Savenelli's 140 Year Anniversary in Chongqing

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kiel

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 27, 2016
208
2
Yesterday in I Chongqing, savenelli held a 140 year anniversary event. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.
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The dinner we had afterwards was really nice too
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,459
The women in the photos look much at home with the pipes, and seem to be actually smoking them and enjoying it. Many photos of women with pipes mostly use the pipes as props. The Chinese market for cigarettes is vast; they'd be better off with pipes, by far. Looks like a good party with excellent food.

 

sfduke

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 14, 2012
219
247
Looks like a great event. Only question the choice of steamed crabs for a pipe dinner. Cannot imagine touching a pipe afterwards.

 

kiel

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 27, 2016
208
2
The event was only supposed to be around 100 people, but 240 showed up. There are a lot of curious people out here. I had a young man come up to me holding a pipe asking (1) if he could try my tobacco and (2) if I could teach him how to load and smoke a pipe. There were also quite a few women at the event posing with pipes. For them, it was a "cool" prop. The event did well in Chongqing because the Italians have an embassay here as well as their chamber of commerce. I'm not sure if Savenelli has such a big base in other Chinese cities, but if you're a pipe smoker then you probably have at least heard of Savenelli (which is pronounced "sha fen" in China) and seen some of their pipes online.
I thought the 140 blend was okay. I'm going to talk to my chamber of commerce buddy to see if he can find me a free 100g sample. I smoked a sample of it, but it was my last smoke of the evening. My mouth was pretty worn out at that point. It smelled sweet and was sweet at the beginning, but I forget how it was after that, and recall that it tasted pretty "ashy" towards the bottom. My review of the blend shouldn't be taken seriously.
Those crabs weren't as messy as you would think. We don't eat those for the leg meat. We eat them for the body meat. After you finish the "main course" the legs were eaten like sunflower seeds. We also had a bunch of oysters that were grilled with minced garlic and hot peppers. Those were really good!

 

stbruno70

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 9, 2013
580
238
@Woodsroad

It's quite clear where Savinelli sees their future market. And it's not in the US!
Spot on.
I also believe smokingpipes.com has an office or some arrangement in Chongqing.
@Kiel
That looks like a great event.
I was last in Chongqing some 20 years ago, when it was still emerging from the rubble of communism. How heartening to see this large and interesting city embrace something so unusual (for them) as smoking briar pipes, especially Savinellis. Good luck to them.

 

kiel

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 27, 2016
208
2
@stbruno70
I guarantee the city has changed tremendously. Development speeds in China are incredibly fast as most people know. Those buildings that were new 20 years ago have probably all been torn down and changed into a high rise building of some sort.
For the history guys, Chongqing was the war time capital of China during WWII. The Americans had a group out here training pilots and helping fight against the Japanese. The American general's building that he occupied during the war is now a museum. Also, a few years back, somewhere along the Yangtze River two (I think) fighter planes were discovered on the bottom of the river.

 
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