Golden Weeks

One of the best things about working in China are the three week-long holidays this country celebrates. The second "Golden Week" of 2007 begins tomorrow, May 1st. As with the Chinese Lunar Holiday earlier this year, we get the next three days off. I plan to relax, wander around Shanghai a bit, study Chinese, and get centered. Everyone else in China plans to get on trains, planes and automobiles and drive each other mad. I'm opting out.

So many people in China live and work away from their families and hometowns that they have to use these long holidays to travel to see family. The descriptions of the mayhem at the train stations that I read in the newspapers is enough to keep me away. There's talk of the government changing the holidays to allow people to take them at different times so not everyone is trying to travel at the same time.

Will You Drive a Howo ?

China is car crazy. Not only are there over 70 car manufacturers in China but there are about 1.3 billion people that want one. Most, thankfully, can't afford one - if they could, the country would quickly halve its population as pedestrians got knocked off and those that survived died from noxious emissions. The inability to buy a car however, didn't keep people away from China's largest car show this week - Auto Shanghai ran for over a week at the largest exhibition center in China.

Last Sunday as I tried to get into the Auto Shanghai I found myself in the middle of the largest, pushiest crowd of people I've ever seen. That's saying a lot for someone that lives in China. As I was shoved toward the entrance, trying to keep my balance, I thought to myself that this must be what it is like to be in a soccor riot. I could visualize the Discovery Channel special I would be featured in, the episode being for their disaster series - the infamous "Auto Shanghai stampede of '07". The conclusion of the special would be that if only the idiots that organized Auto Shanghai had not tried to cram thousands through one little entrance...

Once inside I was pushed from one exhibition hall to the next. The first two halls featured Chinese-made cars with names like "Great Wall", "Roewe" (hints of Rover), and "Chery" (hints of Chevy). Then I was shoved through a Japanese hall and on to the Ford hall. I couldn't see the cars for the crowds. Once in a while I'd catch a glimpse of the top of a car with a bored model perched on the hood. Loud, very loud music boomed from every exhibition. Teams of models behind barriers danced, pranced and pointed at the cars. Over the top of the crowd I could see that Ford had imported a troupe of handsome Western men and beautiful women acrobats to draw the crowd - as if a crowd needed to be drawn! Everyone was holding their cellphones over their heads snapping pictures of the models and the cars. Snap snap snap. Men were taking pictures of every car, at least the portion visible over everyone else's head. That, I thought, is going to be one heck of a boring slideshow.

I needed to get out. I slowly worked my way toward the auto parts hall where I hoped to shed the crowd. The fuel pumps, axles, and tires were less of a crowd pleaser so I finally had room to breath and walk in directions I actually wanted to go. So I headed for the exit - I wanted to get as far away from Auto Shanghai as possible. On the way out I noticed a Chinese-made 18-wheeler truck brand called "Howo". Will Howos someday be lined up outside American truck stops?

For another perspective on the chaos at Auto Shanghai read this account by a clearly upset attendee.

A Rare Protest

A rare public protest took place in front of my office building yesterday. 50-100 elderly protesters marched up the sidewalk yelling and waving signs that accused the government of taking their homes and land away from them without compensation. In a matter of a few minutes police quickly rounded them up and carted them off. Today, a large contingent of police and police vehicles stood by ready to quash any repeat performance by the pesky old folks. I think one of the reasons we rarely see protests in Shanghai is because the police are so incredibly quick to shut them down.

China's Audi-going Official Classes

Something I've noticed in China is that most Chinese government officials come equipped with a shiny black Audi. Really important officials are driven around in black Audis with darkly tinted glass. I asked a friend about this and she explained to me that when Audi first entered the China market their strategy was to market directly to the government's top officials. Not only were most cars in the early days of China's economic transformation owned by the government, but early adoption by the country's elite would make Audi the auto aspired to by the new, rich, capitalist class. The strategy worked so well that Audis became de riguer for even mid-level government officials and Party leaders. Non-officials like to buy Audis because they are rarely stolen. Only a fool would steal an official's car in China.

BMW owners on the other hand, are often targeted by thieves. BMWs are the choice of capitalists, entrepreneurs and the rich. In other words, people with wads of cash in their pockets and without the protection that comes with official status.

VW owners by contrast, only have to worry about their car falling apart before they can get to their parking spot.

China's New Fast Trains

I tried out one of China's new highspeed trains today. The usual two-hour trip to Hangzhou was cut almost in half - 1 hour and 10 minutes. Although the new trains are fast, and look a bit like Japan's famous Shinkansen, or "bullet train", it's still half as fast as Japan's version. But I'm not complaining - the ride was smooth, the seats comfortable, and the price was right - less than US$10 for a 100 mile trip.

The Shanghai Bug

It's been a quiet week in Lake Webegone. G-man is off climbing mountains near Guilin and his mom is back in Peavine closing on the house. I'm not used to so much silence - but it has given me a chance to try to get caught up on emails.

The flu-like virus that struck Shanghai has hit a lot of people here and word is that it's a very tenacious bug. It took me a month to get over it and now G-man and his mom both seem to have it.

I'm still trying to get through "Dark Star Safari" by Paul Theroux. As I follow him on his trek through Africa I'm following his route on Google Earth from Cairo to Cape Town. Getting a bird'seye view of the locations he describes in his book adds an extra dimension to the story.

The Mystery of the Poison Pet Food

Here's an excellent example of journalistic reporting and the effort to get to the bottom of why many North American pets may have been killed by a tainted Chinese food export.

The Artist Formerly Known as Ruo Gu

Some things you run into in Shanghai are just hard to figure out. A few weeks ago an elderly gentleman approached me on the sidewalk in front of the building where I work and handed me a bilingual business card. In halting English he said he was an artist and wanted to talk to me. Assuming he wanted to show me to a gallery or an "exhibition" of his works, I begged off and escaped.

This morning, the same man approached me again in front of the same building and went through the same routine - only this time the name on his card was different! My memory for names is not usually so good but coincidentally I had been looking up the Chinese characters on the first card he gave me and I remembered that first name. This morning, when I said, "but I thought your name was Ruo Gu, not Chin Sha!", he immediately turned on his heels and disappeared. What's behind this I do not know.

Easter Bunny meets (Calos Casteneda's) Don Juan

Western holidays such as Christmas and Valentines Day are increasingly popular in China but the holidays lose something in translation. Some holidays, as we shall see, pick up new traditions altogether. Christmas is simply a shopping season featuring Santa Claus. Valentines is the chocolate candy industry's big sales promotion. Now, along comes Easter. Apparently, to the Chinese, Easter is a holiday celebrating the arrival of spring, bunny rabbits and mushrooms. Mushrooms?

Shanghai has put together a grand Easter celebration and has invited all the little children downtown for a traditional mushroom party. Kids will have a chance to associate with and paint charming artificial mushrooms and "parents are encouraged to sing and dance with "rabbit dolls." Sounds to me like the parents may be eating some of the painted mushrooms.

Make Your Tour Guide Happy (especially if he had an unhappy childhood)

If you've ever taken an inexpensive day tour in China and been frustrated by how many silk, curio, or handicraft shops you were led to between scenic spots, this tragic story from the China Daily could explain a lot.

If you find your tour guide becoming agitated at your lack of purchases - be on guard!

Expat Clinics

The very tenacious virus that had held me in its grip for three weeks sent me to the expat clinic on Saturday seeking relief. I needed something to relieve the coughing that had lasted for three weeks and had my throat feeling like a barber's strap. The good thing about the expat clinics like Worldlinks is that they are of an international calibre. You can count on the doctors speaking English and on the medicines they dispense being real. It's also pretty easy to get in to see a doctor on the day you call for an appointment. The bad thing is that they are expensive. My little visit, plus the medicine they gave me set me back US$300. Ouch!

Blogs Blocked Again

The censors of China have once again started blocking access to Blogger and Blogspot websites and blogs. Every blog I tried to access today was blocked by the net nannies. I understand that they don't want the people of China to have free access to information but why they keep turning on access and then turning it off again is the mystery.