Friday, February 8, 2008

In the Dark

I keep wondering about the Chinese penchant for doing everything in the half dark. It might be that electricity is expensive, or it might be traditional. Certainly, the old houses are small and dark, with the main light source the front door. Once you've crossed the threshold, you're on your own!

Small shops, too, are dark, with the light again coming from the doorway. In fact, even the supermarket at Ni Zi doesn't seem to use display lighting, which makes browsing the lower shelves rather difficult. Perhaps that's the idea, as there is usually an assistant tailing you to make sure you're not pocketing anything. It's not a relaxing shopping experience.

I noticed also that schools seem to work in the dark. We walked past the 'new' school in Gualing, where we could glimpse students at work in the classrooms, with no overhead lights in the winter gloom. Perhaps Eddie's "cuzzie lawyer", the one with 15 LED factories, may be able to rectify the situation one day when LED lighting is more common. This type of technology certainly seems necessary.

2 comments:

NZBC said...

I'm surprised to find someone from Auckland in the Gualing village - We're currently putting together the families who came out to NZ from that village, in the late 1890s.

Anonymous said...

Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the TV Digital, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://tv-digital-brasil.blogspot.com. A hug.