Choose Your Artist Zhongyang Street 中央街 in Haerbin 哈尔滨
While the snack stalls were still setting up, I continued walking down the delightful Zhongyang Street in Haerbin. The sun was starting to go down now and yet it was still quite early in the day. Then it struck me that I was far enough north that the sunsets will be much earlier that time of the year at least two hours earlier. Anyway, there was still light for me to explore the town. I then ran into this row of artists for hire off to one side of Zhongyang Street.
Customer Having Her Portrait Drawn in Zhongyang Street 中央街 in Haerbin 哈尔滨
These artists were local Chinese who come to strut their wares for a fee naturally. They have a sample of their work displayed in front of them so you can judge which one you want to patronize. I don’t know what their fee was, but it was really intense competition if they were put next to each other. If a customer went to one artist does it mean the others weren’t as good, or was he just cheaper? A lot of people were milling about behind the artists as they drew portraits of their customers. I don’t know how long you need to sit there though as the canvas was quite large. It was quite charming to see these people show off their skill, it somehow gives more depth to the city.
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