Chinese Spring Festival Market - Essay Example

CHINESE FESTIVAL MARKET IN SHANGHAI The train stopped and I squeezed out from the compartment amidst a flurry of arms and legs. Mine were aching allalong the journey. It was like being passed through a flour mill. I had finally got a ticket to the golden city of the spring market at Shanghai. The temperature was still very low, though it was not deep into the evening. The breeze skimming the cold waters of the Huangpo River sent shivers down my spine. The city was slowly opening its eyes to the dark night and defying it into day. The faces throbbed with pulsating joy at the revelry in their hearts. The city was in a festive mood. People were dressed in all the vibrant colours they could find. Though covered in overalls and sweaters, the dresses and jewellery were all indicative of the historical importance of the festival. The lunar calendar had all brought out the colours of the incoming New Year of the tiger. All around me, the ladies of Shanghai were proving that they were “not women, but a dream of women” as Tu Fu had said. I hailed the nearest cab and told him my destination. “Chang Feng Park”. I passed over one of the many bridges in the city. I turned to look towards the sea. There were more than two ships coming in or going out of the port of Shanghai, over the vast expanse of sea into the edge of the world and beyond. They looked like some lonesome traveler in single paddled canoes moving towards an eloping sunset. Pleasure boats hung around them like people who did not care. There was something sad about the way the clear skies watching a sun slowing dying in his blood. I watched the sun, its beams sucked away by a misty sky. It hung from the sky like a beautiful and misty-red cherry being slowly dipped into the bowl of red wine below. I imagined that my lover was in one of those ships, called away from me by an unutterable disaster, and almost cried over it. The scenery was so beautiful. The evening was defining itself into a small taste of heaven in itself. The seventh largest city was slowly casting its magic over me. My nostalgic feelings were dispelled with the cab driver announcing the arrival at destination. I looked at my watch and hurried to the gates of the Chang Feng National park. I rushed to the Gate and asked a uniformed security guard, his eyes full of enthusiasm, even though he must have been standing there guiding the crowd for at least 8 hours. “Which way to Aquarium 21?” “Gate No: 4”, he said. I had wanted to visit the world famous indoor aquarium for a long time, from the time I was a small kid. The arrival of the teenager and the youth in me, by the passing of time had not killed the kid in me. Though there was a better one in Pudong district, I wanted to visit it to watch my favorite shark tank, which was a specialty here. I got entry into the park with a crowd of people, mainly kids. The jubilant faces reminded me of the people at the railway station. But there was not such a big rush as I expected though there were people. Walking through the welcoming aero plane and the Inca temple, I couldn’t wait to see the shark of my lifetime. The stairs wound up a long way towards the top cabin. Now, my long term wish was going to be satisfied, and the little tanks of fish and different variety of ocean life could not hold my imagination. As a kid I had dreamed of fighting sharks and killing them. I had beheld the ferocious creatures mutilate and kill people. Now was the first time I was going to see one for real. Though washed of my enmity, I still wanted to meet the cruel and blood lusty tiger sharks of the seas. When I entered the hallway, I couldn’t see any tiger sharks. They were shadows far away from the bluish light glimmering in the moving waters. The waters teemed with other kind of fish. They swam by the glass in shoals, but the tigers had stayed away. The presence of too much visitors must have scared them off. And the group’s enthusiasm was slowly waning. Then someone said that the theme park had organized an underwater magic show for the Spring festival (Desire to go home, difficult to get a ticket). As soon as the word ‘magic show’ sank in, the kids lost all interest in waiting for the lurking horror of the sea. The crowd moved away rapidly towards the next tiger shark tank which had been emptied for the show. Now I was almost alone, except few tourists. .One of the tourists were pointing out the different varieties of jellyfish and starfish seen through. Then, suddenly I noticed a movement near me on the other side of the glass. I turned around to look at the face of the biggest shark I had ever seen. It was slowly drifting near the glass, and was barely a foot from me. From where I stood, I could see the eyes of the creature. Those eyes..!! I had learned somewhere that every noble creature reflected its thoughts through its eyes. The shark I saw had nothing cruel about it. It was not just a fish, I knew that somehow. The eyes were intelligent. Nothing seemed to be able to trouble this noble creature of the waters and it was not troubled by me too. As I stood there staring and breathing silently so as not to frighten “my friend” from across the ocean, I felt all my prejudices melting away and dissolve in the cooled artificial air breezing past by me. As I walked out of the domed aquarium, the kids were coming out of the magic show, which had concluded. I stood and wondered at the time. It was the last day of the festival and the first day of the Year. The year of the tiger had dawned and I had gained a new friend, a friend whom I was forced to leave behind. A friend from the ocean, The tiger of the seas. It brought back nostalgic memories of sweet home. I thought I would try out the famous Chinese tea from one of the stalls. To my surprise they served it free. But they asked me whether I liked it with or without sugar!! Of course, I liked it without sugar!! The tea was surprisingly non sour, but being the first time, the taste did not linger well with my appetite. I turned my attention to the different products aligned everywhere. The aroma of shopping was everywhere. Honey which looked very edible to my soured mouth, pomegranate, nuts spices . . . . it was a visual treat for me ((Naumann). . Works cited: “Desire to go home, difficult to get a ticket”, Chinese Spring Festival travel season. 2010. March 24, 2010. Naumann,Sara. Top Activities for Kids in Shanghai. 2010. March. 24, 2010. Read More