Life No Longer a Bowl of Cherries in China

Last year when Chilean cherries were on sale in China, it was "cherry freedom"

Last March I wrote about "cherry freedom", where people boasted on social media how they could afford expensive foods to show off their wealth. It started with imported cherries, and then a vegetable called xiangchun that cost 80 yuan to 100 yuan for 500 grams, which equated to a lobster, 10 abalone, or 39 crayfish.

But it looks like those "cherry freedom" days are over following the coronavirus pandemic that has made a huge dent in the Chinese economy, let alone the entire world.

Previously there was a big demand for Chilean cherries and Peruvian avocados by the Chinese middle class. But now sellers at the Jiangan wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Guangzhou are feeling the effects of battered consumer confidence due to declining job prospects and incomes.

These were the first batch of Peruvian avocados sold in China

"Demand has plummeted since the outbreak started. Retailers are very cautious about placing orders... most of us have been losing money, whether selling imported fruit or domestic fruit," said Li Xiaoqiang, a fruit importer at Jiangan market.

"We keep reducing the prices. Take Chilean grapes. The wholesale price used to be 180 yuan (US$25.37) for 8kg, and it is now just 100 yuan or even 80 yuan. Our importers' losses could be up to 800,000 yuan for a container."

Egyptian oranges used to be 100 yuan for 15kg around the same time last year, but now are only 70 yuan.

"Imported cherries are even harder to sell," Li added.

While the market's operators claim 80 percent of China's imported fruits first stop at Jiangan, these days vendors are passing the time playing games on their phones.

80 percent of China's imported fruits go to Jiangan Market

One merchant surnamed Wang said last year the market used to sell 60 to 80 containers of imported oranges a day, but now only sell 15 containers with the price slashed to 50 percent.

"Imported oranges are mainly for hotels, restaurants, clubs and karaoke lounges -- if oranges don't sell well, it means China's service industry is still in deep trouble," Wang said.

Over the past decade China's fruit imports had been steadily rising from US$1.63 billion in 2009 to US$10.3 billion last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Patricia Lin is a white-collar worker in Shanghai and had her pay cut last month, while friends were laid off due to the pandemic. "To be honest, the only thing in my head these days is how to cut spending and save enough money to pay my home mortgage.

"Fruits are good and necessary for health, but I think I won't be able to afford imported cherries or Japanese grapes for a long while. Instead I will turn to local fruits like apples and pears," she said.

How will Li steer China's economy out of the pandemic?

Imagine how many millions of other people have the same thinking as Lin and then you have a serious cascade effect on not only the fruit business, but every other sector as well, particularly luxury, fashion, and restaurants.

Beijing may have hoped people getting back to work would help get things back to normal, but it won't be like before. Wonder if this will be reflected in Premier Li Keqiang's work report later this week when the "two sessions" start on May 22, and what the country's economic road map to economic recovery will be.

London: British Museum Treasures

After a security check, visitors can enter The British Museum

 

In recent years there has been a lot of debate about whether the British should have been allowed to take so many treasures from places like Greece, Egypt, Syria, and China, and some countries even demanding their priceless artifacts back.

The Rosetta Stone is a must-see

While it is understandable as a point of national pride for countries to want these precious items returned, but in some cases, they would not be kept in as good conditions as they would in The British Museum.

It was started in 1753 by an Irish scientist and physician Sir Hans Sloane who had his own collection, and the museum was opened in 1759 in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. In the following 250 years, it has collected some 8 million objects during the era of the British Empire and is the first public museum in the world. And free!

We were here for a short period of time, so we tried to be as efficient as possible.

The first stop was the Rosetta Stone which is near the entrance. It's very hard to photograph because it's behind glass, but a very important piece that helped archeologists figure out ancient hieroglyphics. On the black stone are carved Demotic, the everyday script of literate Egyptians, and the bottom is Greek, the language used by the government.

One of the many friezes taken from The Parthenon

At the time Egypt was ruled by a Greek dynasty and the Rosetta Stone records an event regarding Ptolemy V Epiphanes, the boy king.

And since we had been to the Parthenon in Athens, where about half of the real marble friezes were in The British Museum thanks to Lord Elgin, we had to see them in person. The marble pieces are housed in a long corridor and to be honest the details of the marble figures and animals are clearer here than in the Acropolis Museum, where they were already weathered down before being housed inside.

The musculature of the soldiers and the horses is evident, showing strength and grace. The robes people wore are detailed to show drapery. However seeing them one after the other numbs the brain's ability to appreciate every single piece. It's also worth remembering that these friezes were placed on the outside perimeter of the Parthenon and not facing each other in this room. Nevertheless to be able to look at them so close up is amazing.

Men holding onto an ox; the drapery is very detailed

One more Greek piece we had to see was the sixth figure that formed the Erechtheum Caryatid. At the Parthenon we saw the replicas, then five of the real figures in the Acropolis Museum, and now the sixth one in The British Museum.

All the figurines are columns holding up the building next to the Parthenon. They each have long thick hair that is plaited and falls behind their backs, and they wear short tunics. They also had baskets on their heads as part of the column.

And like the other marble pieces that Lord Elgin stole/took, this figure in the museum is very detailed from the plaiting of the hair, to the drapery of her tunic, though it's a pity her arms are missing and her face a bit weathered. There seems to be more detail of her hair at the back, but nothing of her feet.

The sixth figure from the Caryatids in Athens

Regardless, it was a thrill to finally see all six figures -- in one trip!

We also saw two Haida totem poles housed in the foyer from British Columbia that date back to about 1850, while we visited the China section, focusing more on the Tang Dynasty known for its porcelain.

One impressive piece is that of a statue of Buddha's disciple called a luohan. This one is in excellent condition, one of 10 found in a cave in the Yixian region of northern Hebei province in 1912. The statue is glazed in the sancai or three-coloured palette.

Another was of a figure who was the assistant to the judge of hell. A clerk carries a slim scroll, recording the names of those who have done good deeds in their lifetimes. The robes of the assistant are detailed particularly in the various layers of "fabric" denoted by the various colours and the draping is magnificent.

What a treat.

The assistant to the judge of hell

The British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG
britishmuseum.org

Berlin: Museum Hopping

The Alte National Gallery, or Old National Gallery at Museum Island

Berlin has a place called Museum Island, where several museums are within steps of each other, making it convenient to do all your cultural must-dos in one place.

We also bought a Berlin Welcome Card for 79 euros for two days which offers free public transportation, and free admission to all the museums at Museum Island! Yesterday was Thursday and we were lucky to find out all the museums are open that day until 8pm.

The beautiful bust of Nefertiti

Also when you go in, you can get a sheet that lists all the exhibitions, and highlights the must-see. So if you want to whip through the museums you can do that just by seeing the best of each institution without having to go through all the rooms.

The Altes Museum or Old Museum houses old antiquities and we saw many classical Greek statues, a bust of Athena with her helmut perched on her head. It's very serene, yet powerful too. There is also a circular gallery that shows off many Greek statues in a dome-like room reminiscent of The Pantheon in Rome.

Meanwhile the Neues Museum or New Museum is best known for housing the bust of Nefertiti. No photographs are allowed in the room, and the beautiful sculpture is behind glass. The queen is shown to be very delicate, sphynx-like, elegant and petite. Her eyes are gorgeously lined, showing a serene but wise face.

In the same room is a black copy of the bust, but here the blind are welcome to touch her face, which is fascinating. They are so lucky to touch it, while the rest of us have to guess what it must feel like -- behind glass.

Claude Monet's View of Vetheuil-sur Seine

The Alte Nationalgalerie or Old National Gallery features lots of artwork, and we chose to focus on the rooms with art by the Impressionists. Much of the art by German artists in that period were particularly dark in colour compared to the French Impressionists, and many are exhibited here.

Claude Monet's View of Vetheuil-sur Seine (1880) is almost like a photograph, where it's midday, and the sun is coming from directly above. When you step back to admire the painting, from far away it almost looks like a photograph.

We also headed to Pergamonmuseum, named after its main acquisition, a  massive marble altar from the Hellenistic city of Pergamon, but alas it is currently closed. But we did see other amazing things here, like the gigantic recreation of Ishtar Gate of Babylon.

The awe-inspiring Ishtar Gate of Babylon

When the gates were excavated in 1899, they found the gate literally in ruins, broken pieces, and they shipped them back here in 500 crates where they were painstakingly fitted back together like a massive three-dimensional puzzle. The effect is stunning and gorgeous. The deep blue tiles are a wonderful contrast to the animals, such as lions and goats, and a mythical creature that are in yellow.

There was also an exhibition going on featuring cultural artifacts that were saved from Aleppo in Syria before the civil war broke out in 2011. Many are massive stone carvings, gorgeous artifacts that are so intricately detailed. How did they even take them out? Seeing all these things was a relief to know they were being kept safe and protected -- otherwise who would know the state of them now if they had remained in Syria?

Intricate stone carvings from Aleppo, Syria

Next to Museum Island is the Berliner Dom or Berlin Cathedral. Inside we paid 5 euros each for the privilege to go inside and marvel at the giant circular dome above the congregation that has a dove at the centre.

But visitors can also wander through a model section, perfect for architecture buffs, where you can almost look right into the churches and see the inside.

And if you have enough energy, you can climb up to the top of the Berliner Dom. At first there is no signage to explain how many steps it is until part way through when it warns there are 132 more steps to the top and that it is physically demanding!

The panoramic view of Berlin from the Berliner Dom

I take on the challenge and walk up the narrow staircase that climbs up to the top. Once you get there, you have to walk through a long corridor divided by doors until you can finally get outside and be rewarded with a 360 view of Berlin. It's fantastic and well worth the trek up if you can do it.