IN CHINATOWN

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 83, 6 January 1928, Page 8

IN CHINATOWN

A “LION” THAT WAS FED WITH DOLLAR BILLS

QUEER WAY OF COLLECTING

The edict against the use of fireworks in city streets issued by the police in some centres of New Zealand has no equivalent in San Francisco. That city has a well-defined quarter known as “Chinatown,” where many streets are lined with Chinese stores, restaurants, food depots, etc., which support a. population of from 12,000 to 15,000 Chinese. On November 1 it was announced that the "grand hungry lion of China” would parade Hie streets in aid of the funds of the Chinese hospital, and all Chinatown turned out to see the show, which was typically Oriental in its solemn, business-like stolidity. T'he lion was a stalwart Chinaman who, bearing (rather than wearing) a huge, brightly-coloured and higllly-grotesque papier mache mask of a lion, rampaged from one side of the street to the other, his zig-zag capcrings being accompanied by the firing of thousands of crackers and the dreadful music from the most extraordinary of Chinese bands, which included a huge tom-tom or horizontal drum, borne by two perspiring Chinese. The manner in which the donations were collected was unique. From the balcony of nearly every shop or tenement hung a long string, to which was attached a lettuce, cabbage, leek or some such vegetable; and after executing his rushful dance for a few minutes, the lion approached the hanging vegetable, opened his jaws,, and, apparently, consumed the offering. What actually happened was that the vegetable, so greedily consumed, was quickly torn to pieces within the mask, and the five or ten dollar bill concealed therein was handed over to the treasurer. The procession was under the control of the police (armed with revolvers as well as batons), and its movements were limited to the confines of Chinatown. As the result of the explosion of so many crackers the streets looked as though it had rained red paper for a week, and cleansing operations occupied quite a time. So thorough were the Chinese 1U their queer canvass that the “lion” was on view for two whole days.