Associate producer Alissa Shapiro spent nearly three months in Chongqing, China, during production of Koppel on Discovery: The People's Republic of Capitalism. Throughout her adventure, she e-mailed friends and family with thoughts and observations about what it’s like to live in and report on modern China.
Day 1
Landed in Chongqing
In a foreign place I do not feel foreign at all — it is wonderful getting to know the people.
Days 3-6
First Days of Shooting
This morning we went to film a radio show about cars. I’ve never seen so many people get excited about a Ford. Anything Western seems to be considered "good."
After the shoot, we went back to the bridge to watch one of the last beams get put in place from the Yangtze below. Only a few hours later it’s hard to believe I was sitting in the middle of the Yangtze River on a rusted barge of 1920s lineage with men in their pajamas chaining a two- or three-ton beam to a crane that would lift it hundreds of feet in the air.
I Want My KTV …
Later that evening we went to shoot a KTV floor show. These are places that migrant girls get sucked into when they move to the big city from the countryside. And they ARE girls, i.e., teenagers.
There are lounges where men in groups go to private rooms and select which hostesses will "serve" them that evening. In this case, serving is singing and going drink for drink with the middle-aged men. They get paid for more as well, but the girls won't confirm whether or not they participate.
On Thursday we went to shoot only the front of the KTV, in which those clients not in private rooms are entertained. It’s totally odd. Before the floor show begins, you listen to people singing terrible karaoke from a speaker system. It is unclear whether or not this is live or just for fun. Seriously, I think fun.
Intermittently blowing out your eardrums, the sparkling-pants-clad DJ plays pop music for a regular bar crowd. Girls dance on stage and guys follow their trail. Once 10 p.m. hits, the show begins.
The DJ and a KTV hostess come out singing traditional Chinese songs, while girls in traditional costume do an awkward and conservative dance.
Scene progresses: All the girls line up at the back of the room in different costumes with numbers attached in risqué places, then parade around showing off their "skills." They march onstage where the MC introduces them and customers have the opportunity to "purchase" a drink with the girls. If they have been selected, the girls are presented on stage with garlands. The selected then go offstage to meet their customers.
The show progresses from traditional Chinese song and dance to more modern performances that are a bit edgy. Finally, American pop – first, "Staying Alive" -- blares out of the speakers, and then the Britney starts to pop.
A Day of Calm
Friday we didn't have anything to shoot, so I took the day to get organized. I went to Nick Mackie’s (our field producer) office with Dolphin Xia Rongjing (associate field producer), and the two of us had lunch at UB Café, which serves Brazilian and Hawaiian coffee -- needless to say, one of my favorite places in the city.
Soon after lunch Nick called, saying he was set to shoot a demolition at one of the development projects we were following. He found a good spot on top of a building in one of the old neighborhoods marked for demolition and we climbed over mounds of trash to get to the top.
After a while, the building went up in smoke and ash. The smoke cloud slowly covered everything in sight, including us, with inches of thick ash, which made it impossible to see in front of you.
Virtual chaos ensued as people rushed away from the thick cloud and cars bottle-necked at a road block. The cloud dissipated after about 20 minutes as workers drenched the site in water.
Clearly, no one (including me) thought that blowing up a 20-story building in the middle of the day during the week may not be the world’s best idea. Oh, China …
Hotpot
The local fare in Chongqing is what they call "hotpot." Red chili pepper mixed with oil and brought to a roiling boil is the centerpiece. Like fondue, you cook the actual food in this spicy pot – chicken feet and neck, tofu, mushrooms and cabbage are normal ingredients.
I had heard about this "delicacy" before I arrived, so when Nick arranged for me to meet the local students who have been helping out with our production, hotpot was the clear choice.
The students are all bright, energetic and incredibly warm. They made fun of me and my inept chopstick skills, as well as my lack of adventurous spirit. They warned me against things as I went to try then – the congealed blood, for example -- so I was pretty thankful.
The lotus roots, hard tofu and mushrooms are pretty delicious if you wipe off the chili oil. They have these neon-green dumplings as well, and they are really tasty.
