Bird and flower market

Sunday is always a nice day to out into town on the bicycle. Today I went to the bird and flower market at the foot of Renmin Park, together with the boy who helped me buy my bike, and a girl from my university's Calligraphy Association. They both study agriculture, but are not in the same class.

The bird and flower market in Nanning is quite famous, and I have been there before on one of my earlier visits to Nanning, maybe the first, I don't remember. It's on a steep street leading up the hill at the Northern side of Renmin Park in the center of Nanning. The sidewalk just outside the park is occupied by a number of traders in suspicious goods, like big turtles and skins of furry animals. I doubts it's legal here to sell these items, but there doesn't seem to be any fear of police showing up unexpectedly. Maybe it's already dealt with..
On the street going up the hill, you find men selling more turtles, snakes, and of course birds. The birds are kept in pretty bamboo cages, equipped with porcelain drinking cups and beautifully carved. The men selling the birds are just standing there, holding up their bird cages, patiently waiting for prospective buyers to approach. In the stalls on either side of the street you find flowers (both fake and real), aquariums and plastic tubs full of goldfish and other degenerate species.

The more common pets like rabbits, puppies, and cats are also plentiful. At the other side is the bric-a-brac market, where porcelain jars, jade stuff, old coins and bills, and Mao-era collectibles are offered from blankets on the pavement. I saw an old but good-looking Japanese Samurai sword. Asking price 2000 RMB.
My friends had called a Vietnamese student from the nearby Sports College to join us. He arrived with a large Vietnamese-Chinese dictionary in hand, and broadly smiling practiced his Chinese conversation skills on both the market vendors and us alike with great enthusiasm. I admired his determination to learn the language. He had started 2 months ago, just like me, but seemed much more confident to bring it into practice. I can still hardly utter a complete sentence, let alone engage in full conversation. I guess I have to practice more..
After seeing everything in great detail, we went down for lunch. Outside I saw the snake vendor walk away empty-handed. Earlier he had two long snakes draped around his neck, so I guess he sold out already.