my uk life

93 million wangs

the population of china is growing so large that the government is thinking of allowing the use of double-barrelled names to reduce the amount of identity sharing happening today.

the hope is that by breaking the tradition of using one of 161 "approved" single character surnames, it will cut down the number of people who share a single identity, thereby reducing confusion. apparently there are, for example, 93 million with the surname of wang and an estimated 100,000 chinese people who share the name wang tao.

read more: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/13/china_surn...

what constitutes internet addiction?

in china, teens are being institutionalized for internet addiction, and treatments include, among other things, mild electric shocks. this article got me wondering what percentage of the people i know could be described as having this condition?

my guess: a massive majority.

evidence against the global melting pot

sometimes it feels to me like the world is getting smaller and cultures are sliding together into one unified mass, where countries are indistinguishable from one another and the mystery and thrill of travel to unknown lands is disappearing. i arrive in greece to the familiar sounds of english. i recognize the brands on the barcelona high streets, and know the bands that are playing on the radio in italy. i hear the familiar ring tones of mobile phones in every airport. and when i wake in the hilton just outside of paris, it takes a few minutes for me to remember what country i'm in.

last year, i took my second trip to china, and i wrote about my eight days there. i still find china to be a country like no other, and a place where i can be amazed at the cultural differences apparent in every day experiences. in my notes to my team at work, i also included these additional observations on my trip:

• in chinese restaurants, if you hang your coat on the back of your chair, they come around with coat covers and cover the chair with a fitted cloth to keep your coat clean and make sure it doesn’t fall on the floor.
• at the airport in shanghai, there was a mobile phone charging station that allowed you to charge many different models of phones. it cost 10 yuan (approximately $1) for 5 minutes of charging time.
• in the elevators in large office and government buildings, rugs on the floor indicate what day of the week it is. these rugs (obviously!) are changed every day.
• 14 and 4 are unlucky numbers because the number 4 in chinese is similar to the word for death. as a result, many buildings don’t have either of these floors. we also saw some that didn’t have a 13^th floor either.
• bicycles are everywhere in china and people can carry anything while riding one!
• there is a large and apparent delta in china between the wealthy and non wealthy—and room to grow a middle class.
• while in the old hutong district in beijing, we saw used goods salesmen on bikes, collecting and re-selling junk. they called out as they rode around to let people know they were around. one of them had a used computer piled on top of his load.
• many people being their day with morning exercise. usually it is a form of martial art, performed in a public space. often it involves swords or other weapons.
• i saw a number of employees with their heads on their desks in the mid afternoon, taking short naps.
• if you are at a meeting in china, the most senior/important person in the meeting sits in the middle seat, with his second-in-command (right-hand man) at his right.

i was reminded of these thoughts when reading an article on chinese cultural innovation, which lists ten things the chinese "do better" than we do them in the west. if you ever feel like me that the world is becoming one large global melting pot, this is good (and refreshing) evidence to the contrary.

standing out in a crowd

at the shanghai airport, i stepped up to the check in line for my airline. with only an hour to spare, i was anxious to get checked in and through security. but before i could check in, i was handed a health questionnaire. in response to sars, all departing passengers needed to get their temperature taken prior to going through security. i scrambled to find a pen, and filled out my form as i moved through what looked like it was going to be a very long line. but i got to the front almost immediately and just finished signing the form when i got to a table where they were collecting the forms. how ridiculous, i thought! no one even took my temperature! that was when mike pointed out the infra-red camera, pointed in the direction of the queue, that scanned everyone walking past. behind the camera, we could see a futuristic monitor, marking the facial shapes of all people passing by, and showing the temperature detected. they could spot someone with fever out of the crowd, simply by having them walk past the table.

tai pan foot massage

a couple of days ago, a coworker who works here in beijing handed me a business card from a local foot massage parlor and said "you guys should go here tonight. it's really good. i thought, huh. really good? sounded a little dodgy.

well, tonight we decided it was worth exploring and took a taxi to the beijing oriental tai pan foot massage. what we found when we arrived was an amazing spa and one of the best massage experiences i have ever had. for about ten pounds (128 yuan) each, we got 90 minutes of great foot treatment. the atmosphere was like an upscale spa, but the experience was very social. ten chairs were in one room, and you could chat, order light snacks or tea, or take a nap as they worked the sore muscles in tired feet.

seeing white

i got up yesterday for work knowing that the two hours of fragmented sleep i had gotten wasn't enough. as we stood watching a chinese government customer demo his office automation system, my body decided it would tell me more clearly. i had to stop the demo to warn my co-workers and the customer before i fell to the floor. they got me to a chair as a field of white obscured my vision. i felt myself getting closer and closer to passing out, but cold water and the chair kept me awake yet still blind. according to the accounts of my coworkers, i looked as bad as i felt. apparently i had baby blue lips, dialated eyes and was white as a ghost. a nice look perhaps, but not one i care to repeat anytime soon.

the customer went off to try to find a chinese doctor, but the state doctor who worked next door was out. i was a bit relieved, actually, and was gladly returned to the hotel for rest. i was back out and visiting another government bureau by 1:30 and today i'm fine.

pure exhaustion. i must learn to listen better to what my body is saying. earlier next time.

wind at the wall

today was saturday and thus a day off. we started our adventures being picked up at our hotel at 7am, and were driven to the badaling section of the great wall, where we arrived by 8 before the crowds but to a bitter cold gusty wind. there were hints of snow on the ground, but the sky was bright blue. our walk, which was amazing, started with a badly needed purchase of a hat and two scarves. luckily mike and i had melissa there, our local friend and coworker, to do the haggling, and we got all three for 30 yuan. four dollars well spent.

the gondola, which we took down after a long uphill walk along the wall, had a sign upon boarding that read "don't scratch." don't scratch what, you might ask? we didn't, but i assume they meant the glass on the gondola covers. the gondola, which had a bit of graffiti despite the warning, swayed sharply from side to side during the whole trip down the side of the mountain. as it missed the pole supporting the cable car system by inches, i thought boarding this in the wind in china wasn't such a good idea.

what is a netline?

i called down in my hotel today to ask for a network cable so i could connect my laptop to the internet and send some of the email i've accumulated in my outbox. the hotel staff brought up a note that said "netline" and three boxes of matches. my puzzled look led him to open a box and take out a match to show me that i got the netline i requested. but no.

jetlag

i arrived in beijing this morning 10am beijing time, 2am london time. i can tell i'm in beijing by the way my head feels heavy and my stomach is turning. after a brief rest at the hotel, i taxied to the office. on the way i passed through the city--the bikes heavily laden, the lively traffic, the small restaurants and large hotels, the orange domed pay phones and the signs in unfamilar characters.

i'm now at the office. i'm sitting alone in a large empty room with a wooden desk and big black leather chair. my laptop looks very small in comparison. there's a paper sign on the door that says Shannon Banks Nov 11-12.