YiXing

YiXing (8-9th Nov)

No urge to visit any tourist destinations because I enjoy this small-town situation very, very much. Spending 2 more aimless days around town searching for teapots, things to surprise myself, or just to unwind.

Breakfast time. Steamy noodle.	My favorite - tofu flower. It's served either "sweet" or "salty". If you want "sweet", like what we have in Hong Kong, it's just sugar serum on top. Yummy but boring. Ok, some of you may look at the background and have noticed the hygiene condition. It's definitely not handsome. You really have to have a tough stomach if you want to be adventurous in the mainland.		I like to eat it "salty" when I am up north - soya sauce, cilantro, dried salty shrimp, green union, etc. And the smoothness of the tofu is heavenly .. ..
This is sidewalk restaurant, Chinese style.	This food has no official name. The lady says it's called "egg cake". I bet this is not traditional food. No rating as I don't have room left after noodle and 2 bowls of tofu flower.		Call it acrobatics, call it a chair store, call it a 2-wheel truck. On a gusty day, this guy can sail effortlessly to Hangzhou.
	What else can you find in a clay capital?	Anyone who is mad and feels like smashing something, you have found the perfect place. Ok, smash that big blue pot in front for me first.	YiXing produces such clay pots in the millions every year. The best warehouse for them is the streets.
Yes! Teapots! This lady is polishing her teapots with a smile, almost like taking care of her own babies.	When you are at YiXing and ask "how much is this teapot?", they will ask "how many do you want?". And you think they are bluffing.. ..	There are plenty of other forms of clay art. This is a group of Arhats. Each of them is doing a cool thing. I can only remember the 4th from left on top who is "measuring the sky". It looks silly on the surface but is very philosophical when you think about it. This is sublime Chinese wisdom.

Twin kids looking at uncle Kam with suspicion. Although China has her one-child policy to control population, people are allowed to keep whatever number of kids they get in one go. What happens if someone "over-reproduces"? Government workers will lose their jobs forever, individuals will not allowed to register for business licenses, the extra kids will have trouble getting education, etc, etc. But I heard that paying a fine can fix things up these days. Ok, since I am not a mainland Chinese who wants lots of kids, I don't have the details. Sorry.		"I don't know but I have a bad feeling about this trip", says the piggy at the back of the truck.

The restaurant owner keeps introducing me to local clay artists so I can have something to do in my aimless days. One of the artists I visit is in fact is a very famous person. Lucky me.

This is an one feet across tree trunk teapot that took 2 months to finish. It's ordered by a Taiwanese national level museum.

The cicada and crickets (at the back) are so detailed that I think it's real. Bounded by the artist's contract with the museum, I can't show close-ups like I do with the teapots I sell (ad. he he) but I can still remember the thrill when I had this teapot in my hands.

I can see hair.

There are other amazing, creative pieces but again, I can't show then due to legal concerns.

I can see feather.

This one is by another artist.

I will act like a tourist tomorrow and visit some of the tourist must-gos.