Is a trip to Zhuhai in order?

Mmmm, Zhuhai? Who knew?

After dissing this little SEZ city so badly, saying there is nothing to do and absolutely nothing happens there, now it turns out it has a Furniture District, a little township full of carpenters and craftsmen who make up your furniture designs for you. 

Sounds much like Dafen, a little township in Shenzhen full of artists who paint pictures for you and sculptors who make statues for you, a place I love so much I've blogged on it many many times.

Or the leathergoods district up in Guangzhou full of folks who make handbags and shoes. Or the guitar-making district - also in Guangzhou - that Keith is crazy about.

Isn't China simply amazing the way it has all these astonishing resources all over the place?

Now I REALLY want to get back to Zhuhai to check this furniture district out. I have wanted an opium bed my whole life, and I hear they have ever so many different styles of them there.

I haven't told you, have I, about the opium bed I found in Wan Li district in Guangzhou, on the day Halley took me around to farewell her old neighbourhood that was on the verge of being torn down to make way for development?  Well, what happened was we were wandering around the back streets when we met an old man Halley once knew, who told her he was selling his opium bed for 200 yuan (A$30.00) and did her rich 'foreign devil' friend want to buy it?  I was immediately "Oh yeah! This foreign devil wants very much." so he took us inside and showed it to us and it was the very best I'd ever seen, only I didn't know how to get it back to Hong Kong so I reluctantly had to let the opportunity pass.  But ...

... when I was back in HK and told Keith, he was furious with me and said "Why didn't you just offer him HK$500.00 to be paid on delivery?" and I kicked myself because with Halley alongside as translator it would have been the work of minutes to organise the entire thing. Plus Halley knew him so he wouldn't have cheated me.  What a true idiot I am!

Anyway, despite a bargain like that probably not coming my way again, seems I can finally get myself my very own opium bed. What a pity my China Visa has lapsed or I'd go on Monday.