Lesson 19

t to offer our young friends a place for social contact. If what we earn is enough for paying the tax, we are satisfied.
    "Before opening this bar, we often heId weekend parties at home in which we chatted, sang and danced. Then an idea occurred ta us to open a coffee shop so that we could know more people and more about the society.
    "Without wasting any time, Lu Wei and I took out all our savings to refurnish this room. Our friends did what they could to help us. Lu Wei did the decoration himseif, using a lot of reed, which is what his name means. Within a month, this mini-coffee room opened its door to the public."

    The atmosphere appealed mostly to young people. A university graduate, for instance, needed a place to hold a farewll party. The young owners offered the bar to him free of charge and suspended their business for the night. The young man invited 20 friends. And the party was a great success.
    "Making friends is more important than making money," Zhang observed. Being a full-time technician, Zhang has to work in his company by day and work in his coffee bar by night. He hires no employees. His friends volunteer to serve in this shop.
    A fashion designer whose nickname is also Duo Duo came in one day. "I'm glad my name is the same as this lovely bar's. I wish I had as many friends as it has,?she said.

    Pierre was a French student on a study tour in Beijing. He enjoyed himself in the bar so much that he could not heip dancing like Charlie Chaplain and blowing on the suona, a Chinese wind instrument.
    "Business has been good since the bar opened last year, but there were minor troubles when two or three rascals said they could not pay for their drinks. All we could do was ask them to write down their names on our credit list. Sometimes a rude fellow would drop in and talk too loudly. But the quiet atmosphere here would soon make him feel out of place and he would leave. I wish I could write a novel about society based on what I've seen and heard in this bar," Zhang said.
    It was already midnight. Xidan Street was asleep and empty. But the lights in Duo Duo still beckoned lonely walkers. Inside the room,customers were still chatting or humming.

　

                            4. Night Life Thrives

    in northern China people are asieep by midnight, but in Guangzhou most of the city's residents are still awake at that hour, living it up.
    Television and radio blast and blare away until two in the morning. Cinemas are multi-purpose. Besides showing films, they present video shows, dances and they have a bar.
    "I love the rich and coloarful night life in this southern city," a young Beijinger said when he came to Guangzhou for a business trip. "Sometimes when I come to the city, ,I visit the night bazaars.there."

    "I usually go shopping in the evening because I work during tbe day," a middle-aged woman said. "Furthermore, after supper,I like visiting the night bazaars. It's a.knid of entertainment."
    As most people in Guangzhou don't go to bed until far into the night, they usually eat a midnight snack. After shopping or leaving a concert, people often get a snack on the way home.
    "I would like to spend 5 yuan ( $1.35) to sit down and relax and eat something in the evening," Xiao Zheng, a taxi driver said. "Meanwhile, I might .spend another five yuan to have my car washed, ?he added.

    In Guangzhou, there are car washing services near some of the big bazaars which are popular with the drivers.
    A lot of Guangzhou residenis take a second job at night to earn extra money.
    College teachers have part-time jobs lecturing at night schools. Engineers
sometimes work on a project for another corporation. College students act as tutors.
    Problems also exist in the South China city.
    Prostitution is a bigger problem in Guangzhou than elsewhere in the country. And smuggling has increased recently.

                         5. Problem for Beijingers

    Improving public toilets has long been a .erious problem in Beijing, as well as the rest of China.
    There is a wry saying among Chinese people, "Follow the smell if vou want to find a toilet."
    "About 80 per cent of Beijing's public toilets fit the saying," admitted Xue Baoyi, an official from Beiiing Sa

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