Transportation on a long weekend in China

I wrote about our long weekend in Yangzhou in my last post. That was about how we spent our time while we were in Yangzhou. I wanted to dedicate that post to our experience as tourist within the city. What I left out was our experience leading up to the trip and at the tail end of it and that will be the subject of this post.

This Yangzhou trip was hatched only about 3 days prior to the day of the trip. After we made the decision to go, we made the appropriate plans to go. Since we don't own a car here in China (mostly for our own safety) we can either take the extensive network of trains or buses. Here in China the cost of riding the trains is lower than long distance bus. This is probably due to the very high ridership on the railways. The train is a very important mode of transportation because of the affordability over flying

For us the better alternative is the train since it is faster and safer than riding a bus where the driver thinks he is Michael Schumacher. Besides, there are no flights available for such a short distance. We were able to secure train tickets on an express train going to Yangzhou, but all trains coming back to Shanghai were completely sold out. This meant that on the return leg we had to take our chances with the bus. We made our way to the long distance bus station in Yangzhou Sunday morning as we were going to leave for Shanghai that evening. The bus station was packed with travelers buying tickets and this foreshadowed things to come.

We purchased tickets for the 5:20PM bus for Shanghai. We arrived at the bus station that afternoon at around 5:05 and we immediately realized things are different from our previous experiences. The bus depot was more crowded than normal and as we approach the Shanghai departure counter we realized that there was a scrum of people waiting desperately to leave. There was no way to make our way to the counter to even inquire about our 5:20 bus as the wall of people was about 15 deep. We immediately realized that we better make our way past the ticket takers and to the buses outside to see if we can get on our scheduled bus. We went to the Suzhou departure counter which was less crowded. After about 5 minutes of waiting the ticket taker at the Suzhou counter left her post for a brief moment. That was the opportunity that everyone was looking for and a stream of people including us went though the ticket counter to the waiting buses outside. We quickly spotted the bus to Shanghai and frantically boarded the bus to Shanghai. The driver who was taking the ticket did not even bother check our tickets to see if we were boarding the right bus to Shanghai.

After we boarded and had time to reflect, I began to realized what has happened. Basically the bus depot was not able to control the large crowd in the bus station. The mentality of the riders when encountered with this kind of situation is to make sure they are able to get on a bus and not get stranded in case buses got overbooked. This created a situation where the crowd became agitated and eventually the authorities lost control of the crowd. I wondered how long we would have had to wait if it wasn't for a ticket taker at a different departure counter leaving her post for a moment. This was a potentially dangerous situation, which I am sure has been replayed in China many times as there isn't an adequate infrastructure to handle the large population of China.

This is a period in China's history where a burgeoning middle class have leisure time. This creates a strain on its infrastructure especially during holiday weekends and holiday weeks (yes holiday week imagine the horror of that).

These are the kind of experiences that makes me think twice about living in China permanently. There are many benefits that I enjoy from living here in China over America, but there are also many difficulties where there is nothing one can do.

Yangzhou weekend

No that is not me.



This past weekend was a 3 day weekend. Last Friday was the Qingming holiday or 清明节 in Chinese. This is traditionally the day were one "sweeps the tomb" in remembrance of deceased family members. This sounds like a solemn day, but now in modern times the Chinese have turn this into a day to enjoy oneself after the duty of tidying up the tomb has been completed.

Since neither me or my wife has any deceased close family members entombed in China, we chose to spend the 3 day weekend in Yangzhou, an old city in nearby Jiangsu Province. The trip to Yangzhou from Shanghai ranges from 2 1/2 to 4 hours depending on the mode of transportation. The travails of our conveyance will be covered in an upcoming blog.

The main attraction of Yangzhou is the Slender West Lake (瘦西湖). It borrows the name from the more famous West Lake (西湖) in Hangzhou. Calling this a lake is a bit of a misnomer since it reminds one of a river or stream than a lake or pond as hinted in its name. The site itself is quite scenic with a winding body of water and its numerous bridges. If one had time to stop, reflect and enjoy the scenery this could be a very pleasant place to visit. However, this is one of a few long weekends on the Chinese calendar so the place was swarmed with people, many from Shanghai. Therefore, I could not really described this experience as pleasant.

One of the other things that we noticed about Yangzhou is that since it is located along the Grand Canal of China (of which Slender West Lake is a part of) there were many small canal within the city. There was a charm to the city that does not exist in Shanghai.

The city has an interesting dining experience that is similar to the dimsum experience in Cantonese cuisine. The Yangzhou people have a tradition of the weekend brunch just like the Cantonese. The food at these events however, pale in comparison with the dizzying array of delicate and delicious food at a Cantonese dimsum. Not to say that the food at a Yangzhou brunch is not good, as a matter of fact the food is pretty good. It primarily consists of steam buns filled with various fillings, wontons, steamed tofu slivers in a crab based broth and the crab soup buns. The crab soup buns are very interesting as it consists of no meat, just crab broth. One uses a straw to draw the soup from the bun before eating the floury skin otherwise the soup will be spilled all over your plate and table.

I found the city to be a nice mix of old and new with a pleasant backdrop of water and greenery.

Mock people's daily

Here is an interesting story about a mock People's Daily:

http://time-blog.com/china_blog/2008/03/_here_is_a_mock.html

Rumblings out of Tibet

As another historic event is unfolding in China I again find myself in a situation where I am able to see things from a perspective that I never had before.

Last week, Tibetans commemorated the uprising of the Tibetan people against the Chinese 49 years ago. As evident by the fact that Tibet is currently part of China that uprising was not successful. It lead the the exile of their political and spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to India.

As this is an Olympic year, the Tibetans took the opportunity of a government compromised by its image to the world right before their big showcase event to boldly protest against the oppression that they have suffered over the years. The protest was initially peaceful, but turn violent when Chinese police began to beat some of the monks who were protesting in Lhasa. This lead to a groundswell of violence throughout the Tibetan community in other parts of China against the police and the Han Chinese majority. This is the basic picture that is being portrayed from the Western media outlets that I am able to access through the cracks in the Great Firewall of China.

Many, but not all stories about this incident from the foreign website are blocked on the internet over here. Youtube has now been blocked completely as well. The coverage in the Chinese media expectedly differs from the West. Their version is basically this: the Tibetans have resorted to violence in order to gain independence from China. This violence has led to death of many innocent Han Chinese people and the Police has shown restraint in handling this uprising.

How does one reconcile the difference in these two versions of the same story? While I know that the Chinese media is reporting primarily government propaganda, I will also say that the coverage by the western media is probably slightly biased towards Tibet as well. The Chinese have earned a bad reputation around the world for their lack of human rights. The perception of Tibetans is one of peace loving peoples who have shunned the world of materialism. These two perceptions gives the Chinese no chance in the coverage of this story.

My personal opinion of this situation has been shaped by the western media over the years. As I now reside in China, I now see a different angle to this issue. Whereas the Chinese have certainly earned their reputation over the years for their hard-line policies, I definitely feel the western media portrays of the Tibetans in a sympathetic light. No matter how one feels about how the territory was take in the first place, Tibet is currently part of China. If there are movements for independence there is a need for the government to do something about it before it begins to fracture the country. I think there are certainly more that the Chinese government can do about this but I think for the entire western world to come down against China before things have taken its course is a bit unfair.

It is hard to one to judge another unless they have been in their shoes.

air out of the bubble

It appears that bubbles of all sorts around the world are in the process of deflating. China's stock market, probably the biggest bubble of all is doing its part. On 10/16/07, the Shanghai Index stood at 6092 and it represented its peak. For perspective, the index stood at 1161 on 1/1/06. Today, the index finished the day at 3971, a 35% correction so far. Even after this correction the PE of the index is still around 40 which indicates there is still ways to go. The scarier proposition is that if an Enron can occur in the US with its matured capital markets, imagine the veracity of the data in an emerging, unregulated market like China; the real PE could be much higher.

Another bubble - real estate seems to be taking a breather as well. Sales volume in Shanghai on residential real estate have been declining for the past 4 months and the prices have become stagnant. As we see in the US real estate market, it takes a period of declining demand for the prices to eventually follow. We may be at the precipice of the deflation of the real estate bubble here in Shanghai.

The amount of investment that has been poured into China in recent years have really created a possibility that the entire Chinese economy is a bubble. Time will tell whether this is true.

The Chinese people here have all been saying that they believe that the economy will be strong leading up to the Olympics and they are cautious about the post-Olympic days. It looks like this might become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Re-exploring Shanghai

Last weekend, one of my close friends Siu came to visit us in Shanghai from New York. It was one of those weekends of exploring Shanghai that I have not done in a while.

We have now lived in Shanghai for nearly 2 years and we have settled into our routines. So it has been a while since we have had a chance to explore the city that we are still newcomers to. We took Siu to some of the typical tourist areas such as Yu Yuan and Jin Mao Tower in Pudong. Since Siu was originally from Hong Kong he wanted to see some of the underbelly of Shanghai that a typical first time visitors to Shanghai might not be interested in seeing.

We took him to the Shanghai old street near Yu Yuan for some local fare. This is not an area where you will find tourists eating local food; this is where the locals, if not the newly minted Shanghai residents from other parts of China would eat. Here are some pictures:







The food stalls in these pictures are serving food from various parts of China and it reminded me that Shanghai has its parallels to New York in its diversity. Its just that in New York the diversity is on a global scale while in Shanghai the universe is within China. This also indicates that the influx of people from other parts of China has accelerated in recent times.

We also had a chance to visit an area called Taikang Lu. This is an area where the traditional houses in Shanghai known as Shikumen are still around. For a basic explanation of Shikumen please refer to this link:

http://www.answers.com/topic/shikumen?cat=travel

Taikang Lu is an area which has become a marriage of the old and new. Shikumen are traditional housing compounds for the local Shanghainese. On Taikang Lu, Shikumen are now being renovated to house cafes, bistros and small art galleries. It has a bit of a feel of Soho with a Chinese backdrop. The last time that I visited this area about a year ago there were only a few shops and galleries open, but now it has become a bustling area that caters to the expats and the younger generation of local Chinese.

I had a very good time showing Siu around Shanghai. It was especially interesting since Siu grew up in Hong Kong before moving to New York so there was a sense that he could relate and understand what we were showing him.

Snow in Shanghai

This has been one of the most difficult week for inclement weather in China. In Shanghai, they recorded their heaviest snow in a long time. The snowfall totaled about 2-5 inches earlier in the week and it is snowing today and will tomorrow. These snowfall total is a bit of a joke for a New Yorker, but for a city that rarely experiences snow this created quite a bit of havoc. This city is totally ill-equipped for snow. There are no plows nor salt spreaders one would see everywhere in New York during a snowstorm. The snow was removed for the most part by manual power.

The airports were closed for a day earlier in the week with this snowstorm. I guess the airports are not equipped with snow plows either.

For us we are looking forward to leaving this wintry mess during the Chinese New Year period for Cambodia. Hopefully, the snow that is falling as I am writing this entry will subside in time for me to take that flight to Cambodia. I will update the blog with our experiences in Cambodia.

Chinese New Year

This year, Chinese New Year will fall on 2/7/08 which is next Thursday. This holiday period is by far the most important holiday period on the Chinese calendar. There is really nothing comparable on the American calendar. It is something along the lines of a combination of Christmas, Thanksgiving and the 4th of July.

As China's economic engines have shifted to the large coastal cities in the east, numerous migrant workers live and work there. Chinese New Year period will mean that many of these migrant workers will be traveling back to their hometowns and villages. This period of time will see the severe usage of China's infrastructure. Train and bus stations are jammed packed with people weeks in advance trying to purchase tickets for that time period. This is exacerbated by the fact that these tickets are only available at the train stations and not over the internet. There are stories where trains are so packed with people that ones who must endure long train journeys have resorted to wearing adult diapers because there is no way for them to get past the crush of people to the toilets.

This is the only time of the year for these migrant workers to make it back home to see their family and friends. It is a time where gifts are expected from these returning workers. These workers represent the best of these far-flung villages, the ones who are capable enough to land jobs in the urban areas from the menial to the white-collared. It is a time where petty crime in the cities will rise leading up to the holidays from the migrant workers who did not do so well for the year but need to live up to their family's financial expectations when they return home.

On the positive side, this is a time where people reunite with their family and friends to catch up on each other's lives.

It is funny how many of the sentiments felt at this time of the year by the Chinese is so similar to the ones felt in the US during their most important holiday season.

Bubble

Anybody who has been reading the business sections of their favorite publication will undoubtedly know that the US economy has faltered and is in danger of falling into a recession. The reason is pretty basic; there has been a housing bubble which has led to an excess of liquidity in the economy. This excess liquidity has spurred consumption and investment which has overheated the economy. This impending recession is just a normal process where things return to where it should be. The stock market has reacted and I believe that things may turn painful for a year or two but it should be nothing that we cannot recover from.

The interesting part from my perspective is what will happen here in China. The Chinese investors have felt that their economy has been fairly insulated from the rest of the worlds’ ills. This has led to the unabated climb of their stock and property market. As these markets get hotter and hotter, less sophisticated investors (or should I say speculators) enter the market and raise the temperature further. This process has fed on itself for quite a few years now in China. It started in the property markets about 5 years ago and the stock markets 2 years ago. The prices of these assets have climbed to levels that cannot be justified by conventional measures. While bad news have come out of US banks and investment firms about the subprime losses, the Chinese stock markets have pretty much ignored it. Well, yesterday it has been reported that the Bank of China, the second largest bank in China and by some measures one of the largest in the world may have up to 2 billion in US subprime mortgage losses when they announce earnings. This could represent the first evidence that the Chinese economy is not so insulated from the world economy. I think this could be a big blow to the psychology of the market and lead to a re-evaluation by investors about just how safe their stock market really is. Just like the feeding frenzy that led to the bubble, the same mentality could lead to the panic that results in the crash of two very important markets in the Chinese economy.

The interesting factor in this scenario is the belief held by many investors in China that the Chinese government will somehow make sure that the stock and property markets will be performing well leading up to their coming out party that is this years Summer Olympics in Beijing. This kind of common belief could lead to the self fulfilling prophecy of a large withdrawal of investments out of these markets sometime around the Olympics. How this interplays with the possible global recession will be very interesting.

My interactions with the local Chinese tells me that many people are currently participating in this stock market bubble - mostly unsophisticated investors who think they know how to invest. It is basically the same kind of stories that I heard and saw during the days of the NASDAQ bubble back in the late 90s and early 00s. Its amazing to realize even with such differing cultures we are all the same. What this also tells me is that when this market crashes there will be lots of pain among the people and they really have nobody to blame but themselves.

Of course this is just speculation on my part, but having been through the NASDAQ bubble and the recent housing bubble in the US, I think it would be pretty safe to say that the similar outcome will take place here in China.

Street food

I think one of the things that really gives a city an identity is its cuisine. This is something that I always enjoy sampling where ever I go. It can tell you quite a bit about a city.

I think if you really want to know the heart and soul of a city you just need to sample its street food. This is where you get to see the composition of a city. Just like any urban centers anywhere in the world Shanghai has a variety of people residing here. It may not be as diverse than New York City but Shanghai has people from all over China and many parts of the world. You will find international food in proper restaurants but if you want to know about the kind of people who have come to Shanghai from other parts of China just check out their street food.

Here are some pictures of some of the street food that are available here in Shanghai:



Various meat and vegetables on wooden skewers being pan fried over a metal plate. Love that recycled oil!!





This one is a flat bread that is being "baked" in a home made oven. The oven appears to be a commercial metal drum that has been reincarnated.




Another home made oven used to make baked yams.

Build it and they will come.

The new year ushered in three brand new subway lines consisting of 59 new stations in Shanghai which took approximately 2 years to build. This kind of change sharply contrasts with New York where it takes years to build a few new stations along the E line about 10 years ago.

There are now 9 subway lines in Shanghai. We took one of the lines from end to end. This particular line extends into the suburbs of Shanghai. When we New Yorkers think suburbs, we think of places like Queens or Brooklyn. These are places where it is more residential but still developed. The areas that some of the subway lines here in Shanghai extends to are underdeveloped to even rural areas. This is indicative of how nascent the development of Shanghai is compared to other cities around the world. The downtown areas are as developed now as any big urban centers around the world, but the concept of suburbs is still taking root. With a population of over 15 million, there is a desperate need for a suburban area because the urban areas are so densely populated.

What is happening here reminds me of a PBS documentary that I viewed about the history of New York City. When the subways of New York extended to Brooklyn and Queens, people wonder "Why there? nobody lives there anyway - its all farm land." This is kind of what I saw out of the windows of the elevated number 9 line here in Shanghai. Of course, once the subway is in place commuting from those once isolated areas will become easier thus stimulating development.

The process is continuing at a feverish pace. There are more lines under construction currently and will continue to make transportation more efficient.

In closing, if one has the resources or patience it might not be a bad idea to invest in some property along some of these new subway lines; but that is another conversation.

Secret ingredients in your Chinese food

For the readers who are not Chinese, ever wonder how some of the Chinese food gets its flavors from? Well, the Chinese have historically been very analytical when it comes to eating. Some of the techniques are very creative and imparts a great deal of flavor to the food. One of the most popular techniques is drying certain ingredients in order to concentrate the flavor. Then these ingredients are typically used in soups and other dishes.

When I was in Hong Kong this past month, I took the liberty of taking pictures of some of these ingredients. Please be forewarn that if you see these pictures, you may never look at your seafood special the same again!

Some dried shrimp


Some roots


Dried Oysters, very flavorful.


Shark fin. Actually imparts very little flavor, but it is damn expensive.


I am not even sure what these are. Looks like dried lizards



Some squid and shrimp being dried on a street somewhere in Kowloon.

Tobacco Road

Ask anyone who has traveled through China and I think one of the deepest impressions that will emerge is the prevalence of smoking. Smoking is very much a social activity as drinking is here in China. The vast majority of the smokers here in China are men.

There is very much a boys club in Chinese culture where men would gather socially. These gatherings could be among friends or business associates. Sometimes it is very hard to differentiate between friends and business associates. Smoking, like drinking is a bond that ties these social groups together. Offering another man cigarettes is a sign of friendship. It is common etiquette to see packs of zhong hua (中华)cigarettes place at each table of a Chinese wedding banquet. Zhong hua are the most expensive brand of cigarettes in China costing around 50 RMB (6.75USD) per pack compared to the common cigarettes costing between 3 to 7 RMB (.50USD-1.00USD). This is almost akin to men passing out cigars to friends to announce a child is expected in the family back in America.

Of course, once a man starts to smoke to get ahead socially he will carry that into his personal life. The result of that is you will see men smoking almost everywhere.

One of the most annoying thing for us here in China is the second hand smoke in restaurants. With very little laws that deals with smoking, restaurants are filled with smokers puffing away throughout their meal.

For the most part, the workplace is no sanctuary for a smoke free environment. In some offices like where my wife works, smoking is allowed after 5PM. She tells me that when she works overtime (which is often), over half of the office is puffing away.


I took the above picture in a men's room stall in an office building. As we can see China makes it very convenient for smokers to puff away even when they are in the crapper.

Hong Kong

Me and the wife visited Hong Kong last weekend and had a pleasant time. This was the first time that we both visited Hong Kong together.

There is a distinctly different atmosphere between Hong Kong and Shanghai. Even though both have spanking new high rise buildings, fast pace and Chinese people, there was a different feel to Hong Kong. The pace was actually faster than Shanghai, but there is far more civility in Hong Kong. The streets in Hong Kong was perhaps even more congested with humanity than Shanghai in areas like Causeway Bay and Mongkok. The thing that was noticeably missing in Hong Kong are the ubiquitous bicycles and motor scooters present in Shanghai.

We did some shopping for things which are lacking in quality in Shanghai. For me it was a pair of shoes. Chinese branded shoes in China are decidedly inferior. I purchased a pair of Chinese brand sneakers about a year ago and after a month, I had to toss them because the soles of my feet were starting to hurt me. The imported brands are more expensive in Shanghai than Hong Kong due to the high import tax in China. So I made out with a pair of good comfortable shoes during our visit.

The food in Hong Kong is also much better than Shanghai. The best of all is that many restaurants are open late into the night which is really not the case in Shanghai. The kind of night life that I experienced in Hong Kong exceeds even New York and I really missed that during my time in Shanghai.

Needless to say, I think I will be visiting Hong Kong sometime in the future again.

Perspective

I was on the phone with my parents the other day and my mother brought up the topic of this blog. She told me vehemently to stop writing this blog. Since I never told her about writing this blog, I realized that she found out from one of my sisters. Just her tone of voice made me realize where this vehemence is coming from.

My parents were people who lived through the turmoil of the World War II and the Communist revolution. They experience the former on mainland China and the latter in Taiwan. These are people who left China precisely because of the turmoil that was going on. I would say that they were lucky (and so were me and my two sisters) to have left China at that time for Taiwan. Some of the most tumultuous times occurred after the rise of the Communist Party led by Mao Zedong. This played out on a stage that I am sure captivated not only the mainland Chinese but all of the overseas Chinese as well.

My parents are a product of that environment. I think for any ethnic Chinese living or not living on the mainland the most horrifying period must have been the Cultural Revolution. This is a period of time where rights were taken away and people faced persecution from their peers for saying or believing the wrong things.

I think it is from that perspective that my mother gave me that kind of reaction about my blog. Somehow, I think her perspective about China will never change no matter how great the changes are. In some ways, I find this to be true in China even to this day. Even though much has changed I still feel the distrust the citizens of China has for their government, especially among the middle aged and elderly. It is not always obvious, but every once in a while you hear or see something that makes you think.

Being in Taiwan for the first 6 years of my life then growing up in America, I also heard plenty of bad things about mainland China. Just before my first visit in China in 2002, I had trepidation about what I would say to people during the trip because all that I have heard from my parents. But during the trip, I found that things were quite different from what I perceived. Then I spend 6 weeks backpacking in China in 2005 and again no obvious evidence of this oppressive regime that I heard so much about. Now having lived here in China for over a year, again I don't notice anything in my everyday life. I know that the Chinese government will censor the internet and other modes of communication that they deemed to be bad for the "harmony" of the country. This is not always obvious in everyday life. I think that there is certainly a degree of control that the Chinese government will exert on the population, however it is not the same China as it was 30 years ago.

Grace is one of my co-workers here in China who told me of an interesting experience. Grace is a middle aged Shanghainese woman who had spent her entire life here in Shanghai. I would categorize her as a middle class person with a husband and a grown daughter who lives a comfortable life. She went to America - Los Angeles for the first time in her life a few years ago for training. She took the opportunity to take a few extra days to do some sightseeing and joined a city tour of Los Angeles. In the tour group she was the only person from mainland China and everyone else were Chinese-Americans who were probably around my mother's age (60's). These were probably first generation immigrants to America who became naturalized citizens. They noticed immediately that Grace was from mainland China and became friendly with her during that day. At the end of the day right before they said good-bye, a few people in the group told her that she already made it this far (meaning she somehow got herself out of China) and that she should just stay in America. They told her that they know people who can help her to settle in America. I think these people somehow saw Grace symbolizing relatives that they left behind in China and that she was still living in that horrible world that they had left. Grace was amused and politely turned down their offer. She had friends, family and a comfortable life waiting for her in Shanghai. This just show you that as you gain perspective on things surprising results will follow.

Despite my mother's warnings, I will continue to maintain this blog as I value the freedom of speech too much. I also know that I am operating under a different China so I would not expect to be arrested for writing on topics that I am writing about. However, what I will take from my mother's comments is that a degree of vigilance is always something one should maintain.

the road warrior

Two weeks ago, I met up with a former co-worker, John who was passing through Shanghai in the midst of an extended hiatus.

Me and John were co-workers at a prestigious investment bank's IT department on Wall Street. The culture at that firm was work, work and more work. Both me and John are about the same age and we both left the firm in the same year. We both had an extended hiatus traveling the world. In my case it was 5 months in Asia, for John it has been over 2 years and counting.

I think we have this in common because we are both in our mid 30's and it is a time where people like us have a good deal of work experience and many battle scars to show for it. It is a time in one's life where one is done proving oneself at the workplace. Some people get burned out and I guess we are in that group.

When I was traveling with my wife for those 5 months in Asia, it was the most liberating experience in my life. Just seeing parts of the world that are so unfamiliar from home was such an eye-opening experience. I don't think I view things in the same way ever since. In many ways that experience has continued here in Shanghai.

As for John, he is not done traveling after over 2 years. He plans to continue traveling for another year before settling down to "regular" life. It would be safe to say "regular" life would never be the same.

Me and my wife have talked about possibly taking another break after we get our fill of Shanghai sometime in our future. My belief is that since you only live once, you might as well get the most out of it.

Westerization of Shanghai

Sure you expect to see Starbucks, McDonalds and even Pizza Hut over here in Shanghai, but Cold Stone Ice Cream?

Tipping

One of the things that I have gotten use to very quickly in China is that when you dine at the restaurant, the price you pay is the price on the menu. No extra tax nor extras for tip. Now the opinions that I will espouse will probably offend some people in the food service industry in America or the personal services in general - but why do we in America reward individuals for doing their jobs?

I hear the excuses all of the time from Americans - "oh the waiters depend on the tips for their income". How is it now my responsibility as a patron of the restaurant to pay them if their employers decided that they can get away with paying them below minimum wage? Why don't the restaurant owners just pay the waiters their fair share and price them into the meal instead of giving us the bait and switch?

Here in China if you were to try to tip waiters in restaurants or at the hair salon you will get a confused response. They have no idea what you are trying to do. They don't expect anything more for doing their jobs. Most of the time they will not accept the tip.

As I made my way through early adulthood in America, I was never struck at how ridiculous tipping was until I purchased my first co-op apartment. As Christmas time came, I get this Christmas card from the co-op. It gave the name of every employee my apartment complex from the doorman, to the main super to the assistant super to the porter to the landscaper, etc. All in total about 25 names on the card. Now I am suppose to figure out how much to tip these people when I had only come in contact with the doorman that year. So is the idea that this is a threat where if you don't take care of the others this year that if something goes wrong in the future you will get sub-par service?

To me tipping is an elitist idea, but the funny thing is that some in America actually think that tipping is a way to help out the working class. I have no doubt that the waiter or the doorman does not make much money, but why don't their employers just pay them their just pay and be done with it? Tipping only causes the working class to give preferential treatment to the the rich who can afford to tip more. So if you really think about that then you realize what tipping is all about. If everyone stopped tipping waiters, don't you think the laws of supply and demand will kick in? Without that tip less people will want to be waiters and the restaurants owners would have to raise the salaries to entice people to the job. With this extra cost, restaurants will charge extra for the meals and everything finds its equilibrium again.

Sometime things are so simple and yet we make them so complicated.

Shanghai Hairy Crabs - 大闸蟹

Going forward, I will periodically profile the different types of food that can be found in Shanghai. Some will be good, others will be bad.

For today's post, I am introducing a type of seafood that is in season right now in the Shanghai region - the Shanghai Hairy Crab or in Chinese - 大闸蟹。 This type of crab differs from the blue crab that is found in the Northeastern part of the US (this is the type that I was familiar with in my days in New York). Physically, the hairy is somewhat smaller than the blue crab. The main distinction is the very bushy hair that grows on its front large claws.

The hairy crab has a reputation of near religious proportions. This time of the year, nearly all good restaurants will be serving them, and every market will be selling live ones. You couldn't go a day this time of the year without seeing them a few times a day.

Having had both the hairy crab and the blue crab I can say that the blue crab's meat tastes better and there is more of it than the hairy crab. The meat of the blue crab has a sweet flavor to it while the hairy crab has a neutral taste. It is also not as difficult to get to the meat in the blue compared to the hairy. If the hairy crab has a tougher shell, less meat, and less flavorful meat than the blue why does it receive so much attention here in Shanghai? It is the brain and the egg of this crab. Since this is the peak time that this crab breeds, there is plenty of eggs to be had in the females and that is why it is so ubiquitous right now.

The hairy crab is not cheap this time of the year, they go for 100RMB for a pair of live ones (a male and a female). This is the equivalent of $13. I can get 6 live blue crabs in NY for about $8 so you can see how expensive the hairy crab is. Think of it another way, 100RMB means a lot more to a Chinese living in China than $13 means to an American living in America.

I personally think that the hairy crab's brain and egg are just sublime, but after you consume that part you will expend a lot of time and energy going after the little meat that it has.

The topic of food takes on such importance here in China. You can bring out the topic of food and get into a serious discussion with anybody over here. This is one of the things that I really enjoy about living here.

Good Bye, China!

Well, that rise in readership was short lived. Looks like blogspot is blocked again. Wondered if the computer programmer in charge of blocking blogger realized his mistake last week and made an emergency migration (programmer talk for making changes to a program) today.

China Giveth, China Taketh Away

Well, I guess the other shoe has dropped. As mentioned in my previous post, I just realized that Google blogger or blogspot is no longer blocked in China. But guess what? I realized yesterday that youtube is now blocked in China. I can't even maintain my account in youtube anymore which differed with the partial block previously with blogspot. At least I could still maintain this blog even though I could not see the home page.

Based on what I am reading, it seems that youtube recently expanded into China and I guess this is just another measure to keep the natives rested. I guess the Chinese government knows what they are doing. Keep the natives happy with a sizzling economy, soaring property values and a skyrocketing stock market. Right now I get the feeling some people in China thinks money grows on trees and they are reveling in it. I guess there is another shoe ready to be dropped...

Welcome, China!

China works in mysterious ways. For whatever reason, my blog is now viewable in China. Once I realized it I e-mailed the url to some friends outside of Shanghai and they also confirmed that my blog is not blocked.

I also discovered that all blogs hosted by blogger (google) are now viewable here in Shanghai. I don't know what happened and how long this will last but I guess I will enjoy my wider reader ship while I can until the other shoe drops.

I don't know if it is a coincidence, but this past Monday 10/15 marked the beginning of the 17 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. There has been daily sessions for the whole week where the leaders of the China give sort of a "State of the Communist Party" speeches. Also on the agenda will be future plans of the Party along with reshuffling of positions within the party. Don't know if the new political year marked a loosening of the media. Perhaps the fact that blogger.com is now viewable might be an indication. Then again let's wait and see what happens. I will be sure to give an update on this if things change.

The communications/information superhighway

The internet. I remember the days before that ubiquitous word. I remember the days of going to the library if you needed to do research. Times when you need to read a newspaper to get the news. Times when you have to actually pay bills with a stamp.

Since coming to Shanghai, the internet has impacted my life in a different way than the way it did when I as back in NY. Now I can stay in touch with family and friends via e-mail, IM or even be able to speak via messenger programs such as Skype or Yahoo Messenger. This does not take the place of actually physically meeting up friends and family but considering I am over 10000 miles away its not bad.

The biggest impact the internet had on my life here in China is that I am able to follow the news and happenings back in the States. It has become a double edge sword. While I am able to follow news about things the I am familiar with, it has in some ways inhibited me from really plunging myself into my new surroundings. I think sometimes I am not really in tuned with what is going on over here in China. While I am able to stay informed about national news here in China, I don't get to follow local news as often simply because they are not really covered in English. I also know less about events that are being held locally.

Despite some downside, I really feel that the internet has really enhanced my life during my time over here in China.

Gore for President?

So the headlines blare "Al Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize".

I must admit, my initial reaction was "huh?". I always associated the Nobel to people like Ghandi (even though he never won it but certainly is the embodiment of it), Mandela or Martin Luthur King; people who stood up to oppression by peaceful means and inspired others to do the same. As I thought about it more and more I realized that Gore does deserve to win the award. I even debated my friend Siu in New York via Skype about this. I think the spirit of this award should include the person who made accomplishments that furthers the betterment of mankind, and I think Gore did that this past year.

I watched his movie "Inconvenient Truth" last year. Even though I am not a scientist, I am a bit of a science enthusiast. After watching the movie, I realized that some of his assertions are going to be a bit controversial since it was not proven entirely, such as some of the associations between global catastrophes to global warming.

When such a high profile politician makes such a splash in Hollywood there are going to be suspicions that he could be doing it for his own political gain.

For the many who criticize Gore and the movie about these things are missing the point about the importance of this movie. What this movie has done is heighten the awareness of this very important issue from just the science enthusiasts like me to the mainstream. When the dialog about this topic reaches the mainstream that is when important things can be done.

Many of Gore's supporters are now calling on him to run for President so he can "save the world". I think that is a mistake. The reason Gore was able to go on this crusade was precisely because he was not as intimately involved in national politics after his defeat in the 2000 Presidential election. He was able to extricate himself from the world where votes could be bought, where one's beliefs are compromised in the effort to appeal to more voters. This is a place where you don't necessarily do what is right, but what will appeal to the masses.

Now the he has won the Nobel Peace Prize, there is no doubt that Gore has become the undisputed leader in this cause and he can do far more good by staying out of the mainstream politics. He will now be an even more powerful voice for the environmentalism movement.

Look out below!!

Just to provide an update on an earier post. I mentioned in a post on 8/22/07 about the rampaging stock market over here in Shanghai. The Shanghai index on that day closed at 4980. Well in less than a month the index now stands at 5771. This mania has even spilled into the Hong Kong stock market since the Chinese government announced that they will start to allow Chinese citizens to invest in the Hong Kong stock market. Since that announcement on 8/20/07 the Hang Sang index has risen from around 20,387.13 to 28,569.33 where it stands today, a 40% rise. As this bubble continues to roil seemingly unabated the inevitable crash will be more and more painful.

Quotes for the Shanghai index:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=000001.SS

Quotes for the Hang Sang index:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=%5EHSI

Different place, different pace

October 1, 1949 is the day the People's Republic of China was founded. So the Chinese celebrate this day by granting the entire week off for its citizens. Me and the wife took advantage of this period by returning to her hometown of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It just so coincides with the wedding of her brother.

As I am writing this entry in Malaysia, I am struck by how different the pace is between China and Malaysia. Malaysia is a tropical country near the equator where the population is primarily made up of 3 ethnicities - indigenous Malays, Chinese, and Indians.

During my travels, I have discovered that people who live in tropical areas tend to be more laid back about life than most. This is definitely the case here in Malaysia. This is really the first time that I have gone directly to Malaysia from China and I can feel the difference immediately. It is most evident when one is just doing normal everyday things like walking on the streets, shopping or eating out.

In Shanghai it is a controlled chaos. When you are out and about there are constant challenges facing you. After I have lived there for 1.5 years I am use to it, and it takes going to a place like Malaysia to remind you how tired you are of a place like Shanghai. There are no hordes of bicycles whizzing by you from all directions as you walk on the streets. There is no pesky salesperson following your every move when you enter a store. There isn't a sense where you are being rushed to do anything like there is in China with nearly everything that you do. This aspect is quite possibly the most annoying thing about living in China. For instance, when you are on queue paying for something in a store you can either be cut in line by some impatient soul who was not on line to begin with, or you could be cut by the person behind you if you are slow to present you items for payment when it is your turn. This is the case in all aspects of life in China. They take the saying "You snooze, you lose" to an exaggerated level. This mentality creates tension in nearly every thing that you do in China.

Well, I am going to enjoy my remaining 4 days relaxing over here before going back to the chaos that is Shanghai.

Hip Hop Nation

Bet you never expected this out of the youth of Shanghai. Then again that is the beauty of being young, the willingness to do and try anything

Steroids from China

Well, if China-US trade relations can't get any worse it gets worse. I have a feeling things are going to get a lot worse before things stabilize.

In the past year it has been toys, food, cribs, toothpaste and now steroids and HGH.

Performance enhancing drugs has been part of the world sports scene for a long time now but it has received its brightest spotlight this year with the breaking of the most legendary and fabled record in American sports. Barry Bonds' anatomic makeover reputedly began about 7 years ago. At that time Bonds was considered a sure hall of famer, but nobody thought he could challenge Hank Aaron's all time home run record of 755. In the past 7 years Bonds has had some of the most productive home run seasons even though he has been in his late 30s to early 40s. Last month Bonds broke Aaron's record and the reception was muted from baseball fans everywhere.

With all of this going on this year in the realm of world trade and sports, now we have the news of a drug bust of unprecedented size where it has been discovered that China supplies about 75% of the world trade in performance enhancing drugs.

Seems like the secret behind the China's economic miracle in the past 20 year where GDP growth has been averaging around double digits annually is being revealed. The Chinese have been engaging in not just legitimate industries but the illegitimate ones as well. It seems there is no industry where the Chinese would find immoral to get involved with. The problem is that they are so damn good at it just highlights everything that much more.

Sometimes as an ethnic Chinese, I can't help but to feel embarrassed about some of the shady business that the Chinese are involved

Man in the Mirror

So I was reading the Wall Street Journal the other day and came across a very telling article about America. The article focused on a woman who for conservation reasons began to hang her clothes on clotheslines instead of drying them in a clothes dryer like most people in America. For environmental reasons this makes perfect sense. Apparently, clothes dryer account for 6% of the electric consumption by US households, third behind refrigerators and lighting. For an appliance that is for total convenience, this is quite high. You can justify refrigerators and lighting as more of a necessity than clothes dryers.

The woman's actions set off a firestorm of controversy with her neighbors and her community association. For reasons such as property value and the image that the neighborhood wants to portray this was very much frowned upon by her neighbors. She has received numerous letters from the community association threatening lawsuits since the bylaws of the association prohibits clothes hanging apparatuses appearing in clear view. It has gotten so far that the woman is considering moving from the area.

You can read the article here:

http://www.realestatejournal.com/homegarden/20070919-chaker.html

Here in China, drying clothes on clotheslines is the norm. Very few people use clothes dryers.

America finds it very convenient to blame countries like China for the global pollution problem. There is no doubt it is a big problem here in China. Especially with large industries using cheaper but environmentally harmful methods to conduct business. However, it is because of the gluttonous consumption by the first world countries especially America that gives the incentive to the businesses in China to do these things; after all much of the manufacturing are for products being exported to the first world. I think the blame are on both sides.

Ordinary citizens in China consumes far less that their counterparts in America. Just the differences in the way clothes are dried will tell you a lot. Most people here uses bicycles and mass transit as their main mode of transportation while the Americans drive. You will see differences such as these in all facets of everyday life. But make no mistake about it, as the China's economy rises, you will no doubt start to see some of the same wasteful consumption that the Americans are indulging themselves with. The American lifestyle is the benchmark for emerging countries. Therefore instead of blaming, perhaps Americans should set an example for the rest of the world of how to live responsibly. They can start by giving up their clothes dryers.

Phone ettiquette

After I got my cell phone when I first arrived in Shanghai last year I realized that people here does not believe in voice mail. It is not available in the standard package of your cell phone contract; if you had voice mail nobody will use it anyway. The longer that I am here the more I realized the reason for this. When people make a phone call they expect the other person to answer their call. If you commit the mortal sin of shutting off your phone, boy will you get it. People will take it personally if you do not have your cell phone on when they call.

I think the reason that for this is the nature of how things are done here in China. Usually when someone wants something to be done, they want it done right away. Therefore if they were to call somebody on the phone about something, they will not trust the voice mail to deliver their message. They want to personally speak the to other party. I believe that they feel that if they don't convey their message directly to the other party that whatever needs to be done will be delayed.

The cell phone in China is as ubiquitous as it is in America and that is surprising to some extent considering the economics. Cell phones here take up a considerable amount of one's finances; much more than in America. Yet nearly everyone has it. Text messaging is a very popular method of communication as well. The reason is partially economic and partially cowardice. Text messaging is far cheaper than a call, so for the messages that can be conveyed succinctly then text will be the preferred method. The other reason for the popularity of text messaging is the unwillingness to convey awkward messages. Text is a way to dodge the confrontation. I heard of stories in China where relationships have ended via text messaging. I have also heard of people getting fired via text message.

Its interesting to see different cultures utilize the same medium in different ways.

Popcorn caution

OK, this blog is not about China, but then again not everything on my mind is.

I was perusing the New York Times website today and found a shocking headline. "Doctor Links a Man’s Illness to a Microwave Popcorn Habit". Was this some sort of microwave oven problem? I remember when I was a child when the first microwave ovens hit the kitchens of Americans I had heard of horror stories of people getting their flesh cooked because of faulty switches that did not shut off the microwave ovens when the doors opened. That may have been an urban legend but you tend to remember things that you hear as a child no matter how irrational it was. Perhaps the article was about somebody's weight related illnesses from eating too much microwave popcorn.

So I proceeded to the article as you can:

www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/us/05popcorn.html?em&ex=1189483200&en=0ba2a1d76e6b4409&ei=5087%0A

Hmm, the guy got sick from heated diacetyl - an additive to enhance the butter flavor of popcorn?!! This is certainly the first time that I have heard of this issue.

There is actually an occupational hazard namely "Popcorn Worker's Lung" and it can be fatal!

My goodness, what has the world come to where one cannot even enjoy the pleasures of popcorn without some health hazard. This just show you that our civilization has gotten to the point where we are so far removed from the natural world and are in this synthetic world that we are creating hazards for ourselves. We humans think we are smart, but unfortunately I think we are just smart enough to get ourselves into trouble.

Profile of a Chinese Worker

To expand on my previous post, I want to paint a picture of what a typical Chinese migrant worker's life is like from my perspective. I mentioned previously that we occasionally have clothes made by a husband and wife team (actually I just do it occasionally, my wife does it regularly). We talk to them when we see them and have somewhat of an idea of what their life is like.

I took some video clips of their environment. The first footage that I took are of the exterior and the second footage is of the interior of their home/shop. They are located in an older part of Shanghai called Dongjiadu. It is not too far from the Huangpu River so I think it is a matter of time when this area gets leveled for high rise waterfront apartments. Their home is located within a labyrinth like area. If you don't know the area your are likely to get lost. What struck me when I first entered their home/shop is how small it was. I think the space is probably around 100 sq ft. If you look at the footage you will see that most of the space are for work. They built a make shift bed that is elevated above one of their work tables. There is no bathroom in the space so they use communal bathrooms located down the street. Their sole source of entertainment in this kind of environment is the TV set placed on a table between their workbenches that is always on when I have been there. They have two sewing machines and two workbenches. The makeshift kitchen is in a separate space and it is entered from the exterior.





This couple is from Jiangsu province and the town that they are from is an 8 hour train ride from Shanghai. The reason they came to Shanghai is because they can make more money here than their village. There is a deep economic and social chasm between large urban areas like Shanghai and the rural areas. The couple left their son who is now a teenager back in the village where his grandparents are caring for him. They work 7 days a week and each day they work long hours to make as much money as possible. Therefore, there is no time to go see their son except for the Chinese New Year period. This is a period of time not unlike Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled into one. Most migrant workers in China will stop working for one to three weeks to go home and visit family and friends. Unfortunately for many this is the only time they get to go home and see their immediate family members. It is not uncommon for a family of three to live apart and see each other on Chinese New Year. The father and mother may be working in different cities while the child is cared for by the grandparents back in their village.

Back to our couple. Most of their business come from owners of small clothing shops scattered throughout the Shanghai. They also have a client who sells clothes via the Internet and target Koreans since they can pay more for these clothes than the Shanghaiese. So these tailors are at the bottom of the food chain.

This couple rarely has any leisure time. Its not only because they are so busy trying to make money but also the little money they make will not go far in Shanghai where costs are much higher than where they are from. Also since they are outsiders in Shanghai, they are treated differently than the local Shanghaiese. This is a typical story of the migrant workers who come from rural areas to the urban centers of China to seek a better opportunity. In Shanghai, I would say that vast majority of the menial work is done by these migrant workers.

It is difficult to imagine such a life where I am from.

Cheap Labor

OK, enough about the negatives of living here in Shanghai. One of the best things about living here in Shanghai as an expatriate is the power of your money. When you are an American expat coming to China, you probably already have a decent amount of money saved up in the US (but in many American's case maybe not) . That sum is probably not enough to retire on the US, but in China that amount may very well be a fortune. Combined that with an expat income, you can live very well.

What this means is flexibility. You are able to do things in your life that you normally would not because the cost will be too prohibitive. It could mean being able to live in the middle of the city. These things also extend into small things in your everyday life. For instance if you don't want to do house work and want to hire domestic help it is very cheap. It costs between 7 to 10 RMB per hour for a maid (called ayi here in Shanghai), that is about .93-$1.30 per hour. For a live in maid or nanny it could only cost about 800-1200 RMB per month ($105 - $155). Rates depends on experience and believe it or not where the maid is from (maids from within Shanghai can command higher rates than the ones from outside of Shanghai; prejudice in China is another topic for another time).

Other things could be getting a massage on a regular basis. Getting a Chinese style message for 1 hour would cost about 50-60RMB ($6.60 - $8.00). This could be a foot massage or a back massage.

Tailor made clothes is another inexpensive indulgence. There is an area in the older part of Shanghai called Dongjiadu where one can buy fabric of your choice from textile vendors then bring them to a tailor who can do a pretty good job of producing a knock off of your choice. You can bring a sample for them to copy or even a picture of that Armani is good enough. Usually for a man's cotton shirt you can have tailor made for about 100 RMB ($13). For women's clothes the possibilities are only limited by the ability of the tailor. In general the quality of the clothes depends on the tailor. From my experience, the skill level is pretty decent.

The reason for the cheap labor is no secret. There are 1.3 billion people in this country who only around 30 years ago was under the iron grip of a totalitarian regime that for all intents and purposes stopped progress for about 30 years (1949-1979). Some could argue that China may have regressed during that period. 1.3 billion dwarfs the population of the US (300 million), and some believe that it is a low estimate. Some estimates have the actual population of China in the neighborhood of 1.5 -1.7 billion. Can you imagine the margin of error exceeds the population of the US!! When there is such fierce competition for everything including jobs, food and services it is very difficult for people in this environment to stand out. This keeps wages low and working conditions poor. The Chinese are also notoriously frugal which also keeps prices down. The Chinese are some of the most price sensitive consumers in the world.

My last story is about the time we moved from our first apartment in Shanghai to the one we currently reside at. We had an appointment with movers for a Sunday. Well, on that Saturday we realized that we were fully packed and were actually ready to go. I half joked but half seriously told my wife that we should just call the movers and see if they are free, after all it is China and for these types of blue collar workers they are willing to work at any time. We called, and sure enough the movers were free and could be at our apartment in 20 minutes. About two hours after that idea was hatched all of our stuff had made it to our new apartment. That will never happen in NY. If we even had the nerve to inquire with movers in NY of such an idea I am sure we would have been told that we were crazy. BTW, the final bill was 250 RMB ($33) for 4 movers.

Anyway, cheap labor is good from my perspective. However, when you look at it from the other angle things look quite grim.

Movie nights

One of the ironic things that has happened to me during my time in Shanghai is that I now have a chance to watch quite a bit of critically acclaimed movies. I have never been much of a movie buff. I know plenty of people who flock to the theaters to watch movies during its opening weekend. I also know people who subscribe to Netflix and developed a system where they burn copies of DVDs that they received and quickly turning the DVDs back to Netflix so they can get more. They don't even watch the movies right away; they are only interested in quickly amassing a large collection so they have their pick to watch on a rainy day. I know others who are addicted to pay-per-view movies. Well, I am not any of those people. I tend to watch movies once in a while when my friends or my wife are in the mood. I also tend to watch the Oscar nominated movies after they get nominated. So you can say that I am a passive movie fan. I enjoy a good movie just like the next person, but I rarely go out of my way to watch a movie.

Then I discover www.imdb.com and came to China. I don't think it will come as a shock to anyone that China probably has the biggest knock-off DVD market in the world. When you are in Shanghai it is difficult to pass a day without either passing some street vendor or a small shop peddling counterfeit DVDs. You can get nearly anything that is popular in the world of cinema or television. The selection is decidedly American-centric; although there is also quite a bit of Korean, Japanese, mainland Chinese, and Hong Kong movies and TV shows available as well.

My pattern of watching American TV shows now that I am in Shanghai has become buying a seasons worth of DVDs during the summer months after they go on hiatus. That is how I have been able to follow "Lost". Most of the highly rated American TV shows are available in this way. This also includes the classic TV shows like "Seinfeld", "Curb Your Enthusiasm" or "Friends". One season (24 episodes) of DVD quality video will be on 8 DVD disks costing 5-7RMB per disk (.65-.92). One season of compressed video files will fit on 2 DVD disks again costing 5-7 RMB. You do the math, it’s pretty cheap.

I recently started to check out the imdb top 250 of all time movies and realized that I may have seen about 50 of them. Then I realized that this was a good list for me to check out some good movies that I missed. Some of the DVD stores here in Shanghai have a pretty good collection of movies that include quite a number of the movies on this list. These stores tend to be in the areas that where foreign expatriates live. These are the people who drive the demand for these older movies. Lately, I had a chance to watch "Taxi Driver", "Fight Club", "Seven Samurai", "Reservoir Dogs", "Kill Bill", and "Leon" to name a few. I will probably try to check out some of the the top 10 movies soon, like "The Godfather", "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly".

Anyway, here is the list for those of you who have not seen it:

http://www.imdb.com/chart/top

At 5-7 RMB a pop for these movie classics, you just can't beat it.

BTW, Fight Club was a much better movie than I thought. I thought it was going to be one of those blood sport movies and wondered why it was on the list. Well now I know.

Getting Around in Shanghai

I think it is safe to say that NY traffic is reputed to be the most notorious in America. It would be also safe to say that NY drivers are probably the most aggressive in America. In Shanghai on the other hand, its every man for himself. In the US, the pecking order is usually cars yields to pedestrians although not always the case in NY. Here in Shanghai, cars do not yield to pedestrians so it would take a brave soul to walk in front of an oncoming car. Usually in that kind of situation the car will stop but he will do so about 2 inches from your body and it would be of the screeching variety, or he just might hit you. Add on top an onslaught of bicycle traffic going in every direction on sidewalks and the road and about 18 million Shanghaiese and you have a fairly harrowing experience for the uninitiated.

My commute to work is a 18 minute bus ride or a 18 minute taxi ride. With the kind of traffic we are talking about taxis are no faster than the bus. In Shanghai, people commute primarily by either bus or bicycle. The subway system here is not too extensive (5 lines) so far so for now bus and bike are still king. These buses are usually filled to the brim with people and in that kind of situation you throw civility out the window and yield to physics. Just move with the flow and don't fight the force pushing you in a particular direction. Most bus rides within the city will run between 2-3 RMB (26-39 cents). These bus drivers all think they are Mario Andretti, swerving between lanes, cutting off cars and missing cyclists and pedestrians by inches. There are lots of car accidents in Shanghai (for that matter China in general), but considering their rules of the road I am surprised there aren't more.

The aforementioned subway system is still a work in progress here. The long term plan is to build the most extensive subway system in the world by 2020. With the amount of people living and working here they need it. Hopefully this will alleviate some of the congestion above ground. There are only 5 lines in operation currently and by 2020 they plan to have 24 lines in operation. Generally, the fares on the subways here are 2-7RMB depending on distance (26-92 cents) traveled. The trains are far more modern and surprisingly cleaner than their NY counterparts. There are flat screen monitors on the station platform that lets the riders know when the next train will arrive. I think that they can do this because in most cases the subways are punctual. There are no mysterious stoppages of the trains in between stations that are a part of life in NY. Usually, the trains are fairly crowded and during rush hours, intensely crowded.

The taxis here in Shanghai, like their brethren around the world are the most aggressive drivers on the road. If bus drivers are Mario Andretti, then the cab drivers are Evel Knievel. 11RMB for the first 3km (1.87 miles) and 3RMB for each additional km. Most of the taxis are Volkswagen Santanas.

Despite all of these problems, I still would not trade my current commute with what I had in NY. Go from 80 minutes to 25 minutes door to door is not too bad. Of course most of that has to do with the fact that I can afford to live in the center of the city here while that is not as attainable in NY.

Greed

What better way to describe greed than looking at the psychology of the stock market? Here in Shanghai, the Shanghai Composite Index has risen to record highs day after day. On 1/1/06 this index stood at 1161 and in just 20 months the index is currently at 4980. This a staggering 328% gain in 20 months!! If you want to take a look at the data here it is:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=000001.SS

It seems like everybody, their parents and their grandparents are in the stock market. Everybody is talking about the stock market, people are quitting their jobs to day trade, and brokerages are popping up everywhere. At current levels the Shanghai Composite is trading at 55 times last year's earning as an aggregate. Does this sound familiar? I feel like I have traveled back in time and were back in the late 90's again when the NASDAQ rose to similar heights only to crash back to reality.

The problem with the bubble in China is that it has risen even faster than the NASDAQ bubble and it probably has more room to go up. Currently, citizens of China cannot invest abroad. Their only options are to put their money in the bank, real estate or domestic stocks. They cannot go abroad in search of better investments. On the flip side, foreigners cannot invest in the Chinese stock market either. This is creating a situation where in the short term, there will probably be a continuing rise in the Shanghai stock market. But when it drops, look out. The PE's might be in triple digits before that happens.

What drives all of this? Greed of course. Everybody knows that there are normal ways that things operate, but when greed takes over rational goes down the toilet. People are rationalizing that China's booming economy will sustain these prices and because there is so much saving in China that it needs to find a place go. Well we heard some of same arguments to justify the prices of the NASDAQ and where did that lead us?

I am not smart enough to say what the catalyst will be that will burst this bubble, all I know that it will happen in the near to intermediate future. And then greed will turn into fear and panic.

Censorship in China

This is going to sound bizarre, but I cannot view the homepage of my own blog at least not at home. This is because all blogs hosted by blogspot (aka google blogger) is banned in China. I am not entirely sure of the criteria necessary for a website to be blocked here in China but it would be safe to say that any criticism of the government through opinions or mention of notorious events in their history would fall under the censorship. Other reasons seems pretty random. For instance, I can view New York Times articles and yet cannot view BBC articles. I don't know what the BBC covers that gets them censored over the NY Times. Also why every blog hosted by blogspot would be censored is strange. Not all blogs on blogspot is about China; but perhaps it is such a popular host of blogs that they decided to give it blanket coverage. Other things seems pretty odd as well, for instance I have a friend who runs a website of his store that sells Japanese animation products in NY and for the longest time I could not view it here in Shanghai. However, at last check I was able to view his website. The products he sells seem innocuous to me, so the secret formula of the Great Digital Wall of China as mystifying as ever.

Now for this blog on blogspot, I am not blocked from my administrative page. This means that I am allowed to maintain the blog in every way - composing the blog, upload pictures, select/edit the look and feel of the blog, etc. - but I just cannot see the blog on its homepage. So is the Chinese government allowing people to let the story out to the rest of the world but feels the need to conceal it from its own people to prevent mutinous feelings at home? Who knows but this is very typical of the ways that China works. Their way of doing things sometimes seem contradicting and are always fluid. There will be many more stories based on this theme in future blogs.

Fortunately, I cannot view my blog only at home. This is because at home my internet access is via a Chinese internet provider so all content flowing through them are subject to censorship. However, at work my internet access is via servers in the US therefore I am able to view the blog with all of your wonderful feedback during work hours.

Restaurant Blues

After living in NY for so many years I have been spoiled by the endless variety of cuisines available in Gotham. So that was a bit of an adjustment when I came to Shanghai. Not that there aren't any good food here, quite on the contrary food here is quite good. Its just that the good food are of the various styles of Chinese food (Sichuan, Shanghaiese, Cantonese, Northern China etc) which are somewhat unique to each other but are fundamentally similar. In NYC one can enjoy good food from all corners of the world prepared by immigrants from those countries. Therefore authenticity of the food is preserved. Here in Shanghai, many foreign restaurants are owned by the Chinese, therefore authenticity is compromised. These small differences makes me think, " hmm something is just not right with this sushi".

Of course, it makes sense why this is the case. For most people around the world who want to make it big, America is still the big attraction and for immigrants the place to go is NYC. Flat out, there is just more money flowing through the US economy so that attracts some of the best talent and that includes chefs.

Anyway, my biggest disappointment is the dearth of quality Japanese food. There are plenty of mediocre Japanese restaurants, but very few are of the quality that exists in NYC. Most Japanese restaurants in Shanghai are of the buffet variety. Usually 150 RMB (around $20) gets you unlimited amount of freshly prepared food off the menu. This is not the buffet that one is familiar with in the US, you don't go to the buffet table and pick through cooked food under heat lamps. Here, you basically are handed a menu and you order anything off the menu in unlimited quantity. So the food at these places are better than your typical buffet, but it is still mediocre. When you are talking about 150 RMB a person for a meal you are talking about quite an expensive meal for an average person in Shanghai. This is a city where the average salary is in the neighborhood of 3000RMB a month. So imagine you make $36,000 in the States and you have to pay for a $150 meal.

What I miss are places like Seki Sushi, Sushi Yasuda, or Sushi of Gari in NYC. Don't get me thinking about the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. That is where I had the best sushi in my life behind a counter in a setting that would make a luncheonette proud.

Pizza is a similar story. I did not think that I would miss pizza when I left NY, but did I ever. And a lot has to do with the fact that the best pizza establishments in Shanghai is Pizza Hut or Papa John's. These are places that one would eat in the States when you can't decide where to eat. A large pie at these places would cost 75-110 RMB depending on the topping. That comes to $10 - $15 - around what you would pay in the States for a large pie. What this means is that these places are somewhat upscale here in China. Overall, the pizza scene in Shanghai is pretty grim. Boy, do I long for places like Grimaldi's in Garden City (haven't been to the original in Brooklyn), Nick's in Forest Hills and heck even the pizzeria by my parent's house.

Sigh, these are some of the things that one must adjust to when you leave a place like NYC.