October « 2005 « Shanghai China Snippets

October 30, 2005

Shanghai Real Estate | Empty Buildings

Filed under: Shanghai Life — Shanghai @ 12:20 am

There is a lot of building activity up here in Shanghai and I have the privilige of experiencing it up close. In previous posts I showed pictures of nearby construction sites.

See the posts Shanghai Construction & Always Building in Shanghai

It’s time for an update. It still isn’t finished as at times they seemed to slow down a bit. Not a big surprise as they the surplus of space results in many emtpy buildings.

Shanghai Construction Site

One of the official numbers mentioned is of 6 million square meters of unsold space this year. As numbers in China are the same as lotto results elsewhere else I dare to say the numbers are on the conservative side.

Prices seem to go down and the big staring game seems to have started.

Buyers are waiting for prices to fall further, while sellers are unwilling to make additional cuts for fear of fueling the downward spiral.

Source: China Broadcast

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October 28, 2005

Ikea Shanghai | A Poor Man’s Brunch

Filed under: Shanghai Restaurants — Shanghai @ 4:13 am

Brunch in the Shanghai Ikea It’s been some time since I added a review of a restaurant despite the nice category Shanghai Restaurants.

Last weekend I got inspired again though as we went to Ikea, around 10:30 on a Saturday. I visited this place already a couple of months ago to see what is was like. It was like I expected, too full of shoppers, a lot of pushing as the aisles were cluttered and yes, some good deals. That day we ended for the first time in the Ikea restaurant. Food was good but too many people thought the same so it was like a constant chair dance.

Arriving there early makes all the above inconveniences go away. It’s quiet, there is no waiting at the counter, the coffee machines are there for you alone, (they have three) and the prices are so low. Drink limitless coffee in Ikea

A plate of salmon with the appropriate slice of lemon – 18 Rmb

A juicy shrimp sandwich with mayo & egg – 10 Rmb

Apple crunch with real apple – 9 Rmb

Coffee – Unlimited – 6 Rmb

It’s easy to fork out 200 Kuai for a buffet brunch at one of the top hotels. This place is the real deal though. Just make sure you are of there around 11:45 as the crowds start to close in you.

Ikea
No.126 Cao Xi Road Shanghai /Inner Ring.( Opposite to Hua Ting Hotel. Still can’t find it. Look around for some immense blue building with yellow letters)
Tel:+86–21-54254532
Open daily: 10:00 – 22:00

How to get there:
Metro Line #1 Shanghai Stadium
Pearl Line Caoxi Rd.

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October 26, 2005

Bird Flu | My First Face Mask | China

Filed under: China News — Shanghai @ 11:16 pm

Is it panic slowly creeping in? I don’t know but slowly I am getting the feeling that Bird Flu might become a bigger problem than I at first envisioned.

Sure, the media don’t really help when now it’s daily in the headlines. It also isn’t very comforting to live in a country where bird flu is likely coming from. (see article Newsweek: The flimsy wall of China

Tamiflu is almost everywhere sold out eventhough it’s not even certain it will actually help that much. You apparently should only take it when you get the flu symptoms which is always hard to know.

When do you take an aspirin for instance, when you have a starting headache or when it keeps on bugging you for some time.

According to Reuters a 12-year-old girl has died suffering flu-like symptoms in a village in central China where the mainland’s third outbreak of bird flu in a week has been reported. It isn’t yet confirmed that it’s a bird flu mutation gone crazy but chances are it is.

I bought my first face/flu mask yesterday. It probably won’t help that much but at least it is still available.

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October 23, 2005

Shanghai Hooters | 1 Year of American Culture

Filed under: Shanghai Restaurants — Shanghai @ 10:05 pm

Hooters apparently exists already a year here in Shanghai.

Still haven’t visited the place and chances are it will take a lot more anniversaries before I will even contemplate actually going there.

Hooters Shanghai

No anniversary without a special evening including the unavoidable National Miss Hooters Competition which is more or less the Shangai National Miss Hooters Competition but who cares.

Some quotes from the article:

Zhou said she has worked at Hooters for one year and felt, well, “lucky” to be a Hooters waitress.

“I can meet new friends, broaden my mind and have fun,” she said. “Hooters makes me happy. I can’t change the weather but I can change my mood.”

Shanghai Hooters officials said the restaurant is popular among expatriates and Chinese white collar professionals consider it “charming.”

Address:

Hooters
Unit B1, Shanghai City Centre,100 Zunyi Road, by Xianxia Road
Changning
Tel: ６２３７００８０
Visa and Master cards accepted

Related:
Shanghaiist has an in-depth interview with one of the waitresses.

Source: Shanghai Daily

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October 21, 2005

Chinese Can Buy the Moon | Safes Them The Trip

Filed under: China Travel — Shanghai @ 4:36 am

Pick your acre…
Chinese Buy Moon

Property is hot here in China. I wrote before about the real estate bubble in Shanghai so I won’t repeat.

The moon though is the newest property you can invest in. One acre of Moon sets you back a mere 298 RMB, about 37 US dollars. Not much considering you get an certificate that ensures your property is yours.

(more…)

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October 20, 2005

Wikipedia Blocked in China ?

Filed under: Chinese Multi Media — Shanghai @ 3:47 am

Update 3

It was wishful thinking. Access Wiki using a pr*xy and here in Shanghai it’s a nice white page.
The only question left is, which site is next..

Update 2

There might be some hope… but it’s a long shot. I just went to wikipedia using a pro*y detour and noticed they have technical difficulties.

Although I don’t know much about Firewalls/Routers etc I can imagine that Chinese Networks cache a lot of websites and as right now wikipedia is not accesible at all, at least that was the message that I got, it may be that once Wikipedia has its servers online and working the Chinese Networks can start caching their files again and access is again possible.

Like I said, this is a long shot, as I am no server/internet router specialist.
It may even be wishful thinking but hopefully not.

China Wikipedia

Update 1

Although I was at first hoping this would be a temporarily glitch I am afraid it is not. Go China, Go ..:(

Wikipedia is a great resource for information. It’s the free version of an encyclopedia that is maintained by volunteers.

Anybody who likes to add/edit information can do so and eventhough at times information is a bit manipulated on the whole it’s a great alternative to a commercial encyclopedia.

It seems now that this encyclopedia is not available anymore here in China.

One of the supposedly 30000 censors who monitor the web for things a “Chinese is not supposed to have access to” has decided to push his red button that closed the entrance gate to China. I wonder whether The Great Firewall will outlive the fixed version.

The Great Wall

P.s. China Herald was the one who informed me on this and after giving it half a day I think it’s a real block, then again, maybe things will turn out to be temporarily.

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October 19, 2005

Shanghai Traffic Lights Disappear |

Filed under: Shanghai Life — Shanghai @ 9:15 pm

The price of metal is still rising.

Apparently a unique incentive for metal scrap dealers in Shanghai to help functional, good working metal become scrap by stealing phone booths, traffic lights, manhole covers and wiring.

Watch where you walk and have your mobile phone at hand.

Shanghai scrap