Peacocks, Jade and KTV. What more could you ask for?

Prior to actually leaving for China, different people I knew, offered me tips and advice. It seemed that one common piece of advice, was to make sure I had a chance to do KTV. KTV, or better known in America as Karaoke, is extremely popular in China. Though I was not quite sure why it was so incredibly popular, I knew it was something I must try before leaving the country. I told my host family, in Chinese of course, that I had heard so much about KTV and I would love to go. On Sunday, our day off from school to spend time with our family, my sisters and I made plans for the day. These plans included going to the zoo to see the famous Yunnan province peacocks, going shopping at a traditional ethnic goods market and ending the night (or morning) with KTV. What more could you ask for?

That morning I went to the Kunming Zoo with Cici, Frank and 2 of Franks roommates from the University (he has 5 in a room about the same size as a typical American University room). The Zoo contained many different types of animals, but what was most interesting was that as a whole, the animals in this Chinese Zoo differed from what you may find at an American Zoo. There were still of course the classic monkeys, elephants, giraffes, zebras, and tigers, but there were also animals like black and grizzly bears, deer, goats, and horses (the types of animals that we may be more likely to see in the wild in America). One of my favorite spots was watching the legendary Yunnan province peacocks. The peacocks were essentially wandering around freely. We were able to walk right up to them. Frank bought some peanuts for us to feed to the peacocks. They would come right up to our hand and peck the peanuts right out.

After leaving the Zoo we then went out shopping at what they call the “Old Market”. Yunnan Province (where Kunming is the capital) is very unique, known for many things. One of its traits is that it is the proud home to 26 of the 55 ethnic minority groups in China. The majority group (with I think is about 93%)  is the Han ethnic group. The Han people are what we often think of as “Chinese” but I soon learned that just like in America, there are many different types of Chinese people. Each of these ethnic groups also have their own unique type of jewelry, clothing, and little "trinkets". All of those things were sold at this large market that Frank, Cici and I went to.

In the market, there were colorful chicks for sale

It seemed the most popular item sold at this market was jade. Jade was everywhere, and it was all real. Frank showed me how to verify its legitimacy. As a result of my stellar bargaining skills I managed to get a jade beaded bracelet down from 200 yuan to only 60 yuan (approx. $9).

Finally we ended that evening with a night out at KTV. I was not sure what to expect, but I had imagined a small Karaoke bar that you may find in America.

When we arrived at the Windsor KTV Hotel, we were greeted with valet parking and a huge maybe 10 story building. Our room was waiting for us on the 6th floor. Each group that comes in, gets their own personal KTV room with a long semi-circular bench, a large screen to see the words and watch the video, a computer touch screen to create a list of songs, two microphones, and even tambourines to cheer on your friends. We began with an exceptionally long list of songs as everyone put in their favorites. Of course when an American song came up (American music is surprisingly popular in China) it was my turn to sing, whether I knew the song or not. The time flew by, as we danced on the benches and sang our hearts out. Definitely a great way to end the day.