Shanghai Train Station

Earlier this week I was at the Shanghai train station heading out to visit one of our mills.  The woman I was traveling with said that their was a huge man walking behind me but not to look right then.  So when the time was right I turned my head and she wasn't kidding!  This guy wasn't huge but truly a giant.  He was followed by 3 or 4 others including a small kid rolling along a small steamer trunk.  Wait on second look that's not a kid at all, that is an adult!!!

Unfortunately I couldn't get a view of them standing or side by side, but this photo below gives you an idea.  The "kid" is in the foreground and the giant is in the back in the green.  I'm pretty sure the metal steamer trunk that is on the left could fit the kid and is probably part of some circus act.

After time we noticed that a number of people were taking photos and finally some people went up to them and got a handout, so of course I did the same.  Here is the brochure....

I've gotten the gist of it translated but in essence these two men are both 24 years old.  One is 238cm (7'8' tall!!!) and is referred to as "No1 tall man in Asia."  The kid is 102cm (3'3") and is referred to as the "No1 Dwarf in Asia."  The brochure is a sales pitch that they offer where you can get your wedding photos taken with them in it.  If you do you get a free 30" photo to keep.

Pressure

The amount of pressure applied on kids and young adults in China is staggering.  As I have said before the pressure for a student to perform well in school is unreal.  In the US most parents want their children to succeed and some push hard but honestly I doubt it is anything like what happens in China.  In the race to improve their lives, often having come from farming or immigrant lives, the best way to improve the family standing is to succeed in school.  The pressure is to be #1 or maybe #2 in class.  Anything else is looked at as almost a failure. 

There are other pressures, like to get married at a young age.  Women who have not gotten married by 30 are considered "leftovers" and shunned in many ways by society.  This is increasingly a challenge as there are many women who have followed the first pressure of schooling and are now trying to be successful in the real world, thereby bypassing marriage (and kids) at a young age.

The pressure in this article was on a young school girl to get a haircut and read what happened.  So very sad....
http://www.chinasmack.com/2012/stories/chinese-schoolgirl-refuses-haircut-commits-suicide.html

As an FYI ChinaSmack.com is a very interesting website, you should check it out occasionally.

nolan

You too can learn Chinese

Now you too can learn some Chinese.  These are pretty funny so I thought you all would enjoy.  As it says try to read them aloud...