25 Days of Shanghai Christmas Dec 13 Prepare for Hibernation


Could it have been any wetter today? Could the day have started any more miserably, darker or colder? Winter is surely on its way, although according to the government winter hasn't even officially begun, and won't begin until we have five days below 10 degrees. Shanghai, meantime, can't decide what it's doing - I mean, there's blizzards and such in the UK, and parts of North America, but two days ago it was a kind of balmy 20 degrees, and I sat outside drinking coffee and admiring the falling leaves on Anfu Lu. Well, it couldn't last, and today the first day of our cold snap arrived, with a steel-grey sky, ice-edged wind, cold, cold rain and more leaves falling than the street-sweepers could possibly keep up with. Winter is coming, sometime soon, and there are preparations going on everywhere for the cold times ahead.  Take this guy...he's already into the turtlenecks and quilted winter street pyjamas. And there's also....


....furry motorbike hand warmers are appearing back on handlebars.....


....and knitted bike seat-covers, good for keeping your rear warmed....




...despite supermarkets and such, lots of Shanghai locals like to preserve their own winter food stores - 


fish heads, chickens, bits of ham, sausages.....conveniently located right outside your window and next to the power lines.....


And everyone is taking advantage of the last bits of sun to air the winter bedding......


....or just sit outside and enjoy themselves. As soon as the sun comes back out, I'm joining him.


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