WHAT ALL MY FEMALE FRIENDS WOULD LIKE TO KNOW BUT HESITATE TO ASK!

Most of the cities that we visit have two distinct personalities: old towns filled with centuries old Chinese residences, store front retail shops,butchers, green grocers with neighborhood flavors and idiosyncrasies peculiar to each area, and new towns, less than twenty-five years old,filled with modern hi-rise buildings, built to meet the demand of new industries and the prosperity that these industries have generated.
Dalian is different. It is two cities merged into one. In the nineteenth century, Russia took a small fishing village and turned it into a thriving port, Port Arthur, to house their Pacific fleet. One day in 1904,completely out of the blue, (Oh goodness me!) the Japanese attacked the Russian fleet. Next day the Japanese declared war and the Russo-Japanese conflict became official. China eventually regained the port and it remained Port Arthur for many years until they decided to merge it with a neighboring city. They named this megalopolis Dalian.
There are many beautiful beaches that stretch on either side of the port leading to a thriving tourist industry. In the summer Chinese and Russians gravitate here en masse. We don't visualize the Chinese or Russians in swimsuits having fun but if we did we would realize how alike we are.
Mal and I hired a driver to take us to the "Old Town", hoping to explore the old city. Imagine our dismay when we found ourselves at the foot of a large mall. Unlike its U.S. counterpart this mall extends vertically as opposed to horizontally. The format is similar to some large U.S. hotels. There is an atrium in the middle with upscale retailers filling the peripheral areas.
We decided to abandon the mall and seek greener fields in the city streets.Before leaving I suggested we visit the "W.C.", (a term the Chinese undoubtedly adopted from the Brits), on the grounds that they would be modern and clean. I found beautifully tiled walls, polished stainless steel cubicles, automatic proximity faucets and hot air hand driers. Inside the stainless steel doors were pristine, white porcelain toilet bowls....set into the floor. Billions of Asians have used this arrangement for centuries so I doubt that it is going to change, and, in fact, I've grown accustomed to it. What seems a little odd, although it really shouldn't, given that this is a very modern mall, is that these toilets are self flushing, and like their U.S. equivalents, they don't give any warning before they flush!
Oh, yes. No toilet paper. There was a vending machine that dispensed small packets of tissues for a few cents, but, what every Asian woman, and at least one westerner, knows -- always carry your own toilet paper.