Yangshuo’s 老妈子
Hobbling down the street from the crack of dawn, 老妈子 seems to be everywhere in Yangshuo. But that’s only because she occupies the busiest part of 西街, the foreigner filled street full of coffee shops, inexpensive culinary delights, and shops galore in Yangshuo. As you can see from the picture above, 老妈子 is not the tallest of people.
Toothless determination
At about 80 years old, toothless 老妈子 picks up the same basket filled with fruit and trinkets getting ready for her day. Luckily for her, she knows that you are her best target – foreigners are more likely to be attracted to her and treat her kindly.
With a voice like a little girl, she calls to foreigners with calls of “Halo, halo”, always carrying a smile on her face and determination to make a sale. Even though her goods are far from better than other competitors around, many a foreigner is willing to buy from her, thanks to her persistence and charm.
If you turn her down once, she will try again. Twice, and she still won’t give up. Third times a charm, and if 老妈子 can’t sell you by then she will stumble on to her next target.
Not saying Hello
The funny thing is, when she is calling out “Halo” she is not saying “Hello”. Instead, she is saying “foreigner, foreigner”. How do I know? She told me and my girlfriend many times that “That Halo bought this from me for 5x what you are offering” or “You, this Halo, are too cheap.”
I have been to Yangshuo three times thanks to its proximity to Shenzhen, which I lived in for 2 1/2 years until recently. Each time, I saw 老妈子. Next time you go, can you look to see if she is still there for me? Take a picture and send it my way, so I know that 老妈子 is still out there making the rounds, and making memories for the hundreds of foreigners who go through Yangshuo each day.
Wonderful little anecdote there. I really enjoyed reading. Again I surfed into this thread hunting for pictures. It would certainly be welcomed and attracts more readership having more photos. In this case of 老妈子 a close up portrait would be very very interesting. Old people with wrinkles make very good photographic subjects.
Hey Frankie,
I really wish we had taken some close up pictures as well. If anyone out there has a close up picture of 老妈子, please send it to me, heh =)
How about the super creepy (laowai??) with full-on white hair and beard? Did you run across him on West street?
Hey Canrun,
Can’t say that I did during several trips to Yangshuo… anyone else?