After a few chilly days of only 14 degrees, today we are back up to the mid twenties which is perfect timing as we have 3 days off for to celebrate the mid-autumn moon festival. Unfortunately that also means we have to work some weekend days to catch up 2 of the days off (it is a Chinese thing) and it implies Autumn is here, which is such a short season, it will very quickly be Winter!
The last two weeks were busy -we had the official launch of the project i have spent the last 5 months setting up, including developing a website (www.ciyuan.bsr.org), and organizing a big conference with international speakers flying in. Anyway, I am hoping to be spending less time doing marketing materials, websites, event logistics and planning in the next few months as the project focuses on more meaningful things, and a couple of smaller projects start as well.
China continues to get in the intenational news, it seems, more and more often, even though I thought this would not be possible; from now having the second biggest economy to the world's longest (70km) traffic jam (twice) and even to the number of new cars per day on the streets of Beijing (1,900 now, because the previous average of 1,000 evidently was not enough to satisfy the middle classes here). Meanwhile at work we organized a half-day cycling trip for us all out in the suburbs of Beijing which was very nice, though due to time pressures (and distance, it was almost 80km) most of the girls (though i hate to be sexist, but it was mostly girls) ended up taking the bus for some of the last few stretches. Evidently our team needs to practice long-distance cycling more often!
When there is beautiful warm weather, clear blue skies, and no work, life seems wonderful. Sadly this is not always the case, but it happens -and the views from our apartment over to the skyscrapers a few miles away and the lake in the middle of our community make it tempting to not even go out and just relax. Then again, on other days, we play football in the smog or rain and struggle to cycle to work through hordes of traffic, cyclists, tuk-tuks and pedestrians. Cycling to work is marvelous -incredibly fast compared to any other form, including the subway, and it so rarely rains that is is comfortable too. It is so rare to cycle to work in the UK, but i would recommend it... even if it feels like it is a long way; several miles, it still may be quicker than the subway, healthier, cheaper and more enjoyable (and less cramped). I even read once that is only rained around 20 times in the UK during rush hour in a whole year, though I am not sure if that is actually true.
Next week is the final week of the 5-a-side football season and both my teams are in mid-league, so we might not finish in the bottom two for the first time in too long to admit!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Dalian
Andrea and I took last weekend to enjoy the summer before it turns into a very short Autumn in a few weeks. We went up to Dalian, near Korea to enjoy the beach, sunsets and seaside beer.
As a result of the oil spill a month or so ago nearby, most of the beaches have booms (that seems to be the word the media used in the US anyway) around them: a long chain of buoys that hang about a metre deep to keep the oil away. On one of the beaches we did see some oil residue on some buoys but not much, and nothing near land. It was a month ago though, so I am not sure what it was like then. The beaches are fine, some sandy, some pebbly, most crowded with umbrellas, tents and marquees (under which the locals sit and eat on plastic tables). There were a fair few Russians too - this being the closest beach to Russia.
The city itself is pleasant enough. Some nice buildings remain from Russian and Japanese occupation from 1895-1905 (for the former) and 1905-1949 (for the latter) and there is a business district since Dalian has a busy port and does a lot of trade between Russia, Japan, and Korea. There is also some foreign companies as Dalian is China' leader in the IT outsourcing industry servicing Korea and Japan mainly. Between those areas and the shopping centres the city is much like other large and fast developing cities (behind the top cities though). It is run-down in places though generally quite nice. The two tram lines which date from, and still resemble, the first half of the century, adds some character.
We happened to be in town when there was a Dalian International fashion festival of sorts..actually the 21st which is somewhat incredible. There were various open-air performances around the city and a parade through the city with floats. Like most things in China, there was nothing much 'international' about it apart from the name, some Africans on the floats (it was weird.. There would be 2-3 pretty Chinese girls on a float with 1 African guy dancing up and down) and a few Russian performers. It was mostly Chinese kids in different outfits and each district in Dalian had a float, as did several companies, and amusingly so did the tax bureau!
Dalian had very little traffic, but also practically zero bikes (and zero bike lanes too) -is there a direct link here? I presume there is some regulation against bikes which is strange. What Dalian does have is a fantastic slide down a hill -the kind where you get on a piece of plastic on wheels with a useless brake and career down a metal half-pipe. Wonderful fun, and a highlight of a city that is pleasant but nothing special. Most of the beaches were busy and the water rarely inviting, though it pays off to walk around the rocks to find the 'other' beach with few people on and clear water.
As a result of the oil spill a month or so ago nearby, most of the beaches have booms (that seems to be the word the media used in the US anyway) around them: a long chain of buoys that hang about a metre deep to keep the oil away. On one of the beaches we did see some oil residue on some buoys but not much, and nothing near land. It was a month ago though, so I am not sure what it was like then. The beaches are fine, some sandy, some pebbly, most crowded with umbrellas, tents and marquees (under which the locals sit and eat on plastic tables). There were a fair few Russians too - this being the closest beach to Russia.
The city itself is pleasant enough. Some nice buildings remain from Russian and Japanese occupation from 1895-1905 (for the former) and 1905-1949 (for the latter) and there is a business district since Dalian has a busy port and does a lot of trade between Russia, Japan, and Korea. There is also some foreign companies as Dalian is China' leader in the IT outsourcing industry servicing Korea and Japan mainly. Between those areas and the shopping centres the city is much like other large and fast developing cities (behind the top cities though). It is run-down in places though generally quite nice. The two tram lines which date from, and still resemble, the first half of the century, adds some character.
We happened to be in town when there was a Dalian International fashion festival of sorts..actually the 21st which is somewhat incredible. There were various open-air performances around the city and a parade through the city with floats. Like most things in China, there was nothing much 'international' about it apart from the name, some Africans on the floats (it was weird.. There would be 2-3 pretty Chinese girls on a float with 1 African guy dancing up and down) and a few Russian performers. It was mostly Chinese kids in different outfits and each district in Dalian had a float, as did several companies, and amusingly so did the tax bureau!
Dalian had very little traffic, but also practically zero bikes (and zero bike lanes too) -is there a direct link here? I presume there is some regulation against bikes which is strange. What Dalian does have is a fantastic slide down a hill -the kind where you get on a piece of plastic on wheels with a useless brake and career down a metal half-pipe. Wonderful fun, and a highlight of a city that is pleasant but nothing special. Most of the beaches were busy and the water rarely inviting, though it pays off to walk around the rocks to find the 'other' beach with few people on and clear water.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Blue skies!
This year Beijing has had its worse air quality since 2005, when the government really stepped up efforts ahead of the Olympics. This is not good news; and can be fairly depressing. However, on the bright side, when Beijing has beautiful blue skies like today, everything just feels amazing. These days do not happen more than once or twice a week on average it seems, especially in the last few weeks since i got back from vacation, but they are incredible days -the sun reflects off of the glass skyscrapers and temperatures sore up above 30 degrees. It also makes it very tempting to go and sit in the coffee shop nearby, in a mini-park, to work and enjoy the weather (rather that sitting in the office).
As football starts to take over weekends and weekday nights, now that Tottenham are in the Champions League, I continue to play around 3 times a week, though neither watching or playing seems to make me any better! It is good fun and good exercise to complement my running as the Beijing Marathon comes up in just 2 months. Scary thought.
In the meantime, work is going along nicely, and I even managed to find some time to watch a few movies recently, though none of them offer that much to write home about. There might not be much free time in the next couple of weeks as we launch a new website for the program i have been managing, hold a big launch event and do a bunch of interviews as part of a white paper on 'the future of philanthropy in China'.
As football starts to take over weekends and weekday nights, now that Tottenham are in the Champions League, I continue to play around 3 times a week, though neither watching or playing seems to make me any better! It is good fun and good exercise to complement my running as the Beijing Marathon comes up in just 2 months. Scary thought.
In the meantime, work is going along nicely, and I even managed to find some time to watch a few movies recently, though none of them offer that much to write home about. There might not be much free time in the next couple of weeks as we launch a new website for the program i have been managing, hold a big launch event and do a bunch of interviews as part of a white paper on 'the future of philanthropy in China'.
We moved into a new apartment recently and have now sorted it all out; it is not far from the other one, but more expensive and smaller unfortunately, such is the way with property prices in Beijing. The good news is that we have great views and an attic in our apartment (weird I know) for the extra space for all of our stuff.
Today we went to watch the World Combat Games in Beijing and saw some Taekwondo. Some of it was fairly exciting; others they just danced around and poked at each other with their legs. It was kind of interesting when a Taiwanese person came third as the flag that is raised is a strange quasi-Olympic flag as China refuses to recognize Taiwan as an independent country with its own flag. Not many paying spectators unfortunately but thousands of kids were brought in to watch the violence! Maybe it is part of their self-defence training before the new school term starts, and they have to protect themselves against more psychos running into schools and knifing kids!
This weekend Andrea and I are off to Dalian for a three-day weekend to get away a bit and check out one of the few cities I have not yet been to. Will be in touch in a week or so I expect.
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