Happy Chinese New Year

It is still Chinese New Year here in the States, though as of right now it is the day after in China. I am breaking out of my sequence and posting a couple of pictures from my last visit to Shanghai. Above is my friend Sharon, who were incredibly kind and attentive to me. Thanks to her, I got to see areas of Shanghai and facets of China I had not yet experienced, but I will have to share that at some later time.

To the right, yours truly in front of that unmistakable Shanghai landmark, the Oriental Pearl Tower.

Beware the Osaka Hutong

The term 'hutong' originates in China, but I grokked its meaning in Japan. I think of it as a commercial alley. Oriental cities contain a plethora of such little streets and walk-throughs brimming with close-quarters commercialism. The difference is that in Japan, the concept is upgraded to the 21st century and incorporated into a modern cityscape.

In particular, Osaka, where the shopper's paradise makes New York look like Reykjavik, and even Tokyo cannot compete in sheer density, the alluring retail maze is everywhere. If you spot an entry, be careful. It will suck you up, and if you are low on will-power, it will not spit you back out until you max your credit.

In the following series of pictures, I have included one from Hong Kong and one from Beijing, to round it out.

Accolades to the Chinese People

Though generalizations can be dangerous, peoples of different countries develop reputations for a reason. This is true even for large countries like Japan and France, but the people of really huge countries, like the USA and China, defy universal description.

My fascination with these two countries is linked with the range of attitudes, beliefs and cultures you meet in either place, though the specifics obviously vary.

In China, I met people of all kinds: brusque and friendly, rude and polite, busy and patient, nasty and sweet. Though the crowds were bothersome, and the pace and jostling anywhere there was a line got downright uncomfortable, sooner or later somebody would walk up to me and offer assistance. This happened so consistently to me that I developed an affection, which, though the samaritans were obviously a small minority, I tend to bestow on the Chinese people as a whole.

A good example was when I got off an inter-city bus in Chengdu, trying to get back to my hostel. I ended up at a different transit station than the one I left from. I had no idea where I was. This transit station was informal, with a line of bus stops down a main road, no central office or billboards to get information from. I got a fresh bite of pineapple from a street vendor, which I needed after the ride inside the hot, poorly ventilated bus, then looked around to see about taxis.

It was thick with people, spilling into the streets and not really thinning out anywhere within sight, so I hesitated a bit, wanting to determine the best direction to get away so that I had a chance of getting a cab. Then a car pulled up, and the driver, a bit chubby, got out and started talking to me in Mandarin, with his passenger yelling unintelligbly from the car. Since I could not understand him, he called out to others and soon a young, adult but tiny student appeared, acting as interpreter. They asked me where I was going, so I pulled out a map and showed the location of the hostel.

I tend to take map-reading for granted, but though this particular city map was in Mandarin, it took some discussion among the Chinese, in the group that had gathered around, to figure out where I was going. The driver then, through the tiny interpreter, offered to take me for fifty yuan. I immediately said no, since I knew I was close and a taxi ride should have been about half of that. I also would have hesitated to get in an unmarked car with two strangers, but since I generally felt safe throughout China, this was only my second thought.

The conversation went back and forth for a while, with more people joining us. The student politely and diffidently translated questions for the others, without responding to me, possibly because his English was poor. Several times, the group broke out in laughter. I had noticed before that the Chinese find a curious mirth in the presence of foreigners. Often when I walked into a store or restaurant, the clerk or waiter would suppress a giggle. Not in an offensive way, as I could tell. They just found it funny that they were serving a tourist.

A girl appeared and the driver said something to her, and then she asked me what I needed. I had to tell her a couple of times, though her English seemed a little better than that of the small guy. Once she understood that I wanted a cab, she told me she could help me and gently dragged me off by the arm.

The girl and her tall boyfriend, a guy I only noticed then, got me away from the crowds. I cannot describe how kind they were. They exhausted their vocabulary to try to talk with me, about where I was from and what I was doing in China. They refused to accept a ride, though I thought that was the least I could do and all three of us could easily fit in a cab. They were not going to leave me or let me go until they had gotten me a cab.

We eventually found a clear spot with little competition, so that soon a taxi stopped for us. The boyfriend negotiated with the driver, his whole lanky body leaning through the window, to make sure I would not get cheated. We said our heartfelt goodbyes and I was off.

This post is in honor of all those kind Chinese people, including some special friends I met, who helped make my time in China so extra-special.

China Pictures and Great Pop

I want to write more about China, but in the meantime, I put a Picasaweb album together with about a dozen select China pictures for your enjoyment.

Magnificent China

As a bonus, I want to share a link to David Brin's essay on Tolkien: Enemy of Progress. Tolkien's seminal work, Lord of the Rings, is one of my favorite books of all time. I hold The Enlightenment to be the foundation of modern progress, freedom and prosperity. Thus, I enjoyed Brin's juxtaposition of the two. Plus, having your most cherished works and authors subjected to sage critique is a healthy excercise.

In general, there is a lot of Great Pop out there. A lot of junk, but many gems as well. I have found that I enjoy blogging, so when I am not traveling, I will point to more good stuff. I created a "Great Pop" tag for that purpose. I hope you enjoy.

Chinese College Quiz

Every year, about ten million Chinese students compete for about five million college placements. A critical factor is the Chinese SAT, the main difference being that it lasts for two days.

The Chinese students call it Gaokao. Take a look at some of the open-ended essay questions. How would you do? Bear in mind that these questions are always tailored to the education the students go through in their schools, but it is still interesting to ponder.

Pictured is Tree, a Chinese student I met and became friends with on the way back from Japan to Shanghai. I hope he did well in his tests this year.

Adult Playgrounds

The central piece in a playground is a cool structure for kids to climb on. Yet, when adults build cool structures, at least in Europe, they don't make them climbable. I think there is some aesthetic rule that dictates people should not defile a beautiful piece.

The Chinese and Japanese have no such inhibitions. If they build something big worth looking at, they attach something so you can walk it, climb it, or otherwise ascend it and check it out from the inside and the top.

When I went up into the Pearl Oriental tower, there was a "sightseeing walk." The name was not that inspiring, but I was surprised to find out that this was a glass surface exposing you to all of the 250m of air underneath you. It was really cool.

The Sightseeing Walk in Oriental Pearl Tower


Compared to the World Financial Center, I thought the Pearl Oriental Tower was the better experience. You don't get quite the same exposure in the former. The World Financial Center had a cool space-theme going, though, with moody electronic music and interesting light effects.

In Tokyo, I went to view the International Forum, and again, was pleasantly surprised that they had built ramps so you could walk along the insides. It enabled me to view the structure from another perspective and get a better appreciation. The Kyoto Train station had the same feature, with stairs and 'skywalks' enabling you to walk up and down and across the appealing structures, viewing it and the surroundings from different angles.

Inside the World Financial Center

King of Consumerism

Famous Binh Trang market in Saigon


I don't want to hear another word about American Consumerism. When it comes to retail, Asia has America whipped twice over.

Everywhere you go, there are shops, markets, stores, malls, merchants, joints, marts, street-vendors, cafes, restaurants, businesses, pitchers and peddlers. If I hiked for three days into the desert, a hawker would show up offering a marked-up drink. It would probably be cold, too. They are nothing if not crafty.

Ads are ubiquitous. I have never seen a higher density of advertisements as on the Japanese metro cars. China doesn't seem to have any codes or norms about sound pollution, so speakers and multimedia ads blare at full volume wherever there is a concentration of people. I saw lots of clever marketing gimmicks. In Beijing, there was a long LCD display in a train tunnel, where an ad would animate and then follow the train for a minute, perfectly aligned so that it would display right outside the window.


China and Vietnam do not seem to have any zoning or licensing restrictions. Any joker can sell junk straight from the sidewalk, and any wheezer can run a laundry out of the back door. Thus you get the traditional hutong, where businesses of all kinds are crammed together. Hutongs have charm, but they are essentially strip-malls with history.

The retail market was not introduced by the West, or by tourism. Some of the local markets are older than Jamestown. I can be driving in the country, out where they almost never see a foreigner, and suddenly traffic comes to a stop because a market is in progress.

In Kyoto's history museum, they had created a model of how a market street in 17th century Japan might have looked.

The oldest tradition is perhaps around the temples, where peddlers sell incense, oil and other offerings and gimmicks to the worshippers. When you mix retail with religion, I don't think you can get more consumer oriented.

It shouldn't surprise us that people want to spend their money, but the point is that it is not a western thing. Hard as it is to believe, compared to Asia, America's consumerism seems a bit muted.


Osaka must have the largest retail area in the world. The shops and malls continue for miles in all directions. There are underground, maze-like tunnels with even more shops and cafes. As elsewhere, half the stores carry women's clothes and bookshops double as reading room for students and the stingy.


The Superbrand Mall in Shanghai is probably the largest mall I have been to. You can get the sense of its size only in one dimension: in the other two, it seems to sprawl on forever.

Farewell China

I'm back in my beloved Hong Kong, free speech land.

On my last afternoon in Shanghai, I had coffee on the Pudong side of the river. The sun was shining on the boats drifting by while China's national flag wafted in the breeze. It was perfect for my last hour in the People's Republic of China.

Now that I have unfettered Internet access again, I hope to catch up on my blogging a bit.

Jiu Zhai Gou

I have seen a lot of mountain areas, but a visit to Jiu Zhai Gou still stood out. It's unique with all the azure lakes and the meadowy water-falls. The overall terrain reminded me a bit of the Canadian rockies, probably because of all the limestone in both places.



I shall let the pictures do the talking; here are some tips for anyone going.

I had seen several references to a bus from the airport to the park, but I could find no such bus. I got on a shuttle bus from the airport, but it was a hotel courtesy shuttle, and I was obliged to lodge with one of the hotels it went to. The taxi getting back to the airport was quite steep, as the meter rate goes up for longer trips. That was something I hadn't expected, and I ran out of cash.

Inside the park, get the bus pass, even if you plan to mostly hike. The first three or four miles are not that interesting, compared to the rest. The bus rides will take longer than you think, because they stop often with mandatory changes. Some go straight through, but you can't tell which they are or when they leave.

I spent two days there and didn't feel the need to spend any longer. Spending a night in the park is dicy and you shouldn't plan on it.

There are a lot of Chinese tourists, but as with most nature areas, you don't have to move that far from a bus-stop to escape the worst of it. All hiking is on gang-planks or similar artificially constructed trail works.

Long Lake is the highest spot the bus goes to, at 10,500'.

Hottest Meal Yet

In Chengdu, I had a hotpot dinner that was the most spicy meal I ever ate. I have perhaps tasted food this spicy before, as for instance when cautiously dipping a chip in the extra-hot salsa in a renowned taqueria. It is very different consuming a full such meal. You know you are eating spicy food when you pour raw garlic on it to soften the flavor!

In general, the Chinese food has been a pleasant surprise. The variety is amazing. It shouldn't really be, given the size and the history of the country -- I think my perception has been colored by the limited experience at Chinese restaurants in the states.

One of many culinary delights: The famous Shanghai squirting dumplings. You cannot really tell they are squirting, except if you notice they are sagging with the liquid inside.


In contrast, the food in Vietnam was a disappointment. The best meals I had in Vietnam were French. Curiously, the main Gaelic influence there seems to be a slight over-representation of French restaurants, plus a few loaner-words.

I did have some really good hotpots, but even here, China has outshone Vietnam so far, both in variety and overall quality. Two problems with Vietnamese food is that you have to spice it up yourself - which can be tough with unfamiliar sauces and herbs - and the best places are often local hole-in-the-walls that don't have names or addresses. Also, they often change around, as they go in and out of business. Thus, for the best experience, you really need to go with a local.

Vietnamese hotpot meal from Lau Tu Xuyen in Hanoi

That Other Chinese Wall

I have escaped momentarily from the Chinese firewall. In addition to blocking content, and some sites outright, it slows things down more than I had realized. My impression is that sites fall into a green-amber-red spectrum, where greens are passed through, reds are fully blocked, and ambers go through a filter that slows down access, sometimes to a crawl.

I will try to get some posting in while my access is unadulterated.

The Old Great Wall

Two features make the Great Wall of China impressive: its age and its length. It's also neat how they used natural features, but that is a corollary to the length. When you build something that is 5600 km long, incorporating terrain becomes mandatory.

I have mixed feelings about the Great Wall.

On the one hand, it is a testament to human accomplishment. It is the largest man-made structure in the world, and the only one visible from space. Its length is nearly equal to Earth's radius. It was built over a thousand year period. Its newest sections are 400 years old, not considering renovations.

The Wall also signifies Chinese freedom from Mongol rule. I don't wish oppression on anyone.

On the other hand, the Great Wall also stands as a symbol of isolationism and protectionism during the Ming dynasty, which was partially responsible for bringing China from the forefront of civilization to a backwaters relevant only for its size.

From a military perspective, the purpose of the wall must have been to stop a large, horse-based army. It seems to me that smaller raids conducted at night could not have been prevented, except with a massive guard along the entirety, which is unlikely. The wall was defensible from both sides, and has internal defensive features, so that one breach would not compromise the whole defense works.

The Two Towers

Shanghai is awe-inspiring. Above is a picture of two of the largest buildings in the world. On the left is Shanghai World Financial Center, the second tallest in the world. On the right is Jin Mao tower. The latter has an observation deck on the 88th floor, where I went up. I couldn't see much, thanks to the clouds, but it was still an impressive experience. The last 30 floors is a hotel with an atrium you can look into.

Neither building is boring. They each have interesting architectural features. Jin Mao tower took an idea from ancient pagoda construction, with the decorative terraces all the way up.

When we went to the Yu gardens in the old town, we got glimpses of the Pudong skyline, which created an interesting contrast.

Elliot, Forgotten Father

I was at the Museum of History today. I found the presentation of Hong Kong history to be really good, and the interior was characteristally elegant and clean.

One thing that struck me in the presentation was the somewhat dichotomic approach to figures and events, in the sense that something or someone either failed or succeeded. For instance, both posters and movie presentations referred to Macartney as having "failed," where a Western account may just have said that he had an impossible task and did as well as he could under the circumstances.

It was not surprising, but still disappointing, Elliot should receive such little attention. If Hong Kong has a founding father, it is Charles Elliot. (Not to be confused with the bigotted Eliot that came to Hong Kong much later). Elliot not only was the first to suggest Hong Kong as a suitable location to the Colonial Office, he also defied orders and stipulated its cession at the first convention with the Chinese. He was also the commanding British officer taking possession of the island.

Elliot is a fascinating figure. Although his appointment to China was nepotistic, he dispatched his duties with energy and compunction. Like a 19th century Picard, he acted judiciously, taking his office seriously while maintaining respect for the local population and a policy of peace and restraint.

A case in point is when Dent was stuck in Canton just as hostilities were about to break out. With just four sailors, Elliot proceeded to enter Canton, outmanouvering a small fleet of junks trying to block him. He hoisted the flag over the super-intendent's office, indicating official UK presence and thereby showing government support for the compatriots and making the issue international. It is unclear what would have happened to Dent with a less dutiful plenipotentiary, but Elliot's actions were surely both daring and keen.

Travel Preparation Tips for China

Here are three important things I learned in preparing for my China trip.

1. The most useful site I used for research: Seat61. It mainly contains information about trains, such as time tables, description of the classes, where to get tickets, etc. I'm counting 18 Asian countries in the index, and the other continents are also represented, with an emphasis on Europe. While it's mostly about trains, other information for each country is also summarized, such as visa information, currencies, etc. There are links to many other informational sites, including embassies and booking sites.

2. Using an agency for getting the Chinese visa. At the consulate, I was blocked by onerous documentation requirements. They wanted to know my booking arrangement for each day and night I will spend in China, something that would have been literally impossible in my case, since land-based traveling can only be arranged within a few weeks of the local trip. After a recommendation from some friends, I used the agency instead and it was smooth sailing.

3. Vaccinations: If you want inoculation against Hepatitis B, start more than one month before the trip. It's a three-step vaccination process, and the second injection needs to be administered one month after the first. Getting just the first injection does not give any immunity, from what I was told.

The Mirror Metaphor Mystery

I'm reading a Chinese short story collection which includes the story "The Floating City" by Xi Xi. I'm sure "The Floating City" is a metaphor for Hong Kong, but several of the other metaphors escape me.

One of them is about mirrors. In "The Floating City," mirrors reflect the back of things, so that if you look into one, you see the back of your head instead of your face.

"In the floating city's mirrors you can't find any answers or forecast the
future. But you can know the past, and this is not necessarily a bad
thing. History can teach lessons, and this is one of the good things
about the mirrors in the floating city."

I wonder if this is a reference to the enlightenment philosophy of reason, knowledge and science, which focuses on describing things as they are in the here and now, and how they came to be that way, without divining about the future. This seems opposed to many other philosophies, including eastern and religious ones, with prophesies, oracles, astrology, etc, many of which contains a divination aspect.

If that is indeed the reference, it is a profound insight by Xi Xi.

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