamp, chair, table, etc. Her "sofa" is a wooden, dragon-handled couch of red lacquer, and 80% of her furniture is red lacquer. She owns a guzheng, a traditional Chinese string instrument, and a tea set for Gongfu cha, or Kungfu tea. I was so fascinated by the guzheng that I asked her to teach me (I also asked her to teach me how to perform Gongfu cha techniques).


We ladies (including my dad, because he's the money holder, hehe) went shopping in Women's World, the largest shopping "mall" for ladies accessories. It is basically a woman's paradise. People crowd over stall after stall of goodies that can be haggled. Fortunately, auntie is a superstar haggler, and she can bargain for less than 55% of the starting price. This website gives a good overview on how to get there: http://www.startinchina.com/shenzhen/shopping/womens_world.html . Anyway, I scored a bagful of hair accessories, cosmetics, and random little items for my brother and sister.

I finally got to meet my cousin when we got back from Women's World and she got back from school. She is so adorable! We instantly became good friends, played go and video games together, and talked about silly things. I had so much fun today. :)

dad, auntie, me, and cousin

cousin playing the piano

awesome guzheng

attempt to play the guzheng - still learning!

ooo so elegant O_O

we bought bags and bags of mangosteen and lychee because they were so inexpensive - 10 yuan for a large bag? What a steal!

funny little cousin is pre-occupied with her lychee

lychee or mangosteen? I honestly prefer the super-saturated sweetness of the mangosteen; the delicate flavor of lychee is good too!

om nom nom

the huge bronze frog/toad thing - said to bring money and luck when you spin the coin on its mouth

playing go; I lost badly :(

playing a game of flight; I played this a lot with my brother and sister when we were young

I won this game :)

her place offers a great view of the city at night

the resemblance is striking; maybe resemblances jump across extended families too?

woah...we do look alike