Today, the hotels, banks, and office buildings which line the Bund house Chinese banks and businesses and serve the financial and trade needs of one of the busiest ports in Asia. Away from the shore, in the main shopping area, the streets are lined with major stores. We spent the most time in the foreign language bookstore picking up Chinese-English reference books, dictionaries, and acupuncture charts. It was the only place that we knew everyone would recognize easily. It's yet another world.
Birds are the most favored pet in China.
In Hong Kong and Beijing, the parks are filled in the early morning with the songs of the birds as their retired owners take them for the air and to talk with other bird-lovers. Birds are valued for their ability to sing rather than for the color and beauty of their plumage. The sound of hundreds of birds chirping their greeting to dawn before the city wakes takes you straight into the country and mountainsides. The market also offered tropical fish, bonsai trees, ceramic pots, and the cutest Pekinese puppies that ever tore your heart out. Kay found the perfect pot for bonsai and was grateful we would be leaving the next day so she wouldn't have to carry it long.