Catshanghai

Shanghai has somewhere between 14 and 20 million people. Tonight, half of them seemed to be at Hymall Supermarket in Zhaojiabang Lu buying food and drink for Chinese New Year or Spring Festival. The other half are probably heading back to villages, towns and cities to see their families again. Tomorrow evening throughout China there will be parties of friends and relatives gathered to eat as much as possible, counting down to the New Year of the Golden Pig. There will also be a week of relentless firecrackers and sparklers. The air will be acrid with sulphur fumes. It is custom to give children a red envelope with money (hong bao). The streets are all lined with red lanterns. I will enjoy this festival. The Chinese know how to enjoy themselves. We’re heading over to Jenny’s parents who live near Fudan University in North Shanghai. This Golden Year happens once every six decades and it is meant to be a very auspicious period to have a baby. The maternity wards will be very busy over the next twelve months.

Hymall was even more manic than usual, but Jenny came prepared with a list so we got through it in less than 45 minutes. It felt like being in Tesco’s in the UK just before Christmas. It is worth noting that Hymall is a joint venture with Tesco and the store even has some of their branded goods. Here is a rough breakdown of tabletop snacks that we bought for our family to munch on when they come round on Monday:

• Cadbury’s chocolate eclairs
• Lay’s pringle style crisps
• Hickory chips
• Opal fruit style sweets
• Sunflower seeds
• Weird nuts
• Wine and orange juice

I feel full just thinking about it.