It's been a while since I posted something here. I haven't been back to China since August. I saw this article (see below) on how bad the air quality is in Beijing this week. It brought back some not so fond memories. I mean, I grew up in LA in the 70s and it was never THIS bad. The picture here is of Tianenmen on a particularly bad day. You can barely make out the Forbidden City in the background.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101119/ap_on_re_as/as_china_pollution

Here's a 10-minute video on food in Beijing. It has everything, touristy stuff, food, history, and, of course...Chinese rap!

Beijing Food

Electric bicycles are great. The only problem is you can't hearing them coming. Add that to the fact that they are ridden in any direction in any place in complete ignorance of traffic laws. I've had a few close calls, but luckily never been hit by one.

So, in this picture, how many safety violations can you count? Let's see...no helmet for driver or passenger. Riding through a plaza where children are playing....

I've seen a whole family on a moped or e-bike this size before, none wearing a helmet, of course.

Sometimes you just have to wince and look away.

Books on China

I've recently read a few good books on China. The most recent is 'Dreaming in Chinese' by Deborah Fallows. It is the first-hand account of an American linguist trying to overcome the difficulties of learning Chinese while living in Shanghai and Beijing. It is a light read full of all kinds of insights into the words, writing, history, and culture of the Chinese language. I learned a lot from it. Here are a few others you might like to read if you are interested:

China Road, by Rob Gifford

Lost on Planet China, by J.M. Troost

What Does China Think?, Mark Leonard

The Man Who Loved China, by Simon Winchester

Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven, by Gilman

The experiences the author had upon his first trip to Beijing in 'Lost on Planet China' were very much like my own. It is a fun and irreverent book, if not a bit exaggerated.

Shekou, Shenshen

After being in Beijing for 2 weeks, I flew down to Shenzhen in southern China, near Hong Kong. This time I stayed in a part of Shenzhen I hadn't been in before: Shekou. This is more of an "expat" area. I stayed at Fraser Place Apartments and had a large, 1 bedroom apartment with a dining area, kitchen, laundry room, living room, a DVD player, 2 TVs, etc. Very nice.

I also realized that I'd been eating Chinese food for 2 weeks and when I saw the Irish pub there I thought, "Fish and Chips really sounds good." And it was. I met an American woman there, too, who was with her husband and 2 twin baby boys. She gave me a good recommendation on a massage place. Over the course of the week I was in Shenzhen I had German food, Mexican food, and pizza. We ate at the same restaurant for lunch every day. It is a Hunnan place right next to our factory. You can see it and other pictures from Shenzhen at the link below.

Shenzhen Photos

Team Lunch

The last day in Beijing I took my work team out for lunch. I'd been to this restaurant, Hung Mao, before and really liked it. They specialize in 'jiao zi,' or dumplings a type of what we'd call 'dim sum.' We had a private dining room and lots of great food. Some of these people I've known for 2 years now, some I just met this trip.

See a few more pictures of the food here.

Dancer in Bei Hai Park

Below is a link to a video I shot of a dancer and musicians in Bei Hai Park, my favorite Beijing park so far. After I uploaded this to YouTube, I realized there are lots of similar videos posted there so take a look at those too.

These are amateurs. They aren't asking for money. You will see lots of groups of dancers, musicians, martial "artists," etc. all getting together to do there stuff in public in the parks on the weekends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDx0ZzsnyhY