Typical trip to a Chinese bank

1. Find the ticket machine and press the button for the type of banking service you want
2. Look at your ticket and find that 150 people are ahead of you.
3. Glance at all the available counters and find that only one clerk is working.
4. Sit down, twiddle your thumbs, and have a few cigarettes.
5. After about an hour, your number will finally come up and a sense of achievement will overcome you.
6. After talking with the clerk, you found out the transaction you want to complete is only available on Mondays and Friday from 8 AM to 9 AM both days.
7. Leave the bank with your head down while cursing to yourself.

Two Chinese Companies I Trust

I've made two recent purchases that I'm extremely satisfied with. It's not every day that I go with a Chinese company and end up with no regrets.

1. Meizu music card MP3 Player
It was 650 RMB, which is roughly 1/3 of the price of a iPod Nano. They share a lot of the same features. Who know? Perhaps they copied it. It comes with 4Gs of storage, sliding-touch navigation (or whatever the technical term is), a radio tuner, and it even plays videos. The battery life is decent (~20 hours). The primary reason I bought it was because you can sort your songs by album and artist. Other cheap-ass MP3 players just list all of the songs together, which makes it an huge pain-in-the-ass to find the song you want.

The one, little negative about this player is that you can't fast-forward and rewind while watching videos. However, what made up for this was their customer service. I found an email address for customer service on their website (http://www.meizu.com/) and wrote to them. To my amazement, I received a reply early the next day. They say that this feature will be available when they make a software upgrade.

Even if this thing breaks after a year, I'll feel that I got my money's worth.


2. Ctrip
We recently bought a travel package to Bali through Ctrip. A few weeks after paying for it, I received a call from a rep. He called to tell me that the plane ticket prices had just been finalized by the airline, and that they would be refunding me 200 RMB. I had to ask again because I thought I heard it wrong.

Let's just say that if I owned a travel company, I wouldn't give a refund to my clients. They have no idea how much the plane tickets cost, so it wouldn't hurt just to keep the "extra" money.

I've been using their services for roughly two years now. Everything has been great with them. Competent staff. They actually call you back if you leave messages. And they actually give you exactly what you buy. I know that last sentence sounds funny. But hey, this is China.

Today's Interesting News

--The article is mostly about spitting and public behavior, but I had a good laugh about the parts on English signs. I wonder if I'll still be laughing at the Chinglish when I'm 80. "Some translations are trickier, like describing pullet, which is a hen less than a year old but appears on some menus as Sexually Inexperienced Chicken. Mr. Tool said one prominent sign had become a regular photo op for foreigners: the Dongda Anus Hospital. Mr. Tool intervened. It is now the Dongda Proctology Hospital."

Today's Interesting News/Sites

-China is the source of the bird flu virus, according to reports by international news agencies. "It's not true!" says that Chinese government.

-The war on dogs continues in China - this time in Chongqing. I am so glad I have a cat. If this same thing happened in Shanghai and I had a dog, I would definitely consider fleeing to another city.

LiveJournal Blocked

I just learned today that LiveJournal has been blocked in China. Luckily I moved everything back to Blogger. However, who knows how long access to Google's Blogger will last...

2002-2003 Web Albums

My web album project is finally finished. Spending 500 kuai to digitize my photos is probably one of the better investments I've made in the last few years. I've put the Web Albums up on picasaweb.google.com/alexliang79:

001a) Jan. 1, 2002 - June 30, 2002 - Jinan
001b) July 1, 2002 - Mar. 18, 2003 - Jinan

002a) Feb. 9-12, 2002 - Qingdao
002b) Feb. 13-14, 2002 - Weihai, Chengshantou, Yantai
002c) Feb. 14, 2002 - Penglai
002d) Apr. 12, 2002 - Taishan
002e) Apr. 22, 2002 - Weifang

003a) Apr. 26, 2002 - Shanghai
003b) Apr. 27, 2002 - Wuyishan
003c) Apr. 28-29, 2002 - Xiamen

004a) Aug. 31 - Sept. 1, 2002 - Jiuhua Shan
004b) Sept. 2-3, 2002 - Huangshan
004c) Sept. 3-4, 2002 - Taiping Hu
004d) Sept. 5-8, 2002 - Hefei

005a) Sept. 9-11, 2002 - Xian
005b) Sept. 14, 2002 - Xiahe
005c) Sept. 15, 2002 - Qinghai, Mengda Tianchi
005d) Sept. 16, 2002 - Taersi, Qinghai Lake
005e) Sept. 17, 2002 - Xining, Lanzhou
005f) Sept. 18, 2002 - Jiayuguan
005g) Sept. 19, 2002 - Dunhuang
005h) Sept. 19-20, 2002 - Hami, Urumqi
005i) Sept. 21-22, 2002 - Kashgar
005j) Sept. 22-23, 2002 - Karakoram, Karakul Lake, Kashgar
005k) Sept. 24-25, 2002 - Hotan, Taklamakan
005l) Sept. 26, 2002 - Turpan
005m) Sept. 27, 2002 - Tian Chi

006a) Oct. 9, 2002 - Shanghai
006b) Oct. 10, 2002 - Putuoshan
006c) Oct. 11-12, 2002 - Shaoxing
006d) Oct. 13, 2002 - Hangzhou

007a) Oct. 19-20, 2002 - Datong, Yungang, Hanging Monastery
007b) Oct. 21, 2002 - Pingyao
007c) Oct. 22, 2002 - Taiyuan
007d) Oct. 23-24, 2002 - Shanxi to Sichuan
007e) Oct. 25, 2002 - Jiuzhaigou
007f) Oct. 26, 2002 - Huanglong
007g) Oct. 28, 2002 - Leshan
007h) Oct. 29, 2002 - Emei Shan
007i) Oct. 29-31, 2002 - Chengdu

008a) Nov. 19-23, 2002 - Hong Kong
008b) Nov. 24, 2002 - Macau
008c) Nov. 27-29, 2002 - Sanya
008d) Nov. 30, 2002 - Zhaoqing

009a) Dec. 30, 2002 - Yixing
009b) Dec. 31, 2002 - Zhouzhuang

010a) Feb. 2, 2003 - Beijing
010b) Feb. 3-4, 2003 - Harbin
010c) Feb. 5, 2003 - Beijing

011a) Feb. 24-26, 2003 - Hainan Inland
011b) Feb. 26-27, 2003 - Sanya
011c) Feb. 28, 2003 - Haikou

012) Mar. 3, 2003 - Beijing

Today's Interesting News/Sites

--Shanghai still has a ways to go before becoming an "international" city, especially with their signs in English. Why don't they just find a native English speaker in Shanghai to work as a language consultant?

--An outlook on the social security situation in the villages of China

Today's Interesting News/Sites

-A train ride from Shanghai to Chongqing currently takes 42 hours, but this will be cut down to a mere 8 hours. This will be in 5 years time, however, it's still damn impressive.

-Powerful winds blow over a train in Xinjiang "Province".

-Rich people in China are some of the worst.

-More cabbies trying to rip-off foreigners in Shanghai. The foreigner paid an average of 38 RMB per km, but luckily, the policy nabbed the bastard.

-A cool website with maps of the subways systems around the world

-Hangzhou is getting a subway line.

-Another good source for interesting news. Content comes from contributions from the web community.

Digitizing Photos

Prior to the beginning of 2003, I only had a film camera. During my first year or so in China, I took several amazing trips and captured some unbelievable sights.

Until recently, I had no idea that photo stores, such as Kodak, could scan your negatives and thus digitize your photos! I brought in all my negatives (39 rolls) and in about a week, all were burned onto one DVD. Amazing! Better yet, this only cost me 500 RMB, which breaks down to around 12.8 RMB per roll. (I'm really hoping this was a good price.)

Next project - sorting out all these photos and putting up some web albums! (I thoroughly enjoy time-wasting projects.)

Here's a photo taken near Karakul Lake in Xinjiang.

The Official Report Does Not Lie

This story is a great display of the power and control the Chinese government has over the media. When I went to check out some of the bbs discussions, they had already been deleted. Shanghai Daily and China Daily did not even have an article about this incident.

Traffic Laws in the P.R.C

I've never read the actual traffic laws of the People's Republic of China, but here's my version of it:

Section I: Parking
Article 1: You may park your vehicle anywhere you'd like, including the sidewalk, unless a police officer wishes to park in your spot.
Article 2: If a police officer tries to give you a parking ticket, you may cuss at him.
Article 3: When parking on a street, you may park your vehicle 5 feet away from the curb, at most. It doesn't matter if your vehicle has blocked a portion of the driving lane.

Section II: Right of Way
Article 1: The right of way belongs to the vehicle that is the largest, or has the loudest horn. The only exceptions are police cars, who always have the right of way.
Article 2: The simple order is as follows: Bulldozers, Dump Trucks, Public Buses, Ivecos, Cars, Ambulances, Motorcycles, Mopeds, Electric Bicycles, Bicycles, Pedestrians, QQs, Babies in a carriage.

Section III: Traffic Lights
Article 1: Red means stop, except for the first five seconds after a light turns red, during which you may still run through the light.
Article 2: Red also means go, if you want it to.
Article 3: Instead of waiting patiently for a left turn light, you may be an asshole and cut in line. Hell. Everyone cuts in line at McDonald's, so therefore, we'd like to keep the rules uniform.

Section IV: Bribes
Article 1: If you get pulled over by a policeman, please refer to the schedule posted on http://bribes.jiaotong.com.cn for the appropriate amounts to pay. Payments are accepted on all currencies, except for Japanese Yen. Please don't forget to ask for a fapiao.

Section V: Highways
Article 1: Four lane highways actually mean six. The shoulders on both sides of the road may be used at all times. Please be aware of donkey carts in the shoulder though.
Article 2: You may disregard the signs posted for Speed Limits and also those designating certain types of vehicles for occupancy of each lane. (These are for appearance purposes only, so we don't look too bad in the international media.)

Section VI: Rush Hour
Article 1: Please simply follow the vehicle in front of you as closely as possible. It is highly advised to block the box. Please have total disregard for others, cause they can just wait for the next green light.
Article 2: Pedestrians can cross the road at any time. Please try to avoid getting hit by a car though. We don't want to have to doctor our statistics for traffic-related fatalities, more than we already do.
Article 3: When stuck in a traffic jam, please honk your horn as obnoxiously as possible. Your honking efforts WILL get the traffic moving.

Section VII: Sidewalks and Bicycle Lanes
Article 1: As long as your car fits, you may drive on sidewalks and in bicycle lanes. (Sidewalks and bicycle lanes are just for those too poor to own a car.) To be thoughtful though, please honk your horn continuously so cyclists and pedestrians know you are coming. If you hit somebody, it's okay, since you have the right of way. The pedestrian or bicyclist will have to pay for the damages to your car.

Section VIII: Driving
Article 1: You are not required to stay in your own lane. The dotted lines are there for appearance purposes only.
Article 2: When changing lanes, you do not need to use a blinker. (We don't even know what they are for anyways) Instead, simply guide your vehicle into the next lane. If you hear somebody honking, quickly steer your vehicle back into your original lane. If you don't hear any honking, then you've just successfully completed a lane change.
Article 3: It is highly advised to honk your horn at all times while in a vehicle. We want to make everyones driving experience "re nao". The louder the better.
Article 4: If you are looking for a street number, etc. while on an unfamiliar road, you may stop your car in the middle of road at any time. Passengers in vehicles behind you will be patient, since we all live in a harmonious society. It is not advisable to pull over in order to keep traffic moving, since that doesn't makes any sense whatsoever.
Article 5: You may use your cell phone to send SMS messages while driving, since it's not all that important to keep your eyes on the road.

Section IX: Traffic Accidents
Article 1: If you are a pedestrian and in the vicinity of a traffic accident, you are advised to call your friends, instead of the police, on your mobile phone. Then you should crowd around the scene of the traffic accident, and begin to discuss which party was at fault.
Article 2: Ambulances are guaranteed to arrive at the scene within 48 hours.