Yesterday I made my way to a bookstore in Shenzhen stocking foreign titles.  Near the overpass of the road with the store, I saw a banner saying 推崇阅读 (respect/praise reading), meanwhile there were performers playing the 二胡 (erhu, a traditional Chinese instrument) and taking donations from passers-by.  As I exited the building, I saw plenty of 星星 (stars) dotting the sky while enjoying the 凉快 (cool) weather.  With my 宝贵 (precious) books in hand, I was rather pleased.  Some of the books at the library were definitely OUT (out) though, I saw a book describing how to use COBOL and DOS.  With the extra time I had last night, I took a trip to another one of the 口岸 (ports) and was impressed with the linkage of the Shenzhen MTR and Hong Kong MTR.  After that, I grabbed dinner at an HK-style cafe where one couple had their 八哥狗/哈巴狗 (pug dog) lying on the floor underneath them.

推崇 tui1chong2 – praise, respect
阅读 yue4du2 – reading
二胡 er2hu2 – a two-stringed traditional chinese instrument played with a bow
星星 xing1xing1 – stars
凉快 liang2kuai4 – cool, fresh
宝贵 bao3gui4 – precious
OUT out – internet slang meaning “out of style”
口岸 kou3an4 – port
八哥狗 ba1ge1gou3 – pug
哈巴狗 ha1bagou3 – pug (alternative name)