08/08/08

The Olympics have finally arrived in Beijing. The opening ceremonies were quite spectacular, and managed to invoke a feeling of pride towards China... a country which I have never really felt a strong affinity to, despite being the country of my ancestry.

This will the the last blog entry for Beijing and Back Again. It's been a crazy ride since I visited China for the first time, with my girlfriend... and eventual fiancee... and eventual wife. I dare say that my visit to China was quite transformative. Aspects of my cultural roots which I used to shun in proud ignorance, I have been able to embrace... or at least acknowledge.

My wife has encouraged me to pick up the language, and I've been attending Mandarin classes for the last few months. The language barrier is a tough one to beat, since Mandarin is a completely different language than English. However, in this short time, I am happy to say 我會說中文!

I look forward to going back to Beijing again in the near future. We decided not to go back during the Olympics, to avoid the mad rush of tourists. I would rather experience Beijing as a local, and hang out with my family-in-law. In many ways, I am married to China now.

China fires tear gas on monks protesting in Tibet

Reuters: China fires tear gas on monks protesting in Tibet

I'm disappointed, but not surprised. Many had hoped that having the Olympics in China would help boost the human rights issue. The theory was that in order to improve it's global reputation, it would clean up it's human rights image. China's definition of "clean up" means sweeping ugly issues under the rug, rather than addressing them. Increased global attention has only resulted in on-the-surface changes on human rights issues. In essence, officials will be all smiles and happy faces to the camera, but the underlying problems of oppressive government will still remain.

The world media has slowly been painting the picture of China as the next economic superpower, especially with the United States facing it's current economic problems. I believe this to be true. China is changing, adapting, and progressing at a rapid pace on an economic front. In stark contrast, progress is non-existent on the political front. In fact, increased economic power has given China's government more sway and influence than ever before. I've tried to be optimistic in believing that Chinese government will one day embrace social progress, but these recent developments are not very encouraging.

Out with the old. In with the new.

I haven't touched this site in a long time. I'm clearing out all the vacation photos from 2 years ago to make way for a series of blogs about the upcoming Olympics in Beijing. I have no doubt that Beijing will be the centre of attention this year for a variety of reasons.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Photos: Stone Forest in Yunnan

These are my photos of the Stone Forest in Yunnan province. I've never seen anything like this. Very unusual rock formations. Some of them resemble animal shapes, such as the 3rd photo which people say look like a bird's head. I am told that soldiers used to live in these rock formations as a natural fortress. They would be protected from invaders, and any who dared venture into the formations would be ambushed easily. If you wander inside, you can see tables and beds crudely made from the natural rock, which were used by the soldiers of ancient times.

Photos: Great Wall of China

It's crazy hot today in Toronto. I've decided to think cold. Quite frankly, the coldest I've ever been in my life was when I went to the Great Wall back in December. It was quite a sight, and I'd gladly do it again... but boy was it cold!!!

17 years later.

I remember watching the events at Tiananmen Square unfold when I was in Junior High. I was home that week because I had a bad case of the flu, and got to watch it all live on CNN. It was terrible, and I'll never forget it. It was a terrible loss of the young idealists that China would need to help speed up the progress and reform.

I went to Tiananmen Square when I was in China and there were no monuments or memorials to the events of June 4, 1989. It was as if the event never happened... but the people still quietly remember. The rest of the world remembers too. So as China opens up to the world, I hope that change and progress is happening on all fronts. Not just economically, but socially and politically as well.

The Olympics: Beijing 2008

[Before I start, let me tell you that this entry is part of a crossover with Who Pissed in your Corn Flakes, which is talking about the 2006 Olympics in Turin.]

Beijing is psyched about the 2008 Olympics. There are olympic posters everywhere. They are training taxi drivers and other service staff in basic English. I got to experience this first hand, and let me say that I'm glad they have another two years to practice. I took a look at some of the olympic facilities which are under construction, and they look pretty damn impressive. I hear that construction is ahead of schedule.

The general attitude is that the 2008 Olympics will be China's chance to show the world that it's modernized and open for business. It will be interesting to see how they are going to handle the tourists, because Beijing transit, traffic, and hotels were already quite packed when I was there. There is no doubt in my mind that they'll find a way to handle it.

What are they going to do about the squat toilets? I will probably devote a whole entry on the state of the plumbing system in China, but they don't have sitting toilets there. They have squat toilets, where you squat over a hole in the floor. Most of the holes in the floor flush, but it's a tricky balancing act, and if you doing a #1 and a #2, then one of them is probably going to miss. Anyway, my point is that the tourists will not be happy about the squat toilets.

China really has a lot banking on these Olympics. The influx of people and publicity will really help shake a lot of the false preconceptions people have about the country. (Like the ones I had before I went there.) The fever about the Olympics is country-wide, as the entire country is working to ensure a spectacular 2008 Olympics that will impress the world. Believe me, it's an amazing (and slightly scary) thing to see so many people commit so much effort into a single task. I believe the 2008 will be a breath-taking spectacle for everyone to see. They've put a lot of thought into things, and they've create 5 lovable mascots that are simply irresistibly cute!

How to haggle like a pro.

The key to getting a good deal in China is never paying the price on the tag. You usually can't haggle in a department store, but that's not where you will get the best price anyway. As a naive tourist, I assumed that local merchants were charging double of the actual price. This is not true, because they are probably charging quadruple the price. My basic rule of thumb is that if you can get something for half the price, then you're only getting a little ripped off. If you can get something for a third the price, then you're doing okay.

Some haggling tips:

• Don't look like a tourist. This is hard if you are actually a tourist.
• Speak their language.... or get someone who knows the language to haggle for you.
• Never let them know that you really want to buy the goods. Pretend it's only a passing interest, or an item that you find mildly amusing, but could do without.
  
• Insult the quality of the goods. Claim that it is junk and hardly worth buying.
• Very late in the haggling process, offer to buy 2 or more if the merchant will give you a lower price. This should not be done early in negotiations, as it will only result in you getting ripped off on several items, instead of just one.
• Squeeze the rock. Keep the pressure on, so the merchant has invested a lot of time in haggling and this may tire him/her out to the point where they just want to finish the sale and move onto another customer. Do not let them switch their attention to another customer.
• With all this time invested in haggling, refuse to make the purchase, then walk away. Make it look geniune. With luck, the merchant will call you back with a final offer.
• If the merchant does not call you back, you can return later and accept his previous offer.
• Always comparision shop. Quote the prices that other merchants have offered you, if it is lower than what the current merchant is offering.

I have to say that many of these techniques were perfected too late in my vacation. It's normal for tourists to get ripped off on their first day. By the second day, you're a bit wisier, but still getting ripped off. On the third and fourth day, you should be able to hold your own. As the saying goes: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

If you do get ripped off, remember that a yuan is only around 20 cents, so you're really not getting ripped off by very much. It's just pocket change in the end.

Photos: Tiananmen Square

Religion in China

Now you may have heard some things about religion being banned in China. I'm sure we have all heard the story of the Falun Gong. There have been stories of religious groups being arrested and tortured, but what I saw in the middle of Beijing was a florishing Muslim district.

I also saw Muslim mosques and Christian churches in China. There are also buddhist temples everywhere there. There is religion in China. Now to what extent people are allowed to practice their religions, that is something I did not investigate. I just wanted to let you know that at least there is some religious expression in China.