just watched Narnia (the chornicles of: the lion, the witch and the wardrobe) and felt like an 8 year old again. It has been about 15 years since i read several of those books. My memory is generally crap, but i remembered loving the books and so watched the films really hoping not to be disappointed.
Overall, it was very good. There are always problems squeezing long books into 2 hour films! It does remind me of being young. I am thinking back to when I was a librarian in St Johns School, Northwood (where i went to school from about age 10-13), mostly so in the winter we could stay inside during 'break' and play on the computer. Actually, at that time the computer was so old it had no hard drive -everything was saved on a big ass thing that might be called a 7 inch disk or something. all we did was create simple programmes to chase dots around the screen i think..
although i do feel quite young (not much responsibility, not earning much money, having fun) I guess its not quite the same as back then, wearing a purple blazer (hmm), playing British bulldog in the playground (before it was banned), playing football with the plastic balls with holes in them and even going to art class. aah, they were the days... of parents evenings, hanging around the playground waiting to be picked up by parents and having homework to do!
life in china is somewhat the opposite.. when kids are young they are forced to work really hard, start school ridiculously early in the morning and study all the time... their dream: to get into (prefereably a good) university. once in, they just relax and chill. Though they will compete to work for the big multinationals, they know they will not have to worry about earning a few USD a day, and they will be able to take advantage of china's economic growth.
I forget how few univerity places there are here (limited by money needed to pay for them and actual number of places ) -but i learned today something new about Leon (my chinese room-mate/boss) who has travelled to Europe more than twice and India twice, and who will have very little problem earning at least 5,000 rmb a month when he starts work. It bought me back to reality that his cousins are earning 350 rmb basic a month (plus commission if he rents out any apartments), 800 rmb a month and 2,000 rmb a month. None of them went to university and he is the one hope for his entire family... not like he acts like it that much :) [oh, and he is from Beijing, not the countryside]
oh, and if you have time, there are some very funny (not rude) jokes here: http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/index.php/blog/category/select/Humour/.
Example 1: "A drunk stood at the vending machine putting money in the slot and collecting can after can after can of Coke. The man behind him grew more and more impatient. "For heaven's sake, hurry up!" he shouted. The drunk replied, "Not while I'm winning!""
Example 2:"A man at the airline counter told the assistant, "I'd like this bag to go to Berlin, this one to California, and this one to London." The person on the desk told him, "I'm sorry sir. We can't do that." "Nonsense," replied the man. "That's what you did last time I flew with you.""
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
What I know about China know
impossible to summarise but it includes:
-poverty and wealth issues
-massive cities, traffic, pollution, energy and population issues (60% of 1.3 bn people still live in coutryside but by 2020, it might be only 30 or 40%)
-migrant workers
-chinese language (1-2,000 words), about half of China visited, country as cold as siberia and as hot as thailand, as dusty as the sahara and as wet as pakistan, as high as the himalayas and so wide it would take 3 days by train from beijing to west china
-big: city sizes, buildings, government projects, number of people learning english yet number of people who cannot speak a word of english, so big there are 50 or so 'minorities' and langauges so diverse that cantonese is as different to mandarin as french is to english, that shanghainese as different as irish is to english (and the shanghainese and bejingese dislike each other more than the french and the english!)
-chinese festivals, history, politics, businesses (taking over the World)
-tibet being 'liberated' by china about 50 years ago and taiwan still being a 'province' of china. The Vatican not talking to Beijing (but Taipai), but that China replaced Taiwan in Security Council, yet both are members of the WTO
-that over 200 million people have been lifted from poverty, that over 300 million have mobile phones, that satellite dishes can be found everywhere in the country yet foreign TV on the cable stations goes blank when certain topics are discussed.
-that chinese people are very logical, very family orientated, non-religious, have great and hugely diverse food including regional variations and can have more that 1 child if both parents are single children or if they are a farming family or can pay a big fine!
-that some goods are 10 times cheaper than the UK (local bus travel or rice) but other things are almost the same (computers or mobile phones) and others more expensive (luxury cars or jewellery) but that fakes are everywhere.
and so so so so so so so so so so much more!
but what do other foreigners that come to china for 1 week, or that never come to china and maybe just hear about china in the news, or maybe don't even do that.. what do they know? What do the people who are making decisions about politics or business with china actually know about china?
and i still know so little about china: a novice am i, to learn more must i, might a successful future depend (as Yoday might say!)
-poverty and wealth issues
-massive cities, traffic, pollution, energy and population issues (60% of 1.3 bn people still live in coutryside but by 2020, it might be only 30 or 40%)
-migrant workers
-chinese language (1-2,000 words), about half of China visited, country as cold as siberia and as hot as thailand, as dusty as the sahara and as wet as pakistan, as high as the himalayas and so wide it would take 3 days by train from beijing to west china
-big: city sizes, buildings, government projects, number of people learning english yet number of people who cannot speak a word of english, so big there are 50 or so 'minorities' and langauges so diverse that cantonese is as different to mandarin as french is to english, that shanghainese as different as irish is to english (and the shanghainese and bejingese dislike each other more than the french and the english!)
-chinese festivals, history, politics, businesses (taking over the World)
-tibet being 'liberated' by china about 50 years ago and taiwan still being a 'province' of china. The Vatican not talking to Beijing (but Taipai), but that China replaced Taiwan in Security Council, yet both are members of the WTO
-that over 200 million people have been lifted from poverty, that over 300 million have mobile phones, that satellite dishes can be found everywhere in the country yet foreign TV on the cable stations goes blank when certain topics are discussed.
-that chinese people are very logical, very family orientated, non-religious, have great and hugely diverse food including regional variations and can have more that 1 child if both parents are single children or if they are a farming family or can pay a big fine!
-that some goods are 10 times cheaper than the UK (local bus travel or rice) but other things are almost the same (computers or mobile phones) and others more expensive (luxury cars or jewellery) but that fakes are everywhere.
and so so so so so so so so so so much more!
but what do other foreigners that come to china for 1 week, or that never come to china and maybe just hear about china in the news, or maybe don't even do that.. what do they know? What do the people who are making decisions about politics or business with china actually know about china?
and i still know so little about china: a novice am i, to learn more must i, might a successful future depend (as Yoday might say!)
What I knew about China before I came here
-Communism and Mao, but maybe the country is better described as socialist that currently being communist
-Tiananmen square, something about pro-democracy protestors dying
-Big economy and factory of the world
-great wall (can be seen from space)
-hong kong given back to China in 1997
-beijing is the capital and shanghai has lots of skyscrapers
-biggest population in the World
-1 child policy
-tea and china
then i read some books in the 2 weeks before I came here and learnt about
-the cultural revolution
-taiwan
-tibet
-the great leap forward
-deng xiaoping and the opening up period
-WTO accession and Olympics in 2008
-results of 1 child policy, male-preference for children and ageing on society
...and some other things
if i think of some more things that i used to know then i will change this blog.
-Tiananmen square, something about pro-democracy protestors dying
-Big economy and factory of the world
-great wall (can be seen from space)
-hong kong given back to China in 1997
-beijing is the capital and shanghai has lots of skyscrapers
-biggest population in the World
-1 child policy
-tea and china
then i read some books in the 2 weeks before I came here and learnt about
-the cultural revolution
-taiwan
-tibet
-the great leap forward
-deng xiaoping and the opening up period
-WTO accession and Olympics in 2008
-results of 1 child policy, male-preference for children and ageing on society
...and some other things
if i think of some more things that i used to know then i will change this blog.
Dinner last night
Beijing is warming up, finally. Its 15-20 degrees this week (though next week might go back down to 10 degress), so it looks like the jackets can go away and the sweatshirts can be used less often.
Yesterday 8 of us has dinner, which I want to talk about since it was interesting. There is Nico (chinese) who is very much aware of internet censorship but not of some other issues, then there is Kim (chinese) who has studied journalism but less aware of these issues and very much trustworthy of the government in most respects, then there is Dexter (chinese) who is quite western minded in knowing all the kind of stuff the government does but not caring that much. We also had me who reads about all kinds of stuff about all the bad and good things the crappy british and chinese governments are up to, then there is Leon (Chinese) who was sort of in the middle..maybe more like Dexter though, then there is Peter (Slovakian) who has not been reading that much stuff about these topics so was more quiet and 'learning'. The last 2 were Yuan and Susan, who are both Chinese and also in the 'listening and learning' mode.
The conversation was interesting because it covered censorship in China, Falun Gong, Single Child policy, cultural revolution and also the communist party (like membership fees etc). What was interesting was that from my point of view A was obvious, but from the chinese point of view (eg. Kim) B was obvious.. and then we were all talking about the middle line and discussing. So for example on the internet we all pretty much agreed, but some of us were not aware of the censorship. For Falun Gong, the conversation got most interesting since the chinese believed it was a religious sect that told its followers that suicide is a good thing. The chinese knew a lot about the case of someone setting themselves on fire in tiananmen square for example, but then also had friends who had (or still are, underground somewhat) in falun gong (now totally banned in China) and they said they knew about this 'command?' of suicide being a good thing and leading you to a better life, but just chose not to follow that 'command?'
I was under the belief that falun gong was just like meditation rather than so religious that it included instructions about death etc. My knowledgeis mostly based on western media and falun gong's protests on UK campuses against the Chinese government imprisoning Chinese practioners of falun gong. the chinese knowledge was mostly from chinese media and the few friends they knew (or friends of friends) involved in it.
Which of us is right, I have no idea. It does not bother me that much; but it is interesting how perspectives can be so different. I was though pretty adamant in creating the comparison between falun gong and islam. I don't believe every muslim wants to commit suicide, but a few fanatical and misguided people do (eg. 9/11) and so maybe falun gong is the same. Does this mean it should be banned in China though? Well the chinese know that some strange sects in USA are banned (the ones that got 60 students into a house to burn themselves up in a suicide pact if you remember) for example... and so we all used different comparisons.
The conversation was not as intense as it might sound but nonetheless it was very interesting. And the result was very much that, though AIESEC exchanges people to learn about other cultures, we don't facilitate as much discussion as we should -especially in China. Most Foreigners don't interact with young chinese people or ask them such frank questions.. or if they do, they might not get such frank replies. It's easy to live in a country and with chinese people but still not learn much about the culture or beliefs (especially if you cannot read what is in the chinese media!).
I try to talk to people more nowadays.. what did your parents tell you about the cultural revolution, for example. Interestingly, though many chinese are interested in the rest of the world, no-one ever really asks me any questions about the UK. Maybe they think they know it from the western movies, or think its 'perfect' or something. Sometimes i volunteer information (I think the UK government sucks, is ridiculously undemocratic and also checks every email we send) to encourage conversation, though i do stress that the country is a little democratic, and that most emails are read but nothing happens (unlike china where so many sites are blocked and people sending emails about rural unrest in China have been arrested).
So the lessons are.. know more about the country you are from, learn more about where you go and try to share and discuss more for yours, and others, benefit. I often hark back to the 'old times' (or so i read) where intellectuals would gather and discuss the issues of the day.. hmmm, now it seems more often than not, students just gather for a drink or a chat about the footy ;)
Yesterday 8 of us has dinner, which I want to talk about since it was interesting. There is Nico (chinese) who is very much aware of internet censorship but not of some other issues, then there is Kim (chinese) who has studied journalism but less aware of these issues and very much trustworthy of the government in most respects, then there is Dexter (chinese) who is quite western minded in knowing all the kind of stuff the government does but not caring that much. We also had me who reads about all kinds of stuff about all the bad and good things the crappy british and chinese governments are up to, then there is Leon (Chinese) who was sort of in the middle..maybe more like Dexter though, then there is Peter (Slovakian) who has not been reading that much stuff about these topics so was more quiet and 'learning'. The last 2 were Yuan and Susan, who are both Chinese and also in the 'listening and learning' mode.
The conversation was interesting because it covered censorship in China, Falun Gong, Single Child policy, cultural revolution and also the communist party (like membership fees etc). What was interesting was that from my point of view A was obvious, but from the chinese point of view (eg. Kim) B was obvious.. and then we were all talking about the middle line and discussing. So for example on the internet we all pretty much agreed, but some of us were not aware of the censorship. For Falun Gong, the conversation got most interesting since the chinese believed it was a religious sect that told its followers that suicide is a good thing. The chinese knew a lot about the case of someone setting themselves on fire in tiananmen square for example, but then also had friends who had (or still are, underground somewhat) in falun gong (now totally banned in China) and they said they knew about this 'command?' of suicide being a good thing and leading you to a better life, but just chose not to follow that 'command?'
I was under the belief that falun gong was just like meditation rather than so religious that it included instructions about death etc. My knowledgeis mostly based on western media and falun gong's protests on UK campuses against the Chinese government imprisoning Chinese practioners of falun gong. the chinese knowledge was mostly from chinese media and the few friends they knew (or friends of friends) involved in it.
Which of us is right, I have no idea. It does not bother me that much; but it is interesting how perspectives can be so different. I was though pretty adamant in creating the comparison between falun gong and islam. I don't believe every muslim wants to commit suicide, but a few fanatical and misguided people do (eg. 9/11) and so maybe falun gong is the same. Does this mean it should be banned in China though? Well the chinese know that some strange sects in USA are banned (the ones that got 60 students into a house to burn themselves up in a suicide pact if you remember) for example... and so we all used different comparisons.
The conversation was not as intense as it might sound but nonetheless it was very interesting. And the result was very much that, though AIESEC exchanges people to learn about other cultures, we don't facilitate as much discussion as we should -especially in China. Most Foreigners don't interact with young chinese people or ask them such frank questions.. or if they do, they might not get such frank replies. It's easy to live in a country and with chinese people but still not learn much about the culture or beliefs (especially if you cannot read what is in the chinese media!).
I try to talk to people more nowadays.. what did your parents tell you about the cultural revolution, for example. Interestingly, though many chinese are interested in the rest of the world, no-one ever really asks me any questions about the UK. Maybe they think they know it from the western movies, or think its 'perfect' or something. Sometimes i volunteer information (I think the UK government sucks, is ridiculously undemocratic and also checks every email we send) to encourage conversation, though i do stress that the country is a little democratic, and that most emails are read but nothing happens (unlike china where so many sites are blocked and people sending emails about rural unrest in China have been arrested).
So the lessons are.. know more about the country you are from, learn more about where you go and try to share and discuss more for yours, and others, benefit. I often hark back to the 'old times' (or so i read) where intellectuals would gather and discuss the issues of the day.. hmmm, now it seems more often than not, students just gather for a drink or a chat about the footy ;)
Friday, March 10, 2006
Life in the office
For those who don't know since August last year when I started working full-time for AIESEC here, I have been sharing a bedroom with 3 other guys (Leon -Chinese, Peter -Slovakian and Pierre -Indian) and the appartment with 2 girls in the other bedroom (Primrose -Taiwanese and Kim -Chinese). We have a small living room with 1 double couch and 2 singles; a small kitchen including a microwave, washing machine and hob; a larger living room used as the office with 6 desks for us to work and 1 other desk for the printer and spare computer (for the students to use when they come in occasionally).
Most of the time we work in the office though often switch to the smaller living room for a break on our poor bums -we have wireless internet :-) (Which is why I cannot wait for the summer so I can sit outside again and still work for a couple of hours of battery life since it reaches into the play area outside the building. Since last month 5 of the 7 people who will replace us have been selected and the ones in China often come into the office (some are also internationals)... so they might stay over, or other students might stay over on the couch (or any spare beds if some of us are on business trips) if they come over to party or work.
It makes for an unusual working environment which might be kind of typical for developing AIESEC offices around the World and small NGOs in China, but is not typical of China by any means. (oh, we have a bathroom too -just 1, but it has a n awesome power shower and a real toilet, though still the toilet paper must go in the bin, not down the toilet). It means I have learned more about working in a cross cultural team especially since we have such different working styles and also live so closely together.. the appartment is not normally clean since it gets dirty so quickly!
I guess this leads to its problems.. sometimes professional and personal feelings can't be kept secret, or if you disagree over the decision of something, then you can't 'go home and forget about it' for example. But it also means you get to spend a lot of time with my colleagues who i know really well and get on with so well. I get to know more about their culture and different backgrounds and we feel like a very close team (although there are still, like every team, challenges in communication sometimes).
Mostly we have meetings at the end of the day or over dinner, or after dinner (or all 3 if its a long meeting!) which means we have more time to work during the daytime; but then less free-time. As my job is to develop knowledge, skills and a passion for responsible leadership and related issues, I have a team of students (1 at each University) responsible for this within their AIESEC branch. I am trying to get out the office as much as possible to meet them and support them in their work. I think this is the best and most important way of making our work more integral to AIESEC's work and how it can work better with other departments in each AIESEC branch. What does this mean?
-lots of travelling on lots of buses!
-lots of cheap meals in students canteens
-getting to know the chinese students better
-opportunities to learn chinese on the bus, or to listen to music/news shows on my IPOD
-a fantastic understanding of china's 3rd ring road and China's bus sytem. Today someone (a local, chinese student) asked me how to get from her university (Renmin) to our office, and I gave her about 4 of the 10 options that i know about!
-achieving more (hopefully!)
So that's an insight into my life. Otherwise I am busy working on programmes, resources and events: meeting people going to conferences to learn and to network and doing a few other things too (like going to Tianjin last weekend to help AIESEC there).
Random comments of the day:
1) every university intranet has a movies or music download section (very official, you have usernames and everything): with the high speed download you can download anything quickly. No need even for the fake DVDs then? Actually the intranet system only has recent movies, so it seems many students are also interested in older movies and foreign movies and buy the DVDs. So Chinese people are 'well watched' and not just Chinese or Western movies.
2) most chinese students spend lots of time on computer games, on computer intranets, bulletin boards, messenging services, proxy servers (to bypass censorship issues or to access international websites sometimes) and doing all kinds of things to their computers. It means that most students are very computer literate. I'm not sure if this is good or not. Its been proven that computer games do help with intelligence (and are motly 'team' games) and it means that the students watch many DVDs to learn about the world and are very fast typists... But then they are accessing banned content through proxies (maybe that's good?) and spending less time studying/reading and not spending any money in the local economy (anything digital is free!)
Most of the time we work in the office though often switch to the smaller living room for a break on our poor bums -we have wireless internet :-) (Which is why I cannot wait for the summer so I can sit outside again and still work for a couple of hours of battery life since it reaches into the play area outside the building. Since last month 5 of the 7 people who will replace us have been selected and the ones in China often come into the office (some are also internationals)... so they might stay over, or other students might stay over on the couch (or any spare beds if some of us are on business trips) if they come over to party or work.
It makes for an unusual working environment which might be kind of typical for developing AIESEC offices around the World and small NGOs in China, but is not typical of China by any means. (oh, we have a bathroom too -just 1, but it has a n awesome power shower and a real toilet, though still the toilet paper must go in the bin, not down the toilet). It means I have learned more about working in a cross cultural team especially since we have such different working styles and also live so closely together.. the appartment is not normally clean since it gets dirty so quickly!
I guess this leads to its problems.. sometimes professional and personal feelings can't be kept secret, or if you disagree over the decision of something, then you can't 'go home and forget about it' for example. But it also means you get to spend a lot of time with my colleagues who i know really well and get on with so well. I get to know more about their culture and different backgrounds and we feel like a very close team (although there are still, like every team, challenges in communication sometimes).
Mostly we have meetings at the end of the day or over dinner, or after dinner (or all 3 if its a long meeting!) which means we have more time to work during the daytime; but then less free-time. As my job is to develop knowledge, skills and a passion for responsible leadership and related issues, I have a team of students (1 at each University) responsible for this within their AIESEC branch. I am trying to get out the office as much as possible to meet them and support them in their work. I think this is the best and most important way of making our work more integral to AIESEC's work and how it can work better with other departments in each AIESEC branch. What does this mean?
-lots of travelling on lots of buses!
-lots of cheap meals in students canteens
-getting to know the chinese students better
-opportunities to learn chinese on the bus, or to listen to music/news shows on my IPOD
-a fantastic understanding of china's 3rd ring road and China's bus sytem. Today someone (a local, chinese student) asked me how to get from her university (Renmin) to our office, and I gave her about 4 of the 10 options that i know about!
-achieving more (hopefully!)
So that's an insight into my life. Otherwise I am busy working on programmes, resources and events: meeting people going to conferences to learn and to network and doing a few other things too (like going to Tianjin last weekend to help AIESEC there).
Random comments of the day:
1) every university intranet has a movies or music download section (very official, you have usernames and everything): with the high speed download you can download anything quickly. No need even for the fake DVDs then? Actually the intranet system only has recent movies, so it seems many students are also interested in older movies and foreign movies and buy the DVDs. So Chinese people are 'well watched' and not just Chinese or Western movies.
2) most chinese students spend lots of time on computer games, on computer intranets, bulletin boards, messenging services, proxy servers (to bypass censorship issues or to access international websites sometimes) and doing all kinds of things to their computers. It means that most students are very computer literate. I'm not sure if this is good or not. Its been proven that computer games do help with intelligence (and are motly 'team' games) and it means that the students watch many DVDs to learn about the world and are very fast typists... But then they are accessing banned content through proxies (maybe that's good?) and spending less time studying/reading and not spending any money in the local economy (anything digital is free!)
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Life in China
Last week Beijing was confused: it was not sure if it was winter or spring. 1 minute the canals were frozen, the next they were ice-free. one minute it was freezing cold, the next you could bask in the sunshine! Anyway, I think its finally making up its mind and only 1 of the next 15 days should be below 7 degrees.
Endless topics of conversation take place regarding traffic in Beijing -problems, solutions, surviving.. all kinds. Yesterday I forced Leon (1 of my chinese room mates) to look at the beijing subway website to find out when the new lines will open. I heard a rumour line 5 would open soon. Damn, actually it won't open until next summer! And then they will also open lines, 10, 4, 9, 8 and L 1 in the next 12 months before the Olympics. In fact L1 will be the airport shuttle line and will only open 14 days before the Olympics start! Shanghai on the other hand opens about a new line (or extension) every 6 months -much more sensible.
I normally try to get buses before 4pm or after 7pm, then the traffic is not so bad, and its quicker than the subway which we have to get a bus (or 25 min walk) to get to and often change lines to get to ultimate destination (if its near the subway). Now, though, I bought another bike and happily cycle around Beijing. In fact its almost the same as before my bike was nicked last summer -the difference being i am now cycling around the 3rd ring, and not the 4th ring. The 4th ring was built later and is designed for bikes to be able to go above or under trafiic junctions. In fact the 3rd ring is possibly the worst designed road ever. The implications for bikes are that they cannot go over or under traffic junctions but must pile up at every set of traffic lights. Inevitably people will:
-try and dash all the way across when there is a gap in the traffic (rare): all 6 lanes
-try and dash across, but get stuck halfway with a 1.5m long bike sticking out and blocking a couple of lanes
-try to be at the front of the bike queue and thus every new bike arriving at the lights stops in front of the other, ensuring the queue gets longer and longer jutting out and blocking a lane or two (especially the cars trying to turn right)
...and so on..
The other problem is the variation is speeds and type of bikes in Beijing. An entire piece of research could be taken on the kinds of people on bikes and the bikes they have. A summary:
-those pulling their big carts that are like weelbarrows piled up with crockery or something else they will later stop to sell
-those cycling a tricycle type contraction that might be a pancake machine or piled high with cardboard boxes/sofas/scrap wood etc etc
-the old ppl on a normal, crappy, bike going very slowly
-the younger ones talking on their mobiles while wondering all over the cycle lane
-the younger ones on slightly flash bikes (maybe even a racing bike) speeding along
-the various scooters and motorbikes that just get in the way and don't go much faster than a bike
-... and the cars that use the bike lanes when there is so much traffic (or whilst trying to turn down a side road), and that causes the bikes to then have to overtake the said stationary vehicle blocking the bike lane, by veering onto the pavement or into all the other lanes (NB: useless brakes as standard on all bikes)
The other stupid thing are the horrendous number of buses in China (last year they added about 2,000 to the current number -whereas London has about 2,000 in total!) which don't travel in the bike lanes usually, but have to stop there to pick up passengers, forcing bikes to overtake them by going into the normal lanes and forcing cars into fewer lanes or by going on the inside between the bus and the curb (where all the passengers are trying to get on the bus!) Or, if you are me, you also go on the pavement, behind everyone knowing its the quickest and safest option (since stopping and waiting for the bus to leave would just take too long!)
Finally, the bravest people in China are those that are trying to learn English -never afraid to come up to a foreigner to annoy them/befriend them (depending on foreigner's mood!); they would make great salesmen in the UK! I have a few right now who managed to get my number whilst i was in a good mood...whose messages and calls are, well, just....
Endless topics of conversation take place regarding traffic in Beijing -problems, solutions, surviving.. all kinds. Yesterday I forced Leon (1 of my chinese room mates) to look at the beijing subway website to find out when the new lines will open. I heard a rumour line 5 would open soon. Damn, actually it won't open until next summer! And then they will also open lines, 10, 4, 9, 8 and L 1 in the next 12 months before the Olympics. In fact L1 will be the airport shuttle line and will only open 14 days before the Olympics start! Shanghai on the other hand opens about a new line (or extension) every 6 months -much more sensible.
I normally try to get buses before 4pm or after 7pm, then the traffic is not so bad, and its quicker than the subway which we have to get a bus (or 25 min walk) to get to and often change lines to get to ultimate destination (if its near the subway). Now, though, I bought another bike and happily cycle around Beijing. In fact its almost the same as before my bike was nicked last summer -the difference being i am now cycling around the 3rd ring, and not the 4th ring. The 4th ring was built later and is designed for bikes to be able to go above or under trafiic junctions. In fact the 3rd ring is possibly the worst designed road ever. The implications for bikes are that they cannot go over or under traffic junctions but must pile up at every set of traffic lights. Inevitably people will:
-try and dash all the way across when there is a gap in the traffic (rare): all 6 lanes
-try and dash across, but get stuck halfway with a 1.5m long bike sticking out and blocking a couple of lanes
-try to be at the front of the bike queue and thus every new bike arriving at the lights stops in front of the other, ensuring the queue gets longer and longer jutting out and blocking a lane or two (especially the cars trying to turn right)
...and so on..
The other problem is the variation is speeds and type of bikes in Beijing. An entire piece of research could be taken on the kinds of people on bikes and the bikes they have. A summary:
-those pulling their big carts that are like weelbarrows piled up with crockery or something else they will later stop to sell
-those cycling a tricycle type contraction that might be a pancake machine or piled high with cardboard boxes/sofas/scrap wood etc etc
-the old ppl on a normal, crappy, bike going very slowly
-the younger ones talking on their mobiles while wondering all over the cycle lane
-the younger ones on slightly flash bikes (maybe even a racing bike) speeding along
-the various scooters and motorbikes that just get in the way and don't go much faster than a bike
-... and the cars that use the bike lanes when there is so much traffic (or whilst trying to turn down a side road), and that causes the bikes to then have to overtake the said stationary vehicle blocking the bike lane, by veering onto the pavement or into all the other lanes (NB: useless brakes as standard on all bikes)
The other stupid thing are the horrendous number of buses in China (last year they added about 2,000 to the current number -whereas London has about 2,000 in total!) which don't travel in the bike lanes usually, but have to stop there to pick up passengers, forcing bikes to overtake them by going into the normal lanes and forcing cars into fewer lanes or by going on the inside between the bus and the curb (where all the passengers are trying to get on the bus!) Or, if you are me, you also go on the pavement, behind everyone knowing its the quickest and safest option (since stopping and waiting for the bus to leave would just take too long!)
Finally, the bravest people in China are those that are trying to learn English -never afraid to come up to a foreigner to annoy them/befriend them (depending on foreigner's mood!); they would make great salesmen in the UK! I have a few right now who managed to get my number whilst i was in a good mood...whose messages and calls are, well, just....
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