Christmas 2013

As we near the end of another year, it's truly cold and its truly Christmas in a Chinese way. A lot of people seem to be taking a few days off (maybe foreign companies are giving them some time off, as officially the only public holiday is Jan 1st) and of course much of the Western world has stopped, so things are a bit slower. There are major attempts to plant Christmas trees everywhere in office buildings and shopping malls, as well as Christmas lights on any trees outside such buildings. There's occasionally some Christmas music played too, though its usually not too loud. Certainly there is an abundance of emails with various Christmas and New Year greetings (and bear in mind the Chinese New Year is not till Jan 30th, so there may be a second round of email cards then!)

The Lane family here is not really into Christmas but that might change as the little Lane gets older. She does seem to like opening things. She was a bit confused about a fake wooden present that we have next to our little Christmas tree that we got given for free a year or so ago in a shop. She tried to open the present, but it's a solid wooden block.

As I look back on the year, as ever China has continued to change: the new leadership, new policies (some are potentially significant affecting migration for example), new trade reforms, increased tension with other Asian countries over various neighboring islands, massively increased domestic awareness on air pollution (and some political response to improve it) amongst other things.

My work has been fairly stable with a variety of different projects related to China and some not related to China as well as some successful events in Beijing and Shanghai where I've made a more intentional effort this year. Other aspects of BSR's work definitely picked up towards the end of the year and next year should be more interesting. Andrea's certainly been the busier of the two of us, getting money, hiring staff and organizing activities around the country. Life should be interesting for her too next year.

Some things have stayed the same: same apartment, same social activities, same regular trips back to Europe every 6 months, and same occasional holidays elsewhere. Same level of Chinese and same awfully poor German.

Now its almost time to head into 2014, a few more weeks of work, a birthday for someone, and then back home. I'm already looking forward to the Hong Kong trip at the end of February for some warmth and time on the islands.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Corruption, air and Shanghai

Today an excellent op-ed in the NY Times from Friedman makes the important point to the Chinese President that if he is serious about addressing corruption (which he claims he is, having recognized that corruption is seen as the main reason for the collapse of the Soviet Union as well as most previous Chinese empires/dynasties) then he really needs to allow the media to investigate high-level corruption (which is he is not allowing, by blocking websites from foreign media that report on these issues and potentially kicking their journalists out the country). He also accurately notes that technology has already enabled citizens to explore and discuss these issues, so it's better to let the media bring them to the government's attention so that they can be addressed before it's too late and eventually citizens address it in the only way they know: protests. Check it out: www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/opinion/sunday/friedman-dear-president-of-china.html%3fpagewanted=all.

It's interesting that the Chinese media will try to push the boundaries in many aspects of their reporting, but they won't touch personal relationships to the President. It shows the government is not serious about addressing corruption; it's also not serious about enabling an effective, independent, judiciary; any semblance of a free media; or any sense of allowing the people to hold their government to account (it does not have to be through a full democracy, but through some means). I've been saying for a while that unless those issues are addressed, the country won't be a good place to be living in a decade from now. All the signs are, despite the pressure, there is no movement on any of these areas. In fact in most it is getting worse! The government still refuses to trust its people, and in return the people refuse to trust the government. Not a great situation....

I even joked last week to a friend in Shanghai that the focus on the environment, as bad as it is, might be intended to distract from other issues that are much harder to solve. Not that it will be easy to solve the energy and water and pollution issues, but it's technically possible within the current system, and the government is generally willing. With those other issues, it's not technically possible in the current system, and the system is not likely to change. The other distraction, of course, are things like foreign policy/nationalism (witness all the hyperbole over the East China Sea recently), the moon landings etc.

Anyway, on the plus side the government is responding to the pressure from the public to try to clean up the air - and it's an issue they can't hide! It rears its ugly head all the time, whether the media are bothering to report it or not! Funnily enough those in Shanghai thought they got off better than Beijing until November, since when Beijing has had good air and Shanghai awful air. All of a sudden the Shanghai folk can't think of anything else to talk about and have finally gone out and bought air filters (the Beijing folk bought them a while ago). Now it's still not an easy thing to fix quickly, but it will be fixed, and probably quicker than most people will expect, somehow.

I've been going to and from Shanghai quite a few times recently for weddings, work and the marathon. One day the air was good and as I landed I could see out about 20km to the skyscrapers of Lujiazui. I struggled to spot the 88 story Jinmao Tower, which when I arrived in Shanghai 9 years and 3 months ago was the tallest building around. Now it's dwarfed by two taller buildings next to it, and many other buildings of similar height. Still the pictures of Taipei where Taipei 101 stands out ridiculously or of Dubai where the Burj Khalifa stands out even more ridiculously are more stunning. Whilst in Shanghai I ran past the Expo's corporate buildings, lying abandoned... what a shame, but maybe something will happen to them (large 2-3 story buildings that are the size of museums) eventually.

In other news, it's definitely winter, though it's not too cold yet, and still gets above zero in the daytime; Hannah's going crazy with her little bobby-cart pushing herself all over the place. I tell you what, she could teach quite a few adults something about reversing, steering, stopping and more.... then again, she's also getting good on the trampoline, finally speaking a few more words (mostly Chinese), and keeping us entertained at weekends.

Learning skills from children

It has struck me a few times how much parents must learn to do certain things, which usually would be regarded as professional skills, but are just the minimum required to engage a child. How much can these skills then be transferred back over to work or to other contexts?

The kind of skills I am talking about include:

- Creativity: Playing with a child does not require a lot of toys, it may just require jumping about, using music, a pencil, a bottle or a ball. But there is always a need to play and entertain using whatever is readily available. And kids love the variety of different things - they often love the simplest games too!

- Communication skills: Talking slowly and clearly is a no-brainer, but also so is the art of expressing oneself in simple words, using actions and also visual aids.

- Listening skills: Particularly when a child is not yet able to talk properly, it's necessary to be totally attuned with what the child is thinking or trying to say through pointing or other actions, maybe with just one word coming out here or there. And you can't interrupt a child either, so you learn to listen actively (not just pretending to listen, that never fools kids, and when they are young they don't get the concept that you could be listening whilst in another room, or doing two things at once etc).

- Conflict resolution, sales and negotiation: There are always going to be arguments between adults and kids, or a need to persuade the child to do something (or not do something). It can vary from discussing what to eat or what to wear to who is brushing teeth etc. And then of course, the art of distraction which seem to be a solution to so many problems!

- Providing feedback: Always using positive reinforcements to congratulate children for trying or succeeding with something new, and really making the effort to show you care when the child does something.

And the list could go on. So I wonder if these skills are being transferred to other situations. Are new parents suddenly better performers at work? Or more successful in life having improved their life skills? I'm not sure, but I think it is worth reflecting on!

Conferences

I go to a lot of conferences and events for work, sometimes to learn and other times to network. I also organize a lot too, though usually on the small side with just a handful of participants sharing ideas and solutions to problems common to the other participants.

Beijing has an abuse off conferences. Most hotels only survive from the conference industry. They dominate here because everyone is trying to engage the all important government, and inviting them to conferences is a good way of doing this. Sometimes they are often investment related since the government is always doing its utmost to attract investment and consultants and service providers are always trying to sell their services and explain the latest changes to some relation our other. Or people are trying to train staff and salespersons which are always turning over. The are a million different industry associations all helping their members curry favour with the government and organizing those events.

In my world, the CSR (corporate social responsibility) world, they seem even more common. International organizations like the UN love funding conferences or projects that involve conferences to share projects results. There are all sorts of awards and a lot of trainings since it's a new-ish area. Then there is the philanthropy and charity space, which is  mushrooming and leads to events on charity operations, the future of the sector, and the situation of the issue the charity works on, e.g. disability rights. And with a new and evolving sector everyone is using to get in on it, from think tanks to PR agencies, consultants (of which we are sometimes one) and the media.

However I severely limit my time going to conferences here, often not learning anything new, not meeting anyone new, and not able to contribute, just listen. The events we organize are highly efficient, informal, interactive discussions on the most part, specifically for practitioners most of which are our members. occasionally we organize larger ones which are to raise awareness. Last week we focused one on how to manage environmental and social risk bringing together banks and other companies to discuss why, their approaches, guidelines etc. We also brought in the charities who have an important role to play, particularly in applying pressure to companies and exposing the bad ones (the good ones like this as it justifies their investments in being good and helps level the playing field, important in China where many still don't follow the law). It was fairly successful, I'm pleased to report.

The week before, of course, I had been at the BSR conference, the largest CSR conference in the world, with very high quality attendees and some very interesting speakers. There were also all sorts of events before and during the main conference which are more focused.  Two years ago, the last time the conference was in San Francisco, outside was the Occupy San Francisco protestors and one of the keynote speakers was Al Gore, talking about short-termism in the financial markets and how his investment firm (Generation Investment Management) seeks to prove you can make money by investing long-term, and in particular in companies that have positive environmental impacts. We did not have quite the same level of stature from the speakers this time, but we still had some really good talks on the role of technology in the future, how the media can be used to inspire people for good, how distributed solar will change the world, and how gamification can be used to change behaviors. Some interesting stuff and much more interesting than most events in China; and some fascinating people from all the big companies. The theme "the power of networks" was powerfully woven in throughout.

Aside from spending a lot of time at conferences recently, I've also spent good time with Hannah, who has really taken a liking to jumping (and finally got good at it). We've been to weddings, birthday parties, hikes and all sorts. We've also been to cooking classes (Hannah was pretty good at that, she'll be a better cook than me by next year at this rate). Still not much progress with her talking in any real language, but the listening is excellent. I think she's just realized she does not need to talk since she is so good at communicating with her hands and in her own language. One more positive news though is that we're finally sending a lot less diapers to landfill since she's got much better at using the potty!

Reflections on films

12 months ago I flew to New York and watched a couple of fantastic films on the flight. Films that were realistic and meaningful, but most importantly subtly provided opportunities for self-reflection whilst also subtly teaching important lessons. Today I flew to San Francisco and was fortunate to watch another one of those films: Stuck in Love. It's not just a terrifically acted and well written story with wonderful character development, but it is also about writing.

By being about writing, it allows for a few deep phrases here and there, but it also allows for the reflection on the purpose and ability of writing ("a good writer is the sum of their experiences") to add to the actual story. Managing to stay away from being to trite, it of course encourages viewers to consider important lessons; that I feel I've learn over time, but only in the last few years have I found films that I wish I would have watched a decade or more ago. That you don't know what you have until you lose it—so make the most of what you have; that you have to take a chance if you want to get something; and then of course concepts of family and love, though none of which can be adequately explained here.

As Andrea knows, I do like a good film that has meaning, though not one with too much meaning that you need to watch three times to really understand. It's a shame so much of TV and films are only to entertain and not to educate. Though educate is really not the right word. The power of film, or theatre, or music, books and other art forms, can be so strong by stimulating one to ask the right questions, to reflect on one's own life. This is also something I've learned through experience, and not something that was taught at school. I'm not sure what I took away from any of English literature, drama or related lessons, but I don't think it was anything that mattered for my own life, which is a shame.

Or maybe you can only understand certain messages when you can relate to them; when you've had similar experiences? Or do you need to be at an age when you can begin to self-reflect? As I'm a father (and also often a role model to others at work or when I talk at conferences and beyond), something that is always top of mind is how to help others think and learn; when to let them learn themselves, when to ask them questions or when to provide advice.  The importance of someone being able to relate to a message is so important for them to understand, yet without ever knowing someone's situation it is hard to know how to make something relate.

A great film can do this: it can somehow relate to many people, though of course not everyone. It's fascinating how many books have come out in the last decade translating science (mostly social psychology) into practical advice. And these books (such as "drive", "the tipping point" etc) are classics; required reading really. They do a great job of relating to real-life situations. It's not easy to relate, but it's crucial. Something we identified 6 years ago in our Education for Sustainable Development program as being important and something that I feel is still lacking in education, in government programs, in managing people, in everything really. 

Certainly governments tend to be awful at it—maybe because they have to relate to such diverse populations that they don't relate to anyone. 

So that's my takeaway from watching the films that I like: how to make things relate to others if you want to engage, communicate, or influence them?

Constant change

Autumn has certainly arrived. We had some nice warm days in September once we returned from Europe, but now in mid-October it's getting chilly, and sweaters are called for. There is the odd day that is warm, and if you can get in the sun you can really enjoy it--until the sun sets shortly after 5pm. Getting some sun also means getting rid of the pollution, which does sometimes happen. After a pretty poor week this weekend was wonderful, a gust of wind cleaned the skies and provided perfect weather for the Beijing (half) marathon. Not that it made any difference to the spectators. As usual, there weren't any spectators!

The big progress this week has been with Hannah's potty training. She's now very good at using the potty to wee, or if she needs us to take her trousers down, at telling us first. Unfortunately she's not quite mastered this for "number two", so since she is rarely wearing nappies now, we're going through a few pairs of trousers a day - but hopefully it won't be for too long!

We also took her for some vaccinations and a quick check-up, so we discovered she's 14.2KG and 91.5cm. Basically at the very top of the range for a child her age. She wasn't very impressed with the needles, as expected, but was still easily distracted by mobile phones, ink stamps, paper + pen, and other things. She's getting quite into drawing, which is nice, and still enjoys looking at pictures in books, which we do most evenings before she goes to bed. She's still going to bed around 8 or 8.30pm and sleeping for 11 hrs or so straight; then having a nap after lunch.

Nearby our house is a very big market, well series of markets, a fish market, vegetable market, hotel goods market, cutlery market, electronics market, and other markets stretching for several hundred metres. Well that market is no more. It's been knocked down, it seems that it will be replaced by an office park with hotels and things. We'll see. The market's officially been moved 20-30 km away to another site. One day we'll go out there and see how many of the thousands of  jobs still exist. I don't know how many customers would go all the way out there, nor how many workers want to work there! Funnily, just after they knocked it down a lot of people set-up an impromptu street market next door, so the government had to brick up that street to stop them getting in. We also found out today our favourite restaurant is no more. It's owner decided to change things around, including the style food they offer, which is a shame.

Still you learn to take all of these things in your stride in Beijing. There is always change. It can be positive as well of course. They recently laid on a new electric buggy service that runs from a subway station around the business district to help with transport. They've improved one of our local bus services, improved the local ATM, and replaced/expanded the swings in our compound's play area too. Meanwhile the talk in China is all about the filthy rich, the crackdown on social media from the government and Boris Johnson taking the Beijing subway. He knows how to get attention that Boris. Though he's been asked to try riding it again at rush hour to see what he thinks of it then!

Back in Busan

On Monday morning we got back to Busan, taking the fast train in and heading straight to the hills again. This time we took a cable car up a mountain to the South Gate of the fortress we had been to a few days earlier (then we had walked from the North gate to the East gate). We had a great view and then a wonderful hour or so hike, much of which was downhill, as we headed towards another temple. We were on some very well used walking trails – and it became even more clear how similar the Koreans are to the British for their passion for walking (in UK, hiking in Korea), and the country is almost as well designed for it too with a lot of walking paths, good signposts etc. Of course where the typical British walker may be in the latter stages of their life and wearing warm clothes with a dog alongside, the Korean hiker is kitted out in the latest, greatest, and most colourful gear; and tend to be from all ages.

The last part of the hike was a very steep uphill climb to Seokbulsa temple, but it was an unusual temple and well worth it: hidden in some nooks and crannies at the edge of a cliff, it had buddhas carved out of the cliff on three-sides, like a "U" shape. We then walked down the long road to the foot of the mountain to get a bus and subway back into town. Along the road we went through an entire village of Love Hotels – more like budget motels and not particularly seedy these exist across Korea for husbands and wives to go to for some time together to escape the family home, where they are likely living with their parents as well as their kids in close confines. They also serve a purpose for extra-marital relationships of course, and often the entrances to the Love Hotels have rope curtains across the front of the car park, or they put boards up behind the cars to passers-by cannot see the car license plates. It does mean there are a lot of cheap, decent, motels readily available for travellers at least. 

Following the hike we went back to Haeundae market, close to the beach, where there is a good assortment of food that you can look at and point at without having to read Korean! Then another couple of hours on the beach where Hannah befriended a local and made use of all their beach buckets and spades.  For dinner we went downtown again back to the Vietnamese noodle place. Yesterday a typhoon passed by which meant it rained hard all day. So it was a good opportunity to go to the World's largest department store for a couple of hours and then to some museums. First up was the Busan Museum, which had a fairly short (in a positive way) overview of Busan's history and development, though there were some gaps. It included some good models and exhibits, something that Gyeongju should learn from! Next up was the Busan Modern History Museum which was not as good and became a bit repetitive of the previous museum, but it had some simple activities to entertain children (such as stencils and paper) and had more detail on how the Japanese had ruled Busan since around 1870 when it became under the Japanese sphere of influence, and then from 1910 when it was officially occupied by Japan (as was the rest of Korea it seems, though I need to read up more on the history) until the end of World War Two. In fact Japan had also invaded Korea back in the late 16^th century, which was when Gyeongju began to fade.

Lastly (whilst it was still pouring down with rain) we headed up the road to Yongdusan Park and to the Busan Tower. Without much of a view to be had in the rain we did not go up the tower, nor was there an aquarium there (we had read there might be, but apparently our information was several years old), so we ran down the park again into the subway and back to the hotel to get changed from our wet clothes. For dinner we did not venture far, due to the poor weather, and decided to go back to China town where we had previously seen a restaurant with a large room for children to play in attached. The food was expensive so in the end we had just tofu and cabbage soup, rice and beer, whilst Hannah spent time playing. It was a very impressive playroom, one of the best we've ever seen.

And that was the end of our Korean trip. The next day the typhoon had past, flights were all on schedule again and we were on our way back to Beijing. We'd enjoyed our trip, seen a fair amount, spent a fair amount, and got to know Korea and Korean culture better. I don't think I'll be in a hurry to return though I hear Jeju island is nice, unusual, and has direct flights to Beijing, so maybe that will be for another short trip. First though, a trip to Shanghai in a couple weeks for work and a wedding, and then on to San Francisco for the BSR conference in early November.

Historic Gyeongju

We're back in Busan now after 2 days in Gyeongju, a city that was the capital of the Shilla Dynasty for almost a thousand years, though this was around a thousand years ago. Therefore there are a lot of old relics and things to see. It's only an hour by bus from Busan so a nice place to visit, and the town is fairly small (though some of the sites are further outside of the town).

We arrived and checked-in to stay with a local family who have a couple of rooms that they rent out. It was great to stay with them, chat somewhat (the mother spoke a few words of English) and see a Korean house (a fairly nice one that was built recently). The lovely mother was so excited that Hannah was there (her first baby guest) and got some great photos of Hannah waving Korean flags etc. We then promptly headed into town to explore the local market - a really top-notch food market. Totally local! We managed to find something to eat, a few stands had a sort of buffet going on with various things: the Korean egg pancake, tofu and other vegetables went down well.

First up was a bus out to the UNESCO World Heritage site, Bulguska temple, which is a nice enough temple, and fairly large, but nothing spectacular (we didn't even bother with the additional bus trip and entrance fee for the Seokguram Grotto which is also part of the UNESCO designation). We then went back into town and stopped at the Gyeongju National Museum. In theory most of what they have found from the ancient city (houses, tombs, temples etc) is housed there, but one of the main buildings was closed unfortunately. I was somewhat disappointed. Maybe because the dynasty was so long ago, not much has been found (due to age/theft?) or maybe there is not a lot known about the era so not a lot to tell visitors... anyway, there were some nice artifacts here and there, and the standard section on culture with samples of armor, utensils, clothes etc. But again, nothing outstanding. The highlight might be the children's part, which was very well done with brass rubbings, stamps, jigsaws and all sorts for the kids to do... a bit beyond Hannah's age, but she did her best.

Afterwards we walked across the road, as darkness fell, to see the Anapji Pond, which is a lake that used to be beside a large temple. The temple is now no more, the lake yielded up a lot of great stuff (which formed the culture exhibition at the museum) and now there is just a pretty lake with a few re-built parts of the temple. At night, with wonderful lighting on the temples, trees, and water, it looks wonderful and is an insanely popular place for a 1km or so stroll. Andrea got some great photos which we'll upload at some point once we get home. Then we kept walking towards town, bumped into a fair to celebrate the bell festival (I think) which was a nice distraction, saw the Far East's oldest astrological observatory (also nicely lit up at night) and finally got back into town. We ventured into some real local eateries on the way back but were not brave enough to eat: we'd really just be pointing at some strange letters on the wall and hoping it would be edible.

Once back in town though we found a nice little Japanese place and then headed back to the homestay. The next day in the morning we took a bus out to a beautiful village called Yangdong established in the 15th or 16th century. It has around 150 wonderful (and wonderfully preserved) houses, some of which are very grand, and make for a pleasant few hours walking around and strolling into, even in the light rain. Our lunch there was bibimbab; a trusty staple food! The mansions, courtyards, building design and architecture was all excellent. There was also a good little museum near the entrance giving more detail. Apparently the village is also a (separate) UNESCO World Heritage site (along with a similarly well preserved village a couple hours away).

We still had some time afterwards so we then walked around the tombs of the Shilla Monarchs. Now they are just large mounds covered in grass, but one of them has been opened up so you can see the construction and interior: basically the king would be buried in a large wooden box alongside some treasures, then a lot of stones would be piled on the box (presumably to keep out thieves). I'm not sure what happened to all the treasures. There were not a lot in the museum, so maybe they were stolen or have not been excavated yet. Fairly interesting. We then had a decent dinner in a local dumpling restaurant that actually had an English menu (shock, horror), and a foreigner eating there who was a regular and gave us some tips.

Gyeongju is definitely worth a couple days visiting; certainly Yangdong, the temples, the pond and other bits and pieces make it worthwhile. There are hundreds of other touristy things to do there as well from theme parks, to culture parks, to the Shilla experience and all sorts of other ruins to see if that's what one likes. We're glad we went and managed ok despite the iffy weather!

Busan in South Korea

We've been back a whole 3 weeks. It was a busy 3 weeks, with Andrea hosting another successful conference, and various reports due or events held from my side. However, not one to resist a chance for yet another vacation, we've gone to South Korea for 6 days (since china has a long national holiday at the beginning of October).

Last year we spent about 5 days in Tokyo for a friend's wedding; this trip would be Hannah's second to another part of Asia, and time for a family holiday without the extended family! Anyway, the first couple days were in Busan, on the South-East corner of South Korea. The whole trip has been somewhat last minute, but has had a semblance of planning involved. For example, we booked our hotel from the Beijing airport lounge, which was better than nothing i suppose. We read a guide book on the bus into town to work out what to do, and had no idea how long we'd spend in Busan. It turned out it would be 2 nights.

Torn between taking the buggy or the child carrier backpack we took both. So the first day we used the buggy and went up to the beaches: Haeundae, which has a nice little market and was to play host to the Busan International Film Festival (on the beach) that was being set-up whilst we were there, and Gwangan, which has a lot of coffee shops and bars. In fact South Korea is full of coffee shops absolutely everywhere. It also has a lot of white and silver cars (unlike China where everyone goes black) which are mostly Korean brands of course, apart from the high-end ones. It has wonderful shopping, and wi-fi everywhere.

We have some issues with Korean food though. Breakfast is fine, since there are a lot of bread shops along with the coffee shops, but Andrea doesn't eat seafood, and most Korean dishes are seafood, or come with seafood. Then there's the actual Korean dishes: some soups/stews, some BBQ meat, and a lot of small dishes that involve Kimchee. So for lunch one day we had Bimibab, Kimchee stew and the Korean egg pancake. That went down well, and Hannah likes her eggs as well as rice (in the Bimibab). For dinner we went for a meat BBQ though it was fairly expensive. Some of the Kimchee side dishes were ok. Another day we were hiking so bought a sandwich and, for dinner, searched for Korean noodles and ended up at a Vietnamese noodle place.

The second biggest problem we have (apart from having to avoid fish) is not reading Korean and there is a dearth of English signs/menus anywhere in Korea, and no-one speaks English. And there are no photos in restaurants (China often has photos). In fact most restaurants only have 5 items on a menu, which is written, in Korean, on a wall, along with prices. It makes it hard to work out what a restaurant sells!

Busan's subway system is excellent and we made good use of it. The second day we took the backpack (not the buggy) and went up to Beomeosa, a famous and decent temple, and then hiked up to the remains of Geumjeong Fortress and along its walls for a few hours. It was a fairly tough climb at the beginning but was then a wonderful walk gently downhill with great views of Busan squeezed between the hills and the sea. Hannah did some walking, mostly whilst kicking some pine cones, or searching for flowers. In the afternoon we stopped off at the beach again (the best way to keep a young child entertained) before going back to the hotel to get changed and switch to the buggy.

We then checked out Chinatown and the downtown shopping area including Gukje Market which has excellent shopping and some interesting snack food items (Koreans also quite like their deep fried sea food). Food markets in Korea are pretty interesting - very clean. I can't work out where the flies are... maybe all in China! We also saw the bright lights and retail side of South Korea.

In fact South Koreans not only have good shopping, they also have good fashion taste and in particular seem to like practical clothing. There's not as much high heels as other Asian nations, and a lot of sports clothing and sneakers/trainers. In fact most women seem to wear bright colored trainers, while anyone that is remotely walking or hiking gets kitted out in the full gear with shoes, trousers, shirts, jackets, backpacks, poles, hats and all sorts. All branded, all professional hiking gear. Even if they are only walking up some stairs near a temple, but especially so for a few hours walk in the hills. None of them, especially the women, would dream of wearing a regular t-shirt. It has to be a special material, bright yellow, and have hundreds of pockets and things. And the older the person, the more hiking gear they try to wear! At least the country seems fairly fit.

We've fairly quickly managed a routine with Hannah and it seems to work, though she's not always eating healthily since she tends to stick to bread, rice and noodles! We do make sure she gets some fruit and some juice to mix it up a bit, and of course the required milk in the evening and morning. She's having a great time, getting a lot of attention as usual, and managing just fine.

Hannah at 19 months

It's been wonderful to spend so much time with Hannah over the last month (though I did miss her for the week I was in Edinburgh). There have been some great moments with her:

Hannah and animals: She adored Cocoa (my mum's tiny dog) and spent half her time chasing her to try and cuddle her. The photos of them cuddling are superb. She loved Alex (Andrea's parents' sheepdog) and spend a lot of time giving him orders. Unfortunately Alex responds well to his name, but not so well to cries of "aiyeah" or "aleah" which was as good as Hannah could master. Still they spent ages playing together outside, on the farm, and in the tractor. And Hannah adores watching sheep, horses, cows and other animals whether it's from a train, bike, car, buggy, or even when she walks.

Hannah and other kids: She's beginning, slowly, to interact more with other children. There's certainly a selfish-streak (which all kids seem to have at this age) where Hannah doesn't want to share things, but she's all into copying other kids whether it's how they play with the sand, how they walk in the street, what toys they play with, or what they do in the playground (the latter normally ending up in arguments as Hannah tries to take toys or space on the playground). The fastest way to get Hannah home is for her to decide to copy/race an older kid! The pictures of her with some other kids are wonderful, particularly when they are together pulling Hannah's little wagon (or when one is pulling the wagon with Hannah sitting in it) – though I am sure things will change more over the next couple of years.

Hannah and playgrounds: I don't recall to much about every enjoying playgrounds much in my youth, but I don't remember very far back! Hannah is clearly addicted to the things. We're fortunate to have a playground outside our front door in Beijing, and similarly outside my mum's and dad's. Andrea's dad put up a swing in his garden and built a sandpit in an old tyre whilst their local playground is just a few minutes cycle away. Wherever we went Hannah found a playground and began climbing something or sitting on a swing (which she can stay in, literally, for hours, it seems). It's the easiest way to look after a child.

Hannah and food: In the last month, Hannah's become so confident at using a regular cup and forks and spoons, we just give her normal cutlery at meal time. But as all parents will know, kids don't always want to eat when you want them to, or what you want them to. Hannah is no different, but it does add a little something to mealtimes: some fun and some frustration. Often there is some laughter and tantrums thrown in as well.

Hannah and words: Slow progress here. The listening is going well but the spoken needs work, or at least a few more months. I'm realizing how incredibly effective one can be at communicating by pointing. Maybe her strong ability in non-verbal communication is holding her back from needing to speak? Anyway, she manages to get what she wants using the words she has, few of which are actually correct words, but some are on the right track, e.g. "doodoo" for dog or "buh" for bus. She is also good at using onomatopoeia such as "vroom" for other vehicles.

We love our incredible little girl: she's easy and adaptable, sleeps well, plays well, and is adorable all the time. She makes vacations more fun and life more interesting.

Two weeks in Germany

After Edinburgh it was time to spend two weeks in Germany, and it was also time for what had been rather mediocre weather in England (not awful, but generally not great) to be replaced by exceptional weather in Germany. For most of the two weeks it was over 23 degrees and almost half the time it was blue skies and even hit 30 degrees. This enabled several BBQs, a 3-day cycling and beach trip, a few days walking around Berlin, and relaxation at Andrea's house.

My mum and eldest sister came to Berlin with me on a Saturday, and were treated to a bike ride around town and a trip to one of the many lakes in East Germany that are flooded mines and perfect for swimming in and relaxing next to. The next day we took a train and cycled around 45km along one of Germany's tremendous cycle paths (where Britain has excellent footpaths, Germany really has excellent cycle paths throughout the countryside and cities) to a city beside a larger former-coal-mine-turned-lake called Senftenberg. We spent a couple of nights in a small bungalow that we rented with a pool, cycling around the lake, visiting the pretty town center of Senftenberg, and enjoying the beach and playgrounds beside the lake. It was a wonderful low-key, relaxing, experience.

In Berlin, for those interested in an intense two-day itinerary, we were packing things in: the very good Jewish museum in the morning, the excellent Stasi museum after lunch, and a walk from Postdamer Platz up past Brandenburg Gate and the Bundestag to the main train station (where my sister left to go back to the UK). My mum visited the Holocaust memorial (Andrea and I having been before and preferring to play with Hannah in the Tiergarten), then we did checked out the tendy/shopping areas of Hackischer markt, and Gendarmanmarkt where we ate at a nice Italian place. It was a packed day and it's interesting to see the similarities between Berlin and London, with parks, palaces, gates, parliaments and shopping streets all being close together.

On the second day we walked through the old part of East Berlin where Humboldt university and the Museums island is, checked out the Berlin Cathedral, and then went to the DDR museum. Another fantastic museum, it excellently reconstructs life in East Germany when it was the DDR, focusing on aspects of living, music, sport, the economy and all sorts. There was even a section on nudist beaches, and of course a Trabi car. In the afternoon we went to the Berlin wall and then the fantastic exhibit into Terror alongside a part of the Berlin wall (near the Stasi museum). We decided against the Checkpoint Charlie museum (though we saw Checkpoint Charlie itself) and instead went to the Berlin city museum. This was a massive museum, covering a lot of detail about the history of Berlin, and included a tour of a nuclear bunker which was built in the underground car park. Another great visit, though the museum was rather too long. We ended the day walking along the Berlin equivalent of Oxford Street (Kurfurstenstrasse) in the evening.

On day three, having done most of sights in Berlin, not fancying too much walking, whilst also wanting to enjoy the nice weather and not be inside more museums, we ended up going to the Gardens of the World, out in the suburbs (the other option was going to Potsdam, but we didn't think we would have enough time as my mum had an afternoon flight). A wonderful little place, perfect for Hannah with a playground, water, stones and other things to keep her busy. Some of the 8 or so gardens were excellent, particularly the renaissance garden, the Chinese garden and the oriental garden. An English garden is under construction, so we'll have to go back another time and see what it is like! A quick visit to C&A for some more shopping, before my mum headed back to England we managed some more precious hours in Primark (the only one in Germany, and just as packed as the one in Watford), before we also grabbed the train back to Andrea's house.

Over the next few days I went running the nice German countryside, Hannah played with her grandparents and some of her German friends, we went swimming a few more times (both in the lakes and leisure centres which have slides and warmer water for Hannah), ate ice creams, went to playgrounds, saw other friends, and generally relaxed.

On one day we did a trip to Dresden, where I had never been before. Although famously destroyed during the war, a large part of the old town has been restored and looks wonderful. There are many more restored buildings than I expected, with several churches, palaces, an opera house, art academies and all sorts looking beautiful. We also explored the new town on the north side of the river, which reminds me a bit of Camden with some funky shops and some interesting architecture. There was also an excellent playground – really, cities should invest in these things, they make cities so much more livable for families and are a beehive of activity. Where Berlin has the Hackischer markt, a complex of pretty courtyards and interesting shops, Dresden has the Kunsthofpassage, similar but more authentic and with nicer architecture.

We wrapped up our day in Dresden with a tour of the Volkswagen factory there. It's made entirely of glass (the floors are wooden though) and makes the expensive Phaeton. It's a beautifully designed building, a very interesting tour, and a great idea: VW not only make 11,000 cars there a year, they create a halo around the brand showcasing the craftsmanship (cars are mostly assembled by hand) in the "transparent" building, and have made an excellent customer experience out of it all. Highly recommended as was the whole day in Dresden.

The four weeks have gone by quickly, a series of different mini-holidays, a mixture of busy times and relaxing times, time with the family, time with friends, time seeing things, and time having fun (the four adult water slides at the Badliebenwerda leisure center are really good; the Alan Partridge film I saw in the cinema was non-stop laughter, and of course much of the Edinburgh comedy was funny too).

Edinburgh Fringe Festival

So what happened in Edinburgh? A lot. For readers this might be dull. For me, it's just a record of what we saw and what we thought. For those seeking to understand the Fringe Festival it might be vaguely useful to skim…

Debarking from our early morning flight we jumped on a short (and cheap, by London standards) airport bus to the city, downloading the Fringe App on the free wi-fi on the bus, and working out what tickets we had bought already and when we were still free. Mum had booked some things in advance based on some extensive research, but a lot was still open. After checking into the hotel, we hit the half-price hut to purchase some tickets to fill in some gaps.

First we tried out a free show in the basement of a cafe: one where you just donate something at the end. It was actually two 15-minute short plays, A Cut in the Rates and Grey Matter. Decent enough and watchable. We then popped down the road for Afternoon Delight, where around 7 different comedians gave us teasers of what they were like. A few were very good: Lee Camp, Mixed Doubles, St Andrew's Revue and a Japanese Samurai sketch artist. We also liked the Compere and ended up buying a ticket for her show (Abigoliah Schamaun: Subtle) late that evening, though that is certainly not a show for under-18s. There was some shocking content and language, as well as some strange acts (eating a light bulb, for example) but it was funny.

Before that though we had a couple of other shows to pack in: Seven Ages was with Kevin Tomlinson which was mostly improvisation comedy based on the seven ages of life quoting song lyrics and was very well done (Kate even ended up on stage for a few minutes fittingly directing Kevin and someone else around). Next Door was with two Scandinavians which was physical theatre/comedy about getting to know people and very enjoyable (the two actors really worked hard and did a fantastic job with a clever format). Late that night we squeezed in one last show, Abominations, which was a bit slapstick and (I thought, though my family had a higher opinion) more suitable for daytime kids TV, with a fairly absurd plot and low-brow comedy. That day we'd also managed a quick walk down the Royal Mile to check-out the atmosphere, and an hour-long tour of the caves underneath South Bridge which was fairly interesting. At least the Aussie tour guide did her best to make it interesting.

On the second day, we managed to arrive at 11am for our first show, only to be told we should have arrived at 10.50am and that the room was full (our tickets were unreserved). Frustrated we were given tickets for the following day instead, grabbed a coffee and walked into a free comedy (The Bravery Test) next door in the social club of Edinburgh Football Club. The comedian spent 50 minutes or so talking about his life which was fairly poignant and some points funny. We appreciated it, at least. Whilst grabbing a Tesco sandwich we headed off to see The Babysitter, a truly fantastic play over at the University's Pleasance Courtyard. It was wonderfully written and very well acted. We were squeezed into a temporary hut and intimately enjoyed the story about parents who would not trust their older daughter to look after their younger daughter, leading the older daughter to hit on the babysitter and try to get him fired. It was the equal of anything I've seen in London. Following an enjoyable tea with my mum's cousin who lives in Edinburgh, owns a theatre there, and gave us the scoop on how everything works, we hit up the comedy revue act, Mixed Doubles, having been impressed by their preview the previous day.

We then had to dash off to the next one that started ten minutes later, an "interactive comedy show" called Sex Guru run by a Austrian guy which was an entertaining hour exploring differences between men and women, and the importance of communication in one's relationship. Lastly, for that day, we went to the BBC tent to see the Edinburgh heats of the National New Comedy Award. I was pleasantly surprised to realize the compere was Susan Calman, who I'd heard many a time on the News Quiz, a wonderful BBC radio show/podcast on Fridays. It was funny to then put a face to the voice. The 10 stand-up comedians who had 5 minutes each did their best, and there were certainly some good jokes in there. Afterwards we had our first sit-down meal of the trip, an excellent Persian restaurant.

On Day three, following breakfast at a wonderful café next door, we arrived early for the show that we'd not arrived early enough for the previous day, Arcadia, an excellent play set partly in an early 19^th century stately home that was sort of a murder mystery. With another Tesco sandwich in hand we then took a bus to see Bianco, a circus spectacular which really came into its own in the second half with more color and creativity. They changed the "set" every 10 minutes which meant moving all kinds of equipment around so the audience was standing up the whole time and moving around to allow the equipment to be put in place. It was a bit of a pain to begin with but did allow us to be close to the action. Throughout the two hours, an excellent band played the soundtrack which brought the acrobatics to life.

On the way back into the town center, we spent some time at the West End Arts and Craft Fair, which was full of local artisans selling their hand-made clothes, jewellery and the like. We then went to see Jerry and Tom, a fairly decent comedy about two hitmen, one new to the job and another showing him the ropes. The third actor spent most of his time dying over and over again! Up next was another free show, the A-Z of Backpacking, a one-man story of how to go backpacking. It had its moments, but we felt he could have found more comic material. To end the day we had our other sit-down meal of the trip at an excellent Nepalese restaurant.

The last day begun as the previous one did – at the café, followed by a fantastic play, this one called Halcyon Days, with a case of just two, but a fantastic script and incredible acting. It was another one that could grace the West End. We then dashed off to the next show, The Theory of Justice: a Musical, which I was so impressed with I bought the DVD of afterwards. It was a wonderful 90 minutes exploring different philosophical theories with some good songs, and some really fantastic humor. This was an original script (as was the Babysitter, though others such as Halcyon Days and Arcadia were not). Ask me for the DVD! To finish off our four days we had time to see two last comedies: the Maydays improv group which focused on confessions and were alright (but only alright) and one last free comedy act. This last one was unfortunately maybe the worst of the lot, but at least it was not trying to be something it was not: The Sidcup Family Portrait was really a slapstick show with three friends playing around a vague script.

We left Edinburgh fulfilled: we'd seen a wide variety of performances: plays, various forms of comedy, a musical, a circus, and even physical theatre. We'd seem some really great stuff which was worthy of anywhere, particularly the Babysitter, Halcyon Days, Arcadia, the Theory of Justice, the Bianco Circus, and the Afternoon Delight mix of comedians; some excellent stuff such as Seven Ages, Mixed Doubles, and Next Door; some decent stuff such as Abigoliah Schamaun, Sex Guru, the Bravery Test, the BBC comedy awards, and so on. And then the rest may, over time, certainly become more forgettable! Though we are glad we went to some of the free shows, you generally get what you pay for. The gamble of course is knowing which shows to buy tickets for at full price, or try to get them at half-price.

I can't remember much from my previous experience at Edinburgh but I'll look forward to going again.

 

The Other Life

So, back to the "other life" – the family life. The regular trip back home which really is a different life. Spending time with family and different friends, eating different food, driving (occasionally) and spending leisure time visiting places that are a world apart from China. On this trip we spent a few days in the Peak District, one of the country's nicest national parks and complete with pretty villages, wonderful green rolling hills, excellent pubs and cafes, and superb walking.

We stayed in the uniquely British concept of a Bed & Breakfast, and this one was exceptional, run by an elderly couple with a few extra bedrooms in their farmhouse in the middle of nowhere with excellent breakfasts, wonderful views, and of-course, wi-fi. Dad, Andrea, Hannah and I had a wonderful time – Hannah probably enjoyed it the most, since she had the best views seated a meter up on my back, though she did do a bit of walking too. We did the usual trip up to Manchester to visit old friends, almost all of whom are now settled down with partners. The genius idea this time was to go to Tatton Park, a stately home outside Manchester with wonderful grounds for walking, an excellent playground for kids, nice cafes, and for those interested, beautiful gardens and house. Of course we also stopped off in Stourbridge on our trip up North, as we always do, to see Ian, Hannah and their lovely kids.

It being England and touching 25 degrees every now and again there was the requisite BBQ too: at my mum's for my sister's informal birthday dinner, and at my dad's for something similar with some of my old London friends. There was also a typical London Transport experience (maintenance requiring the use of the wonderful "bus replacement service") which meant we arrived late for a Play in London (the excellent Fences, with Lenny Henry), and a few trips to London to get some drinks with other friends.

Speaking of plays, one should mention Edinburgh, though a more detailed review of what happened will follow separately. We went to the Fringe Festival for four packed-out days, seeing some professional—and some not-so-professional—actors and comedians. It is quite something: 2,700 shows across 250 venues (some with over ten theatres inside) packed into a beautiful, fairly small, city, and with a wonderful atmosphere. Actors themselves ply the streets handing out flyers for their shows when they are not acting. There are donation-only shows (donate according to the quality), free street-shows, and a mix of professional shows. There is stand-up comedy, improve comedy, dance, physical theatre, musicals, spoken word, circus, and more. Really something to suit everyone, though it is hard to work out what is good or not, which I suppose is part of the fun.

I can't recommend the experience highly enough though it won't be cheap with flights from London likely to cost a hundred pounds return, a hotel something similar for a room per night, and then expect to spend between twenty to fourty pounds a day per person if you want to pack out your day with different shows. Somewhere in between you'll likely spend money on alcohol and maybe some food, if there is time.

It feels so different: being with different people in different places and almost at a different time: it's possible to find similarities between the US and China sometimes (such as the size and geographic diversity) but almost impossible to do so between the UK and China. The two countries are in such a different stage of development, it is surreal. The conversations are so different, it is ironic: the discussion about spending a small country's entire GDP on a new railway line will go on for years, the construction will take decades (in China, the railway would be built before the UK had even approved the project, and it would be a faster railway). The debates on being in or out of the European Union hilarious when every other country in the World, including China, are racing into new trade treaties of all sorts. The joy of reaching 0.6% economic growth when China is fretting at slipping below 7.5%.

I won't go on, but I will seek to conclude by emphasizing the huge value one gets from seeing things from different perspectives. It is truly difficult to step out of one's own shoes, try to remove biases and to try to see things differently. But it can be hugely rewarding. As I've said before, everything is relative: anything can be anything depending on what you compare it to. And when you can see things differently, you can value things differently, prioritize differently, and hopefully, overall, make better decisions. Gotta love that trip back home!

Loyalty vs Respect

Ever since I've been in China I've thought about the issue of relationships in China: whether it is business relationships or personal relationships, both are somewhat different to what I've been used to, but only subtly.

For business relationships, yes, there is no doubt that in China you need to be-friend your business partner and many deals are done due to friendships; but in England it would be incredible naive to presume there is an entirely open playing field and that the show is not still run by certain people who know other people. After all "it is not what you know but who you know" is a western saying, not a Chinese one. And China may have more than its fair share of corruption in its business deals, for a mixture of culture and economic development reasons, but it's not like we are immune to this in the UK either - it's just we've spend a lot of time building up a culture where law matters, and China has not get there yet. With more time, some ponder that it might - others say its not possible as long as the judiciary is not independent or transparent (it does what the Communist Party tells it to do, hearings are short, decisions rarely explained, and the rulings and punishments rarely consistent).

But it is personal relationships that are more interesting. Previously I'd explained it thus: In England you'd be nice to people very quickly, even strangers, but it takes a long time before you can really be friends; whereas in China, you are not nice to strangers, but you can pretty quickly become close friends. This has never satisfied me as an answer though for a number of reasons. So, as I was thinking more about this issue, I came to consider the issue of respect.

In general--and it really is hard to generalize a country so diverse as China, but one must, so one will--there is a lack of respect for the environment, for others' space and for someone else's rights. There is a strong selfish streak, which may be driven by economic reasons. Now it is also fairly clear that many in the UK lack respect too; but that seems more out of immaturity and a strange intentional desire to annoy others more than anything else. But, as many will know, the Chinese care very deeply about their friends and family; one could argue much more than in the west where the family unit is weaker. I strongly agree with this, and thus it came to me that maybe it is worth differentiating between the concept of loyalty and respect.

Maybe the Chinese are very loyal, but not very respectful. Can that be possible? I'm not sure, but it seems to make sense to me: a strong caring for those one knows or needs to know to be successful, but not much consideration for anyone else. I'm not writing a book to explore this more deeply, but I'll think more about it and see if these are the right words to differentiate something that really is a striking difference between the two cultures. Now I wish the youth in the UK would respect others as much as the youth in China would do, and that there would be as little crime as there is in China; but these may be more about economic, judicial and historical reasons than from actual beliefs.

Evidence this might be true? Well, the fact that discrimination in China is rife (automatic feelings against those that are different, either ethnically, geographically, religiously, or according to language, wealth, disability etc) and seemingly impossible to overcome implies a lack of respect and a lack of willingness to respect others. There is a strong lack of respect for differences overall, partly inspired by a government agenda.

The challenge, if this is true, is how to encourage more respect, since there will not be sustainability without respect. And I'm working on sustainability... more thinking clearly needed but the idea of loyalty vs respect is an interesting one I think.

--

Interested in what I'm up to? http://adam.nomadlife.org

Celebrating 18 months

How momentous - and why not celebrate by proving to your parents you can climb up a climbing frame in the playground; pee in the potty when it's nearby; and get your first fever!

Happy 18-months old, Hannah!

China's air and gardens

The newest thing China is known for is its awful air quality. When it's bad it gets in western newspapers and everyone seems to be talking about how it affects this or that, whether one is leaving Beijing/china because of it or not (and some cities are better than Beijing). But Beijing does occasionally have insanely blue skies, stunningly blue skies. Unfortunately they are fairly rare - rare enough to really be news that hits the newspapers (though that is not the case).

Last week we did have some stunning blue skies and flaky clouds. We also had some excellent sunsets but city-standards (no comparing to a beach or mountain sunset of course). When Beijing is like that it is a wonderful city. I estimate the weather is depressingly bad about a third of the time, which is quite a lot, but it is not "all" the time. And you can manage around it. No city is perfect. It does not bother us as much as other people. We do use an air purifier when it is really bad; and we go out less - but we still go out, and we still have fun, and so far our health has been fine. Others seem to disagree, and are leaving because of it. If you have other reasons to leave, or if all things really are equal and this tips the scales over, then it might be time to leave. But we have reasons to stay in Beijing and are not, yet, close to a tipping point.

One of the oldest things China is known for, apart from the Great Wall I suppose, are its gardens, though they are certainly not gardens in the English sense. These are usually full of rock features, pagodas, water features, zig-zag bridges, and a variety of plants. There are not actually a lot of flowers, and not a lot of grass, usually. They are of course for a different purpose than those in England: not for play, that is for sure, and certainly born less out of love for agriculture. What they may have in common is a desire to show-off and create a place to relax, just in very different ways. Typically the areas around Shanghai are most famous for their gardens as they have an abundance of water, the right weather for growing a variety of plants, and (presumably) some cultural reasons as well.

China holds a domestic "Garden Expo" every two years: this year it is being held in Beijing so the local government has gone to the usual extremes: found a lot of land, built a new subway, recruited thousands of volunteers and built an insane Garden Expo. We went to visit it today - it is the opposite end of town so took a while to get there, and it was over 30 degrees. Despite a lack of shade though it was worthwhile. There were some incredible gardens: a lot of effort, very pretty, and also quite creative (there are over 40 different mini-gardens, some larger than others). It's a big area, and they have clearly put a lot of effort into it. In fact it is almost too impressive: one wanders what will happen after the Expo finishes in 6 months. I presume they won't just abandon it but it will take work to keep in good condition, as well as money, and though there are some nice walks there and alongside the neighboring river, I can't see a lot of people using the site for any purpose other than just visiting the gardens (and maybe taking wedding photos).

It's not great for a buggy as there are a fair amount of steps or paths made of broken stone; but we enjoyed the 5 hours or so we spent there, even in the heat.There has been a lot of thought into its design, so you can spend hours wandering around and exploring different paths, areas, and mini-gardens. Yet just as its scale and ambition is distinctly Chinese, so are some of the other aspects of it too: the waste of volunteers who mostly just stand there; the desire to pretend it is international which has led to creating a fake stately home with maze and random European huts (but not European gardens); the arbitrary nature of certain things like having a museum that closes 3 hours before the actual park does; and the overly commercial side to it (a lot of tacky gift shops in some of the buildings). 

But on the whole China is getting much better nowadays with tourism: there are electric cars to transport people around, good signposts, maps, plenty of drinks available, good public transport, some ramps for the disabled and even some actual food options (not good food options, but more than just instant noodles and sausages). For those who have traveled in China this will all seem very familiar I am sure.Which leads me back to my earlier issue of what will happen once the Expo is over. Because that has been China's biggest flaw for previous temporary events: they build them so big that they are almost guaranteed to be white elephants. So I'll need to find out more about what happened to the previous 8 expos that were elsewhere in China, and come back to this one next year to see what it is like!

Bicycles in Beijing

In what seems like an eternity ago, and certainly looks like it in photos, Beijing used to be covered in bikes, with the odd car a tourist attraction. In 20 years this has changed somewhat, but some legacies remain: bike lanes segregated from the main roads are common on many streets which can make it a joy to cycle around the city. Others have a bus and cycle lane combined by the side of the road, though this is rarely useful as it is normally used for parking as well - either legally or illegally, there are few parking restrictions actively enforced.

Cyclists, like pedestrians, do not have right of way. The car does. Or so it seems. You need to have your wits about you, and you need to be brave to cross the road when you have a green light, particularly since a car probably is probably also turning across you. For those who have traveled overseas, you'll be aware that this is common across the world, but not in the UK, where (and it would be a left turn, since the UK drives on the other side) red means red and pedestrians do not have to worry about other traffic also being able to cross their path). And so pedestrians need to be brave and stick their necks out as they cross the road. Unfortunately it leads to a culture of pedestrians doing this all the time, whether they have a green man or not - and so they make things worse, blocking the road and causing a hazard. And of course the cyclist, or the e-cyclist may come zooming along at any time, because the color of a traffic light is irrelevant for him or her with a silent deathtrap.

When the wind blows, the typical cyclist hides. In Beijing you come out, fresh in the knowledge that the wind has brought fresh air with it. And after the rain, with fresh air all around and puddles on the floor, the cyclist can joyfully go wherever and stay dry. Increasingly there are cycling parks in office buildings and shopping malls (not least for the low-paid staff who work there and who need to park their bikes), and there are new bike renting schemes across town (several have failed in the past, but the latest seems to have survived though may not be that popular). And so bikes become less prone to theft. And as the traffic gets worse more people realize the speed of cycling is unrivaled.

Yet I was unable to cycle recently for almost a month. A difficult month, spent searching for taxis (whose price recently went up, finally, for the first time in 8 years), sitting on buses in traffic jams, and trying to squeeze on subways at rush hour. It was difficult. But now, with a new bike, I am back on the road again. And with me being on the road again comes Hannah, sitting on Andrea's bike, and we are more mobile and able to explore Beijing again.

At the weekend we went out, first to a shopping mall, since it was raining, where we found H&M had a sale on to someone's delight and Hannah tested out her recent interest in sitting down and refusing to walk with us where we want to go. Ahh, now she really does feel like a kid. Then we took Hannah to her first beer festival: 7 craft beer brewers were there along with some food options and a band, but it was a small affair. Quite the opposite of a British beer festival. This one had a kid's area set-up (complete with a bouncy castle), was held outside (since it's so warm), and was full of a young crowd. Hannah's taken a liking for beer recently, in a comical way. She doesn't really like it but sees us drinking it so grabs a spoon to dip in the beer and take some. Then she grimaces, but takes more!

There's a nice photo on facebook of her at the beer festival with two of her friends. She's the one standing on stage, lifting her shirt up to show off her belly to everyone. So actually, maybe there is one thing the beer festival had in common with a British one after all....

An encounter with Ai Wei Wei

I often comment in a half-joking fashion that Andrea and I do similar things but with different groups: I work with large companies which may be somewhat bland and uninspiring while she works with small amazing non-profits/social enterprises and inspiring individuals. Fortunately I get to tap into her world, going to many of her events, meeting some of the great people she meets and being inspired.

China certainly has its issues--and a lot of people in China may not care or may be making things worse, as with many Western countries, but it also has incredible individuals who are trying to improve things, who are making sacrifices, and who are going against the grain (in a country that really really does not encourage you to go against anything). Many are now well-known in the west because they win Nobel peace prizes, or get locked up, escape to the US or whatever. Some of them do have some impact. Others keep their head down and stay the right side of the line, and don't get noticed (intentionally) but also do great work. And this line is interesting. In China the line is always moving. What can you do that is ok and what can you do that is not ok? What will just mean the police "inviting you to tea" to find out more and be reassured about your motives vs what will lead you to being under house arrest without any legal conviction or actually detained?

I'm always intrigued as to this line, how it moves, where it moves, and most importantly how to stay on the right side of it - not for personal reasons, since I am a long way on the safe side of the line, doing pretty boring stuff (from the government's perspective) - but because it is a really interesting side of China. In most cases when I have spoken to people that are still on the right side of the line, they talk about how they try to push up to the line and try to push the line, but they never across it. They talk to the government where possible to understand where the line is and where it is going (things can move unexpectedly here) and to explain that they sit firmly on the safe side of the line. For many groups and individuals, particularly those fighting for the rights of certain minorities, like prostitutes, gays, HIV+ persons, disabled or others, they really struggle with this. They desperately want to push that line, but they need to be careful. Sometimes they succeed, but sometimes they do not.

There are a few exceptions to these two groups of people that I mentioned earlier (the ones who are across the line and in prison, and the ones who operate under the radar and still behind the line) which is a few people who are right on the line and are vocal about it. Ai Wei Wei is one of these people. He's managed to get himself well-known for boring issues (architecture, art etc) and then used his fame to create a platform for talking about more controversial issues. He's so well-known that the government struggles to keep him quiet without making things worse (when they did put him away for 81 days or so for tax evasion, it just got him more attention), so they don't quite know what to do with him. He continues to walk the line carefully, using the media as a cover to some extent, whilst also cleverly using it to push his agenda. And I'm not an expert on him, so this is just my perceptions and may not be entirely true.

But today i did get to meet him. We went to the German School here which had a summer festival with BBQs, music and games, and he was there. We think because some German friends had invited him along, but he was recognized (he is pretty distinctive) and spent all the time there (that we saw him) which was at least 45 minutes (then we left to go somewhere else) taking photos. Now it was a very orderly and low key. A few people would hang around nearby waiting for their turn, there were laughs, there were kids, there was beer. I could barely imagine if there were Chinese around it might be quite another story (there weren't - the event is really only for Germans and others related to the School). Anyway, before we left I went up to him for a chat (no photo - i'm not sure he really enjoyed spending all his leisure time taking photos, but i did hope he might be interested in some interesting conversation - and besides i can't get anything out of a photo but i hoped for some insights from our conversation.

What did we discuss in the 3 minute conversation? I asked about the line. He reinforced my suspicions (see above) and we talked about his conversations with the government (to find out where the line is, so he can explain his opinion and be honest about his intentions). I asked about his recent music video where he recreated his prison cell and heavily criticized the Chinese government and the government reaction (he said the government were too embarrassed to do anything about it beyond blocking it here, but they did compliment him on how accurate his depiction of the cell was). I also asked about the story of thousands of people donating money to him online and by throwing money into his courtyard to help pay a deposit that was necessary to fight his tax evasion case (he said there were 30,000 people who gave him money, he had written thank yous, and he did try to return it as he promised he would, but that some people did not want it back, and others did not give their names or addresses with it).

My parting words - keep doing what you're doing, keep staying the right side of the line, and good luck! I'm sure he's heard that before.

Our apartment

Wow six weeks have passed since last writing. I am writing this whilst sitting by Hannah's second home: the playground.  It's just outside our front door in the middle of our wonderful apartment complex.
Some background first....It's common in China, no matter your wealth, that your apartment is part of a community: several buildings that are enclosed and have entrance gates. The older communities tend to allow cars to drive in and park, but newer complexes tend to have underground parking. Most have small shops dotted around providing local services like printing, laundry or vegetables.

The newest and most expensive will have luxury landscaped gardens, hedges and fountains. They tend to have less shops though which might lower the tone. It's the older ones that are most lively with the elderly and kids playing in the shade, lots of intermingling etc. However it's rare to find a combination of the new with no cars, nice gardens, fountains etc and the old with shops, atmosphere etc. Our place has that and is fairly cheap too.

What really makes it special is the playground and the lake providing a hub for kids to play. The summer which is five months of warm or hot weather feels, like a holiday. It's very green and lively and we love it. We spend quite a bit of time here and in the many local parks (for some diversity and large grass areas to sit on). Unfortunately our landlord has put the place on the market and possible buyers seem to want to live in it rather than rent it out. If we have to move we'll try to stay in the complex.

Kids have insane amounts of energy but what is amazing is how kids can spend it doing the same things all the time. Most of Hannah's time is spent in our small apartment climbing onto and off the bed or couch, playing with some toys, and just running from the one room to the other;and outside in the swing, up and down the slide, playing with puddles of water or kicking her football around. Everyone downstairs knows hannah though we don't know them! Our nanny has a wonderful job full of smiles! We get to enjoy it too on the precious weekends and evenings.

Meanwhile Hannah's slowly speaking a few more words though she understands hundreds. She's occasionally showing an attitude when she can't get what she wants (though she's easily distracted out of any mini tantrum). she's also now close to 100% using a spoon to feed herself and more confident going up stairs (though some stairs really are just too big for her without using her hands). She had a 30 second (first) dentist checkup, and has had her first proper bruises and cuts, though they all heal very quickly.

Next week is children's day though every day must seem like children's day for a 16 month old.

I voted in a Chinese election

There was a knock-on the door this morning from a volunteer. He was asking me about voting for the local residents' committee. Most communities have these: normally they don't do much, but they seem to have a small budget to fix things and maybe they are the ones arranging for the old people to help out here and then. Anyway, there are always a lot of signs in our elevator all the time from the committee with updates and things, so if nothing else they do make a lot of effort to communicate!

The volunteer pulled out a form and asked me to vote. The conversation went something like this:

Me: "i don't really know any of these people so do i have to vote? who should i vote for?"

Volunteer: "it doesn't matter, just vote for anyone".

Me: "Can you recommend any of the candidates - who is good or bad?"

Volunteer: "I don't know, you need to pick 2 of the 9 who you don't think are competent. Just pick a couple, maybe the ones in the middle, and put a cross by their name".

Me: "ok, i'll pick X and Y"

Volunteer: "good. can you write in your room number, circle option 1, 4 and 5 and also sign on behalf of your landlord"

Me: "ok"

So i have maybe contributed to ruining two people's lives by giving them a vote of no confidence. And i have voted on behalf of a landlord whom I have never met. On the plus side it seems probably no-one else knows who the 9 candidates are so it is unlikely i'll be influencing the vote -- it's going to be entirely random which ones get elected, or else the volunteers are influencing the vote by encouraging giving a no-confidence vote to the ones in the middle. Looks like the ones with names at the beginning and ends of the alphabet will get in then. Would it be any better for such a local election in the "West"? Probably not!

I wonder if they can sort out our hot water. The whole community has had no hot water for a month. It's a bit of a pain. Andrea boils water and then washes from a tub. I just have a cold shower. Our neighbors and even friends (who are lawyers) complain every day. The signs in the lobby change regularly trying to placate us and explain why this is necessary. People are not really happy. Apparently the hotel across the street is doing good business with people ganging up to rent a room to have a shower!

Useful kids

Over a long weekend we headed out to the Great Wall for a night. We stayed at a place recommended by a friend; a place which had an English website and thus was permanently busy with foreign guests. The family struck it lucky when 5 years ago some foreigners picked their little guesthouse to stay at of the ten in that village and hundreds in the area. Those foreigners went and made the simple website (www.greatwallfresh.com) which has led so many other foreigners to go there.

It's in a good spot for the wall with some fairly serious hiking available. It's not easy and it's not a particularly nice village, but it is close to the wall and cheap. We took Hannah up the wall twice on our backs, but the very strong winds at the top did not make her particularly happy. She seemed to have more fun walking around the apple trees and watching the family's animals. We then went to visit some Indian friends for lunch and spent a few hours in the park. We visit the park often when the weather is nice as Hannah is beginning to interact with other children so its a nice opportunity for them to begin to play together.

Hannah's language is coming along, but she's still not really speaking much. There are hints of words that sound like milk or apple, but generally most things are mer, ma, mem, da or something like that. I suppose there is sort of a mem for mum and a da for dad but it's not clear-cut.There is a great deal of pointing though and taking. So she gets what she wants, she is sort of feeding her self using a spoon too though she's not that good at getting food on the spoon she is good at getting the spoon in her mouth. We've found her quite useful though at picking things up, passing things to one or the other of us and so on. Who knew kids could be so useful!

Into the countryside

Last week i accompanied some volunteers from computing companies to the countryside for a few days along with some academics from Stanford and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The purpose was to understand what computers rural schools have, what they do with them, what software they use/learn from on the computers, what internet connection they have and what they do with the internet if they have it. Sparing all the gory details, the trip re-emphasized that just having computers is not enough, it is much more important what you do with them -- in this case access content or use software that help children learn. And of course, if the internet can be utilized it opens up a larger range of options for content/software, allows for more interactivity, and so on. Anyway, following the trip we'll be working on some project ideas but i won't go into all the details.

What is more interesting, for the average person at least, is the perspective of what it is like going on this kind of trip into the countryside. Firstly there is a lot of traveling required. China has great roads nowadays and increasingly highways. These cut journey times but still we spent on average 5-6 hrs a day for 3 days in the car. Great chance to catch a nap though. Secondly such a trip needs to involve government officials, who are partners in the project and who showed us around and gave us lots of hospitality. And they are quite some characters.Particularly around foreigners. And particularly at meal times.

There are a lot of meals. And they always involve alcohol - specifically Chinese liquor. it's generally insanely awful stuff with an aftertaste that lasts days. I've heard the really expensive stuff is not too bad, but I'm yet to try it. Instead its the insanely cheap stuff that is packaged into a nice bottle and shared around. Most of the time one can try to get out of it by drinking beer or wine, but not all the time. There is always a lot of toasting, in fact it is sort of non-stop and makes a lot of alcohol disappear very fast. It starts off as a bit of fun but does get tiresome after a couple of days and a lot of hard work, especially when all the discussion is in a foreign language.

The food itself is sometimes good. Simple and basic. Though sometimes it's the part of the animals you don't really want to eat, or it's a strange flavor added to some vegetables that mean you can't taste the food, just the sauce. Anyway, there is usually some simple dishes towards the end of the meal to chow down on after the delicacies have come out. Some other interesting things from the trip:
- With the big political conferences taking place, all government officials, and indeed many of the teachers, seem to have been required to write essays on "their thoughts on the political conference" which were put up on noticeboards in public.
- Hosts will spend more effort ensuring you are comfortable and never run out of tea than actually talking to you.
- Chinese people are amazingly good at falling asleep in cars. It means there is not much time for awkward conversations and an easy way to get out of conversations (fall asleep or at least pretend to)
- Telecom companies in rural China are just like those in urban China and those in the rest of the world in that they promise you internet speeds you have no hope in ever achieving, yet are apparently paying for!

Back in Beijing, people keep talking all day long about the pollution. It's not good. It's also not like it was good before. A cool image of the last 14 days shows the variation: http://www.china.org.cn/environment/2013-03/18/content_28277548.htm. Not a lot has changed, just a hell of a lot more media coverage and more transparency as to the numbers showing how bad it is. And that is a big deal... the data and the attention - will there be any meaningful response? it does not seem like it. It's mostly excuses and no willingness to sacrifice economic growth or lifestyles or anything else for better environment. At least not yet. But with more and more dis-satisfaction and protests, things might change.

Inquisitive children and geological formations in Dorset

After a quick work trip to a warm hong kong, it was time to fly home for two weeks. It's always strange returning home - nothing really changes so it always seems the last trip was just a few weeks before, and that I've just popped away for a while. It's very easy to slip back in, though when I come back I know it is for a holiday and that real life (if i was back) would be different.

The difference now of course is that the trips home are more frequent - every 6 months - and of course Hannah is always changing, at least in the early years so each trip will be somewhat different. This trip will be remembered for the fancy Deuter 3 backpack that we got from ebay to carry Hannah in across fields in Hertfordshire and throughout a five-day trip in Dorset as we went from pub to pub to cream tea house. As much as she likes walking, she gets distracted a lot, is unable to manage in muddy fields, and prefers the view from up high.

Intriguingly Hannah got almost as much attention in England from strangers as she does in China. She doesn't stand out as much in the UK, of course, but I guess it's a general human thing to go crazy over small kids/big babies. I suppose everything is relative and with nothing more exciting than a small kid/big baby happening in people's lives around the time we turn up, no wonder Hannah gets attention.

Kids have this incredible ability to take everything in their stride and learn. They absorb, accept, copy, experiment. It is just the kind of things we always hear adults don't do: we don't really listen, we don't do anything out of the ordinary or risky, we tend to always question others rather than trust them and so on. Now there are good reasons for those traits, and certainly we'll be teaching Hannah to ask why as she grows up (as if we will be able to stop her asking why....) but still, it makes a nice contrast.

So Hannah launched herself up and down stairs, getting very good at going up, tending to ask for help to go down. She's begun to master picking food up from a table and putting it in her own mouth... probably using a spoon won't be far away (just a few months of messy experimentation one imagines). And most crucially she has begun to really communicate. She points at what she wants, makes choices when you give her options (e.g. three different items of food or drink), and she understands an increasing amount of instructions/questions we put to her.

Apart from walking there were some visits to friends, some of whom we met in the wonderful Museum of Childhood which is free and contains wonderful exhibits that the kids can play in and enjoy. I didn't get to actually read the displays too much since one eye was always on Hannah, but it is a place I will go back to again and again I expect. There was a trip to Bletchley Park where the German codes were broken during World War 2 which was as good as expected: some great exhibits and good guides. Highly recommended, even if the actual old house itself is more a wedding venue nowadays and the exhibits are in the old huts nearby. I suppose that is where all the work was done back then anyway, so fair enough.

There were some work events in London and the journey down to Dorset where we saw the impressive Durdle door, Lulworth Cove and Chesil Beach which gave us our geology lessons for the week. It was good to taste some local ales down there, whilst stretching the legs. We got fairly lucky with the weather and realized there's more to see that we'll go back for another time: the tank museum in particular looked interesting!

At some point I'll upload some of the more interesting photos, in the meantime, I've spent a very busy few days back in Beijing working, experiencing the first sand storm of the year, , enjoying Spring which has arrived (its 15 degrees) and now preparing to watch the big derby game which might make or break the week ahead! I hope I don't have to wait until extra time as happened 2 weeks ago against Lyon!

Weather alert

Just back from playing football outside after work. It's -8 degrees. We had to shovel the snow off half of the pitch. Tomorrow off to Hong Kong where it will be +26 degrees (and only +20 degrees at night). What a wonderful break. Unfortunately I'll be back in Beijing on friday where the low at night will be -14 degrees. At least then when I get to London on saturday, the daytime weather of +6 will still feel fairly warm!

A birthday party or two

And so it came to Wednesday the 16th January. 1 year after my daughter Hannah came into the world. She may have realized something was up when the nanny gave her a new scarf and hat--nice and think and also bright green so we can't lose her in the snow (it snowed again today). As has happened a lot during the winter nanny took Hannah to an indoor kids playground in the afternoon for her to get some exercise and then she dropped her off at my office.

That was when the best laid plans began to go wrong. Most of the office were waiting to see Hannah and some had gifts too. But when Hannah arrived, at 6pm, she was asleep. Worn out from the playground, but having not gone to sleep earlier since she was so busy playing. Once she hits the buggy, she often falls asleep quickly, and so it was on this day. 20 mins later she woke up, groggy and not in the best of moods to receive presents. But receive them she did and then we took off to find the local guy who stands down the road selling helium balloons. Except that day he was not there. All the other local street sellers were. He was not. We asked around. We realized we were getting late. We were planning to take a little three wheel motorized bike-cum-taxi to dinner but nanny had brought the buggy (originally she was just going to bring her in the carrier). So i couldn't get the two of us and the buggy in the little three-wheelers. There's no taxis around at rush hour, so we looked for a bus. Didn't see one and so decided to run it.

a 15-minute run later, we got close to the restaurant. Hannah was getting a little cold, a friend was a bit lost, and then all of a sudden, at the turning to the little alley where the restaurant was, there was a guy selling helium balloons. Crazy. The big shopping/eating area was about half a mile away but i guess the guy had decided to leave there early, and i have no idea why he picked our alley to go up. But he did, and as I found my somewhat lost friend who had turned around to find the correct alley we bought half the guy's balloons and managed to get into the restaurant only 1 minute late... but still the first. So i had ensured the half-German baby was on time to her first birthday party. Surely a good omen for her future!

We had not invited kids, since they all go to bed around 7pm, just some of our adult friends who knew Hannah well. They slowly arrived in dribs and drabs, and then we opened presents, ate and drank --she got some books, clothes, a rug, some toys, well the usual really. I realized the benefit of Hannah's late nap (she normally sleeps around 5pm not 6pm) was that she was able to stay up until 9pm until she collapsed asleep in Andrea's arms. A pleasant evening all round (well until Hannah woke up at 10pm as we got her dressed to go into the taxi... she was not happy waking up and cried a lot until she passed out again once the movement of the taxi kicked in).

Three days later we had some of her baby friends around at our house, which we'd filled with regular balloons (as well as the helium balloons). Thankfully most people also arrived a bit late, waiting for babies to finish naps etc. I say thankfully as at 2pm Hannah was on her backside naked as we had to change her and wash some clothes that she'd soiled. Great way to start!

Five or six of the babies were between 8 months and 15 months so were not really yet into the whole "playing together" thing. But they played around, were curious about each other and us adults chatted. A couple of older kids were there, and they enjoyed showing Hannah how to open (and play) with her presents. Earlier that day we had prepared a birthday cake of sorts. Mostly mashed potato with a layer of boiled carrots in there too, it proved a bit of a hit amongst the babies. We had even spelt out a message on the top using boiled celery too. So it was a nice healthy birthday cake. And Hannah loved it. Just as she loves eating everything else we feed her too!

Anyway it all went well. Today she skype videoed home to get her birthday wishes. In less than two weeks she'll be back in Europe and basking in a lot of attention one imagines!