I was going to post this in the Dinner topic, but I realised it was going to be a long story and didn't want to hijack the fine entries over there.
Dinner last night was interesting, but strange.
For reasons known only to themselves, the local television station decided to make a short program highlighting the local food specialities. They took over this lovely organic restaurant in a forest park area to the north of the city.
We climbed up to the the third floor passing various dining rooms.
until we reached this large room at the top.
These people are not eating. They are working. This is apparently how many people it takes to make a short television program. Lighting people, food stylists etc. Cameramen, too. They were taking still shots at the time. It became apparent that I wasn't needed at this point, so I went for a walk around the restaurant grounds.
The restaurant is right beside the river which is in itself a symbol of the city. An old name for the city was 龙城 (lóng chéng), which means Dragon City, so-called because the river is said to resemble a dragon's tail looping through the city. I don't know. My local bakery is still called Long Cheng Bakery, for example.
The restaurant is at the red dot top right. I live at the blue dot in the centre.
The river is also the source of the restaurant's fish and one other important ingredient that I will come to.
The chickens and ducks live right beside the restaurant.
As do the vegetables
and the fruit.
Then I went back inside to see what, if anything was happening.
