February « 2006 « Shanghai China Snippets

February 28, 2006

Shanghai Shopping Malls

Filed under: Shanghai Life,Shanghai Prices — Shanghai @ 2:45 am

Plaza 66 Shopping Mall There are many places I like to avoid and on top of the list are [tag]shopping malls[/tag]. I don’t enjoy spending an afternoon in a cramped overcrowded environment. Makes you wonder why I live in [tag]Shanghai[/tag] but that’s another story.

It is inevitable to go their sometimes. W. likes them more than me so I tag along as a bag carrier.

I know that at least half of the population, and it’s no different in [tag]China[/tag] (ok, less than half), enjoys this activity.
8days has a nice overview of the “best” shopping malls in Shanghai.

My personal favorite is [tag]Plaza 66[/tag] on [tag]Nanjing Xi Lu[/tag]. It’s spacious, too expensive to buy anything, the toilets are one of the cleanest in Shanghai and in the summer it has great airconditioning.

Source: Store Wars

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February 27, 2006

Display a Brilliant & Civilized Shanghai to the World

Filed under: Shanghai Life — Shanghai @ 6:35 am

etiquette chinese [tag]Shanghai[/tag] officially launched its “A Million Families Learning Etiquette” project over the weekend.

A scheme to teach locals better manners before the [tag]2010 World Expo[/tag].

Nothing better than starting off with some catwalk [tag]etiquette[/tag].

As part of the program

1 million city families will receive etiquette training over the next five years.
4.5 million local families will receive a free citizen manual
415 volunteers will give courses on etiquette in more than 200 community schools.

6 etiquette experts have given lectures, involving family, bla bla bla, as well as how to deal with foreigners.

All this in order to “…display a brilliant and civilized Shanghai to the world,” said Xu Jianping, a section director with the Office for Promoting Ethical and Cultural Progress.

Rumors are, the shouting of [tag]Laowai [/tag]will become extinct.

Sources: No more stares , Etiquette begins

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Language Confusion

Filed under: Chinese Language — Shanghai @ 12:19 am

W. told me this amusing story yesterday about the babylonian effect that can occur between Chinese from the South and the North. Remember.

A Chinese guy from the south of China travels to the upper North of China for some business. Once arrived in the cold Northern town he feels hungry. Just opposite of the bus station where he was dropped off he sees a small dumpling restaurant. He gets in, takes a seat and right away the waitress is at this table asking him what he likes to eat.

Here the confusion starts. It’s all about tones, using the right tones in Chinese.

jiǎozi

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February 26, 2006

Queen Elizabeth II Docks in Shanghai

Filed under: China Travel — Shanghai @ 11:02 pm

Queen Elizabeth in Shanghai 2006 Sources in the city’s Waigaoqiao Exit and Entry Quarantine Station say … the [tag]Queen Elizabeth II[/tag], the world’s oldest ocean liner still in service, is expected to visit [tag]Shanghai[/tag] in March.

Stop the sources and the suspense here. The ship will dock March, 10 and passengers will be setting foot on Shanghai soil around 09:00. The next day the ship will be continuing its journey to [tag]Hong Kong[/tag].

How do I know? My uncle and aunt are on it and I will show them the wonders of Shanghai that day. Any suggestions?

Sources: Xinhua Queen Elizabeth Itinerary

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February 25, 2006

China Chocolate Statistics

Filed under: China Statistics — Shanghai @ 12:44 am

Chocolate sales in China [tag]Chocolate[/tag] will get more expensive. Why, because the [tag]Chinese[/tag] seem to like it more and more.

Some chocolate makers predict that in 10 years the demand for [tag]cacao[/tag] will be bigger than the supply.

Some chocolate consumption statistics

[tag]Europe [/tag]- yearly 7 kg/person

[tag]Holland[/tag] – yearly 4.5 kg/person

[tag]China[/tag] – yearly 150 grams/person

In [tag]Shanghai[/tag] the number of chocolate stores is definitely increasing. On festivals like [tag]Chinese New Year[/tag] or [tag]Valentine’s day[/tag] it’s a popular gift.

The paltry 150 gram leaves room for a lot of growth. [tag]Dentists[/tag] will, as a by effect, profit too.

One of the better chocolate stores is in my district. They sell authentic Belgian Chocolate.

Source: AD (Dutch newspaper)

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February 24, 2006

Socialist Countryside

Filed under: China News — Shanghai @ 6:56 am

socialist countryside Two days ago I finished another episode of Nip & Tuck and zapping a bit I hit bingo as the 10 ‘o clock news of [tag]China[/tag]’s only English channel ([tag]CCTV[/tag]) had just started. My eyes probably doubled their viewer ratings.

That day was the day of the [tag]New Socialist Countryside[/tag]. Field reports from, yep the real fields, glowing comments from those selected, nice shots of healthy farmers harvesting their latest crop, altogether one big socialist countryside galore. It has something to do with improving the life of the farmers.

A new bl*g, started by the editors of the [tag]China Economic Review[/tag] has their own view on the term.

The characterization of this process as the “New Socialist Countryside” raises a smile. There is nothing socialist about China’s cities these days, and the countryside, even less so. The genius of China manifests itself in so many little ways, one being its ability to hold two conflicting positions simultaneously without blinking. The West totally lacks that sophistication.

This quote raises a smile as well. I tried this genius approach many times when I was young, still try it some times but I can’t recall being ever praised for it by my parents.

I just checked and the domain “newsocialistcountryside.com as well as socialistcoutryside.com are still available. Tip for western investors, get it, one day you’ll be selling tv’s and toothbrushes online to the inhabitants of these places. Never to early to start marketing a domain name with government credibility.

(Disclaimer, I don’t buy dvd’s anymore, I rent them for 2.5 Rmb. a piece, saves me the trouble of one day having to import them back to a country where the don’t accept [tag]Chinese[/tag] receipts as genuine prof of a legal buy)

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February 21, 2006

Digital Revolution in China

Filed under: Chinese Multi Media — Shanghai @ 3:57 am

The [tag]Washington Post[/tag] has a nice series of articles on [tag]China[/tag] and the Digital Revolution.

The writer, Philip P. Pan, who is based in [tag]Beijing[/tag], will be online Today, Feb. 21, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the digital revolution’s presence in China, the government’s efforts to censor Internet content, see [tag]Wikipedia[/tag] and the rise of [tag]blogging[/tag].

Here is the link to the discussion and here the link to the overview of the series.

Direct links to his articles:

The click that …

Wikipedia .. Reference Tool On Web Finds Fans

Bloggers Who Pursue

And to finish it off, some amusing tidbits from the post.:
Words you don’t want to use online

I never knew studying finance in Switzerland is that hot.

You may have to register to read these articles but it’s free.

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