Junjie’s China blog

Heavy rain in Hongkong

It is said, that during the summer there often is some heavy rain in Hongkong. You probably already experienced some heavy rain. However these tropical rainfalls are really heavy. Last weekend there was one really bad incident of heaviest rain. For a while I couldn’t really believe the vast amounts of water that were falling from the skies. Like someone threw buckets from the above buildings. But in this case, it was normal precipitation. I could go on talking about… but let’s just see some pictures:

Take care on Queens Road West. Between Sheung Wan and Sai Wan submarines are using the roads temporarily.

At that morning I wanted to go shopping at the supermarket around the corner, but they were closed due to flooding. I only wanted to buy some cereals, but the rainfall forced me to do an extend walk first until I found a supermarket, which was quite some distance away. On my way I came across this place. Only 5 meters left and 5 meters right to this one there were pillars of a bridge standing. Scary!

My first guess was, this is a regular garden mole, but then some security guy told me to not go nearer. So what was lurking in this cavity?

China, and probably all places in Asia, have surprised me in the past. This one is just another strange incident. But then I’m quite impressed. I hope it happens again, because to be honest, I like sound of rainfall. Maybe You experience it too? I can really sleep better when I hear the sound of rainfall outside my window. The weather is okay now and I’m wondering what to do at the upcoming weekend. I have been at the peak before (wonderful view over the city there) so I need to find something else.

Posted in Hong Kong | No Comments »

Interesting Kunming photos

Some photos from Kunming are still left and I want to share them with You. Here are some odd ones….

A squirrel near Yunnan Normal University. There was a whole group of squirrels, but getting them all on one picture was an impossible task.

When I was at the Kunming outdoor festival, at a building nearby I saw this caterpillar.

In Kunming things are often on the more improvised side. Here we have tape and wires. But, yes, it does work.

For the upcoming weekend I have marked some places on the map to visit, but not yet decided where to go. Only 2 days weekend is just too short. I really need to explore this city, which has so much more to offer, compared to Kunming.

Posted in Kunming, Various stuff | 2 Comments »

Find a room in Hongkong

Finding a room in Hongkong is not that difficult. Several websites offer lists of empty apartments for rent. You can find something from HK$ 2000 at the very low end until prices beyond imagination at the expensive end. I finally found a shared flat for a little less than HK$ 3500 after 1 day of searching. Probably is was really lucky with this nice place. Lot’s of small shops and restaurants surround my building, which is West of Sheung Wan. Prices there are quite cheap, if You move closer to the centre, like in Wan Chai rent becomes more expensive. Another way to get something inexpensive is to search in the New Territories or on Lantau Island. But be warned, You have to pay more for public transport if You live far outside and commuting times are long. Okay, here are the websites for room renting:

http://hongkong.gumtree.com.hk/

http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/property/

http://geoexpat.com/classifieds/index.php/cat/11

http://hongkong.craigslist.org/roo/

http://www.facebook.com/ (HK Marketplace - Housing)

The above should get You started. If there really is not enough for You, try google.

Posted in Hong Kong | No Comments »

Xuan Wei

Xuan Wei is a small city in northeastern Yunnan province. Last weekend I had the chance to stay there from Friday until Monday and I have to admit: I’m surprised. It’s so much better than the typical Chinese big city.

A nice temple at the Eastern Hills of Xuanwei.

The air is incredibly clean in Xuanwei. If You are used to the bad air that is hanging around in Kunming, You will probably be surprised in a positive way. There actually are places where the sky is blue in China.

Most of the houses in this part of the city are rather old, but an newer part is also starting to develop.

All kind of fruits and vegetables are available on the market, restaurants are numerous. I had to chance to eat a fish hotpot. Actually it was not hot, but pretty delicious. Fresh fish thrown in a boiling soup for a minute.

In the very south is a quite large coal power station, then this city is not that big. From the mountain in the East You can easily see the whole city. The above picture already shows the biggest part of this countryside city.

Overall it was great weekend. I really want to recommend You to visit a smaller city. You can really discover a different China. This should be part of Your China visit to do list.

Posted in Kunming, touristic places | No Comments »

Back in Hongkong

Yesterday I arrived in Hongkong, the second time this year. Last weekend I was in an area which does not have Internet, then the last few days I was busy. And I remain busy with getting started in Hongkong. I hope to deliver updates as soon as possible.

Now I have to find out, where to get a beer in the evening for a fair price.

Posted in Hong Kong | No Comments »

Police leisure resort club Kunming

When You are in China, once in a while You see some odd thing. If You have stayed a while in Kunming, You might have seen, or heard one of those oddities, that just make You wonder. Maybe You heard the car that sings the Happy Birthday song all the time. You don’t believe that? Then get ready for this:

The secret Kunming police golf resort

Although a well kept secret, the obvious evidence can’t escape the sharp eyes of the lurkers, waiting to finally see the truth. So, what is the truth? Kunming spends millions and billions into the leisure and entertainment of its policemen. Incredible activities for guys in uniforms are available, should they have he feeling that hunting bad guys is to stressful. Last night I finally caught on celluloid what I witnessed before, but could not photograph before. This time I was fast enough and my subject was also a little slow, making this possible. Unfortunately this is only the tip of the iceberg,it opens more questions, than it answers, but it is a start: The Police Golf Cab

This police car must be used to traverse the distances between the unpleasant areas of roughs on a golf course. Police men can use it to be driven from their club house to the shooting range or to the 5 star swimming pool. The usefulness is only limited by one’s creativity. Now some of You might ask: Where is that mysterious golf course? Honestly, I have no clue, but that question is just out of the limits of an ordinary guy like me. Currently I’m trying to infiltrate the police and then use this cool gizmo (golf cab) myself. Then a lot of things remain unclear. Several questions need investigation and research by professional scientists by using sheer brain power.

1. Is the police golf resort mens only?
2. And in case yes, is there a womens Barbie car in pink?
3. Is the police golf cab according to environmental standards?
4. Is it better to sit on the front seat or back seat?
5. How many golf balls are lost by the police ever year?

Obviously, further investigation is needed. But I think it’s a good start to reveal these kind of mysteries to bystanders and people from all over the world. Then it will take a long time and hard research to get more facts on the table. Results are not expected before the end of this year. In the meanwhile I recommend You to drink a free beer.

Update, June 18th 2008:

Traces have been lost on this study until today, when suddenly I received a mysterious email from one of my secret informants. Of course it’s not possible to give away their unknown contact information to You, but one of them sent me more striking evidence. He or she shot an invaluable picture nearby the main railway station of Kunming (which is in the South). I don’t can or want to hold it back, so here it is:

One police golf club leisure cars has been seen nearby the Kunming main railway station during the daylight.

What can we see on this photo?

Obviously this model is a bit smaller than the other one before. However it is manned by several policemen. One of them gives my agent a deadly look. I hope nothing bad happened to him for bringing this material to the uninformed public. This car has dirty wheels, I’m pretty sure it’s just coming back from the huge golf course that is suspected to be somewhere on the Eastern side of Kunming, when I take into account all the latest rumors and information that I picked up in the dark alleys.

One thing confused me. I was in the countryside of Yunnan, namely in Xuan Wei, but no trace of policeman spending their freetime there. Is this a Kunming only phenomena?

Posted in Kunming | 3 Comments »

My Single Most Effective Learning Recommendation

Previously I have given You a whole bunch of learning methods, I also recommended You to go to a Chinese university to learn Mandarin and encouraged You to talk to Chinese persons. However I wondered what method is useful in particular. Which one has the best ROI (Return of investment)? I believe it’s actually hearing and using vocabulary You just picked up from Your textbook. Let me explain in detail.

I’ve experienced this several times myself and about 2 weeks ago I sent a email to a former Chinese learning classmate. His answer was similar to my experience, so I think this is consolidated knowledge and I have to share it with You. But let’s take this story slowly from the beginning.

Sometimes I have a difficult word or two on my new-words-to-learn-list it is impossible to remember. Difficult in the sense of especially difficult to remember. Then I wonder how to get them in my head. Here is my approach on how to tackle these. So You think hard on how to remember and some lucky day suddenly in a conversation with a Chinese person I hear exactly this word and I recognize it. At that point I try to also make a statement about the same topic using exactly this word. Then the word is almost sticking in my brain. A little more effort is needed. I just have to use it 2 or 3 times again in the next few days and I can put it of the learning list.

Another related method is to take just one word You can’t really get in Your head, then go to a Chinese person and strike up a conversation around this word. In this way You use and hear this word.

I’ll say this again, just to make it clear. Use Your words. Just having them on a learning list might not be enough. Often the active use of words is the one method that can put some word into Your brain withing minutes.

I have one point to add. In the classroom You often make artificial discussions to use new words. I realized, that such discussions are only half as effective as the previous mentioned. Why, I am not sure, but it might have to do something with the setting. In the real world, when You discuss about some topic, You really need a word. It’s absolutely neccessary. In the classroom the discussion is artificial and there is no real need to use a certain word. Therefore it doesn’t really load the word into Your gray thinking mass.

The next time You can’t really remember a word, use it in a chat with someone. Chances are good You will remember it then. I hope You liked todays recommendation on how to learn some words more effectively. Now, if You don’t have someone to talk to in Chinese, You might consider on finding a Chinese girlfriend who can help You with Your Mandarin. Alternatively go to China, for example to Kunming which is a lovely city in China’s southwest. I slowly get ready for my return to Hongkong which will be in a little more than one week.

Posted in Improve Yourself, Learn Chinese | No Comments »

How To: Using Wikipedia to translate difficult terms

Sometimes we come across a very specific word which is not in our dictionary. We need a translation anyway. So what can we do? Wikipedia rescues us, at least in many cases. This How To is written for the English -> Chinese translation, however it can be applied for almost any language to other language translation, as long as these languages are part of wikipedia.

Step by Step guide

In this case we attempt a translation from English to Chinese.

1. Think of a word You know in English. In this case we attempt to translate Penicillin, which is an antibiotic.
2. Look it up in wikipedia
3. Then have a look at the right sidebar. A little down there is a category called Languages. There are all languages listed that feature an article about the same topic. While the content of the article might be different, that is a sure-fire way to translate a word into another language, in our example into Chinese. Now click on 中文 (Chinese).
4. An article appears in Chinese, on the top in bold is the word we were looking for in Chinese.

Here is an image to illustrate where to click:

Finally the result, here is where to look for the translation:

Remember, You can always use a tool like Chinese Pera Kun to get the pronouncation. You can also translate the whole website by a translation service offered by many large Websites like Google. However these translations are often rather bad and I don’t recommend them.

As stated before, this translation with the help of wikipedia can be done in many languages and with many words. It’s a really nice tool once Your dictionary runs out of helpful translations.  Apart from looking up words, I can always recommend to learn foreign languages. I compiled a list of 16 effective language learning methods to get You started.

If You like this article, feel free to give it a stumble or a bookmark in Your favourite social bookmarking site.

Posted in Learn Chinese, Various stuff | 15 Comments »

Green Lake Park

Green Lake Park in Kunming is probably the only serious park that exists here. Yes, there are others on the outskirts of the city, however Green Lake is the only one in reasonable distance from the city center. It’s really different from the nearby Chengdu. In Chinese the lake is called Cui Hu (sorry no pinyin). In the early evening the park is totally crowded however past 10 in the evening it gets better. A lot of nice tea houses can be found around the lake, perfect for a nice date in a rather quiet area of the city. Expect a standard cup of green tea to cost 30 yuan (3€).

There are many places to sit down in the park. Sometimes some people make music with traditional instruments. If You visit Kunming You should take a look at this park. Not far from the waters of Green Lake is Wen Lin Jie, also know as foreigners street. Although being a foreigner myself, I don’t really like to go there. To many students and English teacher/milkers. I rather recommend to go to the Hump Bar, in case You look for a bar.

Posted in Kunming | 1 Comment »

The Show Must Go On

Yes, I agree, the earthquake was bad. Really bad. But the latest ideas from the Chinese government are in a similar league. Today I went to a bar for an after work beer… and it was closed. Now that I sit in front of my computer I found out why. The Shanhaiist has propaganda material a nice text from the Chinese government with a translation on the reasons. Here is an interesting excerpt:

二、各网站停止三天各类娱乐活动和服务。从19日零时起至21日24时，全省各游戏网站、各网站游戏频道一律关闭；各网站的娱乐频道和娱乐性音视频栏目一 律用哀悼页面覆盖，相关栏目下的其他网页不得开放；各网站的娱乐论坛一律关闭；各搜索引擎的音乐和娱乐视频搜索功能一律关闭；各网站带有娱乐性的广告一律 关闭。
2. All websites are to stop all entertainment activities and services for three days. From May 19 00:00 to May 21 24:00, all gaming websites and gaming channels of major portals are to shut down; Cover all entertainment channels on websites and programmes with a message of mourning, and none of the other pages within these channels should be accessible; All entertainment BBS’s are to be shut; All music and video search functions at search engine portals to be shut; All entertainment advertisements should be offline.

Another notice on DalianDalian finally got me back to reality. They are really closing the entertainment to make sure everyone is mourning. But this is helpful to who? The dead won’t get up again. And closing down a business for about 3 days can cost some serious money. But maybe the reason is, because we are in a communist country. Someone has an idea, everyone follows. So why not mourn 10 days? More than 10000 souls stopped existing. Why not introduce mandatory blood donation for everyone in China? Now that would actually help.

One question remains: Where can I drink a beer after work tomorrow evening?

Posted in Chengdu, China in General | 3 Comments »