6 | Thursday, June 24, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY CHINA In Beijing, the ins and outs of keeping pandas

As the clock shows that it’s sideways to ensure they are able lunchtime, Ma Tao, a panda to cooperate with the veterinari- keeper at the Beijing Zoo, pre- an during physical examinations, pares lunch for one of its giant and they are able to undergo pandas, Meng Er. Bamboo treatment without anesthesia. shoots, carrots and steamed “A panda keeper should be cornbread are among the serv- calm and quiet and have good ings. After feeding his charge, Ma observation skills,” Ma said. “I places trimmed bamboo in the monitor, weigh and record infor- outdoor area as another panda, mation about their feces. Meng Meng, walks over and Through the daily accumulation tucks into the meal. of data, we know if they are “First, you should respect and healthy.” cherish the giant panda. I guard “We interact with the pandas their lives with my life,” said Ma, every day, and they are familiar 51, who has been a keeper for 32 with our voices and smell, which years. creates a sense of trust between Preparing daily meals for the us,” he said. From left: Wu Zhanmei (left) pandas takes time. Ma has to Ma deems the pandas at the and Li Shimin cut hair in the take into consideration nutri- zoo akin to family members. Huayi Hair Salon in Taiyuan, tion, as well as their different eat- “The way they look at you is very Shanxi province. The old salon ing habits. similar to how family members stands on a street corner. In addition to bamboo and look at you.” photos by peng ke’er / china daily bamboo shoots, Ma also prepares Ma knows each panda’s per- apples, carrots, eggs and steamed sonality by heart; Gu Gu is hand- cornbread to ensure the pandas some and smart, Meng Da and get a balanced and nutritious Meng Er are simple and honest, diet. He cooks millet porridge and Bai Tian is quite shy. mixed with minced beef for the “It is like raising a child. The Traditional salon gives clients older and younger pandas. moment of their birth, when they Apart from tending to pandas, open their eyes and their first Ma’s job also entails improving steps are all etched in my heart,” their living environment at the Ma said. zoo, which has been designed to Back in the 1990s, he would simulate their natural habitat. remain at the zoo for almost a close shave with history “We sow grass and plant trees three months to stay with the to create a more suitable and nat- pandas during breeding season. ural habitat for them. Their feces Ma was scratched by one of the Customers seeking haircuts come from all over the country for a cut like no other and urine are placed in different pandas a few years back, which panda houses, allowing them to has left a scar on his right hand. sense each other’s messages,” Ma However, he sees this as trivial. By Sun Ruisheng in Taiyuan or try to sell me products,” Li Feng closing at 8 pm, and only take hol- “Our skills are about to be lost,” said, adding that the outdoor “To be a qualified panda keep- and Li Hongyang in Beijing said. idays during the Spring Festival. Wu said. playground is also equipped with er, you must have love, patience The fading paint on the nine The Huayi belongs to a publicly- For urban planning reasons, the hammocks, perches, pools and and a sense of responsibility,” he On a street corner in Taiyuan, iron chairs, in service for 66 years owned service company in the salon faced the threat of demoli- bunkers to increase activities. said. “I try my best to help pan- Shanxi province, two hairdress- and as old as the salon itself, and city’s Xinghua district, so the pair tion in 2013 and again in 2016. Ma and his team also conduct das live better lives. That’s my ers, one 70, the other 50, still serve vintage items, including the white don’t pay rent, only maintenance “Our old customers said that if behavioral training. Pandas are responsibility and mission.” residents from the salon in the uniforms Wu and Li wear, the por- fees. the house was demolished, they trained to open their mouths, century-old house they’ve occu- celain wash basin and the iron Each earns about 3,000 to 4,000 would follow us wherever we stretch out their hands and lie xinhua pied for years. The vintage fashion hair dryers, bring back memories yuan ($465 to $620) a month, far went. But I felt sad, and I tossed items in the salon and the old- of the past. less than barbers in modern, pri- and turned every night,” Wu said. fashioned skills they mastered In recent years, Huayi has fre- vate salons. Fortunately, due to Taiyuan’s decades ago attract retro fans quently been featured in local and “I am not here to make big mon- emphasis on the protection of his- from all across the country. national media outlets, and now ey, but to stay busy and feel ful- torical buildings, the house was Wu Zhanmei, 70, began to work Wu and Li accept a lot of young filled every day,” Wu said. saved. Now, Wu and Li hope they in the Huayi Hair Salon in 1978. visitors from Shanghai, Qingdao Since Wu’s children got mar- can get support from all parties to “Some trendy hairstyles nowadays in Shandong province, and even ried, she said she has no major permit the old salon to survive. are actually similar to those of the Taiwan. expenses, but Li’s son is still at col- “Huayi is like a museum of old 1980s, just with different names,” “We don’t worry about business lege and that places some pres- Taiyuan memories. We’ll stick to she said. “For example, the Bob is because some classic hairstyles sure on him. our jobs, no matter how hard it is. what we used to call the Revolu- will never be out of date. More- “Fortunately, my son is studying The only problem is that we need tion haircut, which became popu- over, we offer the unique service of at the local police school and gets apprentices to pass on our tradi- lar during the early revolutionary soap and razor shaves,” Li said. scholarships every semester, tional skills,” Wu said. years, so we can handle these new Wu recalls that for decades, the which eases my burden. But when trends.” salon was one of the busiest bar- he is of marrying age, I will need Peng Ke’er and Zhang Siyu Although most regular customers ber shops in the city. to get a house ready for him, and contributed to this story. are elderly, Li Feng, a 21-year-old col- “Back then, 14 barbers worked that will be costly,” Li said. lege student from Jiangxi province here on shifts, day and night, to “Despite that, I don’t want to Contact the writers at traveling in Taiyuan, visited the cater to the constant stream of change my job. I’ve been here for [email protected] salon after finding out about it customers because there were so long, it’s like my home. Also, as Ma Tao, 51, a panda keeper at the Beijing Zoo in the capital inter- online. It was 50-year-old Li Shimin, only a few hair salons here,” she one of the last apprentices of the acts with a panda in May. Ju huanzong / xinhua who has worked at Huayi for 33 said. old salon, I feel obliged to pass my years, who cut his hair. Now, Wu and Li are the only two skills on to someone else.” “I came to experience a traditional remaining. They receive about 30 However, the meager salary at See more haircut, and it turned out to be good. customers, but they still follow the the Huayi has made many young by scanning Higher incomes, better The hairdresser didn’t talk too much old rule of opening at 8 am and apprentices quit. the code living conditions boost Brazilian sees Wuhan model as pandemic example fashion choices in Tibet By Zhou Lihua support his decision to stay. the city, he added. and Liu Kun in Wuhan “China is my second home. I was He attributed the swift control of Rising incomes and improved and other means of production. and Li Hongyang in Beijing destined to come to Wuhan because the pandemic to the country’s living conditions are giving peo- Serfs and slaves, who accounted when I first saw a world map when I recourse to science and technology, ple in Southwest China’s Tibet for 95 percent of the local popula- For the past two months, Renato was 5, my finger randomly fell and including the use of infrared ther- autonomous region more choice tion, had little to spend on their Peneluppi, a Brazilian living in pointed at the city,” he said. mometers at the entrance of office of clothing, as well as breathing clothing, which was shoddy and Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, Peneluppi said he is interested in buildings and the introduction of fresh life into local brands. dull. and an episode of a documentary China’s political and economic sys- QR code registration for entry and During the 2016-2020 period, Li Mei, president of the Tibetan series named A Corrida Das Vacinas tems, whose advantages were dem- exit elsewhere. the Engel coefficient of Tibetan Institute of Ethnic Clothing and that he participated in, have been in onstrated during COVID-19 control “I am deeply impressed that residents — the proportion of Culture, said that Tibetan people’s the media spotlight. and treatment. Wuhan is so modern, which creates total family income spent on food clothing has experienced an The episode showed Wuhan resi- “China’s systems revolve around a real sense of security among its — continued to shrink, while per upgrade. dents getting vaccinated against serving the people. Without taking people. capita consumption of clothing “Their quality of life has COVID-19 and random interviews this into consideration, there is no “Despite the outbreak of COVID- rose by 584 yuan ($91). improved significantly, their asking what they thought of the vac- need to discuss politics and eco- 19, the city’s development has been The force behind this increased clothes are becoming more and cines. nomics.” maintained. Also, the vaccination spending on clothing is a rise in more beautiful, and they are mov- At the end of the clip, Peneluppi At the invitation of his then girl- program in Wuhan is good and well- incomes. ing toward high-end consump- says that everyone understands the friend, Peneluppi left Wuhan for arranged,” he said. According to official data, the tion,” Li said. importance of keeping themselves Belarus during the 2020 Spring Fes- However, the pandemic abroad per capita disposable income of In recent years, local fashion healthy and protected even though Renato Peneluppi, a Brazilian, at tival Holiday and didn’t return until worries him. urban residents in Tibet last year brands have mushroomed in China now has few cases. his home in Wuhan, Hubei October. “I want to introduce China’s polit- was 41,156 yuan, a year-on-year Tibet. There are more than 20 The series is a joint production province. provided to china daily “But I was following the news in ical system and economic model to increase of 10 percent, while that Tibetan fashion shops on Barkhor between Wuhan Plus, the Wuhan the city. I knew of Leishenshan, more people by writing a paper that of rural residents rose by 12.7 per- Street in central Lhasa, the region- Broadcasting and Television Sta- Huoshenshan and Fangcang hospi- analyzes the various measures tak- cent to 14,598 yuan. al capital. tion’s foreign language channel, and Vacinaja commented: “What a doc- tals, and that doctors gathered in en by the Wuhan government,” he “In the old Tibet, my family of six “Modern Tibetan clothing Globoplay, the biggest online media umentary. Excellent job! And Hubei from all across China,” he said. only had two roughly-made items uses silk, flax and other materi- platform in Brazil, with monthly Wuhan? What a beautiful and said. “Wuhan is the thoroughfare of of clothing made of pulu (a kind of als while retaining traditional views of 400 million. vibrant city!” He added that during the pan- nine provinces. I think China can be woolen fabric) to wear. We used designs,” said Rigzin, executive “I am proud to have taken part in Peneluppi got his second shot in demic in China, people helped each more deeply understood, as metrop- them as clothing during the day director of AJ-NAMO, a Tibetan this documentary to have shared my June in Wuhan. other by following the government’s olises like Beijing, Shanghai and and as quilts at night,” said Chang- fashion firm, adding that they experiences in Wuhan. I believe we “I got the shot because, as the Chi- guidance. Guangzhou of Guangdong province chub, a villager from Lhasa’s have been creating designs using can show the world a message of nese government says, it is good for “The Chinese government have already been widely promoted Chushur county. new materials thanks to techni- hope, that it’s possible to overcome us and shows responsibility for oth- promptly adopted strict measures and are well-known,” he said. “At a time when even filling our cal innovations. the virus and return to normal life,” ers,” he said. to contain the spread of the virus. Peneluppi had planned to stay in stomachs was a problem, who Li said that compared to tradi- Peneluppi said. The 39-year-old came to Wuhan During the pandemic, communi- Wuhan for two years after gradua- cared about clothing?” he added. tional Tibetan clothing, fashiona- “At the beginning, I didn’t want to in 2010 and got his master’s and ty workers helped my friends who tion but now says he is going to stay Before the 1950s, the three ble Tibetan clothes are gaining appear in front of the camera to say doctor’s degrees in public adminis- stayed in Wuhan safely purchase for another 10. major stakeholders — officials, popularity as they are lighter and this. But I changed my mind later, tration from the Huazhong Univer- and deliver food. It touched me a “I want to be a bridge to help Chi- aristocrats and higher-ranking more comfortable, and their style because I felt it was necessary for me sity of Science and Technology. lot,” he said. na and Brazil understand each oth- lamas and their agents — made up better dovetails with contempo- to emphasize to the people in my He met his wife, who comes from After the pandemic, people are er,” he said. about 5 percent of the population rary aesthetics. country that vaccines are impor- Belarus, in Wuhan. more careful about the virus, and it but owned almost all the land, pas- tant,” he said. His parents who have been to Chi- is good to see that masks and tem- Contact the writers at tures, forests, mountains, rivers xinhua A Twitter user named Helena na three times, like the country and perature checks are everywhere in [email protected]