KTV

In case you are not aware, karaoke is a very very very big thing in China. In the US, karaoke is something reserved almost entirely for drunk people. Also, in the US if you cannot sing karaoke, and let’s face it, most people can't, other people in the room scoff, giggle, and make uncomfortable faces towards their friends sitting across the room. In Yumen, however, "KTV" is an entirely different situation. First of all, you can pick from many different settings. In Yumen alone I believe that there are at least 10 karaoke venues. Some of them are classic Karaoke bars, and some of them are sit down restaurants where your party gets a private room equip with disco lights, a projector screen, two microphones, and a dinner that is quite delicious. Sadly, I have only experienced the private room, but I am seriously considering hitting up some KTV bars in the very near future (yes, I realize that sentence was riddled with absurdities). We went to the KTV restaurant, sat down, ordered food, and started belting out cheesy '80's song after cheesy '80's song, with an occasional (slightly less) cheesy 90's song, and quite a few Chinese songs that I am completely incapable of describing. 

I honestly think that no one in the room was drunk (although I cannot be entirely sure)! Nevertheless, everyone was belting out songs as loud and as passionately as they could. At the beginning I thought that it was shaping up to be an uncomfortable experience, but it ended up being astonishingly fun. I honestly think that if anyone wants to experience "modern" Chinese culture, they should hit up a KTV bar!