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Date: 10th November 2008
Hi ttfe - if you read back into some of my previous entries you'll see that we are in fact in agreement about the way that China is often portrayed in the Western media. You will also see in my latest entry that I've said the soldiers are not threatening at all and most of them are unarmed. In fact it was nice to see that most of them would smile and were more than happy to provide a foreigner like myself with directions to my destination. No, China is not perfect, and neither are Western countries. My experience so far is that to really understand a place you have to visit and speak with the locals yourself rather than depend on the media. I think if you would read what I wrote more carefully you would find that we are actually in agreement about most of what you have written.
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
Hi ttfe - if you read back into some of my previous entries you'll see that we are in fact in agreement about the way that China is often portrayed in the Western media. You will also see in my latest entry that I've said the soldiers are not threatening at all and most of them are unarmed. In fact it was nice to see that most of them would smile and were more than happy to provide a foreigner like myself with directions to my destination. No, China is not perfect, and neither are Western countries. My experience so far is that to really understand a place you have to visit and speak with the locals yourself rather than depend on the media. I think if you would read what I wrote more carefully you would find that we are actually in agreement about most of what you have written.
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
Date: 10th November 2008
It is always an interesting experience to find how an ordinary foreigner, not someone from the so called objective western media looks at China. From your description, I find some wrong impression your media has implanted into you about how China is. I always wonder why westerners, even some ordianry westerners like you look at China with this bias. The soldiers you saw are mostly in the embassy area, to protect foreign embassys.(they are called armed police.) ----I guess it reminds you what your media told you about Chinese army----it is wrong. And believe me, we know what really happed in 1989 on the square. and what's more we know what role U.S.A had played in it. I often read your media, you know what, they are more focusing on finding the wrongs and ugly things of China. China is not perfect, but it is not as bad as some western media describes.
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
It is always an interesting experience to find how an ordinary foreigner, not someone from the so called objective western media looks at China. From your description, I find some wrong impression your media has implanted into you about how China is. I always wonder why westerners, even some ordianry westerners like you look at China with this bias. The soldiers you saw are mostly in the embassy area, to protect foreign embassys.(they are called armed police.) ----I guess it reminds you what your media told you about Chinese army----it is wrong. And believe me, we know what really happed in 1989 on the square. and what's more we know what role U.S.A had played in it. I often read your media, you know what, they are more focusing on finding the wrongs and ugly things of China. China is not perfect, but it is not as bad as some western media describes.
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
Date: 10th November 2008
No I didn't mistake it for China Airlines...it was definitely Air China that I flew and I think we're agreeing rather than disagreeing here. And as I said, the flight was fine and the plane was modern (as you point out they have all the newest Airbus and Boeing jets....ours was a Boeing 777). Great service too, and yes I agree that Western airlines could learn a thing or two from them in terms of customer service. I've heard Asian airlines in general are very strong in this area but I haven't flown other Asian airlines so don't know first hand.
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
No I didn't mistake it for China Airlines...it was definitely Air China that I flew and I think we're agreeing rather than disagreeing here. And as I said, the flight was fine and the plane was modern (as you point out they have all the newest Airbus and Boeing jets....ours was a Boeing 777). Great service too, and yes I agree that Western airlines could learn a thing or two from them in terms of customer service. I've heard Asian airlines in general are very strong in this area but I haven't flown other Asian airlines so don't know first hand.
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
Date: 10th November 2008
Airchina
Air China is among world's largest airlines with a younger fleet of Airbus and Boeing. And it's not even the largest airline in China. Air China also holds one of the best safety records....I think you mistook it for China Airline, which is based in Taiwan and considered as one of the dangerous airlines... Anyway, when I was traveling in China, I had very good experience with the 'local' airlines(they are actually NOT local at all with intensive services to EU and N.A, I later learned). I noticed their employees have a much better attitude towards work and passengers than their western peers. Flight attendants are proud of their employers and showed great enthusiasm for what they are doing. And they are cute as well;)
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
Airchina
Air China is among world's largest airlines with a younger fleet of Airbus and Boeing. And it's not even the largest airline in China. Air China also holds one of the best safety records....I think you mistook it for China Airline, which is based in Taiwan and considered as one of the dangerous airlines... Anyway, when I was traveling in China, I had very good experience with the 'local' airlines(they are actually NOT local at all with intensive services to EU and N.A, I later learned). I noticed their employees have a much better attitude towards work and passengers than their western peers. Flight attendants are proud of their employers and showed great enthusiasm for what they are doing. And they are cute as well;)
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
Date: 9th November 2008
We didn't take photos of the airport since we had heard stories of travellers having their cameras confiscated The new airport is really grand and nice. You can take photos everywhere as you like there. I have seen a lot of photos on the internet took by overseas travellers. What you heard is just "stories". Just like "Foreigners cannot take Bible to China " and so on. Hope you enjoy your trip!
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
We didn't take photos of the airport since we had heard stories of travellers having their cameras confiscated The new airport is really grand and nice. You can take photos everywhere as you like there. I have seen a lot of photos on the internet took by overseas travellers. What you heard is just "stories". Just like "Foreigners cannot take Bible to China " and so on. Hope you enjoy your trip!
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
Date: 9th November 2008
I agree! Thanks, I'm enjoying it and hope you're enjoying my blog.
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
I agree! Thanks, I'm enjoying it and hope you're enjoying my blog.
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
Date: 9th November 2008
You are right, the gov controls the direction of medias to some extent. But there are some progress, for example, the medias reported yestoday's demonstration in Shenzhen. But I don't think what the gov did are always wrong(China is too complicated). But the western medias also are biased against China(actually a lot of news are not based on the truth, even the fake news). "Don't be like CNN" is new phrase of this year. And I also found the western medias usually keep blind in western human right issues. I just do not understand why they do not clean themselves firstly when they want to blame China (If China does sth wrong, it should be blamed). I just do not understand. May be due to the political or commercial interests. Hope the world be better. Enjoy China.
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
You are right, the gov controls the direction of medias to some extent. But there are some progress, for example, the medias reported yestoday's demonstration in Shenzhen. But I don't think what the gov did are always wrong(China is too complicated). But the western medias also are biased against China(actually a lot of news are not based on the truth, even the fake news). "Don't be like CNN" is new phrase of this year. And I also found the western medias usually keep blind in western human right issues. I just do not understand why they do not clean themselves firstly when they want to blame China (If China does sth wrong, it should be blamed). I just do not understand. May be due to the political or commercial interests. Hope the world be better. Enjoy China.
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
Date: 9th November 2008
Yes the coverage of international news is very good in the Chinese media. China Daily and Shanghai Daily are good for that. However in terms of covering domestic Chinese issues one does notice a difference between local state-owned media and the foreign media. I've taken to reading both local and foreign media because in the former, you get a pretty good idea of what the government's position is on various issues since that's whose voice they represent - generally speaking.
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
Yes the coverage of international news is very good in the Chinese media. China Daily and Shanghai Daily are good for that. However in terms of covering domestic Chinese issues one does notice a difference between local state-owned media and the foreign media. I've taken to reading both local and foreign media because in the former, you get a pretty good idea of what the government's position is on various issues since that's whose voice they represent - generally speaking.
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
Date: 9th November 2008
It's very difficult to find international papers here - the only place I can recall seeing them is in high-end hotels that cater to Westerners (and even those papers are usually at least a day old, presumably because of the time it takes to pass through the censors). --------------------------------------------------- If you know Chinese, you will know that the main Chinese news websites react very quickly. For example, they gave a live broadcast about US presidential election.
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
It's very difficult to find international papers here - the only place I can recall seeing them is in high-end hotels that cater to Westerners (and even those papers are usually at least a day old, presumably because of the time it takes to pass through the censors). --------------------------------------------------- If you know Chinese, you will know that the main Chinese news websites react very quickly. For example, they gave a live broadcast about US presidential election.
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1
Date: 23rd August 2008
Yeah we have our Mac set up on a desk in the hotel room and we're set up with high speed internet....although it isn't all that high speed. Takes a long time to upload the photos. The weather is consistently hot, and I think it only went slightly below 30 early this morning. Apart from that its at least 40 degrees, all the time. Some days we have to shower twice and I have to wash my face and hair at least 2-3 times per day from the sweat and pollution. We actually haven't taken the transit yet. I've heard they have a good subway and it's super cheap (about 30 cents) but we take taxis everywhere. Our most expensive cab ride yet was this morning, which took 20 minutes and costed 3 bucks. Definitely the way to go, since it's cheap and you don't have to deal with navigating public transit. There still is lots within walking distance though....we're within walking distance to at least 4 or 5 malls and lots of great shopping. It's only a 10 minute walk to work, but you definitely get sweaty out there.
From Blog: Yuyuan Gardens
Yeah we have our Mac set up on a desk in the hotel room and we're set up with high speed internet....although it isn't all that high speed. Takes a long time to upload the photos. The weather is consistently hot, and I think it only went slightly below 30 early this morning. Apart from that its at least 40 degrees, all the time. Some days we have to shower twice and I have to wash my face and hair at least 2-3 times per day from the sweat and pollution. We actually haven't taken the transit yet. I've heard they have a good subway and it's super cheap (about 30 cents) but we take taxis everywhere. Our most expensive cab ride yet was this morning, which took 20 minutes and costed 3 bucks. Definitely the way to go, since it's cheap and you don't have to deal with navigating public transit. There still is lots within walking distance though....we're within walking distance to at least 4 or 5 malls and lots of great shopping. It's only a 10 minute walk to work, but you definitely get sweaty out there.
From Blog: Yuyuan Gardens
Date: 23rd August 2008
very...koi
Hey - loving these blogs too. If anything, I find it hard to keep up with you! Everyday there seems to be two more entries I haven't read. Do you have a computer setup at the 'hotel' to enter all these? Has the weather been consistently hot? When does their summer season end? How are you getting around? Public transportation OK? Or is everything walkable?
From Blog: Yuyuan Gardens
very...koi
Hey - loving these blogs too. If anything, I find it hard to keep up with you! Everyday there seems to be two more entries I haven't read. Do you have a computer setup at the 'hotel' to enter all these? Has the weather been consistently hot? When does their summer season end? How are you getting around? Public transportation OK? Or is everything walkable?
From Blog: Yuyuan Gardens
Date: 23rd August 2008
Correction
I'm told by my Women's Fashion editor that Jimmy Choo makes shoes, not bags. The editorial board apologies.
From Blog: A gold medal for shopping in Shanghai
Correction
I'm told by my Women's Fashion editor that Jimmy Choo makes shoes, not bags. The editorial board apologies.
From Blog: A gold medal for shopping in Shanghai
Date: 23rd August 2008
xray
I wouldn't worry much about the xray. It takes about 20,000 times the strength of an xray machine to cause radiation sickness. As long as it wasnt a pre-WWII era xray machine you're probably good.
From Blog: The infamous medical exam, lunch at the Ritz and a grocery Shangri-La
xray
I wouldn't worry much about the xray. It takes about 20,000 times the strength of an xray machine to cause radiation sickness. As long as it wasnt a pre-WWII era xray machine you're probably good.
From Blog: The infamous medical exam, lunch at the Ritz and a grocery Shangri-La
Date: 23rd August 2008
Wow... Just wow...
Hey guys! Glad to hear you've arrived safe and sound. These blogs are great to keep in touch! Keep them updated as much as possible, I'm bookmarking them. Right now I'm green with envy, just looking at these pictures... These gardens seem wonderful. The pictures reminded me of the Dr. Sun-Yat Sen chinese gardens in Vancouver, with the landscaping, the white walls and dark brown/grey roofs and the peak windows you mentionned, only these 500 year-old gardens seem even more spectacular! Can't wait for the next post, keep up the good work!
From Blog: Yuyuan Gardens
Wow... Just wow...
Hey guys! Glad to hear you've arrived safe and sound. These blogs are great to keep in touch! Keep them updated as much as possible, I'm bookmarking them. Right now I'm green with envy, just looking at these pictures... These gardens seem wonderful. The pictures reminded me of the Dr. Sun-Yat Sen chinese gardens in Vancouver, with the landscaping, the white walls and dark brown/grey roofs and the peak windows you mentionned, only these 500 year-old gardens seem even more spectacular! Can't wait for the next post, keep up the good work!
From Blog: Yuyuan Gardens
Date: 22nd August 2008
Haha - I was wondering if someone would catch on to that. Nothing gets by you, Tim.
From Blog: Settling in
Haha - I was wondering if someone would catch on to that. Nothing gets by you, Tim.
From Blog: Settling in
Date: 22nd August 2008
We've only been to one restaurant so far but the food there was amazing. Check out my update for Tuesday once it's posted for a description of it. Of course there's lots of restaurants, from local corner shops that I wouldn't feel comfortable eating in to luxurious restaurants you'd have trouble finding back home. Most convenience stores we see have little pots with dumplings and vegetables floating around in them. We've mostly been eating in with food we buy from the grocery store, but from what we've seen you can get pretty much any type of cuisine you want here. There's definitely a big mix of the two economic systems and at first it can be pretty confusing. I assume the collective cashier idea is to keep the retailers honest in reporting their sales. There are numerous malls around here but the difference from ours is that the floors are much much smaller, while the buildings have about 10 floors instead of 3-4. Also the lower floors almost always have the luxury brands like Gucci, Givenchy, etc. I was very surprised at how many authentic high fashion stores there were.
From Blog: Hang on to your murse
We've only been to one restaurant so far but the food there was amazing. Check out my update for Tuesday once it's posted for a description of it. Of course there's lots of restaurants, from local corner shops that I wouldn't feel comfortable eating in to luxurious restaurants you'd have trouble finding back home. Most convenience stores we see have little pots with dumplings and vegetables floating around in them. We've mostly been eating in with food we buy from the grocery store, but from what we've seen you can get pretty much any type of cuisine you want here. There's definitely a big mix of the two economic systems and at first it can be pretty confusing. I assume the collective cashier idea is to keep the retailers honest in reporting their sales. There are numerous malls around here but the difference from ours is that the floors are much much smaller, while the buildings have about 10 floors instead of 3-4. Also the lower floors almost always have the luxury brands like Gucci, Givenchy, etc. I was very surprised at how many authentic high fashion stores there were.
From Blog: Hang on to your murse
Date: 21st August 2008
This is so cool. I love the mixture of capitalism and communism - it's interesting to see how they blend and are evolving - like the one cashier for the mall idea. How's the food been? Any diversity to the restaurants?
From Blog: Hang on to your murse
This is so cool. I love the mixture of capitalism and communism - it's interesting to see how they blend and are evolving - like the one cashier for the mall idea. How's the food been? Any diversity to the restaurants?
From Blog: Hang on to your murse
Date: 21st August 2008
Yeah I think it's understandable too and probably something that most countries should do - screening for infectious diseases. It's interesting to hear that local Chinese people have to undergo a similar test every so often. I have a yearly physical exam at home but it's certainly not as rigorous as what I went through here.
From Blog: The infamous medical exam, lunch at the Ritz and a grocery Shangri-La
Yeah I think it's understandable too and probably something that most countries should do - screening for infectious diseases. It's interesting to hear that local Chinese people have to undergo a similar test every so often. I have a yearly physical exam at home but it's certainly not as rigorous as what I went through here.
From Blog: The infamous medical exam, lunch at the Ritz and a grocery Shangri-La
Date: 21st August 2008
Interesting stuff
Your experience with the medical exam is quite interesting. It is actually a very standard process in China, not just for foreigners but also for Chinese ppl. As I remember, when I was in China, either the school(for Chinese kids) or the company would sponsor a free medical exam every year. And they pretty much did the same things you had gone through. Of course they wouldn't deport you if you had high blood pressure. They are mostly looking for STD. For a country of 1.3B, i think it's understandable. For other tests(eyes, chest x-ray etc), I would take that as a courtesy. In case u have some health issues, you would be notified and get necessary treatment.
From Blog: The infamous medical exam, lunch at the Ritz and a grocery Shangri-La
Interesting stuff
Your experience with the medical exam is quite interesting. It is actually a very standard process in China, not just for foreigners but also for Chinese ppl. As I remember, when I was in China, either the school(for Chinese kids) or the company would sponsor a free medical exam every year. And they pretty much did the same things you had gone through. Of course they wouldn't deport you if you had high blood pressure. They are mostly looking for STD. For a country of 1.3B, i think it's understandable. For other tests(eyes, chest x-ray etc), I would take that as a courtesy. In case u have some health issues, you would be notified and get necessary treatment.
From Blog: The infamous medical exam, lunch at the Ritz and a grocery Shangri-La
Date: 21st August 2008
Hey Shannon - yes we went to a grocery store on Monday. I just posted the entry for that day so have a look. The grocery store experience was amazing! Olympics are huge here. There's a Madame Tussaud's museum in the mall just south of our hotel and in the entrance there's a statue of Yao Ming the basketball player. Also on the outside of the mall is a huge TV screen (like 20 meters across) where people gather and watch the Chinese athletes. It's a national pasttime over here and you can tell they're really proud of hosting it. Talk to you soon!
From Blog: Hang on to your murse
Hey Shannon - yes we went to a grocery store on Monday. I just posted the entry for that day so have a look. The grocery store experience was amazing! Olympics are huge here. There's a Madame Tussaud's museum in the mall just south of our hotel and in the entrance there's a statue of Yao Ming the basketball player. Also on the outside of the mall is a huge TV screen (like 20 meters across) where people gather and watch the Chinese athletes. It's a national pasttime over here and you can tell they're really proud of hosting it. Talk to you soon!
From Blog: Hang on to your murse
Date: 21st August 2008
Wow.
Your adventure looks pretty amazing overall. Excellent writing and I'll continue to look forward to future blog entries. Also I like the use of "as we continue to get ORIENTed to our new environment"
From Blog: Settling in
Wow.
Your adventure looks pretty amazing overall. Excellent writing and I'll continue to look forward to future blog entries. Also I like the use of "as we continue to get ORIENTed to our new environment"
From Blog: Settling in
Date: 20th August 2008
I love that you call it a murse. Have you been able to get to the western grocery store yet? How's the Olympic buzz over there?
From Blog: Hang on to your murse
I love that you call it a murse. Have you been able to get to the western grocery store yet? How's the Olympic buzz over there?
From Blog: Hang on to your murse
Ace
non-member comment
I loved China. I'd move there in a second. Glad they have a new airport in Beijing too!! The old one was looking pretty dim.
From Blog: Trip to Beijing - Part 1