Shao Xing Textile Expo was a riot of colour, not just of the fabrics but the people who attended. 
Funded by the Chinese govt people came from Shanghai, the Far East, South Amercia and Africa. I didn’t make much of a dent in the expenses as I made my own way to Shao xing (on a public bus via Hangzhou) but others were ferried in from Shanghai and the non-residents had subsided flights and accommodation to come from across the world.
At one point I found myself sitting on a table with a couple of French fashion designers from Shanghai and people from Sierra Leone, Chad, Benin, Burundi, Ivory coast, Algeria and Ghana. Although there was a large delegation of 29 from Nigeria all the other countries were represented by only a couple of people.
At one stage it seemed like a throw back to our colonial days with me and the French sitting with their mates chatting in French (Burundi, Benin, Algeria) an me with the mates (Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana). I think I bored most of mine as I found myself eventually surrounded only by the French speaking delegates. My schoolgirl French does not really extend to anything more than ordering a couple of beers and buying a stamp but I struggled on straining to understand and make comments.
Much to the amusement of the French lady, Pascale my French often came out as Chinrench “Wo bu comprehend” or “Donnez moi jige”. As for the Textile Expo, the bets bit was the machines I found at the back of the hall, pumping and grinding and spinning and weaving and generally being exciting. I spent most of my time there taking pictures.
the deal with the Chinese govt was “We’ll pay for you to come to the fair and put you up in a 4 star hotel as long as you attend the opening ceremony and be in the pictures.” and I did intend to, I really did. However, on arrival at the expo we saw through the pouring rain the open air paltform where we would stand in the long waterproof macs they had given us. I quickly ran inside the building to answer the call of nature and while in there I heard some explosions outside. Emerging into the rain I saw balloons and ticker tape and it appeared that I had missed the main event – the photo had been taken and I was not in it!
I sloped off – I don’t think anyone noticed.