CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Thursday, August 6, 2020 | 7 CHINA Hong Kongstyle diner serves up mutual respect
hope of forming a partnership to Restaurateur’s open an outlet of her diner on the nofrills eatery on mainland. However, it was Yan who finally convinced her to establish a mainland shows cafe in Shenzhen. her love of the city Preparations for the new cafe did not go as smoothly as Yan and Lee and its police had hoped. The COVID19 outbreak delayed renovations and forced By PEI PEI and XING WEN them to postpone the opening of the in Shenzhen cafe for nearly half a year. “For me, it’s nice to cooperate with After eating at Kate Lee Hoiwu’s someone who shares the same pas restaurant, diners can take a short sion as me,” Yan said. walk to a hill in Nanshan Park and He said the restaurant, which has enjoy the views of Hong Kong across been open for only a month, was the water. willing to offer job opportunities to The Ngan Loong Cafe in Shenzhen, young people from both Hong Kong Guangdong province, carries power and the mainland. ful memories for Lee, a Hong Kong “I believe the new outlet will pro native. The restaurant’s walls are plas vide a platform for young people tered with posters and paintings that from both sides to exchange ideas show Lee’s love for her home city and and know each other better. If they her support for its police force. can ponder the reasons behind our It is the first outlet Lee has opened differences and put aside misun on the mainland of her cha chaan derstandings, it will also be benefi tengstyle diner, a nofrills eatery cial for our country’s development,” that has been popular with Hong Yan said. Kong residents for 50 years. Even though it has only been Lee, 52, also owns a family restau open for a short time, Yan has rant in Lei Yue Mun near the eastern already had some memorable expe entrance to Hong Kong’s Victoria riences. For instance, students from Harbor. The single mother took over From left: Yan Zhenyu displays a photo of Kate Lee Hoiwu at her restaurant in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. An employee of the restau a nearby art school asked him if he the family business a few years ago rant prepares desserts at the Hong Kongstyle eatery. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY could help pass on their handmade after the deaths of her father and crafts to Hong Kong police officers. brother, and works as manager, After the COVID19 prevention cook, waitress, cashier and cleaner. Following a flood of complaints city was destroyed by rioters, espe “People from provinces like “I was so surprised that a small measures were eased, he was happy In June last year, her life was about food safety and sanitation, cially those young people who had Guangdong, Hunan, Sichuan, cafe hidden deep in an alley had to make sure police received the plunged into turmoil when she officials from Hong Kong’s Food and been manipulated and misled to Jiangsu, and other places I hadn’t such a large patronage. I was gifts. spoke out at a propolice rally Environmental Hygiene Depart resort to violence,” Lee said. “I want heard of on the mainland, came to touched by the positive energy and Due to COVID19 prevention against the violence and unrest grip ment and the Labor Department ed to personally tell them that I visit my cafe and show their support patriotism people shared in the measures, Lee has been unable to be ping Hong Kong’s streets. came to inspect Lee’s cafe. would continue to do the right thing.” for me. I was touched by their kind space,” Yan said. part of the Shenzhen operations and After she returned from the rally, However, she didn’t yield to the In August last year, after Lee’s sto ness,” Lee said. He had just resigned from his has remained in Hong Kong. she posted slogans that read “police threats and intimidation and contin ry was widely spread in the media, position as a legal adviser for a Bei Yan said the two cha chaan teng officers, I support you” on the cafe’s ued to attend propolice rallies and her courage and determination Fresh start jingbased company and planned to restaurants could serve as ties of wall, which made the diner and her express her gratitude to Hong Kong quickly won respect from Hong Last fall, 29yearold Yan Zhenyu start his own business after taking friendship that bind people together. the target of vulgar insults, hateful police officers who were trying to Kong residents and mainland visi decided to pay a visit to the cafe in some time off. phone calls and unfounded com maintain law and order in the city. tors who patronized her cafe to Hong Kong after he learned of Lee’s He noticed that many Chinese Contact the writers at plaints. “I was so depressed to see that our show their support. experiences from media reports. netizens had contacted Lee in the xingwen@chinadaily,com.cn
women who make buza after com pleting their farm work. They Buza craftwork creates a new buzz recently completed a large order for more than 1,000 buza trinkets. KUNMING — Buza, a traditional ditional heritage, Zhang also offers making techniques from elderly “The price of one piece ranges from handicraft of China’s Bai ethnic group classes on making buza in her store. artisans six years later. less than 100 yuan to over 1,000 yuan, that is often associated with mystic During the Dragon Boat Festival, Believing that in order to promote and more than 10 people are engaged beliefs, has gained new prominence children in Jianchuan wear a string the traditional handicraft, it should with me in crafting buza,” Yang said. by changing with the times. of buza on their chests as talismans. meet consumers’ demands, she ini The handicraft has allowed many vil The craftwork, made with fabric Traditionally, Zhang said, a string tially designed a variety of items, lagers to earn extra cash. and thread and stuffed with herbs of buza consists of three to eight trin such as cardholders, key chains and In recent years, the government and spices, usually represents imag kets, including a monkey, an embroi brooches that proved popular with and NGOs arranged buzamaking es of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, dery ball and the Eight Diagrams — young people. classes for many villagers like Yang Bai folklore, historical figures or symbols used in Taoist cosmology. Other small decorative items suit so they could shake off poverty and other auspicious symbols. However, as the buza strings able for cars and bedrooms also gar lead better lives. In 2009, buza was listed as an were expensive to make and only a nered a lot of orders. After receiving feedback that intangible cultural heritage of south few people were willing to buy In 2018, Zhang invested more many of her ornaments seemed western China’s Yunnan province. them, they were only sent to mar than 100,000 yuan ($14,300) to quite juvenile to adults, Yang devel Children learn the traditional tea ceremony at a tea art center in The unique cultural feature of buza ket once a year, during the Dragon open the buza experience store. oped ornaments that appealed to Daoxian county, Hunan province. HE HONGFU / FOR CHINA DAILY is that “each one implies some mean Boat Festival, said Yang Wantao, “We have expanded both the time couples and also made some buza ing and every meaning bears an aus curator of a cultural center in of wearing buza and the space of bracelets. “Though tradition should picious significance”, said 34yearold Jianchuan. using this traditional handicraft, be preserved, at the same time evolu Tea art classes a tonic Zhang Sidai, who runs a buza store in Zhang, however, saw obstacles thus opening a broader market for tion is also necessary to keep the Jianchuan county in Yunnan’s Dali as opportunities. She began run the craftwork,” Zhang said. handicraft alive,” she said. Bai autonomous prefecture. ning a manicure parlor in 2006, In Jianchuan’s Xinren village, for leftbehind children Committed to passing on the tra and then started learning buza Yang Yinmei is one of many village XINHUA
CHANGSHA — Jiang Birou, 19, val holiday, often visiting her old remembers the excitement of primary school. attending her first tea ceremony Jiang said the sight of girls at class as a sixth grade student. the school learning tea art in a “That was my first extracurricu clean, bright classroom made her lar class,” she said, adding that the proud. “I hope they can enjoy the tea ceremony had brightened her tea ceremony, as it will bring childhood. more harvests than they could Located in the midst of moun imagine,” she said tains, Jiang’s hometown in Wei Elevenyearold Gao Yingxin has shan, Hunan province, has been attending tea art classes for a favorable conditions for growing year. Once a shy and reserved girl, tea but little arable land and incon she has now made many good venient transportation. As a result, friends. a large number of young people “The gestures and movements migrate to cities for better job we learn in the class are very inter opportunities, leaving behind their esting, so is the costume we wear,” From left: A visitor views traditional handicrafts of the Bai ethnic group on display in an exhibition at the Yunnan Provincial Museum in children and parents. Gao said. Kunming, Yunnan province, on June 13. CHEN SHENG / FOR CHINA DAILY A craftswoman makes a Baistyle tiedye cloth in Dali, Yunnan. Jiang was once such a leftbe She said tearelated activities LIU RANYANG / CHINA NEWS SERVICE hind child. such as plucking leaves and dis “When I was a little girl, I used to cussing the making of tea enrich help my grandparents pick tea her extracurricular life. When talk With the influx of tourists, more leaves, and I didn’t have much ing to her father, who works in Train to nowhere puts villagers on right track local residents refurbished their communication with my parents,” India, by phone, she shares stories houses and opened homestays. she said. about her tea art classes. “We have tasted the bitterness of That changed in 2012 when Gao is among the 27 students ZHENGZHOU — Tucked deep in employee of China Railway build homestays for visitors. How poverty and now, no matter how Jiang’s school organized a slew of taking the tea art class at the the mountains of Central China’s Zhengzhou Group, who was appoint ever, even with subsidies and bank hard it is to run our own business, extracurricular activities, with school, and about 85 percent of Henan province, Xinnan village is ed to help the villagers fight poverty. loans, many villagers were afraid we want to do it right,” said Qiao Jiang the first to sign up for the tea her classmates are leftbehind using a train to nowhere to attract Luanchuan county, which admin there might not be enough guests. Ling, a 49yearold villager who was ceremony class. children. visitors. isters Xinnan, is thickly forested and To promote his plan, Wang came among the first to open a hotel and a “In Weishan, almost every Yang Jinpeng, the school’s The locomotive and two green many of its residents were farmers up with the idea of creating a theme restaurant. In the last few months of household grows tea, but we know principal, said it has offered tea carriages, parked on a section of who were unwilling to leave the park featuring a railroad. As a senior last year, she made nearly 50,000 little about the traditional tea cul art classes to students in grades track beside a river, are popular sub mountains despite the lack of earn employee working in the rail system yuan ($7,148) from her business. ture,” she said. “Through the tea three to six since 2012, with more jects for cameratoting tourists. ing opportunities. for over 20 years, Wang soon got the Zhang Liujun, 60, has made over class, however, I learned a lot. than 30 students signing up each Even though the train carries no Wang, who first arrived in the vil resources from his company to put 10,000 yuan since May from his “In retrospect, I feel the tea art year. passengers, it has attracted many lage in 2018, believed they could his plan into action. homestay despite the COVID19 pan classes helped me calm my mind, “Many children become more visitors and brought fortune to Xin enjoy stable incomes by developing In October, the village built a train demic. manage my emotions and I began optimistic and confident after nan’s villagers. tourism. “The mountains are steep platform near its entrance, laid old Wang is planning more projects in to communicate more with my joining the tea art classes,” Yang “I saw pictures of the train on and the land is scarce in the village, steel rails, and placed a scrapped the village, including boat rides, a parents because of the interesting said. “We hope that through tea social media, and have brought my so it’s difficult to scale up agricultur locomotive and two carriages from trainthemed cafe, and a restaurant to classes.” art and other extracurricular children here for a visit,” said Xie al production or animal husbandry,” China Railway Zhengzhou Group keep tourists in the village for longer. Jiang is now a freshman at classes, children can forge com Bing, from Luoyang, Henan. “The Wang said. “However, the green on the track. “I hope that the railroad village can Wuhan Conservatory of Music. panionship with their class air is really refreshing here.” mountains, clear waters, lush Wang invited colleagues to be the develop stably, and become a great Due to the COVID19 pandemic, mates and teachers and learn Xinnan is not on any rail route plants, and fresh air make it a great first batch of visitors to the village example of rural tourism,” he said. the start of her new semester was something meaningful.” maps but is now known as a “railroad place for developing tourism.” one weekend. Soon, more tourists delayed, and she stayed in Wei village”, thanks to Wang Yanhui, an Wang encouraged villagers to arrived in tour coaches. XINHUA shan for a protracted Spring Festi XINHUA