Chinalyst is a China Blog Community website and I just posted an interview with Fili, the owner of the website talking about his fascination with China and more specifically about Chinalyst.
November 28, 2006
MyChinaStart Interview Chinalyst.net
November 26, 2006
Etiquette in the Shanghai Subway Escalators
More than 2.500.000 commuters take the Shanghai subway daily.
I take it occasionally and when I do, only when I’m a first arrival at the escalator I put my feet on it. If the sqeezing and pushing has started I take the stairs. The Shanghai subway operators feel they should improve the etiquette on escalators.
They said people in many foreign countries commonly stand on the right side of an escalator so people who are in a hurry can pass on the left, a rule that is all but ignored in the city.
Metro authorities are promoting the idea at 31 busy stations in the city, including the People’s Square and Zhongshan Park stations.
“We painted a yellow line on escalators in some of these Metro stations, expecting that riders would be reminded of this courtesy rule,” said a female official surnamed Tu from [tag]Shanghai [/tag]Metro Operation Co Ltd.
If only they would enforce this etiquette on getting on and off the [tag]subway[/tag], you may wonder.
Well, they say that part is getting better.
“..the company says a growing number of passengers are acting politely and patiently when getting on and off Metro trains,[but] their efforts in promoting the escalator-riding courtesy have proven fruitless so far.
I don’t know how they measure this. Probably when I’m not around as it still takes some rough pushing to get out of a subway. Let’s check it again in another year.
Source: Shanghai Daily
November 23, 2006
Shanghai Transportation Statistics
In our search for an apartment we have seen about the whole centre of Shanghai. Most of them huge buildings. Close by transport, especially the subway, is one of the key factors in deciding where we want to live next left. Many new developments mention that ‘soon’ a subway line nearby will be ready.
‘Soon’ maybe up for interpretation but it’s a fact that Shanghai is extending the metro lines with great effort.
Some Transportation Statistics from Shanghai
- Metro lines (including those under construction) – 18
- People using the Shanghai subway system daily – 2.500.000 – 3.000.000
- Public bus lines – more than 950
- People taking the bus daily – 7.800.000
- People using ferries daily – 420.000
- Private cars in [tag]Shanghai[/tag] (2005)- 322.000 (it feels like there are more though)
- Scooters in Shanghai (2005) – 1.165.000
Source: 8days
November 21, 2006
Umbrella Behavior in Shanghai
Changing Behavior in Shanghai
It is raining day today and it was also raining a couple of nights before, when I went out to get some cigarettes at the Kedi supermarket on the corner.
Armed with my [tag]umbrella[/tag] I saw another foreigner approaching me, and we friendly nodded to each other. Passing each other our umbrellas lightly touched and almost at the same time we said, “I’m sorry”, “I’m sorry”. Each of us went his own way and I felt like being back in Europe.
The question is, would I have said ‘sorry’ if I had this encounter with a [tag]Chinese[/tag]? Probably not, as I would have justified my banging into his/her umbrella (slightly tilting my umbrella to the side he/she is passing me) being part of my self defense in order to keep my eyesight.
Strange how perceptions and automatism’s change.
Do you say sorry?
November 19, 2006
MyChinaStart Interview Series Starts
One of my pet projects is MyChinaStart. A China Directory chuck full of China related websites.
I have started an interview series with the people/companies behind the websites in and related to China.
The first interview is with Daniel Borin, one of the partners of EnjoyChina, the company behind the Enjoycard and the Enjoyclassifieds magazine.
Check out the EnjoyClassifieds interview
November 6, 2006
Bank of China Out of Cash
There we were, waiting to do some banking business. Due to the Bank of China policy of too few available employees on their busiest day of the week, being Saturday (the guard told us this fact, the busy part to be specific), we spent many minutes staring at other people getting money from the teller, people pushing themselves in front of others, etc., etc.
What better entertainment than this.
There was more fun to come though. Some consternation suddenly as everybody in the bank was told.
We’re out of cash. Anyone who wants to deposit money, please step forward.
Our business had nothing to do with cash and we were finally helped. We left the building, leaving behind us many hoping the money would arrive.
Lesson learned, never go to the bank in [tag]Shanghai[/tag] on Saturday, especially not the oneon Nanjing Xi Lu, and in case you need cash, always have a backup plan.
November 5, 2006
Shanghai Landlords, Rent and Deposits
A guest post by my good friend Hide who went through some ordeals getting his deposit back. It includes some useful tips on how to secure your deposit before you leave your Shanghai apartment.
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Author Hide
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Are you going to stay in Shanghai city?
If so, you should watch out for a “disease” rampant in the area.
Nowadays there is a tendency that [tag]Shanghai[/tag] landowners don`t pay you back a deposit when you leave an apartment.
It is unbelievable that everyone in the city connives at those embezzlement.
They will apply a variety of tactics, either switching off their mobile phones, not answering your calls, tell you that they are outside Shanghai so they are not available etc, all for evading their responsibility- paying back your full deposit.
Therefore as a result, you will end up loosing the deposit because you have to leave there anyway for your next busy life.
In order to get your deposit back without such troubles, please keep in mind the following before you decide to leave an apartment,
- Never say to your landowners that you have to go back to your home country. Instead you better say you decided to move to your friend`s apartment in “Shanghai city”.
Let him know that you still have plenty of time to chase for your deposit.
- Before you sign a contract with your landowner, carefully look at the contract whether it clearly mentions about details of a penalty and a deposit amount he or she pays back to you, “EVEN” when you must leave “before” duration of your stay you set previously with your landowner”.
And “Add one sentence specifically that a landowner must pay back your deposit for example “one week” before your leaving date, otherwise some sort of penalty occurs.
- Get not only their telephone number but also their home address phone number so that you can chase them when something unpleasant like this happens.
Hope you can leave for your country with a good memory of your china stay in your heart ! Do you have this kind of experience in Shanghai or any other cities in China? Please share.