Junjie’s China blog

Make money with Your personal blog

Can You make money with Your personal blog? Some friends asked me this question, when I told them, that I put advertisements on my private blog. Honestly, it has been more of an experiment in the beginning. But let’s start in the very beginning, in the dark past, when I just got my first pentium 100Mhz computer. I got started with php, html, css and other dubious webtechnologies soon after getting my PC, when a friend regularly showed me his latest websites. In the beginning I wrote html only and was happy to bring some content of questionable usefullness online. However the time and money invested in these homepages (that’s the ancient word for blog) was quite big… taking in consideration the return was 0 (zero, nil, nada, nol, null, nichts, 没有, 零). After investing about 4 years I started my blog about my thoughts about China and started out with the notorious Adsense. Not very rewarding to be honest. Lately I’ve introduced sexy Friendfinder advertisments to my blog. While the results have been limited so far, I can see things are going upward. Soon I will be able to pay my server bills from the income of this blog. I’m really anticipating this great day to come.

Posted in Asia business, Various stuff | 2 Comments »

11 years of independence

Today is the 1st of July 2008. 11 years ago the British left Hongkong and a new age began in Hongkong. 11 years ago the Chinese were taking over Hongkong. Since this date another part of the world that now is belong to the Chinese.

While looking out of the office window on Hongkong Island at Hennesy road I encountered some kind of party or protest, I’m not really sure what it was. So I went out of the office and took a closer look. Here is what I found: A lot of mostly friendly and happily looking people were walking the streets, shouting some slogans and holding placards. The usual jam of polluting cars had not even a slight chance of moving here, probably the police didn’t allow them to do so.

As my Chinese is not good enough, I could not decipher what they wanted. Yet I’m sure it was some kind of political thing.

After Hongkong became part of mainland China the economy went down. But that was not only because of the British leaving, but also because of the Asian crisis which happened around that time. After a few years of suffering the former British colony gained economical speed again and today it is healthy and wealthy. After a while I finally got something in English:

One person, one vote. Sounds like: Universal suffrage.

If You look closer You can see it has to do with RTHK (Radio Television Hong Kong). They have a very nice learn Cantonese podcast, so I hope they are not threatened by anything and remain on the net. After a while I got bored, mostly because I didn’t understand the Chinese texts, I tried to find the hottest hotties around. I don’t know if these two are the hottest overall, but I do know, they were the hottest during the 5 minutes I observed the whole demonstration/party.

The hottest hottness I could find during 5 minutes of observation. And the only two who were dressed almost totally black.

Conclusion:

Hot girls are rare at the 1st of July protest/party, at least there are sweet girls who could potentially help You with Your Chinese. If the Chinese are wanted here or not is unknown. They probably didn’t ask. Get over it, accept that everything is belong to the Chinese.

Posted in Hong Kong | 2 Comments »

Rich in Hongkong

Hongkong is wealthy, but how much money and bling bling is there really? Today I picked up a copy of The Standard (free HK newspaper that You get on the Street in English and Chinese) and there was an article about the wealth of Hongkong.

How many…?

Ah yes, how many Millionaires are there in Hongkong?

95000 Individuals have at least US$ 1 Million*

* This means, these 95000 persons have 1 Million US Dollars, NOT counting their main residence and also not counting their cars. (Source: The Standard print version)

There are about 7 million residents in Hongkong. So about 1 in 70 persons, or about 1.4% of all Hongkongers are Millionaires. If You stay in wealthy areas, like Hongkong Island in general, the percentage should rise dramatically. So if You want to hook up with a millionaire, Hongkong is one of the places to be.

How to become a millionaire in HK? The answer is easy: Get a job here, or bring Your money from overseas. Getting a job in Hongkong should be easy if You have some background in Economics. People coming from other backgrounds of education can also seek their chances in this fast paced city. If You already have graduated from university, Your starting salary will be no less than HK$10000, but it can be quite higher. With this salary You can get started in Hongkong. Just make sure You keep educating Yourself. A firm command of English is necessary in the business world of Hongkong, some Cantonese does help as well to make Your CV more appealing to the recruiters of top companies. But let’s get back to the rich people.

The report also said,the number of millionaires has increased by 10.2 percent since 2006. And it is likely to increase in the nearby future. Stay in Hongkong, maybe You can be the next millionaire in this city of money.

At the moment of writing this article the following exchange rates exist:

1 Hong Kong dollar = 0.128 U.S. dollars

1 U.S. dollar = 7.80 Hong Kong dollars

Live exchange rate

Some Cantonese learning sites

Posted in Asia business, Hong Kong | No Comments »

Some Hongkong impressions

This week Saturday I have been taking a long walk. After taking the star ferry from Wan Chai to Kowloon I walked all the way to Mongkok and then back again. On the long and tiring way I could take some photos. Although at some point my MC Donalds coke hindered me to do so.

Take the Star Ferry from Wan Chai to TST and enjoy this great view of Hongkong island. All the important building lined up in nice row. The ferry on this route is 2.2 $HK.

Hongkongers like shopping. The side roads with all the shops are often very crowded and it’s difficult to find a way. Just follow the crowd and You are fine.

Even more people. Photo taken somewhere nearby Mongkok.

Wan Chai MTR station plattform short past midnight. Only few people go to Sheung Wan at that time. Reminds me of the movie Matrix.

I slowly find out about some nice places here in Hongkong to hang out. Lan Kwai Fong is to posh for me, but Wan Chai could be something for me. Yesterday evening  today morning I had been in a bar called 109, which features nice relaxed atmosphere. It is located just opposite of the Coyote bar/restaurant. There I had watched the match Holland Netherlands vs. Soviet Union Russia, Russia won. I’ll write a report once I find a bar I really like.

Posted in Hong Kong | No Comments »

Bikini Babes, Boats and Sunshine

Jenny Zhu, a star amongst all Mandarin Chinese learners, has a brand new blog. And to be honest, I already like what she is talking about. Her latest post is about some bikini babes in Guangzhou. Youku has a video about this event:

Reminds me to go to one of the secluded beaches of Hongkong. Hongkong has more than 100 beaches of different sizes, some of them pretty empty. You can have some fun and private time there, but also long beaches full of people are available to make new friends.Today afternoon, we had some hot and strong sunshine, so I headed over to Starbucks to get some warm Latte. Girls in Miniskirts and many people eating strawberry ice cream. On my way I decided to check the harbour if there is some yacht I’d like to have. (not that my purse would allow me to do so)

This boat is some hot toy! Almost as much fun as discovering something new about China or Asia.

Posted in Hong Kong | 3 Comments »

On-Demand Interpreters in Kunming

Recently there was an interview about On Demand Interpreting in China on GoKunming.com, the website for life and party in Kunming. Greg Sinclair, who is a major player in the interpreting industry answered some questions, however the last question he didn’t really answer. But it doesn’t matter. Greg I’m gonna get this one down for You.

A friend of me is working in an interpreting company in Kunming. She is basically sitting at the phone, and sometimes some customer calls and she has to translate from English to Chinese and vice versa.

So the last question in Greg’s interview is:

What is the strangest or most memorable call ChinaONEcall has received?

Greg tells something about someone organising a surprise party for his mom. BORING!

So here are two stories I got from my Kunming Lady, and these two are by far more interesting.

Your Peace is to expensive

My interpreter Lady received a call late at night. She was asked to help with some negotiations about drugs. The caller, an US native wanted to buy some Peace (marijuana) and got into the fight with the seller, because he thought it was to expensive. So he called the translation service. The convo was probably like this:

How much is this shit?

1000 Kuai a gram, bro

Damn shit, that’s way to much. Give me 10 gramms, 500yuan a gram and add in some of these fancy pills. By the way do You have some LSD. I want my life to be more colourful.

Can You pull that in Chinese? I still can’t, hopefully I can in some years.

How much for this hoe?

The other interesting call was, when yet another US native called the translation service during the late night. Do You see a pattern here? The call in question was directly from a Kunming brothel. He had problems telling the mama-san what kind of girl he wanted and also about the pricing model. The translations service, he thought, was a good address to help him out. Smart guy, they are all locals and know the local prices. The convo was probably like this:

Do You have one who is into Roleplay? I want to be a baby and can she be my mom?

Maybe he should have learned some Chinese or he should have tried some easier spots to pick up women. Probably he just was into hot looking professionals, who do all the crazy shit. (Nothing against some kinkiness. Play always should be fun)

Next time Greg, please, share some more interesting stories.

Posted in China in General, Kunming | 2 Comments »

Lan Kwai Fong

New in Hong Kong? Want to go out, but don’t know where to really? Try Lan Kwai Fong (LKF), as it offers the biggest variety and You will probably find something that fits Your needs. This place has even been labeled the best party location in HK by some, however I can’t comment on that for the moment as I am here for just a little over a week and I have to check out other places.

Lan Kwai Fong attracts hhuge masses of people. Often they don’t fit into all the bars there so the crowd parties on the street as well. Quite spectacular.

Lan Kwai Fong offers a real huge diversity of bars and party locations. A few are members only, but the majority is free for everyone. Music styles range from Latin /Salsa to House. Live Rock bands can be found as well and there is also a Hip Hop Place. Probably there is more and virtually any major party music style has a location here.

Drinks prices start around 50 $HK, and can go up quite a bit depending on what You order and in which bar You hang out. For the budget minded there is also a 7-eleven just around the corner. At Happy Hour from 6 to 9 pm Beer starts at around 30 $HK. What ever a thirsty soul demands, it can be probably found in LKF. I even found my Caipirinha which I was desperately searching in the bars of Kunming.

The party crowd is very diverse. Lot of Europeans and US people can be found here and also quite a lot of Chinese. Philipinas and Thai are a minority here if You look for such kind of women. Basically every nation has some people here and English is the language everyone speaks. Overall there is a fun atmosphere, although a little bit posh as there are many people who work in the tall office towers in the adjacent areas.

Getting to Lan Kwai Fong is easy. Just take the Subway to Central, exit there and follow the hip crowd. Lan Kwai Fong is a little up the hill from the subway station, a 5 minutes walk. Getting home in the night is a really simple task, as there are hundreds of taxis waiting for You.

Lan Kwai Fong is overcrowded at Friday and Saturday evenings, however during the week finding a chair there is no problem as it is a little bit empty then. But that doesn’t matter to much, just bring Your friends and start Your own party there. Everyone is communicative there and will want to join You. Have a great time in this party gem of Hongkong. Cheers

Posted in Girls, Hong Kong | No Comments »

Another useful Chinese website

Once a month or so I get an email from someone. In this email someone tells me about some useful Chinese learning website. When I got the email the first 2 times, I didn’t recognize it was spam. A few days ago I got the third letter from them. The reason I didn’t recognize it at first is, because the senders name is unique, the letter is well written, and generally written in a not spammy way. This time I recognized it, because the address they link to is the same as before and I was somewhat familiar with the title of the email. Here are the titles of their emails in chronological order:

First Email: suggest a cool Chinese learning site

Second Email, quite different: Another useful Chinese website

Third email, and this title got You discovered guys: suggest a useful Chinese learning site

Whoever send this to me, no thank You. I will not review Your site on this blog, You won’t be on my blogroll and I won’t let You help me with my Chinese. I won’t even tell Your name, because You don’t deserve even that.

There are so many Chinese learning websites out there, the world doesn’t need more of them. Actually there is a really cool one called chinesepod. The other one a Chinese learner needs is chinese-tools. They have all the essential tools for learning Chinese, including the always necessary dictionary. Chinese-tools is just one of many tool collections. If You already have another one, then stick with that one. Apart from that there are other websites for learning, good ones. But nothing You really absolutely need. These others are more like supplementary ones. Look around what You can find, everyone has his own focus points. According to these focus points You should select Your additional learning pages.

The whole story reminds me of some other past story about people who are not able to read English.

Posted in Various stuff | No Comments »