活雷锋 - A Modern Lei Feng

It's All Over, It's Just Beginning!

2010-02-27T02:08:00.004-06:00

I've been the chief editor of this site since November 2006 and it has been a great up and down, on and off run during that time. Since blogspot was blocked, this site more or less died, I've thought about restarting it again in different guises and even made an attempt to open up a mirror blog on sina, but in the end, it just didn't make sense to keep the blog on either of those platforms.

Therefore, we've taken the plunge, setting up our own domain, so from now on find us at A Modern Lei Feng 2.0. Thank you to all the readers over the years (the 5 of you out there) and please update your blogrolls and RSS feeds. We look forward to a new start and new conversations!

A Modern Lei Feng, starting March 1, 2010!

Super Bowl, Part 2

2010-02-06T05:27:00.004-06:00

Yes, its late in the week for this, and its more up the alley of Beijing Boyce, but with the emergence of multiple New Orleans-related restaurants in our fair capital, is it too much to ask for a Saints cocktail? Perhaps called the Sir Saint, the awesome old mascot of the Saints found at the top of the page who has been making a comeback as of late. Let's make it happen!

Super Bowl, Part 1

2010-02-03T23:28:00.003-06:00

Okay, so this blog's about food and fashion and I haven't written lately, plus I have a sports blog, but my first post back is about the Super Bowl? What?!? Hey, the Super Bowl is like a national holiday in the US and here, its a great reason to take a day off and drink on a Monday morning. Plus, I'm going somewhere with this, so bare with me for a day or two.

While the teams on the field couldn't be similar, two high powered offenses that play a fast, high flying form of football and limited defense, the two cities where they hail from couldn't be more different. New Orleans has given the world a cuisine and a music, as well as unique culture and Mardi Gras. Indianapolis has given the world, ummm...stuff? Let's try to put this in Chinese terms. It would be like if Chengdu, with its cute pandas, beautiful women, spicy food, and Li Yuchun (well, okay, they need help with the music) took on Taiyuan, which has umm...erm...well...stuff?

I guess you know who I'm cheering for, despite their quarterback who played college ball at a hated school that wears black and gold as well. With the spread of New Orleans food in Beijing (as well as "New Orleans" food in the case of KFC's New Orleans chicken wings), there will be a way to bring this all together.

And for fans of either side looking for some cheap last minute gear, taobao is great (and if you're in Beijing or Shanghai, if you order today, you'll probably get it tomorrow). Colts fans can go here, while Saints fans should head here (I'm partial to the old school Archie Manning jersey). Ahh, the magic of taobao.

Prenup 'partment

2009-12-09T09:22:00.004-06:00

This is completely anecdotal, but in talking to some young white collar employees at major companies/firms in the business/banking/legal fields, I've been hearing some really interesting stories. It seems that prenuptial agreements are growing in popularity among this subset of people, and its not because they've spent too much time watching Sex in the City and other such shows. When I first heard about it, I thought it was just mistrust in courts to properly divide property and provide an equitable outcome for both parties. Instead, the reasoning seems solely concentrated on the crazy real estate situation (you don't think crazy is the right word? peep this) and the risk of being left without an apartment (or with only the right to half of one) down the road.

With property prices and the divorce rate constantly going up these days and with it being common that women require a man to have an apartment before they get married, many of those guys are making sure their apartment is fully protected in case of a divorce. While, typically, this wouldn't be deemed as communal property, it appears that courts have sometimes deemed it such as the apartment was purchased shortly before marriage and as a precondition to the marriage taking place. There is also a desire to protect potential communal property in the case where one spouse knows that in the marriage, they will take on much or all the burden of the apartment purchase and/or mortgage. Interestingly, in the first situation, often it is the spouse that didn't buy the apartment who is pushing for a prenup that will grant them a right to the apartment in divorce as they are very concerned about not buying an apartment before marriage only to find that prices have doubled or tripled when it comes time for a divorce and they are left in the cold.

As I said, purely anecdotal, but I've heard it discussed a lot lately, anyone else hearing similar things?

Prenup

2009-12-09T09:22:00.001-06:00

A Very Merry Musical Month

2009-12-08T08:41:00.000-06:00

Once again, I'm breaking the focus of this blog to talk about what is an incredibly exciting month for Beijing music fans. Over the next few weeks, we'll see Karen Mok come to Worker's Indoor Stadium (on the 11th), the "Godfather", Cui Jian, doing is thing at Capital Gymnasium once again on a very unique way to enjoy Christmas Eve, while on the 31st, Na Ying will play what is sure to be an extremely memorable New Year's Eve show after 7 years away from performing, word is that she's been preparing for over a year for this one.

If you haven't run off for the holidays, attending one (or all) of these shows is sure to be a lot of fun. Tickets are available at piao.com.

Made in China Part 3 : Made in China, Made with the World?!?

2009-12-07T09:20:00.003-06:00

The new "Made in China" advertising campaign has received a lot of media coverage over the past few weeks and is interesting for a number of reasons, most importantly that this is the first (?) time the Chinese government has come out with a major, international ad campaign. The campaign, done at the behest of the Ministry of Commerce and prepared by the advertising firm DDB with the tag line that served as the title to this post as well as "Made in China, Made WITH China". The ad focuses on daily items, like a pair of (Nike?) athletic shoes, an (iPod?) mp3 player, and a luxury French bag.

The idea is that while many of the daily products that you use are Made in China, the reality is that they are designed by experts far away from China and that Made in China doesn't say anything about the quality of the item. Its an effort to remind people that not everything Made in China is low quality and potentially dangerous. Its interesting to note that the ad was originally supposed to come out during the numerous scandals of last year and the government (rightly) decided to delay it, though the fact its coming out at Christmas is also worth noting, if this was done purposefully, the government deserves a lot of credit. The ad will initially air on CNN in Asia and the United States.

Will the campaign do much to change the minds of foreigners? Probably not. Most consumers don't care that much and for those that do, Made in China is already poisonous. It doesn't seem like the target of the campaign is necessarily those everyday consumers who are sitting in front of their televisions but instead for small businessmen and entrepreneurs who are going factory hunting and may not have considered China or have misgivings about locating their production there. The idea's furthered by the fact the campaign was delayed during those scandals of last year, instead of being used as a proactive defense of Chinese production. Putting out the ad at that time would seem to say that while lots of things are Made in China, its on the companies (and their quality control people) to make sure that quality products are made there.

What say you and do you think the ad will help change the opinion of the common American consumer?

Double Deals Just Got Doubled

2009-12-07T08:48:00.003-06:00

Blue Frog's "Burger Burger" Monday's is well known due to this little incident as well as the big time bloggers who are all for it. I make sure to hit up Blue Frog about once a month (with a review to come) for their Monday deal, but the true bargain of it hit home when I was enjoying my Burger King whopper today, which set me back RMB30, whereas if I brought a friend, a burger at Blue Frog would have only been RMB5 more.

Well, now the Beijing deal seeker (aka cheapskate) has another day to add to their calender. On Tuesdays, the Meat and Wine Co., an excellent spot that doesn't get enough love (another place to be reviewed soon), is having a buy-one-get-one-free Rib Night. Meat and Wine offers both beef and pork ribs and at US$50+ for a full slab, they have to be some pretty damn good ribs. Good BBQ ribs are something that's hard to find in Beijing and from the description (though it only says they are slow cooked and then finished on the grill), these don't seem as blasphemous as all the non-smoked "authentic" bbq offered in the city.

A good "deal" offered by one of the city's top western restaurants.

Mao Claus and the Commie Carol

2009-12-02T11:13:00.003-06:00

I know the plan was to keep this blog focused on food and style, but sometimes I just can't help it. Is it just me or is China getting into the Christmas spirit in a unique way? I don't know about any other subway stations, but I've walked through the Guomao station (the Line 2 portion) a few times lately and heard muzak that sounded a lot like Christmas carols (lots of strings and horns, what sounds like 4 year olds singing, etc) except when I get closer and take a good listen, it turns out they are renditions of such classics as “Song for a Hero" （英雄赞歌) or "I Love You, Motherland" (我爱你，祖国).

There's nothing wrong with this except that its sudden appearance during the "holiday" season is really messing with my mind...

Made in China Part 2 : What's Worse Than Made in China?!?

2009-12-02T10:02:00.002-06:00

"Made in China" gets a bad rap, especially amongst those lefties who are all about "causes" and don't like China's politics. Well, for those that thought "Made in China" was the worst possible label one could find on their clothes, it gets worse, "Made in North Korea."

That's right, an enterprising Swede is bringing Noko Jeans to the world. Yes, just in time for Christmas, you too could own a pair of jeans made by ~~an entire family locked up in a prison camp~~ happy employees in the "glorious, worker's paradise" that is North Korea.

And how much for these superwonderfulexcellent jeans from the world's most oppressive country and one of its poorest? Only about 6 months average salary for a North Korean or US$215. One wonders why they don't read the New York Times in Pyongyang (or in Sweden for that matter) and know "premium" denim is a thing of the past. Oh wait, because its North motherf***ing Korea we're talking about.

Watching the video on the company's website is a must for tons of unintended fun. "Can we learn more [about North Korea]? Can we get to know them? And most importantly, how?" I know, I know, let's pay them peanuts to make crappy jeans and charge a fortune for them.

Is North Korea the "final frontier"? What would be worse than North Korea?!?

Made in China Part 1 : Chinese Brands (or the Lack Thereof)

2009-11-30T10:14:00.003-06:00

I have the utmost respect for China Law Blog as it regularly hits on topics that make me think and, more often than not, nails a topic that I was planning on blogging about. He's done it again, this time around its on brands in China. I'm working on a series of articles on the "Made in China" issue, and since Dan's hit on the topic of Chinese brands, that's what I'll start off with.

This topic's been in the news a lot lately, Dan's entry hits on a recent Newsweek article titles "Generic Giants". Interestingly, Fortune's taken a different approach with an article titled "China Buys the World". From an American standpoint, it doesn't appear that there are a lot of big Chinese brands out there and people are only starting to recognize them when they purchase a major American brand. However, that is far from reality.

First off, and what should be most obvious, is that China's brands are on the rise, but there's still a ways to go. Its hard to believe, but Japanese brands haven't been major players in the US market for that long and Korean brands, limited mainly to electronics, have been around even shorter. Chinese companies have started out fighting in home electronics, a wide open category where they can beat a lot of competitors on price and still offer good quality. In other areas, there have been minor achievements, but its going to take some time, in 10 years the picture will be far different.

Another issue is that the magazines are writing from a US perspective, where Chinese brands are few and far between, yet if a more global view is taken, greater influence can be seen. China has placed a heavy focus on developing countries that the Western world and multinationals has left behind. In Asia, Latin America, and especially Africa. This allows them a more open playing field, less brand loyalty, and less obsession with locally made goods. Not only is it an incredibly smart move, but its also a "training ground" for these brands before they make the more difficult entry into the US market. A number of Chinese car manufacturers have started building factories and importing cars into Mexico, hoping that the market there will pave their way into entering the US and having factories nearby will ease deliveries.

Newsweek argues that its the "incredibly competitive" domestic market (what market isn't competitive?) that hurts Chinese brands, but they are missing something about the domestic market, its incredibly large. If you're the boss of a major Chinese brand in a 2nd tier city and you're making money hand over fist domestically, why bother dealing with the bureaucrats in Beijing only to then battle your way in an unfamiliar market? For many, the headaches involved with creating a global brand aren't worth the potential gains.

This post focused on the major reasons why we've yet to see a lot of Chinese brands "go global", but it doesn't hit on all the issues, for that I'd need a lot more words and I think I'm already trying most of my few dear readers patience, so they'll be more on this in the coming days.

Tales of an Apartment Hunter (aka Burst Damnit, Burst!)

2009-11-30T10:12:00.001-06:00

Another weekend just passed, for me, that means spending an inordinate amount of time dealing with despicable real estate agents and walking through some stranger's home for 5 minute only to be shocked and disappointed, shocked at the price, disappointed by the unimpressive home. I've made the mistake of giving out my number to too many agents, this has led to calls and texts at 7 am and 10 pm, often for apartments that are far outside my price range and in one instance, outside of Beijing.

The problem is that there is little governing real estate agents in China. Unlike the US, you don't need to be pre-approved by a bank before you start looking for an apartment. In fact, basically everyone with a job will get approved by a bank for a loan, part of why down payments typically start at 30% of the purchase price. To be a real estate agent in Beijing the basic requirements appear to be 1. that you are not from Beijing, 2. that you are young and have no other experience, and 3. that you are dumb as a bag of hammers.

As someone who has studied economics, I realize that it doesn't take an understanding of complex economic theories to understand supply and demand, which is all the current real estate picture in China is right now. Everything in my being says that this has to be a bubble, it has every sign of being a bubble, and yet it has been a bubble that shows absolutely no sign of popping anytime soon. It will also be interesting to see how the government reacts if there are signs that this bubble is starting to pop.

I'm looking at apartments that are in the 90-120 sq. meter range (around 1000 sq. ft), places that 10 months ago were going for RMB1.7 million that are now going for RMB2.2 million, a difference of around US$75,000. I've looked at places all over the city and even in the "suburbs" and have rarely found a place that I can be happy with. I understand Beijing is quickly becoming a major, international city, but even in a city like Chicago, US$300,000 will buy you a very impressive spot, probably in a nice, old building that you know will be standing in another 50 years.

That is rarely the case in China where you have to worry doubly about fears of faulty construction and fears of government requisition. I work among young Chinese who make a solid salary and yet many of them are in the "house slave" category. Who are all these people capable of buying US$300,000 places in China? Where do they come from? What do they do? And how in God's name do they do so without even taking out a loan?!?

Further, unlike the US where the suburbs are established, here you can save money buy looking for a place in the "suburbs" of Tongzhou or Shunyi or wherever, but you have to be worried about basic living amenities and the lack of restaurants, grocery stores, hospitals, etc. For those things, you'd have to wait 2 or 3 years, part of the reason the apartment is so cheap now. There is also the habit of "buying air", purchasing a place that has yet to be built, with no recourse when its move in date and you aren't satisfied with the construction.

The search continues, its an incredibly depressing process, one that hundreds, thousands of others go through every weekend around Beijing (many who I've probably seen) as apartment after apartment is viewed, each even more substandard than the one before it, all incredibly expensive. I hope this bubble bursts soon and things go back to being realistic. I can see how property in Beijing inside the 4th Ring Road would be an incredibly wise investment over the next 20 years (though foreigners can't legally rent their apartment), but for the time being, it seems the price is destined to come down.

Unless, of course, China can yet again find a way to defy all economic formulations and the price just continues to go up. If that's the case, where are all the "laobaixing" going to live?!?

Thanksgiving 2009: East 33

2009-11-26T22:17:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving in Beijing has a very different meaning from in the US, where everyone gathers at home with family. In Beijing, its a time to get together with friends and head out to one of the city's few restaurants that serve turkey and follow this very American of traditions. The past few years, the Raffles Hotel has done Thanksgiving events at its restaurants East 33 and Jaan, once again this year we headed to East 33 to enjoy the Thanksgiving buffet.

As many Chinese don't fully grasp the "traditional Thanksgiving menu" of turkey with stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, etc etc, a buffet is the perfect option to satisfy all tastes. Plus, this one is all-you-can-drink, need I say more? The other nice thing is that this year there was a real expansion of the offerings, including a large seafood raw bar.

my seafood bounty

Of course, the main reason to come is for the turkey. For me, turkey isn't the most flavorful of birds (then again, I've never done an organic, free range heritage turkey before) and it is far too often overcooked, but this one was well cooked and moist, I had no complaints. At the carving station, a nice honey baked ham was also available, offering a nice saltiness and deep flavor if turkey is too boring for you.

the turkey carver in action

Other stations included Italian pastas and Chinese noodles cooked to order with a variety of options as well as a grilled meats station. There was sushi and prepared hot foods of both western and Chinese provenience (seafood lasagne or lazi ji anyone?). Of course no buffet is complete without a dessert bar, this one was especially impressive, including cakes, tartlets, a cheese section, homemade ice cream, and some cute little dessert bites.

Just some of the dessert bar offerings

At RMB298, it wasn't cheap, but considering most the other options were above RMB200, comparatively, it was a bargain. The Raffles Thanksgiving buffet is quickly becoming my own Thanksgiving tradition in Beijing, this year's buffet offerings were even an improvement over last year and our party walked out completely stuffed. The only problem with attending a buffet is that you don't get turkey leftovers for Friday's lunch, oh well.

East 33 (东33)
Raffles at Beijing Hotel, Wangfujing
Price: ¥¥¥ out of ¥¥¥¥¥
Rating: 4 out of 5 (a damn good buffet and a great way to celebrate the holiday)

pro: all you can eat&drink, great turkey, excellent raw bar, nice dessert bar
con: RMB298 ain't cheap, no leftovers, some of the sashimi was still frozen

Finally, a Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!

Did the Economic Crisis Hit Thanksgiving?

2009-11-25T09:43:00.003-06:00

Is it just me or are there far fewer restaurants, especially hotel buffets, putting on Thanksgiving events tomorrow? Last year, my email box was overwhelmed with 5 star hotels hoping for my presence at Thanksgiving dinners or buffets, this year, to my knowledge only Raffles Hotel and the Legendale have advertised Thanksgiving meals.

As for restaurants, its a lot of the usual suspects, Steak & Eggs, Chef Too, Blue Frog, All-Star, and Salt all have Thanksgiving offerings. Chef Too's home catering option is always popular and is pretty tasty, while Salt's 5-course menu this year looks tasty.

For all you Americans out there, where are you choosing to celebrate the holiday? For me, the hotel buffet is the way to go, the resulting food coma is the closest thing to tryptophan induced sleep, plus since we can't plop down on the couch and wallow away the hours watching football, why not simulate Black Friday and walk some of it off at Wangfujing?

PSA: Beijing Taxi's New Tax

2009-11-25T04:58:00.003-06:00

For anyone who took a Beijing taxi today, there was a bit of a surprise (especially if you haven't been paying attention to the news). Midnight saw the start of implementing a RMB 1 gas tax on any fare that goes over 3 km (though this isn't understood by every driver). Most drivers have a book of receipts stating the new policy, however the RMB1 does not show up on the meter, creating a bit of confusion. I'm sure after a few days it will be more widely understood and accepted, but on day 1, it seems there's a lot of confusion for both passengers and drivers.

Long Live the King

2009-11-24T10:13:00.003-06:00

I never expected my 1st restaurant review would end up being Burger King, but I couldn't help being excited a few months back when I saw the Wagas space at Xidan's Joy City (tear! I used to really enjoy their pasta) was being turned into a Burger King. You see, I regularly travel to Hong Kong and Shanghai, where the King's domain is wide, however in the capital, the only Burger King was located at the airport, until now that is.

Finally!

I don't eat fast food in the US, but I guess in part due to the difficulty of finding a good burger, every now and then a BK whopper is mighty tempting (after all, the whopper is the only edible major fast food brand burger in my book).

Last Friday afternoon, the city's only BK outlet was really hopping as plenty of people were trying to understand this new fast food option. For those used to the US or even Shanghai's BKs, this branch is a bit of an upgrade, plenty of seating choices with large booths, nice seats for people watching near the atrium, and barstools. There's a flat screen tv (though it was only showing more about BK), a Beijing city mural, and lots of steely gray/metal tones.

How did we live without whoppers?!?

The food, well, its the King, all of your US favorites with very little localized items. Prices are a few kuai above the other fast food joints, with most "meals" going for between RMB26-30, though one (the bacon cheeseburger whopper I believe) topping out at RMB37. The taste is identical to any BK back home and its a welcome alternative adding a bit of diversity to the fast food scene. It's still early days, but it looks like the king will have a successful reign over Xidan.

Burger King (汉堡王)
Joy City, Xidan

price: ¥ out of ¥¥¥¥¥ （¥42 for 2 people)
rating: 2 out of 5 (I love BK, but its still just fast food, I'm not going crazy)

Boozy Saturday at the Hilton

2009-11-24T09:15:00.004-06:00

Hilton's annual bacchanal, otherwise known as the Food and Wine Experience, was held last weekend (sorry for the delay in reporting back) and it was a really great party. The crowd was a mix of industry insiders, wine connoisseurs, the "see and be seen" crowd, and those who wanted to get really, really hammered.

The format of the event was simple, spread out over 2 floors around the hotel's atrium was table after table of wine, you paid your RMB200, got in, grabbed a glass, and roamed. Despite this being the 12th year this event has been held,it was my first time attending and so I didn't have any strategy other than the basic (whites the first go round, reds the next time).

Offerings from Aussino

When there are nearly 1,000 wines to choose from, one really needs a system, but with over 7 hours to try them all, I'm sure more than a few made that their goal. Old world, new world, and even some rarer Chinese wines were on offer making this a must for any wine consumer who wanted to prepare his order list. Beyond that, there were also cocktail and beer stations if the wine got to be too much.

Just a small example of Grace Vineyards' offerings

The event was wonderful, though I still came away feeling a little let down. If you're going to have people drinking for 7 hours, then you must feed them, the logic is actually pretty simple. However, despite this being deemed the food and wine experience, food was hard to come by. The advertised food stalls consisted of 5 or so different food companies, including a bakery, a chocolatier, and a cheese maker (with only the cheese maker offering decent samples). There were meat "cooking displays", though they weren't well organized and those that attended were ravenous. By 5 pm, there was already people lining up at the restaurant prepared for the 6 pm buffet. Considering the amount of wine on offer, RMB200 for all that PLUS a buffet was a really good deal, but just because its a bargain is no reason to half-ass it on the buffet, which, considering the quality of the options, is what they did.

The meat cooking demonstration, the Kobe was transcendent, but everyone was ravenous by this point

My only other tip to the organizer, limit the number of attendees. It was cramped quarters with all the people and tables and it somewhat lessened the experience. That said, I definitely plan on going back next year, though this time prepared with a tasting notebook and pen(s) and definitely not on an empty stomach.

2 of World's Top Late Night Dining Spots in China?!?

2009-11-19T12:57:00.003-06:00

Travel + Leisure recently ran an article on top late night dining spots where they quizzed some of the best chefs in the world (and Anthony Bourdain) on their favorite late night restaurants. I was a little surprised to find 2 of them were located in China.

Massive kitchen luminary Daniel Boulud, whose restaurant Maison Boulud a Pekin is arguably Beijing's best restaurant, included one of my favorite spots after a couple of "pops", Jin Ding Xuan (金鼎轩). Boulud offered this about the popular dim sum spot:

“This is a 24-hours restaurant that serves Cantonese cuisine, mainly in small dim sum portions. It’s a great place for people-watching, too. The shrimp dumplings, stewed beef with radish, and spare ribs with black bean sauce are some of my favorites. This is just the kind of steamy hot food that’s especially comforting on a cold, damp Beijing winter night.”

Hmm...people watching? Not sure about that, though you definitely see some interesting characters at the massive Yonghegong location at 3 am. I do agree that their dim sum, especially the fried options and a big bowl of zhou, are perfect to soak up the alcohol consumed during a night on the town. I wouldn't recommend the place before midnight, but then again, this is a list of late night restaurants. What Boulud fails to mention (and why should he, money's no object to him) is that after midnight many of the dim sum are discounted, making it all the better in these tough economic times.

David Chang, the Asian chef who took over New York with his noodles, offered up an equally popular Shanghai spot (with a number of Beijing outlets as well), Bellagio, saying:

"This Bellagio is not a Las Vegas hotel, but a faux-swanky Taiwanese brasserie. There are several locations in Shanghai, and they’re all open at all hours. It’s my favorite restaurant in Shanghai—which I know is sacrilegious—but everything is so delicious, like the pork-belly pot with egg and their weird fried breads. Don’t leave without ordering the shaved ice—it’s a must."

Personally, I tend to prefer some of the late night "da pai dongs" on Shouning Rd, I've been to Bellagio a few times during more "regular" hours and, well, the food is pretty good.

While many of the late night restaurants on the list were located in New York, Tokyo, and Paris, its great to see some Chinese spots getting some love.

Jin Ding Xuan (金鼎轩)
multiple locations around Beijing, but the favorite is the 3 story behometh just north of Yonghegong
77 Heping Li Xi Jie (和平里西街77号)

Bellagio (鹿港小镇)
multiple locations around Beijing, but Gongti branch probably best for late nighters
6 Gongti Xilu (工体西路6号)

Khan of Self Promotion

2009-11-19T10:08:00.002-06:00

The first post of the "new era" was a PSA about a mall sale, how boring, I couldn't let that stand for long. You know, I'd like to fashion myself as a "man about town" when it comes to Beijing life enjoying the "good life", nice clothes, good food, and, of course, good wine. I get my wine through Torres' home delivery and if I'm going out to drink a bottle, its typically Enoteca or Big 9, due to their east side location.

Perhaps its because I rarely venture outside of my Chaoyang base, but I'd never realized a new wine shop/bar opened up at Nanluoguxiang until I read the New York Times a few weeks back. That's right, I learned about a new spot in my own city from a US paper. Anyways, it seemed one of the owners of a wine bar named Cambulac, located at Nanluoguxiang, wrote in to the New York Times, started exchanging emails with one of their food writers, and got himself a mention in an article that showed off his wine pairing knowledge.

I've yet to go to Cambulac, it barely gets any mention on most of the usual suspect expat sites, but I must say, after reading the article in the Times, I'm intrigued. Has anyone been? I have't been to Nanluoguxiang in awhile, is it time for a field trip?

Guomao's Annual International Brands Sale Opened Today

2009-11-19T09:53:00.002-06:00

The annual international brand "bazaar" that is held this time every year at Guomao began late this afternoon and will go from 11 am to 7 pm from tomorrow to Sunday. If you missed out on today's opening, don't worry, get there at 11 tomorrow and there's sure to be some good stuff left. The sale features many of the brands that are based in the Guomao concourse, including Dunhill, Pink, Stella McCartney, and Mark Jacobs. Last year, I was most impressed with some of the discounts at Lane Crawford's stand, but I'm not sure if they're taking part this year.

For most, this sale will be a pass, prices are often only marked down 30-50% on the "good" stuff, bringing it in line with prices at home while the majority of goods look like fakes that you'd never see in the actual stores. Anyways, to each their own, and if you're in the area, it may be worth it to stop in and take a look.

Ya Dead Yet? Nah, Mon!

2009-11-19T09:18:00.006-06:00

And...We're back, and without the football (soccer) season to think about, our mind's focused on the "upcoming" 2010 Olympics, so why not reference a movie about another Olympics that was held in Canada?

Sorry about that bit of babble, but indulge me, we've been gone for a long time. So here's the plan, this blog will undergo a bit of rebranding, the focus will mainly be on the Beijing food and fashion scenes, expect fewer posts a week, but hopefully more quality. There have been a few promising Beijing foodie blogs, but they all end up sputtering out over time, as this is a big area of interest to us and we think we have something to offer on the subject, that's going to be the focus. So expect something like 70% food related posts, 20% fashion/shopping information, and 10% randomness.

If you've dropped us from your blogrolls, shame on you, you're gong to want to add us again! Also, thanks to all who've offered support and encouragement since we've gone silent. The return is thanks to purchasing a Witopia VPN, while its unbelievably slow and frustrating (any recommendations for a better VPN?!?), it gives us access to the world beyond the Firewall. All posts will be cross-posted at Modern Leifeng Inside the GFW for those who have to deal with the evil that is the Firewall, and we'll start out slowly, if all goes well, it may finally be time to purchase our own url.

Thanks to all the readers out there, please come back! And thanks to those who named us one of the Top 50 Blogs on China.

Finally, while this blog has dealt with sports in the past, we're moving all that to our blog Beijing Football (or for those outside of China, you can go to Gongti Legends).

Giving in to the Great Firewall

2009-08-04T13:57:00.003-05:00

This site has been run on and off since the fall of 2006, today it is basically dead. It was murdered by the Great Firewall of China, which has blocked blogspot continuously since early June. The crime committed? Originally locating this blog on blogspot.

I've been critical of the government from time to time on this blog, but I've always kept an open, rational mind and tried to see things from the government's point of view. I've never been negative to be negative and I've never attempted to score cheap points by taking the easy way out. I love China, it's my home, and I want to see her get even stronger.

At the same time, I feel beaten down by the government. I can no longer access sites like facebook, blogspot, or twitter. I know how to access a proxy and can get around these bans, but the hassle of it all has made visiting sites that were once part of my daily routine, now they are sporadic at best.

I'm not an enemy of the state, I don't intend on writing things to embarass it, but due to the government's blanket ban, I've fallen victim to it. I get asked at times why the government tries to block information, knowing that things like proxies and VPNs are readily available to get around them.

The answer, because the Great Firewall works. Most, like me, will start to fight at first, but as a site block goes from days to months, we slowly lose the resolve and only the most vigilant continue bothering. I want this site to continue, but the writers outside the Firewall have given up because the number of readers dropped severely after the block, at the same time, writers inside the Wall can no longer write on the site, so everyone just gives up.

If this is the death of this site, then so be it, we'll see if I can continue the good fight. But, if indeed this is the end, for all you "out there", please remember us buried inside the Great Firewall.

My Favorite Place

2009-04-01T10:48:00.002-05:00

I love Beijing, I love its streets, I love its food, I love its people. Like any major Chinese cities, there are hundreds, probably thousands of cheap, little restaurants around the city that serve the needs of the people living in the neighborhood. In the past I'd come across such a location, a place where "everybody knows your name", where people from the neighborhood come to have a snack or drink when their wife is busy or when they don't feel like cooking. Every now and then a tourist or foreigner will stumble in, but these are somewhat rare (especially the foreigners who may find it to be too small or not exactly what they're used to).

They don't know what they're missing, though. If they only walked in they'd be greeted by really nice staff, a number of really traditional Beijing dishes (things like mao doufu, baodu, and mending roubing) and other "homestyle" dishes at incredibly reasonable prices. The beer is cold (and only RMB4 a bottle), the baijiu is abundant, and a few doors down is one of Beijing's best yangrou chuanr and chicken wing stands (and he'll deliver to the restaurant for you).

It's not far from one of the city's main shopping areas, where tourists are constantly searching for local culture and local food when all along its right under their noses. It's the kind of place where you can walk out totally stuffed and only have spent around RMB50 or just go in for a chuanr or two, a bowl of noodles, and a beer and leave only RMB15 lighter than when you came in.

It's the kind of place men go to discuss manly problems over beer, it's usually open until 2 am, so all but the latest bar crawlers can still be treated to a snack (though the chuanr guy may close up shop a little earlier), and the staff isn't going to bother you or try to hustle you out. The tables are close together, but not too close, so that you have your privacy, but if there's something interesting on tv or if you make a new friend at the table next door, you can enjoy each other's company. Being a small place with a high rent and drawing from their neighborhood, they understand the idea of service (so rare among restaurants here) and take care of their regulars.

I don't get there as often as I once did, but every time I go back I realize how much I love this place and how great it is. It's not unique, there's probably one similar in every neighborhood, but this one was in my neighborhood and I fell in love with it. While the city has a lot of bars that are great, when I really want to sit down, drink, and chat, this is the place I'm coming. Everyone has their own favorite spot in this large city, this is mine...

No I Don't Want to Have Relations With My Mother (ie Let's Make the Grass Mud Horse Extinct)

2009-03-26T18:48:00.002-05:00

Recently, over a glass of wine some of the editors of this blog had a discussion with close friends on Chinese politics. These friends are white collar workers who are enjoying the fruits of the Chinese economic miracle and are equally now concerned about how harshly the economic crisis will attack China. Neither were familiar with the "caonima" craze and both were dismissive of Charter 08. Despite some debate, at the end of the day we all came to the conclusion that too many of these phenomena are focused on the ivory towers of Beijing's campuses and rarely disseminate down to the masses.

In China, revolution comes from the countryside and the feeling is that nothing has changed, despite China's advancements and globalization. If those in the countryside are happy, or at least not taking up their pitchforks, the country (and the Party) will remain safe. No matter how hard the economic crisis hits China, no matter how many middle management types in cities like Beijing and Shanghai get fired, the general feeling was that these people will not protest or cause problems for the government. For many, who are making tens of thousands of RMB a month, the feeling is that they know they're fooling their employers and would be perfectly happy with far less.

Intellectuals will always stir things up and create documents like Charter 08 and net-savvy, snarky young people will come up with things like "caonima", but neither will be very effective or be known widely. If you stop people randomly on the street in Beijing, less than 25% would understand "caonima" as anything other than a vulgar swear word, even if you stop people in the CBD, where many are considered more "world-weary" the number wouldn't be much different.

The "caonima" video/story is vulgar, juvenile, and can only elicit one or two small tee-hees. And unlike a lot of instant internet hits, this one got on the government's radar and was shut down fairly fast. The opinion of these friends, who feel the Chinese government has weathered the storm of the crisis well, was the same as what you'd hear in China a lot over the past 18 years after what happened in 1989, "why bother with politics, things are good now."

Translation Troubles for Chicago

2009-03-16T22:04:00.002-05:00

I was a little surprised when roaming around Beijing over the weekend to see a new construction site emblazoned with the Olympics motto "One World, One Dream". Olympic slogans have been in the news lately in Chicago where they realized the original slogan, "Stir Your Soul", doesn't exactly translate well into all languages. Therefore, Chicago 2016 has decided to go with "Let Friendship Shine" instead. The move comes only a few weeks before the IOC comes to town for their city inspection, but I'm sure Hizzoner will have everything ready by then.

For the record, the Chinese translation of "Stir Your Soul" would be something like "燃烧你的激情" while the new "Let Friendship Shine" theme might be translated to something akin to "让友谊大放异彩".

Why Does the New York Times Hate Chinese Food?

2009-03-16T21:23:00.003-05:00

Okay, maybe the New York Times doesn't hate Chinese food, but every time they come out with a new version of their "36 Hours" segments on a Chinese city, they tend to go a long way to avoid Chinese food. The most recent Shanghai edition does a better job than the last time they checked out the city, but it still comes up a bit short. The restaurant recommendations are pretty uninspired including 100 Century Avenue (mediocre, overpriced western food), Crystal Jade (mediocre, overpriced dim sum), and Citizen Cafe (more mediocre western food). I do give them credit for bigging up Yang's Fried Dumplings (shengjian bao) which are amazing and unbelievably addicting. Lost Heaven is another crappy choice, if you have only 36 hours in Shanghai, why wouldn't you want to try some local Shanghai cuisine? That said, Lost Heaven, the overpriced (and again mediocre) Yunnan fare on offer is popular with the Shanghai expat crowd, so its not a surprise.

I can get with most of their sightseeing tips, including the Bund/Peace Hotel, the CCP's 1st National Congress site and, the Shanghai Art museum. I also definitely love the suggestion of a massage at Dragonfly, a local chain at a decent price point and very comfortable set up. The nightlife suggestions are mostly "meh", though I can see tourists wanting to hit the Bund for a drink and a night at Shelter is usually a good choice.

What would your ideal 36 hours for a tourist in Shanghai be?

Around Town Monday Morning

2009-03-16T04:02:00.002-05:00

Was surprised to see Puma's store at the Place closed down this weekend, but the sign was still up, remodeling or is it the first retail victim of the economic crisis? The Macau restaurant was as packed as ever though....Having not visited Nanluoguxiang and Gulou Dong Dajie in awhile, I was surprised by the large turnover in stores and restaurants in this area, but the people were still lining up for Wenyu Nailao and Plastered and Woo both appeared to be doing great business...During my time in the area, I also sampled a ziran yangrou pie from the pie stand at the northwest corner of Nanluoguxiang, a great mix of Chinese ingredients with the UK/Aussie pie wrapping, especially for RMB5...NLGX recently expanded their shop to include shoe offerings, including the newly hip brand Huili...The venerable Chinese old famous brand, Hundun Hou, is now offering the interesting curry beef hundun...Looking for something different? Just east of Nanluoguxiang's south entrance on Dianmen is a LvRou Huoshao (驴肉火烧）ie donkey meat chopped up with cilantro and green pepper and then added to a long, hot shaobing is unbelievably good and you can make a meal of a couple and a bowl of soup for less than RMB15, perfect for our economical times...tried Guomao Kaochi on Time Out's recommendation and was disappointed, the wings were decent (but not the best I've had) and the service was horrible...

CSL Ticket Prices in an Economic Crisis

2009-03-16T02:38:00.002-05:00

The Chinese newspaper, Soccer News, put together an interesting story in the leadup to the Chinese Super League (CSL), the domestic soccer league, season next weekend about how much season tickets cost for each of the 16 teams in the CSL. The chart looks like this (all prices in RMB, teams listed based on their finish last season):

Shandong Luneng
Price: 150, 480, 580, 980, 1380, 2600, 3900
same as last year

Shanghai Shenhua
Price: 240, 600, 960, 1320, 1800, 3360
same as last year

Beijing Guoan
Price: 260, 1500 (VIP)
same as last year

Tianjin Teda
Price (per game): 40, 60, 80, 120, 180
no season ticket available, but individual game ticket prices are same as last year

Shaanxi Baorong
Price (last year): 100, 140, 210, 280, 350, 3500
expecting to increase prices by 10%

Changchun Yatai
Price: 120-150
price lowered from last year's 300-580

GuangYao BaiyunShan
Price: 298, 398
same as last year

Qingdao Zhongneng
Price: 100, 300, 500
price lower than last year

Hangzhou LvCheng
Price: 220, 320, 600, 1000
last year they were called Zhejiang LvCheng, but this year's ticket prices remain the same

Henan Jianye
Price: 202
price lower than last year

Changsha Jinde
Price: 80 (!!!)
price lower than last year

Shenzhen
Price: 270-280
price lower than last year

Chengdu Sheffield United
Price: 150, 200, 350, 500
same as last year

Dalian Shide
Price (last season): 200, 300, 450, 600, 1000, 1500
Prices have yet to be announced for 2009, but will be cheaper than last year

And the two promoted clubs:
Jiangsu
Price: 100-200
price raised since last year

Chongqing Lifan
Price: no season ticket last year, per game was 10
price will be raised this season

So out of the 16 clubs, only the two promoted teams and Shaanxi, which didn't play all their games in Xian last year and had some of the lowest prices in the league. It will be interesting to see how attendance figures work out this season, but in Beijing, Guoan fans are elated about the squads return to Worker's Stadium, leading to sales of around 10,000 season tickets.

Complex Does Chinese Women

2009-03-12T02:57:00.002-05:00

Complex has been putting together lists of the top 9 hottest women from spots around the world and since it started, I was always waiting for the Chinese version. Well, its out and its disappointing. First off, a lot of the individuals aren't even from mainland China, though that should make the young nationalists happy that they were included in the China list. It focuses heavily on stars who've featured in the west and, let's just say, the list isn't really up to date.

Here goes, and I've added where they're actually from in parenthesis:
9. Liu Yifei (Wuhan)
8. Zhao Wei (Anhui)
7. Huang Shengyi (Shanghai)
6. Vivian Hsu (Taiwan)
5. Christy Chung (Canada)
4. Shu Qi (Taiwan)
3. Zhang Ziyi (Beijing)
2. Maggy Cheung (Hong Kong)
1. Gong Li (Liaoning)

Hmm, a very unusual list, especially considering nearly half aren't even from the mainland and it doesn't include China's former Miss World or Chinese favorites like Fan (or Li) Bingbing, Zhang Jingchu, or Zhou Xun. Or if you really want to include a Taiwanese, what about Lin Chiling?!?

What do you think of the list? Who is missing? And sorry, a post on beautiful women and no pictures, such a tease....

Buying a Mobile Phone in China

2009-03-11T03:48:00.002-05:00

We've bought way too many mobile phones during our time in China, having either broken them or lost them in the back of taxis (or simply just lusting for the newest and latest tech toy), it seems one of our writers is always changing their phone. The process of buying a mobile phone in China is far different from that of what we're used to being from the US and UK, where phone choices are limited to 5-10 and you only get them from a carrier. In China, Nokia, alone, offers more than 10 choices, and its true of almost any major phone maker. This means you're left with 100s of choices, and those are only the main phone makers, through in smaller Chinese brands and other options and its easy to be overwhelmed. In some cases, there are malls that sell nothing but mobile phones. We don't do many of these "welcome to China" style posts, but after recent experiences, we thought this one is in order.

It seems that everywhere you go sells mobile phones, the company's have their own stores, there are the larger mobile phone shops, the electronics stores, big box retailers like Carrefour, department stores, Silk Alley and the like, and of course taobao is in on the action. Making things harder nowadays is that all phones that legally enter China (ie that taxes have been paid on, the type you'll find in above the board places) all must have wifi disabled.

For many people, no wifi is a major deal breaker, leading them to the grey market. This is the equivalent of a friendly person telling you about a shortcut and leading you into a dark alleyway, it could prove to be quicker, but you're not liking your odds as you could also end up beaten up and with your wallet gone. Grey market products are themselves divided into two categories, "shuihuo" (水货) and "ganghang" (港行). When buying shuihuo, you usually don't know what you're getting and there is no guarantee, you might get lucky and well, you might not. Ganghang is a bit safer because the product will include a Hong Kong receipt and in many cases means that, if for example you buy a Nokia, Nokia will honor their warranty (typically 1 year) and service the phone for you on the mainland. This is not always the case and if say, you buy an iPhone, you're SOL (for the time being) and the phone has to be sent to HK to be fixed. Ganghang phones are usually RMB300-600 more than the same shuihuo version, but still cheaper (and often times considerably so) than the phones that legally enter China.

Of course I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the other option, the "shanzhai" (山寨) mobile phone. These phones often look a lot like popular models and may even come packed with features like the ability to use multiple SIM cards or watch tv, all for low low prices typically under US$100. These phones, like shuihuo models, are unpredictable as to how long they'll last, but unlike the shuihuo variety these won't make you cry if they suddenly stop working or are lost/broken as it will only be RMB200-500 down the drain.

Movie Review: Slumdogs vs. Garbage Collectors

2009-03-09T04:08:00.006-05:00

The Useless Tree presents an interesting question about whether a film like Slumdog Millionaire would ever have a chance of being seen in China. Unfortunately, some in the Chinese movie industry have ignored the fact that many in the Indian film industry (and Indians in general) are upset at the portrayal of their country in Danny Boyle's Oscar winning movie. Would an Indian ever make a Slumdog? And more importantly for me, would it be possible to have a Chinese version, which examines some of the more controversial topics the country faces?

The Chinese movie industry tends to be about extremes, cinema is either very accessible and mainstream or very artsy and not targeted for mass consumption, or alternatively digging up controversy and end up getting banned. As of yet, few have been able to walk the fine, middle line.

The movie Gaoxing, one of this year's early offerings, based on the novel of the same name by writer Jia Pingwa is definitely targeted as a feel good comedy for the masses. Jia's novel was a hit in 2007 and one of the year's best books, but the movie hasn't received very much critical acclaim. A movie about a poor, peasant garbage collector who goes to the big city, falls in love with a prostitute, and has to face the death of his sibling due to lack of funds to cover the hospital bill doesn't sound like much of a comedy, but it actually is.

Sure, if the movie took a hard look at these issues, like Slumdog, it would most likely be banned by the Culture bureau. It would also kill it as a Chinese New Year movie, which is what the film was targeted as. Gaoxing's main character, Liu Gaoxing, is presented as a likable, optimistic guy who looks on the brighter side of life and eventually gets the girl (even if she's only a "massage girl" with a heart of gold). Nothing too serious is portrayed, Liu Gaoxing seems happy with his lot in life, and the only time the true grit of working as a collector is shown is at a landfill when garbage collectors fight over a newly dumped load of garbage.

Overall the film is entertaining and ellicits a laugh here and there. For those interested in language, its also almost completely in Shanxi dialect. Also, the movie is quite possibly China's first modern musical, as there are a number of long song and dance numbers (far more Bollywood than Slumdog was), including a few hip hop songs. This element gives the movie a strange feeling and overall, it seems better suited for the stage, rather than the big screen. In the end, Gaoxing will give you a laugh or two and help you to feel better, a nice way to escape all the pessimism and negativity surrounding the current global crisis.

Song of the Week: Native Beijinger

2009-03-06T02:32:00.005-06:00

Song of the Week will be a new feature highlighting a great Chinese song (or two) that we've had on our mind (or that's been burning up the charts) over the past week. In this week's edition, I'm going with the excellent pop hop song 北京土著 (Native Beijinger) by Zhang Bohong.

The song's been out for a long time (2 years+) and I vaguely remember it when it came out, forgetting it, then recently hearing it used regularly as background music on Beijing tv, caused me to scramble to find it again. After that, I was hooked. It's really catchy and a great example of Beijing hua. Not the best song, but I love the Beijingness of it and the mix of old and new. It's also made its way around the expat blogosphere and so, for those in need, a quality English translation was recently posted. The artist, 18 at the time, is an interesting story himself and a Beijinger who grew up in the hutongs he sings about in the song.

Enjoy the mp3 and have a great weekend!

Another Day

2009-03-05T21:14:00.003-06:00

When one of the co-founders of this blog first set up an account on a social networking site using the "modernleifeng" moniker, he quickly received a message from an "old China hand" who had a very weak understanding of Lei Feng and what the Chinese think of him. The debate about whether the Lei Feng story is true or simply a myth and the propaganda machine that built him into a hero during the Cultural Revolution is completely meaningless. When we chose the name "A Modern Lei Feng", it was in part influenced by our Dongbei roots and, of course, the song, but also because we like what Lei Feng stands for. Perhaps its a lie, and its definitely propaganda, but its much like George Washington and his cherry tree, but even more important.

March 5th marks the day the Chinese government set up to honor and remember Lei Feng. To do so, school teachers across the country encourage their students to go out and do small tasks to help other people or hold educational programs promoting social responsibility. This message isn't only important for the kiddies, but for all of Chinese society.

If the spirit of Lei Feng can be co-opted by Chinese (and western) hipsters, pun rockers, why can't it also be used by those who are trying to promote volunteerism and environmentalism. Volunteerism is significantly lacking in China. A self-serving interest and desire to take part in a once in a lifetime event motivated millions of Chinese to apply as volunteers at the Olympics, but the same people are the ones that push in front of you as you're getting on the bus, ignore the lost foreigner, or throw their garbage on the ground instead of taking a few steps and finding the garbage can.

Why can't patriotism be about more than just hating France and feeling insulted from time to time? There are people battling to do the right thing on a daily basis, there are "angels" around Chinese cities and the countryside who are dedicated to helping others or who see someone in need and feel its their civic duty to go and lend a hand. These people are rare, they need to be celebrated. Patriotism isn't only about raising a riot when faced with a (perceived) insult, its about devotion to your country, one of the best ways for most of us to show that devotion is by helping those around us and doing what we can to help the environment.

Honoring the spirit of Lei Feng should be like Mother's/Father's Day and Valentine's Day. It shouldn't be an afterthought once a year, it should be something we live by on a daily basis.

What A Day - 不平凡的日子

2009-03-04T06:35:00.002-06:00

Guomao Qiao during lunchtime.

I'm standing at the light in the midst of a large crowd, bikes flowing in front and behind when a middle age woman comes steaming through, walks her bike right over my foot, and doesn't say anything. When I say something, she swears at me as she rides away.

Ahh, I love Beijing...

在午饭的时候站在国贸桥，准备过马路。

我跟朋友在一起，聊聊，周围都是人。汽车，自行车像鱼一样穿梭。。。突然有个大妈推着她自行车过来，她的车轧我的脚，一句话没说。。。我受不了，“你咋不注意，你干什么?" 这个大妈，瞥了我一眼，上车就走了，狠狠的说: “妈的，你才干嘛?"

啊，我只能笑，这个就是真正的北京。。。

Economic Crisis Creating Opportunity for Some?

2009-02-27T01:46:00.003-06:00

The economic crisis has hit the US very hard, that's obvious, but for those in China who may not get back to the States much, its hard to realize how bad things really are, though the horror stories online and from family and friends bring it home. The crisis has quite obviously hit many Chinese factory towns, especially places down south like Dongguan or on the east coast in Zhejiang and Shandong. However, in Beijing and Shanghai, despite it being a regular topic of conversation, the reality is that its only seen in small ways (ie less expats at restaurants/bars). For the most part, white collar workers in these cities have gone (more or less) unscathed up to this point.

While companies aren't desperate to hire new talent, they also aren't laying off people. If you are a Chinese law firm these days, the economic crisis can actually serve as a sort of blessing in disguise. There are some rumors floating about that two of the biggest firms have laid off some attorneys, but these firms are heavily reliant on IPO work and that has all but dried up. Yet at most Chinese firms, things are churning along and lawyers are pretty safe (unless you work at this firm but that has nothing to do with economics). For firms that are more diverse, while work is slow for many Corporate associates, they aren't at risk of being laid off and most ended up receiving a bonus and a (slight) raise, not great, but far better than what their counterparts at foreign firms in Beijing and New York are getting.

Chinese firms typically have more limited expansion plans than their foreign counterparts and the top ones can offer the same service quality you would get at one of the biglaw foreign firms in China. The difference is, of course, they charge about half what biglaw firms do and pay their attorneys even less.

Expect things to get a lot worse for foreign law firms in China over the next year or two. While their home offices are in complete disarray, layoffs (or even the threat of them), will lead top associates (often Chinese citizens) to consider making the move to Chinese firms. Hours are similar at Chinese and foreign firms, but there is a far greater chance for advancement at a Chinese firm for a Chinese native, especially one with experience at a top foreign firm. At the same time, clients are bound to reconsider their firm affiliation and make the economic choice by moving their business to a Chinese firm.

The shift from foreign biglaw firms to Chinese firms has been a slow process since the early 2000s and the crisis could be a major blow that reorganizes the legal market in China.

On a Carousel

2009-02-20T01:37:00.002-06:00

If you're involved in the online expat scene in China, there are a few people you come to know, very quickly, almost all in a very positive light, but one name has stood out over the years and it doesn't bring with it positive connotations, Chris Devonshire-Ellis. FOARP has the best, most comprehensive introduction of Mr. Devonshire-Ellis around.

The name led to many stories and blogs in previous years, but little has been heard about him lately, though recently he was back to his old ways, threatening the dean of Shanghai blogging, Wang Jianshuo. However, recently it appears Devonshire-Ellis did something unprecedented among bloggers in China and quite possibly around the world.

In his firm's "China Briefing" newsletter, he published a statement from a chummy "interview" with a Chinese government official in which the official makes very remarkable statements about the yuan, the Chinese currency, that, it seems were completely fabricated. China Law Blog has a great look at the whole story, breaking it down with links to other bloggers and some pertinent questions. Though it's doubtful that CDE could face legal charges for his questionable article, whatever connections he has to the Chinese government are certain to be burned. Pretending to be a journalist will get you in trouble in China, but when you do so and it influences the country's currency, I'd expect major ramifications.

This story is causing a mini-storm on twitter and could end up being the expat community's story of 2009, even though the year's only 2 months old.

Too Good to be True?

2009-02-16T21:19:00.002-06:00

"Stop the presses!" I hear myself shouting, before realizing this is a blog and there are no presses involved, but that's the kind of story this is to me. The idea that Nike would dedicate US$200 million to the Chinese Super League (CSL), the Chinese domestic soccer league, over a period of 10 years is just shocking.

Just a few years ago, the league went from large companies sponsoring it (and its tournaments) like Siemens, Pepsi, and Midea to no sponsor, then had a British internet phone company sponsor them and pull out shortly into the season. Kingway, the Shenzhen based brewery, was league sponsor in 2007 a decent step up, but then in 2008, they were replaced by small Chinese wine brand Jinliufu. Siemes, iPhox (the British internet company), and Kingway all signed multi-year deals with the league and ultimately pulled out of them after a season (or less).

The nitty-gritty of the Nike deal looks like this:

2009: US$15 million spread between 12 clubs
15% annual increase of that US$15 million
eventual sponsorship of all 16 clubs

So what does this all mean? For one, finally some major muscle is coming in and serving as China soccer's white knight. CCTV recently agreed to broadcast CSL games, after having suspended their broadcast last season. The league still has the stink of corruption, on-pitch battles, and walk-offs, but one of the league's biggest concerns over the past 5 years, sponsorship, will no longer be an issue. In the long run, hopefully this will take the Chinese league from general oblivion into one of Asia's premier leagues. While the national team is probably beyond saving at this point, a good run of form by one of the Chinese teams in the newly expanded Asian Champions League would help the league's reputation.

Currently, only 2 of the 16 teams (last year's winner and runner up Shandong and Shanghai, respectively) wear Nike. While it would be expected Nike would want to very quickly re-establish its ties with Beijing Guoan, the capital club will continue wearing Adidas in 2009.

Nike's signing on is a major investment in Chinese soccer, hopefully this will mark a turning point for all of Chinese soccer, though it should guarantee that the domestic league will be improved. The league begins next month, the past two seasons have gone down to the final match, hopefully the same drama (without the negativity) will be seen this year (and most of all, hopefully Beijing will finally be champions!).

Fireworks and Fire

2009-02-09T09:34:00.004-06:00

Events turned surreal tonight as amidst all the fireworks that are going off all over our fair city, a fire appeared to break out at the iconic new (and not yet totally finished) CCTV Building. In fact, the fire occurred at the equally odd shaped building just north of it, known as the TVCC complex (Television Cultural Center).

The fire appears to have started around 8:30 pm, though we first heard about it from colleagues in Guomao around 9:10 pm. After raging for an hour or so, explosions started to be heard and the flames were seen reaching many stories in the air, and the whole process came to an end around 11 pm or so. As of right now, smoke can still be seen coming from the area and some are concerned about collapse. All of subway Line 10 is closed and traffic around 3rd Ring Road is at a standstill as police are keeping people away from the building.

Today is Yuanxiaojie, the Lantern Festival, and it is the final day of Chinese New Year festivities, so its marked by lots of fireworks. Fireworks were being set off in Beijing since early in the evening an speculation is that fireworks are what started the fire. Explosions were heard around the scene, but with fireworks going on all over the 3rd Ring Rd area of the city, it was hard to differentiate at times what was coming from the building and what came from elsewhere.

If you aren't on twitter, its time to get on, as the story broke there well before it was seen anywhere else on the web, a full hour before it made it onto Chinese tv. What is there to take away from all of this? First, lets hope and pray for the safety of everyone who may have been in/around the buildings and also for the first responders. Also, be very careful when setting off fireworks in the city (though fireworks policy is bound to change next year). We'll try to bring more if anything develops through the night and especially tomorrow morning.

*Above photo by Wu Lin. All photographs and content are copyright and can only be used with approval of blog editors.

Hater in the House, Part 2

2009-02-06T02:20:00.002-06:00

My problem with the New York Times article on the hip hop scene in China (discussed here), is that there's no reason for that article now. There is no sudden love of the music (despite hiphop.cn site views) or anything in 2009 that's popping off that wasn't before. More top acts are coming to China, but the audience is almost exclusively expat (just look at the Roots, Kanye, and Talib shows). There hasn't been a sudden large number of hip hop clubs that have opened up, or live local shows going down, there aren't that many underground ciphers or battles that are going on either. Yes, the clothing has been appropriated and the dancing is very popular, but the music is still just a tiny niche.

Let's first get some things straightened out, hip hop contains four elements: graffiti, break dancing, MCing, and DJing. This is something often forgotten or overlooked by those outside the community, all of them are equally important and there's a big difference between that and rap music.

To be honest, all 4 elements have not even come close to entry in China and its going to be a long time before that changes. Dancing came in first and is unbelievably popular here, with tons of crews even in far flung 3rd tier cities and mainstream classes at gyms and even on tv. In Korea, the dancing came with the music, and while the dancing popped off a lot faster, the music slowly caught up to where there are serious hip hop acts, but in China, we're still a long way from that. You do see some graffiti around town, but because of the strict nature of the police, almost all of it is sanctioned or more pop art than the raw tagging that goes on elsewhere (even in Hong Kong).

DJing is another problem, mainly caused by the difficulty of getting top records. Real DJ's use records and the only way to get them is by having them shipped from back home, making HK or Tokyo runs, or bringing them in whenever the DJ (or friends) return home. Most clubs don't even bother with real DJs, they just use computerized mixes or loops, though some "hip hop" clubs will put somebody who fits the "image" of a hip hop head behind a platform with 2 turntables and tell them to pretend to spin for an hour or two, good money if you can get it.

And finally to MCing, well...We're not there yet, we're nowhere near there. The problem, it seems, especially from reading some of the comments to another blogger, is that there is more a desire to make money than stay true to any art form. Groups that have made it "big" (you could mention Gongfu, but they even make Yin Sanr look gangster) do so with feel good, sometimes even pop, lyrics. There are some decent underground acts who've yet to sell out, but the difficulty is in keeping them together because there isn't a lot of money to be had. There are a lot of expats running around who are sometimes involved in the scene back home and trying to promote it here, some of them are highly skilled and doing a great service, others, well...not so much. There's also too much lack of confidence (perhaps that's the right way to say it?) in some artists to perform straight up hip hop music, all too often you get something more akin to Fred Durst-ian rock rap (but in part, that goes to the lack of influences and the difficulty of getting all kinds of hip hop in China).

Then there are the guys who come from government housing, poor families where both parents were laid off, where the father beat them and their mother, who come from failing schools and instead of rapping about this experience, they talk about "gats" and "ho's", although they've never held a gun and are probably still with their high school sweetheart. I'm not making this a call for conscious rappers or saying that they need to be political, not at all, but talk about your own experiences, you are ghetto, you don't need to pretend to be from the (US) "ghetto."

There is not enough diversity in influences, not enough DJ's who know how to scratch and mix, and far too many hangers on and its made the movement stagnant. The minor glimmers of hope you see from year to year quickly dry up and the scene just feels like its slowly lurching nowhere. The dancing has taken off, but it is already completely disconnected from the music. The clothing style is often more about pissing off one's parents than anything else and is so out of tune with current American hip hop style.

However, it's not all negative, there is some decent, pure hip hop if you dig for it. There are people who are serious about trying to make the scene grow and there are people who truly love the music and aren't just in it for the money. 2009's a tough year economically, but do what you can to support the real hip hop acts when they play live, drop some money on a real CD instead of downloads, hit up websites like hiphop.cn which are often doing a great service. The scene is paused, its in its infancy, but that doesn't mean it can't grow.

Why the World Cup Not Coming to China is a Good Thing?

2009-02-04T01:48:00.004-06:00

The deadline for bidding on the World Cups in both 2018 and 2022 came and went on Monday and to many people's surprise, China wasn't one of the countries that bid. China was widely expected as one of the bidders this time around and would have been an immediate front runner.

So why didn't they bid? While we here were major backers of the concept of a China bid, we've since reconsidered the idea and decided not bidding was best. Why? Well, let's look at some of the reasons that have been put forth:

1. Chinese Soccer Development
There is a feeling among the "highly intelligent" people at the Chinese Football Association (CFA) that hosting the World Cup when the team is still as bad as it is is not a good thing. It's a matter of face and national pride, which is why this belief is shared by the fans. Much like with the Olympics and China's record 51 gold medal haul, fans want the World Cup at a time when the national team will make the country proud. This is a major reason why on a sina.com poll, 89% support the CFA's decision. The problem is that 1. China can always host the World Cup again, and 2. having the Cup here could be a major boon to soccer's growth and development in China.

2. the Olympics
No, not Beijing 2008, but Harbin 2018 or 2022. If all goes well with this month's Winter Universaide in Harbin, the city has high hopes to seriously bid for the Winter Olympics (unlike their 2010 bid). It seems the national sports authorities are more focused on this (and building China's winter sports power) instead of focusing solely on one sport, soccer. Also, development of a winter sports program will be far easier than making the national soccer team good. What's the problem with this? London in the UK and Sochi in Russia are already hosting the 2012 and 2014 Olympics, but both bidding for 2018/2022, while Tokyo and Chicago are in the running for 2016 and both Japan and the US are bidding as well. Some even think that hosting the Olympics could be an advantage to sealing a World Cup bid.

3. Money
Yes, we're in the midst of a global financial crisis and China has been hit hard. With the Olympics debt yet to be paid, adding a World Cup burden on top of that could be a bit much for the country to handle.

4. Venues
This is the final one and, to me, the most important of the 4. China simply isn't prepared to host. China only has 3 soccer specific stadiums (in Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chengdu), but all of them have a capacity of less than 40,000, the minimum to be used in the World Cup. In China, there are beautiful new stadiums in Beijing, Tianjin, Shenyang, and Guangzhou and all would likely host games, however all (and an older one in Shanghai) are surrounded by running tracks. In fact, I'd venture to guess that almost every stadium in China over 40,000 is a multi-use stadium with a running track, keeping the fans far away from the field. Therefore, either a lot of new stadiums (which would undoubtedly go unused or make older ones redundant) would need to be built or the fan experience would be severely lacking.

It would be great for China to host the World Cup, especially because it may be the only way China gets into a World Cup in the next 10 years, and while soccer needs to be developed here, the CFA made the right decision in not choosing to bid for the 2018/2022 World Cup.

The Law is the Law Except When its not the Law

2009-02-03T01:53:00.003-06:00

The Labor Contract Law (I almost introduced it as new, but after more than a year, can it still be deemed as new?) was supposed to be the big 'un when it came to promoting worker's rights in China and keeping business behavior in line. There were lots of expectations and tons of blog posts written on the issue, but as can happen with Chinese law issues, things turned out very differently from what was originally expected.

Chinese law is a hell of a thing to deal with. Laws like the Labor Contract Law are written in an incredibly vague fashion, usually purposely, to allow for provincial and city governments to then interpret the law in a way that most fits their local situation. Basically, Chinese law serves as a US Republican states righters wet dream. Unfortunately, this often means that the local government is free to "interpret" the law in a way that completely removes it of any fangs (and usefulness) it may have had.

Dan Harris wrote a bit about how the economic crisis may have led to local governments ignoring much (or all) of the labor law as long as companies don't lay off workers and I've heard stories that confirm what he's stated. Over the Chinese New Year holiday, in the hinterlands of Beijing, I heard a number of tales that further confirms why any hope that the law would change things should go by the wayside.

Getting away from my friends who are all city folk white collar (often foreign owned) company employees, I heard countless stories from airport baggage handlers, factory workers, cooks, and other laborers about how the law is an afterthought. Out of about a dozen people, only two were not expected to work during the holiday and of those that had to work, none expected the trebled overtime pay that the law called for (though some did expect to receive some overtime pay). In many cases, the company's distribution of small gifts or food before the New Year was supposed to satisfy employees instead of their deserved overtime pay. All knew that this was against the law and that they could make claims, but all had seen what happened to others who made claims or were convinced the process was futile.

One year on, the "groundbreaking" law doesn't seem to be protecting the people who needed it the most.

The Strange Story of Bonzi Wells

2009-02-02T03:03:00.003-06:00

Two other sites have picked up the story of Shanxi Zhongyuan releasing Bonzi Wells, who returned to the US during the CBA's Spring Festival break. This move is a bit shocking considering Wells has been incredibly helpful to his Shanxi team, instantly dominating the league and breathing life in an otherwise mediocre team. Wells was near the top in points, rebounds, and steals per game, but only was able to help his team to a .500 record during his time in Taiyuan.

So why was he let go? Very little information has come out on the release, but that's not surprising as so few people care about the CBA. Despite Wells being a force for Shanxi, the team was 8-7 before he arrived and 7-7 while he was in China. Was the release inspired by the fact that despite the large sum of money they were paying him, Wells couldn't improve the supporting cast around him? Or, a more cynical (or sinister) thought, is it because of Wells' immediate impact on the league, exposing it for the joke that it is? The CBA is already dominated by foreigners, you'd have to go almost 20 names down to find the first Chinese players name on the points per game list, and the sudden appearance of an aging and out of shape mediocre NBA player suddenly becoming Michael Jordan might have been a little too much for league heads to take.

There's sure to be an interesting story behind Wells' release and I wouldn't expect his team to be very forthcoming, we'll just have to wait for someone to get a comment from him.

UPDATE: The story is simple, seems Wells just didn't want to return to China, less than 2 months was more than enough, and if you want to know why that might be the case, check out this interesting post by Gabe Muoneke, the CBA's leading scorer.

Hater in the House, Part 1*

2009-01-28T19:50:00.006-06:00

During the run up to last summer's Olympics, we ran a series called Bylines at Customs made up of all the stupid pronouncements made by good (and not so good) journos who came to Beijing looking for the "real" story. Journalists come to Beijing, see a small example of something, and want to blow it up into something larger. Often these stories are about making the Chinese seem "more like us", ie they eat fast food, just like us, they listen to such and such music, just like us or are cliches about contradictions in modern China. Stories that are almost completely false or without any real backing, like this waste of space on George Bush remaining popular in China, get printed because to the editor back in the US, it sounds good. To borrow from a Chinese saying, its the case of "the mountains are high and the editors are far away."

Therefore, when the New York Times ran a story last week on Chinese hip hop, it was a "stop the presses" moment here at Modern Lei Feng, almost enough to bring us out of our hibernation. Lots of phone calls back and forth and disbelief, but nobody bothering to pick up the pen. Perhaps its because we thought we dreamed the article, the idea of a burgeoning hip hop scene in China just made us laugh. Then we found this generally on point snark filled blog post about the story and realized we could no longer stay quiet (though his hip hop vs. rap note shows where he's coming from).

Jimmy Wang is generally a good reporter on China, perhaps this article was a case of not having enough material or already being on mental vacation due to the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday. It has all the signs of a hack "they're just like us" story by a Chinese first timer.

The article discusses how Q-Tip and Eminem (first record release: 1999) have been popular in China "since the 90s". Interesting. I defy you to find me 5 Chinese "hip hoppers" who know that Q-Tip isn't one of those things you stick in your ear, or even know what group he belonged to. It talks about hip hop clubs that opened "across the country" and yet the "hip hop clubs" in Beijing or Shanghai cater musically more to the tastes of suburban teens than any real hip hop heads. The article spends so much time building up the idea of hip hop in China, only to end with the reality that its still nothing more than a tiny niche.

While we have a lot of problems with the way the author puts things in the beginning of the article, like: "Over the last decade many students and working-class Chinese have been writing rap as a form of self-expression. Rougher and more rebellious than the well-scrubbed pop that floods the airwaves here," which is just wrong on so many different levels, the big problem is that this story is more expat rag fodder (and something they've been writing since 2001 or so), not the kind of august journalism one (should) expect from the New York Times.

As the saying goes, a picture speaks a thousand words, the main picture that accompanies the article shows 3 "rappers" surrounded by an almost exclusively white crowd with nary a Chinese face to be seen, so much for Chinese hip hop.

*Part 2 is coming soon, our own look at the hip hop scene in China

$3 Million Down the Toilet

2009-01-23T21:41:00.002-06:00

The Beijing city government recently declared it will be investing US$3 million in the city's soccer team, Beijing Guoan, to improve the quality of the capital's soccer squad. The money will be focused on funding youth development programs, but will also be spent on offsetting costs of the Manchester United visit this July. The government also declared that this isn't just a one time investment but a longterm cooperative program between the city and the team.

Will it work? In China, money has an "odd" way of going to the wrong things even when in the hands of government, but when in the hands of a private entity, corrupt usages of it wouldn't be surprising. As it is an investment in youth programs, it will be much harder for the average person to see if the money is being put to good use.

Since the team announced that they won't be playing in the Bird's Nest, there is still a question of where the team will play, returning to its traditional home at Worker's Stadium or remain in Fengtai. While the Bird's Nest would have required attendance figures above and beyond what the team usually got, the draw of the stadium would have been great (at least early on) and helped to promote the team.

The team's quality has been improving the past few seasons, will this investment in the future be enough to put the team over the top and deliver a first championship to Beijing or will it just get caught up in red tape and mishandled?

China's Got (Shoe) Game

2009-01-20T01:28:00.005-06:00

We here at A Modern Lei Feng love high end style and love stepping out in a fresh pair of John Lobbs (at least those of us who can afford them, the others just drool jealously), but we also like street style as well. For those who are shoe fiends (collectors) like us, 2008 was an awesome year to be in China. With Beijing hosting the Olympics, a lot of limited edition releases took place, some limited to China only.

While some collectors thought 2009 might be a major drop off, 2009 isn't even a month old and 2 major releases have hit Chinese shores. First was Nike's annual release for Chinese New Year, but the moment everyone was waiting for was the release of CLOT's offering to the Nike 1World Air Force One collection.

The CLOT Nike1World Air Force One has a red silk upper with a traditional Chinese pattern on it, perfect for Chinese New Year, but also features leather with the same pattern under the silk that can be exposed through wear or intentionally cutting or burning the silk away. It is an extremely limited release, sold only at Juice in Hong Kong and ACU in Shanghai (those in HK get the better deal as its sold for HK$2800 there and RMB2800 in Shanghai). The shoe was released on January 16, so if you didn't get yours, call ahead and make sure they still have pairs in your size. The Shanghai release party even made it to Hypebeast. ACU's located at 139 Changle Lu (by Maoming Lu).

Let's hope this recognition continues in 2009 and shoe collectors have more to brag about than access to releases of China only branded NBA kicks like the Li Ning Shaqs (and Baron Davis' if they ever come out) and Peak Jason Kidds.

Wednesday Photo Thread: The 'Burbs

2009-01-14T17:15:00.001-06:00

Sunday Photo Thread: Winter in the Jing

2009-01-05T08:08:00.003-06:00

Random Thoughts on Beijing Scene in 2009

2009-01-05T07:19:00.003-06:00

Here are a few random thoughts I've been pondering over the past few days as we enter 2009, it will be interesting to see how all of this plays out:

Will the new higher end bars/clubs/restaurants that opened in the run up to the Olympics (or worse, after) be able to survive long enough to see their 1 year anniversary?
Will there finally be a good English blog written about the Chinese art scene? There are enough foreigners involved in it, but nobody is blogging from an insider's point of view.
Will Red Cliff be a total dud overseas (as I suspect)? Will the 2nd part match the first in its success in China?
Will this be the year Chinese soccer finally pulls itself out of the malaise? With no international competition for the national team its going to be hard, but perhaps a run in the newly expanded Asian Champions League by a Chinese club side will make the difference.
Will Beijing Guoan finally move back to Worker's Stadium this year?
Will the Bird's Nest actually be used for something? What will be the first big event in the Bird's Nest this year?
Who will be the first major foreign band/singer to rock Beijing this year?
With the economy in the tank and all the new openings, will we see far fewer new restaurants and bars this year?
Will Crobar Beijing ever open? (Or at least update its webpage, which still has it as coming soon)
Will China finally take the step and promote tourism outside the country to avoid taking major hit in tourism due to economy?
If it does take a hit, how will all the new 5 star hotels in Beijing be able to survive?
Will Liu Xiang be able to come back?
What will be the new food craze in Beijing? Will organic finally garner wider acceptance?
What kind of limitations/security will take place for 60th anniversary of the People's Republic and will the new policies have any effect on the nightlife scene?

Alright, there are some of the "big" ideas we've been discussing the past few weeks. The economy plays a major role in a lot of them and so it could go either way. We aren't going to make any wild predictions, but will try to provide the answers as we find them out over the course of the year.

Thank You Readers!

2009-01-04T23:47:00.002-06:00

Thank you to all our readers who helped us finish 2nd in the Chinalyst Blog Awards, General Category this year. There are a lot of problems with the award system and voting, but, oh well, we're always glad for a tad bit of recognition. In 2009, we won't let you down!

2009: New Year, Same Old Blog

2009-01-04T08:57:00.003-06:00

I wanted this to be the final post of 2008, but it was a very flustered and busy final few days of the year, especially due to the Winter Classic, so here it is as the first post of 2009. Hope everyone else had a fun, safe New Year's Eve and, unlike I, have already gotten over their hangovers...

2008

2008-12-30T22:35:00.004-06:00

I've been given the honor of writing our last post of 2008 and have been thinking a lot of what to say and finding am image that best says it. Going through our large photo archive, I've found this shot, from the Paralympics Opening Ceremony and feel its the best choice (though our photo is pretty crappy, its the idea behind it).

More than any moment during the Olympics, it was this moment, Hou Bin pulling himself up to the roof of the Bird's Nest while sitting in his wheelchair, that for my money was the greatest athletic feat of 2008. It offers both the necessary pride and hope that was (and is) needed as 2008 comes to an end and we enter 2009.

Look at how China pulled itself up and prepared for the Olympics, hosting one of the greatest ever Summer Games. Look to the people of Sichuan as they try to pull themselves up from the ruble of the massive quake that struck on 5/12. As you face the current economic crisis, be brave and know that no matter what, you can always pull yourself up from it.

Pull yourself up. Hou Bin did it, we can all do it too. Look back at all the joy that 2008 brought, honor those who left us during the year, and plan on how we can all work to make 2009 an even better year.

My colleagues here aren't known for their optimism and are far more cynical (probably why I was chosen for this?), but a new year means a new start and is the time optimism is required. Look at that picture (or watch the video) and remember, you can do it, pull yourself up!

Why Are Chinese Lacking Style?

2008-12-30T10:46:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago a discussion was started by a friend (and popular blogger) regarding style in China. We here a lot of critical comments about Chinese (especially the men), some deserving, some not so. Even in white collar work settings in Beijing and Shanghai, you often see a lot of questionable choices among Chinese coworkers and it only gets worse when you go into 2nd, 3rd (and on) tier cities. So what's the problem?

1. "Style" in Communist China has only been around for 25 years. Before that, everyone was basically dressing the same way and touches of style that made you stand out were a negative. But look at the recently released Life photos or images from the pre-Communist era, those people had style and they were Chinese, there is definitely hope.

2. Asian business people in general tend to dress very badly.

3. "Style" is usually not cheap, especially without any second hand stores around the city. Guys in China have a lot of pressure on them, if they want to get married, they basically must be able to buy an apartment and often aren't from rich families or even the big city to begin with. The people around us and many that we know work insane hours and don't have much time for shopping. Even if they did, the majority of money is either saved or sent to their parents.

4. Nobody wants to stand out in the workplace for anything other than his work and when the boss(es) rarely wears a suit, its hard for his underlings to do so. The casual nature of the Chinese workplace makes it hard for someone who wants to be stylish to fit in with the overall office aesthetic. Even in the US or UK, if you go to a major international law firm or i-bank, the style is very conservative and a lot of people would fall short of "stylish", perhaps expectations are too high.

5. Street style is extremely diverse and relatively fashion forward here, because people who are in fields that allow them to wear street wear to work aren't usually faced with the limiting issues 3 and 4 mentioned above.

So be a little more gentle and encouraging towards Chinese style. And by the way, with the example many expats in China set, can you blame the Chinese?!? We're fighting the good fight, though, in our Thom and Tom suits, Churchs shoes, and oxford cloth button downs.

Stuff Laowai Like 3 - Great Wall (Simatai)

2008-12-30T10:07:00.005-06:00

Which one is Badaling and which is Simatai?*

After a long hiatus, we're back on the laowai watching track, and what better to talk about than the Great Wall? The Great Wall is one of the wonders of the world, it is an absolutely amazing place to see that is a must for every visitor to Beijing. Laowai make it a point to visit the Wall, but in typical laowai fashion, just seeing the Wall isn't enough for them.

The Badaling section of the Great Wall is packed with tourists all times of the year, often including those "evil" groups of Chinese tourists in colored baseball hats. This is because Badaling is the closest part of the Wall to the city and the most accessible. Much of it has been rebuilt/renovated to make the climb a little easier and trams and rides make it even more touristy. You don't even need to be part of a tour, a city bus will take you from Dongzhimen to the foot of the wall in an under an hour for less than RMB20.
This is too easy for laowai, who deride Badaling (crowded, but still beautiful) as "inauthentic" and "boring" in comparison with the Simatai section in Miyun. To laowai, Simatai is the authentic and "genuine" Great Wall, all other sections are imposters. To get to Simatai, its an over 4 hour trip independently, but most laowai organize a tour through one of the many Nanluoguxiang hostels (as laowai love staying in hutongs). Further, they often do it as a hike from Jinshanling to Simatai, as laowai love to pretend to enjoy the outdoors. Plus, it gives them the chance to insult Beijing's air (as in "wow, it feels so good to see blue skies and breathe fresh air") making it an optimal choice.

Though any section of the Great Wall is sure to impress and amaze visitors and friends, if you want to become friends with a laowai, definitely propose a trip to Simatai.

*For those wondering, the first is Badaling and second is Simatai

2008 Olympics Retrospective: Beach Volleyball

2008-12-29T23:47:00.003-06:00

While at first it seemed like beach volleyball would be largely ignored, despite the general love of volleyball among Chinese, it quickly became a very popular event, where even middle aged (and older) women let loose and followed the raucous MC, the DJ's strong backbeat, and the dancing girls who showed everyone how to do it. On the men's side, the Brazilians were dominant, while on the women's side, the amazing undefeated streak of Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor was continued. The big story among Chinese, however, was the impressive performance of their women, who surprisingly took both silver and bronze in the competition, providing the new fans a lot to cheer about. Despite those who would claim these to be the "no fun" Olympics, everyone who set foot at the temporary Chaoyang Park venue was certain to have a great time.

Getting Harder to Get to China

2008-12-29T23:32:00.003-06:00

Northwest Airlines recently requested the FAA to delay 2 of its direct routes to China that were supposed to begin in early 2009, adding its name to a long list that already includes a number of its competitors, all due to the economic crisis.

Northwest's request was to delay the startup dates for its 2 routes up to a year, the routes in question are Detroit-Shanghai and Seattle-Beijing. The other airlines have all been given deferments of these routes already, and these will affect the following:
American: Chicago-Beijing
US Airways: Philadelphia-Beijing
United: San Francisco-Guangzhou
Continental: Newark-Beijing, Newark-Shanghai
Delta: Atlanta-Shanghai

Some of these are deferments and others are changes from daily service to seasonal service. All of these are consequences of the current economic crisis and the desire of the airlines to save fuel costs (this is, of course, despite the fact fuel costs have largely fallen to the cheapest its been in years). Airline penny pinching has travelers frustrated as the planes have been downsized as much as is safely possible (now 777's doing international service) and cutbacks have been taking place (charging for alcohol).

So much for flying the friendly skies.

Friday Photo Thread: Happy Holidays

2008-12-26T07:33:00.002-06:00

Things will be back to normal around here again soon...

Riding the Rails for Crazy Prices

2008-12-17T00:30:00.002-06:00

File this under crazy (h/t to Zhongnanhai). A couple weeks back we blogged about the announcement of the new overnight high speed D trains connecting Beijing and Shanghai and speculated that the price would remain similar to what it is now (or only be raised slightly). Well, today the price list came out and we're shocked, shocked I tell you.

Our guess on the times of the train were almost right on (the trains will all leave slightly before 10 pm and arrive slightly before 8 am). The price? As we mentioned, the Z trains (11 hours, 30 minutes) and T trains (13 hours) currently charge RMB499 (lower) and RMB478 (upper) for soft sleeper tickets. The new trains, like the Z trains, will be all soft sleeper, but will charge RMB655 and RMB730.

What?!? RMB730? A difference of RMB75 for upper or lower sleeper?!? Wow! This is truly stupid and has already met with complaints from travelers. And if you want to go between Beijing and Hangzhou, its RMB820! Flights (pre-tax) between Beijing and Shanghai would currently run you RMB450 on qunar. It doesn't make sense that adding the D overnight train has taken this long, but for these prices, though at these prices, its doesn't make sense to take it.

Let's Talk About Sex, Bei--jing!

2008-12-16T21:38:00.002-06:00

News out of Beijing today is that next year condom machines that are currently set up (or will be soon) in bars, restaurants, clubs, and public baths around the city will allow you to purchase condoms using your transport card (一卡通). Just one more reason to make sure you have your card with you at all times and promoting safe sex all over the city.

Sunday Photo Thread: Winter Classic, Chinese Style

2008-12-15T18:06:00.002-06:00

China's Lack of Biopics

2008-12-11T05:34:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I referred to Mei Lanfang ("Forever Enthralled") as China's first non-Party biopic, at the very least, its certainly the first ever multimillion dollar major biopic movie. While there have been a number of biographical tv shows, they typically focus on Party members (popular subjects are Chairman Mao, Zhou Enlai, Lei Feng, etc). Even now, two of the nightly tv shows on Chinese tv are a popular series about Bruce Lee (who many Chinese barely know anything about) and one about Liu Shaoqi.

Is it fair to talk about China's love of biographical shows about Party members? Aren't a large number of US biopics about politicians as well? If its not about politicians, its typically about actors/actresses or musicians who've lived the sex, drugs, rock n' roll lifestyle to the extreme and thus make interesting subjects. However, China didn't really have "celebrities" per se before 30 years ago and too many of the ones that do exist lead very boring lives (at least by comparison to US standards). Can you imagine a Yao Ming biopic? Or Gong Li?

So if Mei Lanfang was China's first major biopic, who will be the second? I think a decent biopic could be made about Wang Zhizhi, especially his battle to go to the NBA and then his years left in the cold as a "traitor". It would be made a lot better if he develops a drug habit or fades away into obscurity (or gets into another road rage incident). But my top candidate? Wang Fei!

It has everything! Cultural Revolution repression, a family's move from Beijing to Hong Kong, a difficult road to stardom, a sudden rise, an attempt to take over the mainland after HK success, her successful return to Beijing and falling in love with a Beijing boy, and finally her 2 horrible romantic betrayals before finally finding true love.

This would make a hell of a movie, I'm starting work on the script now, expect it out around 2020 or so...

The Dwindling Expat Package

2008-12-10T03:00:00.002-06:00

A post worth reading (and you should take the survey too) on bizCult (hat tip to China Law Blog) about how the Chinese hills aren't exactly paved with gold. According to the blog, "the majority are 26-30 year old professionals from North America making US$10,000-$19,000 a year." I'm not surprised about the age group, but I'm highly surprised by the salary, though part of the problem might be the small sample size so far.

The problem is, the blog makes a MASSIVE assumption: that most expats in China can speak at least decent Chinese. This is also a big problem with the survey, as it doesn't inquire about the respondents Chinese fluency. Many expats are here teaching English who can't speak a lick of Chinese, and this probably accounts for a number of the lower salaries. I'm only taking a wild guess, but I believe that if you look at salaries of those who are fluent or have a high level of fluency to those who can't speak any (or very little) Chinese, the numbers would be fairly different. The survey also may be skewed because a lot of white collar expats who are making the big bucks work for bigtime foreign companies with very strict firewalls.

Chinese salaries for expats aren't as high as people think. Above the Law's Asian Chronicles recently mentioned that salaries in Biglaw on mainland China, which used to range from $35,00-60,000 a year now can go as low as $15,000. On purely anecdotal evidence, and I'm not one with a lot of expat friends, I would say that most 25-35 year old expats in professional jobs are making between RMB15,000-40,000/month (this is solely in Beijing and Shanghai). In these cities, I'd argue its hard to live comfortably, go out sometimes, and save a little on anything less than RMB15,000/month.

If you're an expat and you come to China looking for a job, you better have 2 out of the 3: a unique specialization, an idea, or excellent Chinese skills. As pointed out by bizCult, Chinese are speaking better English than before (and obviously speak better Chinese than you), are spending more times overseas than ever before, and are willing to work for less. That said, there are more foreigners taking jobs with Chinese companies (as pointed out by CLB), especially as Chinese companies take over more and more foreign ones, and Chinese companies are offering better wages than in the past (while maintaining their traditionally strong job security).

Just some random thoughts on a late afternoon in Beijing.

Movie Review: Mei Lanfang (or Chen's $15 Million Apology?)

2008-12-10T00:59:00.003-06:00

Mei Lanfang (or its English name, "Forever Enthralled") hit Chinese theaters last week and has received a fairly positive response. It stars Li Ming (Mei Lanfang) and Zhang Ziyi (Meng Xiaodong), alongside Sun Honglei (Qu Rubai) and Chen Hong (Fu Zhifang) and is a look at Mei's life from his childhood, the beginning of his acting career, his romance, his trip abroad, the beginning (and end) of the Japanese occupation.

Mei Lanfang is by far the most famous Peking Opera star ever, known around he world for having played a variety of "Dan" female roles to perfection. The movie focuses on Mei's struggles rising up against a strict grandfather figure and later his tear between his wife and his desire for Meng. It also, correctly, shows his brave stand to refuse to perform, despite pressure and threats from the Japanese.

The movie is beautifully shot (often at Beihai Park) and well acted, especially Li Ming, who had a very difficult task. And while I'm not a fan of Zhang, I think she did a great job in her role and talked like a real Beijinger. While websites say it clocks in at 90 minutes, my feeling is that it was a little closer to 150 minutes and dragged on at times.

What's with the title? Chen's first great movie, Farewell My Concubine, that many feel was loosely based on Mei, was viewed negatively by Peking Opera aficionados and Mei's family due to its portrayal of the Dan actor as gay and his submission to the Japanese during the war.

If it was meant as an apology, this is an excellent one. While its a more accurate portrayal of Mei's life, I'd be curious as to truly how accurate it is. I'd recommend the movie, though with the caveat that it could be tightened up a bit.

PS: Is this China's first non-Mao, non-Party related biopic?

Was it Just the Bad Economy?

2008-12-09T21:54:00.002-06:00

The NFL has put a lot of money into China, ramping up its efforts for NFL China (its Chinese marketing wing) that have included ad buys on the Beijing and Shanghai subways as well as hip shopping areas in these cities, visits from players (and cheerleaders), and youth flag football leagues. The league had long been planning a preseason game in China that was met with a number of starts and stops and was finally "delayed for 2 years" in 2007. Much of the problem were venue issues as many of China's outdoor venues were being renovated (or built) in preparation for the Olympics. Now, its been suspended indefinitely, much of the blame is on the current economic downturn. The New England Patriots, who were to compete in the game back in 2007, had even opened offices in China and been involved in promoting football (mainly through their cheerleaders, who even attended a July 4th party at Club Mix in Beijing), though their office was recently shut down.

Previous NFL Commish Paul Tagliabue spent a lot of time attempting to expand the NFL overseas and really wanted a game in China, though his successor, Roger Goodell, has gone a long way at reeling in Tagliabue's efforts. After the failure of the Buffalo Bills game in Toronto, was the NFL afraid of a similar failure in China? Perhaps Goodell realized the reality is that no matter what he does, it will be extremely difficult to promote the game in China, and one game isn't going to change that.

That Toddling Town

2008-12-09T20:09:00.005-06:00

Quick, pop quiz.
If I told you about a place where:
-the previous head of the government is currently in prison for racketeering and fraud

-there are protests in the main city's factories

-the government in the main city is regularly viewed as being hopelessly corrupt, its currently struggling in these difficult economic times, laying off workers and cutting back on city services

-the current head of the government is on his way to jail for corruption

-just yesterday a city sanitation employee who has worked for the city for 15 years (and been arrested 15 times previously) and who was bringing in $80,000 a year, was arrested again

Let me help you, the star NBA player recently was cut and required 10 stitches after "peeling an apple in bed".

Is anyone surprised that I'm talking about a state in the US? What the hell is wrong with Chicago (and Illinois)???

One wonders how long Blagojevich's arrest was planned and if it was delayed until after the election? One wonders what impact this will have on Chicago's Olympic bid. Further, the ultimate question is who is Senator Number 5?

Ass Backwards Into the Unknown

2008-12-09T01:30:00.003-06:00

I've recently been given the opportunity to use a swath of farmland on the outskirts of the city. I'm a city kid and have virtually no experience on a farm, except for two bad youth memories, including killer summer as a "farm hand" in southern Illinois. While the idea is certainly attractive to me especially the image in my head of American gentleman farmers or British landed gentry, decked out in Barbour, Wellies, Filson, etc, yeah its about the clothes more than anything, the reality is that I have no idea what I'm doing and its probably going to be disastrous, but I'll keep you, dear readers, informed of what's going on, as hilarity is sure to ensue.

If I'm going to do it, I'm going all out and plan on doing things organically, which will also help to solve my food problem. Am I getting in over my head? Any suggestions?

A Brief Interlude

2008-12-09T01:18:00.001-06:00

We've been away from blogging for a few days now, but hope to have some things up soon, during this interlude, let's play a game, Andrew Sullivan has a photo of the day each day and today's was taken in Beijing, anyone know what area of the city its from?

On the Road Again

2008-12-07T02:48:00.005-06:00

Who Are These Guys?

2008-12-05T00:47:00.003-06:00

An interesting post from WSJ's China Journal on China's most influential 15 foreigners based on "their contributions to the country’s development over the past three decades." Don't worry, the hated Dashan was not among them, thank god, though if you read the list and ask yourself "who?" over and over, it's okay. Here's the list:

1. Robert A. Mundell (Columbia University professor, Nobel Prize winner, advisor to Bank of China)
2. Franklin Yang Chen-ning (physicist, Nobel Prize winner)
3. Lee Tsung-dao (physicist Nobel Pirze winner (shared with Yang))
4. John L. Thornton (director of global leadership at Qinghua)
5. Ian Fok Chun-wan (HK businessman, philanthropist)
6. Hein Verbruggen (IOC member)
7. I.M. Pei (architect)
8. Henk Bekedam (WHO's Chief Rep to China during SARS)
9. Werner Gerich (first foreign manager of Chinese company)
10. Sabriye Tenberken (blind German who started school for blind in Tibet)
11. Morihiko Hiramatsu (worked on agricultural programs in China)
12. Seiei Toyama (Japanese environmental expert)
13. Shoichi Hara (worked on rice cultivation in China)
14. Moris Topaz (Israeli surgeon who flew to Sichuan after the earthquake)
15. Edwin Maher (CCTV9 broadcaster)

Considering 3 members of the list were born in mainland China and one was born in Hong Kong, one wonders why the list didn't also include people like Wang Lee Hom and Chen Kaige (American citizens) and Gong Li, the controversial new Singaporean.

Out of the 15, how many did you know? A pop quiz here at A Modern Lei Feng revealed even our smartest expert only knew 4 (naming 1, 6, 7, and 9). Many Chinese, when only presented the Chinese names, could only come up 3 or 4. So what SHOULD the list look like?

The (Non) Story About Tourism

2008-12-05T00:11:00.002-06:00

A story that tourism in China was down by almost 2% started out on China Daily and has spread recently. Beijing's tourism in August (the Olympics) was down 7% from last year. The statistic was reached by looking into the number of foreigners staying overnight (I'm assuming in hotels) around China during the first 10 months of 2008. First, it would seem like the most logical and accurate way to calculate this would be to base it on number of tourist visas granted.

Why is this a non-story? Shouldn't China be worried about the tourism downturn? The answer is a resounding no. It would seem to make no sense why tourism was down in August, but it was a purposeful plan of the government. These Olympics were for the Chinese and while foreign tourism was down, I'm sure the number of domestic tourists was way up. The article confirms that overall, domestic tourism "remained strong". Further, Beijing's shops and restaurants hardly suffered during the Olympics, if the news and anecdotal stories are accurate. Plus, while the number of tourists were down, that doesn't include the number of athletes, journalists, and business executives that came to China for the Olympics and Paralympics, who, after the Games (or their events), were basically tourists.

While Chinese tourism may suffer a bit during 2009 due to the global financial meltdown, the reality is that 2008 wasn't as bad as some are reporting.

Shanghai Boys Behaving Badly

2008-12-04T21:22:00.003-06:00

We recently recapped an incident in a latenight incident in Shanghai involving nominal national team soccer player Mao Jianqing, who got involved in a ~~late night~~ early morning dustup at a Shanghai restaurant. Now its thug behavior entering the realm of Chinese basketball, as Chinese national team member (captain?) and Shanghai Shark, Liu Wei, got into a post game scuffle with a foreign player on Yunnan and has been handed the heaviest punishment in CBA history. Liu (currently averaging just over 14 points per game) will be suspended for 10 games and fined RMB50,000 and his teammate Cai Liang (who Liu Wei was attempting to "defend") will also receive the same punishment. No word yet on what, if anything, the Yunnan player, Gabe Muoneke, will receive. Muoneke is currently leading the CBA in scoring with 36.7 points per game and had just dropped 38 on Shanghai in a 107-97 home win. Perhaps its more results related frustration, as Liu's Sharks have yet to win a game this year.

Here's a (crappy) video of what happened and a news report showing a little more of what started the tension, Liu Wei wrote a blog entry about his "most unhappy game", which can be found here (in Chinese).

For more on the CBA, check out this post from another blogger who recently attended a game. In other player news, while it isn't the Glove, one of Payton's former Seattle teammates, Vin Baker, is currently in China trying out for Shanghai. There's also this interesting story about some CBA players ages changing from last year's media guide to this year's guide, some by as much as 3 or 4 years. But before you start yelling conspiracy, this story was originally broke by Chinese media and has received wide coverage in China, the main reason for the changes is due to an updated registration system that is far more accurate.

Hopefully this will be the last incident of this kind for the CBA, which could run the risk of becoming like the farce that is Chinese soccer. Though, US athletes sure aren't doing well either, recently, with guys shooting themselves in the leg and getting suspended before the game even begins (what's so wrong about "sloppy seconds"?). Enjoy the game!

The Coolest Thing I've Seen (This Week)

2008-12-04T02:59:00.003-06:00

A basketball that opens up and turns into Yao Ming (hat tip to Complex)? A freaking Yao Ming basketball transformer? Seriously?!? This should be the ~~Christmas~~ Spring Festival gift of the year! From the BBS where this was originally found, there was a lot of leis (雷) and shan zhais (山寨 "ghetto") being thrown around, but no information as to where you can get one of these.

Anyone out there seen this in Beijing or Shanghai? Know where to get one?

All Over the Map, But Coming Back To Focus

2008-12-04T02:36:00.003-06:00

Sorry all, it's been sort of a crazy week or two and this blog has been all over the map with lots of non-China entries and some that weren't really up to the standards we'd like to think we've set for the blog. We've got a number of entries in the pipeline and will hopefully have them up in the next few days.

While we're at it, make sure to stop by Chinalyst and vote for us! We're a bit back in the polls right now, but we believe we can make a come back. I don't mind losing to China Smack, which is a great blog that I really respect, as they do so much work translating interesting stories from the Chinese web for English speakers. However, we don't want to lose to the current leader, a blog that looks like it could win a China Blog award despite the fact the writer(s) seems to hate China.

A Losing Battle

2008-12-02T19:58:00.002-06:00

While I'm not in favor of going as far as John Woo and authorizing torture (mainly because torture rarely produces quality information), I've always believed that the freedoms that Americans love, so much a part of the nation, are the same things that condemn them to never winning the war on terror. Terrorists are often willing to die for their cause and don't care about things like the Constitution, the same can't be said (at least one would hope not) about the US police and FBI.

Why am I bringing this up? All these thoughts occurred to me when reading the recent "No shit, Sherlock" article in the New York Times on hotel security in the wake of the Mumbai attacks. The article is your typical, lowered standards at the NYT bs. It referred to the "fact" that hotels are "becoming magnets" for terrorist attacks, though it only refers to the Islamabad attack last month and Mumbai's recent troubles. The thing that really got me was this part:

Worse, hotel executives and security experts say that little can be done to stop
extensively trained gunmen with military assault rifles and grenades who launch
attacks like the ones that left this city’s Oberoi and Taj Mahal Palace &
Tower strewn with bodies.

Really? What makes hotels different than city streets, malls, train stations, stadiums, etc? The reality is that unless everywhere we go starts installing metal detectors, x-ray machines (and people trained to use them), and other security devices all over our cities, there is no way to stop these kind of terrorist attacks. Surveillance of suspected terrorists and other pre-attack measures are the best way to prevent these attacks. When attacks happen, a fast response from highly trained authorities is all that can be done.

It's sad, but if we don't want to live in a police state, there is little that can be done to completely prevent terrorism.

American Cool and British Corner Cutting

2008-12-02T01:29:00.003-06:00

An interesting story out of the LA Times about American "heritage" clothing brands like Red Wing and Filson and how they are back in style again. These traditional styles and the new, hipster brands that are copying them are extremely popular, but not only in the US. Japan, for whatever reason, seems obsessed with American trends, from preppy traditions like Brooks Brothers and J. Press to classic workwear like Levi's (the Japanese obsession with classic American denim is unbelievable). I've been aware of the return to fashion of these brands, but it never struck me as a mainstream thing until I saw the Times article.

In another interesting fashion related story, its being reported that Saville Row designer Richard James used Mauritius laborers to do the dirty work, then having the suits sent back to the UK to be "finished" in England and allowing them to be labeled "Made in England." This is the dirty little secret of the fashion world. Despite clothing, shoes, and accessories that are labeled "Made in England" or "Made in Italy", the majority of the work is often done in a developing country, with China often being the favorite choice.

Should this matter? It depends on your outlook. Those in the yes column argue that they are being overcharged. While they understand paying a lot for English or Italian craftsmen who, because of wage laws and experience, must be paid more, if in reality the majority of the work was done by a 18 year old Chinese or African girl being paid peanuts, there is no justification for the high price. The other side who argue that it shouldn't matter claim that as long as the quality is in keeping with what one expects from the brand, then it shouldn't really matter to the consumer if 60% of the work was done elsewhere and the product was only "finished" in England or Italy.

What are your thoughts? Also, any US "heritage" brands that you love or would like to see brought back?

Happy Hockey Day

2008-12-02T00:59:00.003-06:00

This is something that was started by Paul Kukla of Kukla's Korner to promote the game that unfortunately only some of us love to play and watch. We have three regular hockey players who are a part of this blog, one who grew up playing on the frozen ponds of Harbin, another who played more organized hockey from a young age in Southern California (of all places), and one from Northern Virginia who might have made it big if not for an injury.

For me, the game has always been something that I've shared with my dad and brothers, if not for hockey, we'd often have few things to talk about. We were lucky in that my father would often get NHL tickets and take us into Maryland to the old Capital Centre in Landover. At first, I was too young to go as there were only 4 tickets, but when my older brother went off to college, I was finally in the loop. I remember many a night watching guys like Rod Langway, Mike Gartner, and Mike Luet. There were lots of bad season, a few tragic losses (like the '87 playoffs defeat against the Isles), the Stanly Cup run in '98, and many very bad seasons after that, though now things are finally turning around with a new era of stars like Ovie, Semin, and Mike Green.

The Cap Centre is no more, replaced by the "Phonebooth" in Chinatown, and I'm a lot older and further away from northern Virginia, but I still try to catch parts of every Caps game online (thank god the NHL has kept their broadcasts free!), though it was hard getting excited during the playoffs last year for games that would sometimes start at 5 or 6 am.

My father and one of my brothers are still in the DC area, still attending games and for me, despite the distance, hockey, especially the Caps, is still a common topic of conversation for us. It's something I wish I can pass along to my kid, perhaps not the love of Caps hockey, but just hockey in general (though it wasn't the Caps, the NHL has come to Japan).

No matter how long its been since we last talked, no matter how strained things are, I know I can call or email my siblings and start talking hockey and it will be just like old times, breaking down the barriers that we sometimes put up when mad or frustrated. That is truly why sports, and specifically hockey, are great and why I love hockey.

CSRC Protest and Crackdown

2008-12-01T21:43:00.003-06:00

So I'm not sure how long this video will be up (or at least accessible) on youtube, but I'm a bit surprised there hasn't been more talk in the blogosphere about it. Protests regarding listed companies that were approved despite not meeting the requirements to be listed (and thus causing great losses to these laobaixing investors took place the other day outside of the China Securities Regulatory Commission in Beijing and were dealt with harshly, as the police stepped in and arrested everyone. Yes, things have improved in a lot of ways, but this is a reminder that often its still just business as usual. One wonders if we're bound to see similar scenes as the economy continues going down the drain.

Chinese Athletes Behaving Badly

2008-12-01T21:26:00.002-06:00

Okay, granted its not Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg (mofo literally shot himself in the leg!), but Chinese athletes often find themselves running foul of the law. Last month it was Olympic medalist and now officially ping pong's bad ass, Wang Hao, outside a KTV spot in Beijing. Now, it's a few Shanghainese (Shanghainese bad asses?!?) soccer and basketball players, most notably, Mao Jianqing, who along with his teammate Liu Yintao and CBA player Xu Yong beat the crap out of some guy in a Shanghai bar. Mao now faces up to 7 days in jail and a RMB500 fine.

Mao appeared to be a rising star after his performance in the 2007 Asia Cup, though he has yet to show the same promise for the national team since and was only managed 2 goals for Shenhua this season.

Perhaps he was just angry that Shenhua only came up with a draw against Zhejiang, thus handing the CSL league title to Shandong the day before.

Yet Another Example of Chinese Retro Chic

2008-11-30T21:23:00.003-06:00

While few at A Modern Lei Feng are big fans of Shanghai (a bit of an understatement), we must admit they have some classic old brands like Forever bikes, Warrior shoes, and Seagull cameras. To me, the design of a Forever bike is still as beautiful as it was back in the day, definitely retro cool, though the one I have sure isn't the smoothest of rides.

Well , Shanghaiist recently pointed us to a new collaboration with another classic brand, Shanghai watches. I'm certainly a big fan of a few of the designs, though the "Shanghai" on the dial is more than a little annoying to me. Not sure about the prices, though they'll be offered at major Paris and NYC boutiques, so don't expect a bargain.

So why is it that Shanghai has so many great traditional brands? Why are Beijing's brands centered around alcohol (Yanjing and Red Star Erguotou)? What other classic Chinese brands deserve revival?

Vote Early, Vote Often

2008-11-30T19:51:00.002-06:00

Chinalyst once again started is annual competition for the best China blogs on the net. As always, I advocate the Chicago way of voting early and often for this blog, which is once again in the General blog category (competition is sure to be tough). Go here to vote for me, I want to say I appreciate all your votes. While you're there, consider voting for other great blogs like Beijing Boyce, China Law Blog, Silicon Hutong, and any of the other fine blogs in my blogroll.

Sunday Photo Thread: Food

2008-11-30T17:51:00.003-06:00

I hope all Americans had a happy Thanksgiving, we're taking this time to celebrate food as well...

7 Deaths...

2008-11-28T01:14:00.002-06:00

The sudden announcement of the death of Yang Jia, the Beijinger who entered a Shanghai police station armed with a knife, killed 6 officers, and injured 4 others, brought about a storm of online thoughts. The story of Yang is far more complicated than just the facts, it includes having been arrested a few times and roughed up by the police despite his claims of innocence. It shocked many around China, though surprisingly many supported him or, at the very least, could sympathize with him.

I am not surprised by the reaction of working class Chinese, migrant laborers, and others who deal with being looked down on and mistreated by the police and others in power on a regular basis. However, when I saw this passionate entry by the popular middle class, white collar blogger, Wang Jianshuo, who almost never writes anything remotely "political", it did make me do a double take.

It doesn't matter what class you are or what your background is, it seems, abuses of power are just too common in China and people recognize the frustration that must have took over Yang, even if they don't agree with the end result. It is never okay to kill 6 people, but all the facts behind Yang's case (check out Black and White Cat below for more details), make it shocking that the government acted so swiftly, carrying out the execution less than 6 months from when Yang committed the horrific act.

I've been thinking about this for the past few days and I'm still at a loss as to what to say, so read the coverage from other fine sources:
NY Times
WSJ China Journal
Black and White Cat

Embarassing Other Leagues, Promoting the Domestic League?

2008-11-28T00:05:00.002-06:00

The Chinese domestic soccer league was plagued with issues of fixed matches a few years back and it significantly damaged the domestic game. Now underground Chinese gambling syndicates have been implicated in a match fixing scandal that has hit the Korean K3 League (Korea's 3rd division). When I first heard about it, I thought it was gamblers doing their "national duty" and embarrassing a foreign league to make the Chinese Super League (CSL) look better, but the reality of the situation (3rd division?!?) is surprising and, at the same time, unfortunately unsurprising.

This isn't the first time Chinese gamblers have been implicated in betting (and fixing) games abroad or at the lower levels of soccer. There has long been rumors of Asian gamblers betting on Scottish reserve and youth team games. The gambling craze in China could have even been the reason for a double murder in England.

The government outlaws gambling in China, but it still goes on and, as with a lot of things, being forced underground leads to a lack of regulation and an anything goes environment.

Hockey in China?

2008-11-27T20:36:00.003-06:00

Having started a mini firestorm by simply offering what was in many Chinese papers and bbs' (about the possibility of Gary Payton coming to China), I wasn't going to post about Claude Lemiux until it was confirmed and now that it has been, I find that I'm already too late, as his buddy Doug Wilson recently offered him a contract.

Its rare that I have a chance to talk about hockey and China in the same breath. The Asia Hockey League, which is what Lemiux had his brief experience in, is made up of 7 teams in Japan, Korea, and China and fails to garner much attention, even in the countries where it is played (in his league debut, the 43 year old Lemiux played in front of 500 people in Korea, probably the smallest crowd he's played for since he was 12).

The China team, the China Sharks, is backed by the San Jose Sharks, who moved the team from Beijing to Shanghai this season. The current squad plays out of the Songjiang University City Arena, not a good idea if they want to attract a crowd, but even in Beijing they played outside of the 5th Ring Road.

Hockey in China is basically non-existent, there are few places to play (outside of the northeast) and even fewer players. That said, there is a lot of optimism, the Sharks (SJ) talk about how the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) only became viable less than 20 years ago. Others talk about how China's soccer team is ranked in the 80s [actually its in the 90s] in the world, while the hockey team is in the 20s [though I didn't know there were more than 10 countries in the world who play hockey].

What will make hockey take off in China? It's not going to be easy, though a serious winter sports program is starting to be developed, especially as there are nascent hopes of hosting the Winter Olympics. China never before had a strong field hockey, beach volleyball, or boxing program, but the Olympics showed what China can do when they put their minds (and money) to it. Charles Wang, owner of the New York Islanders, did what he could to promote the game in his homeland, but

Harbin bid for the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, both weren't serious bids, though I can see Harbin trying again in 2018 (or even Changchun taking a run at it), and if it receives backing by the government, the city could put together a serious bid. Though, Harbin borders Russia, the host of the 2014 Games, so one wonders if the IOC will want to go in that direction. Also, many feel China will bid for the 2018 World Cup, I don't see the IOC and FIFA granting them both events. A Winter Olympics in China would bring about a focus on winter sports and is the only hope hockey has of growing seriously in China.

What is Safe to Eat (and drink)?

2008-11-27T02:30:00.002-06:00

When I'm traveling, I love to check out the local food markets to see what is on offer. When in the US, I do my food shopping at local farmer's markets supplemented by Whole Foods and ethnic grocery stores. Currently, Organic China Expo 2008 is taking place in Beijing as a way to inform and promote about organic eating.

When in China, grocery shopping is never easy. Sure, things are far cheaper than abroad and the abundance is huge, but where do you go? Big box shops like Carrefour have amazing selection, but I'd prefer buying locally when I can. Popular foreign grocery stores like Ole are incredibly expensive and often aren't very different from what you'd get anywhere else. In Beijing, Lohao City offers organic produce and other products, but at my local shop the selection is limited, prices are very high, and the vegetables rarely seem fresh. The other option is to buy local from a "cai shichang", where the vegetables and fruit are typically from the suburbs or nearby provinces like Hebei, though where they actually come from and the state of the farmer's land is unknown to the buyer.

While I believe in buying organic, in China the choices for those who do want to buy organic are few and far between and when you find them, they aren't always that attractive (nor, in a lot of cases, local). At the same time, with all the stories about food safety and pollution, I can't deny that in the back of my mind, there are always thoughts about the quality of the food I'm eating.

Of course, buying locally is also important, but unless you buy in the suburbs and bring it into the city, you don't really know the farming techniques the farmer employees (and a lot of times, the farmer's themselves are unaware of all the chemicals they use or problems with polluted water, etc).

And with this item about used tea leaves being dried and repacked, is there anything that is still sacred? Is there anything safe? Do you take the attitude, like most, of just eating whatever you want and hoping its safe? Does anyone think the FDA's presence in China will help improve the quality of what's for sale on the domestic market? Or do you, like some cynics, believe, FDA-rejected items will simply be dumped on the Chinese market? If you are a conscious, green consumer (or have pretentions of being one), how do you deal with the question of grocery shopping in China?

Don't They Read China Law Blog?!?

2008-11-27T02:00:00.002-06:00

I was unsurprised by yet another story of rioting at a factory in Dongguan. For the past few months, riots seem to be erupting all over China, but factory riots and general discontent has become a common thread amongst workers in Dongguan and Shenzhen. Therefore, when I saw the story "Workers riot at Chinese toy factory" about workers running rampant at a Hasbro factory in Dongguan, I was unfazed and quickly skimmed the article, until...this quote:

Guo [Chenming, cited as a "local Communist Party official"] doubted the allegation, saying it would be foolish for the police to incite such a massive crowd. He also said the 80 workers didn't get full severance because of bad performance. But he added that the company didn't fully understand new labor laws and was also to blame.

The Labor Contract Law has been something that foreign lawyers in China and legal bloggers writing on China (none more so than China Law Blog) have been talking about ever since it was first announced in June of last year and the fervor continued once it came into force on January 1 of this year.

Most Chinese companies quickly tried to sign contracts with their employees and dot their i's and cross their t's in preparation for the law, but some ignored it, either feeling the government wouldn't enforce it or that their employees wouldn't realize their newfound rights.

With the spotlight on factories of the Pearl River Delta as of late, workers, even migrant laborers working in factories, aren't as ignorant as they used to be and either know of their rights or know enough to find a lawyer who promptly informs them of their rights.

Though the factory claims to have paid all proper compensation under the law, it wouldn't surprise me if they cut some corners and didn't follow the full letter of the current labor law. If you are a business owner in China, you can't be too careful, especially if you're a foreigner, DO NOT play fast and loose with this law, make sure you are in compliance with it (and while you're at it, make sure all foreign employees have the proper visas).

PS: While we're at it, 2 asides, the article paints a good picture of how these protests can come about as well as a brief look at the current (scary) situation in the PRD. And while its not connected, I saw this cartoon today on a Korean blog I regularly visit as to how some Koreans get around the laws/requirements of a contract. Good stuff!

(Chinese) Beer's The Thing

2008-11-26T01:34:00.002-06:00

Today's news reports that Snow Beer is now the world's best selling beer (hat tip to Shanghaiist), overtaking Bud Light according to an article in the Guardian. The article states that last year "Bud Light sold 5.18bn litres – about 9bn pints - while Snow sold 5.12bn litres", though this year Snow has already sold 5.1 billion litres in the first 9 months of the year (is this an Olympics bump?!?). This is a 20% raise in sales of Snow, while sales for Bud Light are down this year.

What's most interesting about this, and significant for other Chinese brands outside the beer industry, is that Snow hardly has a presence in China's major cities. Yanjing Beer controls the Beijing market, Guangzhou is ruled by Zhujiang, Shenzhen is dominated by Kingway, and Shanghai has a number of brands battling for top spot. In these cities, Snow is often absent from the restaurant picture, or only available at smaller establishments. So how does Snow do so well? Through major marketing and dominance in restaurants in second and third tier cities, Snow has left its mark on the China drinking picture.

Yes, you can be like the major brands and focus on the top 4 cities in China, or you can get down and dirty and battle it out in the provincial capitals and small countryside towns around the nation. Price is incredibly important if you want to get into these markets and distribution (especially for something like beer) is equally important, something Snow has down pat.

While this approach might be different for foreign brands (pricing is often preventative), other Chinese brands should take note, and some have (ie Li Ning). It's not easy to go head to head with the big international boys in the major cities, but its a vast country, take to the countryside, and the results just might be impressive market domination.

Since we're discussing beer, very interesting news recently from China's nascent antitrust regulators who have approved the Anheuser-Busch -Inbev merger (discussed previously on this blog), though they also barred the megabrewer from expanding its stake in Qingdao as well as preventing them from pursuing Snow and Yanjing. Interesting both for the antitrust aspect in itself, but also for the limits placed, though I will save that for someone else to write about.

Getting Between Shanghai-Beijing Faster

2008-11-25T20:39:00.002-06:00

Currently there is only 1 high speed "D" train plying the Beijing-Shanghai rails, taking just under 10 hours (9 hours, 44 minutes), basically trimming the time of the overnight "Z" trains by 2 hours. The "D" train leaves in the late morning and gets in late in the evening, but rumor has it that before the end of the year, there will be an overnight "D" train making the trip.

With the current price for the "Z" and "T" overnight soft sleeper trains at RMB499, it will be interesting to see if the price for a "D" sleeper berth will remain at RMB499 or go higher. If the price remains the same, it will definitely be an attractive option, most likely leaving around 9-10 pm and arriving at 6-7 am. While plane tickets can sometimes be had cheaper than the soft sleeper train tickets, this option is far more convenient, dropping you off in each of the city centers.

Of course, the "bullet" train that will make the trip in 5-6 hours is still a few years down the line.

The Bar is Passing People By

2008-11-25T09:35:00.010-06:00

Having talked with a number of sources at a few more top law firms in China, the anecdotal evidence is starting to add up to more than a small anomaly. The bar exam pass rate at China's top 4 firms this year seems to be around 75% with some offices being as high as 90%. If this was the US, this wouldn't be so surprising, but considering that even at T4 firms, the pass rate last year (and typically) is lucky to reach 50%. I've yet to see any official data released stating the overall pass rate, but from mainly anecdotal evidence and the few stories I've seen, it's much higher than the typical 10-15% and possibly even higher than last year's pass rate (though there were also 20% more test takers this year). The pass rate over the past few years looks like this:

2002 - 8%，
2003 - 11%
2004 - 11%
2005 - 14%
2006 - 15%
2007 - 22%

Does anyone else have any anecdotal stories about the bar (US or China) this year? Any theories as to why the pass rate has been slowly rising and if this will be a permanent thing?
Will we eventually see US style (or something closer to California style) pass rates? Would love to hear some theories on this.

*its a slow morning (wait, its almost noon already) and my brain isn't really functioning, so forgive the title, its an admittedly weak reference to this classic joint, law and old school hip hop, don't they just go together?

Why is Everyone So Surprised?

2008-11-23T21:08:00.002-06:00

Over the past week, a new web phenomenon was created with the rapid spread of a recorded phone call an American made to a Shanghai restaurant delivery service. In the call, the American "taught", insulted, and demanded an apology from the operator. He also stated he had 2,000 employees under him and he makes RMB3 million a year, which makes one wonder why he was so up in arms about a 2-for-1 burger deal. It also seems obvious the operator couldn't understand much of his English and he didn't speak Chinese to her, its likely he can't speak any to begin with.

What seems so funny to me is how fast this has spread around the net and how roundly its condemned by everyone. It's not that I condone this kind of behavior, the way he acts is pretty appalling. Yet the reality is that this is fairly common among the expat community in China. I don't know if this guy has 2,000 employees under him and is making RMB3 million a year, but there are a lot of young 20 and 30 somethings (and even older) in China who are making a lot of money and who feel a sense of entitlement based on their passport.

While in this case it was an American, it just as easily could have been a Brit, a Canadian, a Frenchie, etc. It seems like a lot of expats want to pretend this is an isolated incident, instead of something that happens in the expat bars/restaurants on a daily basis, you know this guy, if you're in a cafe or bar, you could very easily be sitting next to this guy. I sent this to a friend, quite possibly the only person who hadn't seen it, and their reaction was "why are you sending this to me?" This "douchebag" attitude was so prevalent among those who they were around (mostly lawyers), that this call didn't seem odd in the slightest.

It's great to call out this guy on the net, with a lot of "brave" statements about punching him out and name calling in Danwei's comments, but the next time you come across "this guy" in a bar, club, or restaurant, how many of you will actually do something? It's not like this never happens, what never happens is that foreigners take notice and stand up for the Chinese involved.

2008 Olympics Retrospective: Baseball

2008-11-23T16:54:00.003-06:00

Baseball had its curtain call as an Olympic sport in Beijing and though it was very foreign to most Chinese, it still had decent crowds of people looking for a day in the sun at the temporary venue at Wukesong. The Chinese team, making its first ever Olympic appearance, gave the fans a lot to cheer about playing hard against the Dutch and Korean teams and, most importantly, defeating Chinese Taipei.

Korea won the gold medal in a dramatic 3-2 clash with Cuba, while the US secured the bronze. While baseball (as well as softball) won't be part of the 2012 Olympics, the talk is that it will be reconsidered for 2016 (Olympic baseball at Wrigley?!?), though it could depend on whether Major League Baseball will allow its stars to participate.

What Are They Thinking?

2008-11-22T21:37:00.004-06:00

I try to stay away from blogging on the weekend, but there's too much to talk about this weekend, so here goes.

T!betans the world over are coming together in Dharmsala this week to discuss how to proceed in their dealings with the Chinese government. The meetings have taken on greater significance for two reasons, following the March riots in T!bet the calls for independence (and even violence) among some T!betans are louder than ever, and beyond that there is the pressing question of who will take over after the DL (abbreviated to avoid the Great Firewall).

The major issue is what comes after the DL? I talked about this a little in March after the riots and I still think this is critically important. If the T!betans hope to reach any kind of agreement with the Chinese government, it must happen while the DL is still in power. If they fail to do so, it's going to be a lot harder than they thought, why?

One thought is that the Chinese are convinced once the DL is out of the picture, they'll be able to name his successor and be able to slowly placate those who are in T!bet. Another possible line of thinking is that the DL is such a strong symbol of T!bet, a Nobel Prize winner famous the world over, but his successor won't be able to cultivate the same strong cult of celebrity.

The Chinese can be equally confident they don't need to be concerned about radical T!betan youth attempting to push for independence. As long as the DL is alive, the majority of T!betans will follow his "middle way" path, which was confirmed by their decision at the conference. The funniest part of an NY Times article on the conference states:

An independence movement, he [Jamyang Norbu, a T!betan writer in the US] said, would unite the exile community, keep T!bet in the headlines and increase pressure on the Chinese government. Supporters would organize economic boycotts of China. Young T!betans in the West would go door to door explaining the cause.

What? Economic boycotts of China will be impossible to organize except among some of the most ardent T!betans and some wacko leftists and will have no effect. They'll also fail miserably at getting much news coverage and creating any pressure on the Chinese. But the best part is the idea of monks going door to door in the US. Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons, the club of crazies, that's the club you want to join?!? I always pictured Tibetan buddhism as far more noble.

However, what's more laughable are the radical T!betans, basically terrorists, who are calling for violence against the Chinese. Not only does that go against everything they purportedly believe in as Buddhists, it will quickly get them denounced around the world, as well as quickly crushed by the Chinese.

An agreement must come while the DL is still alive, or else the Chinese will have little patience for negotiations. Without the DL, China will be under even less international pressure than the marginal pressure they're under now and they'll also be able to split the domestic T!betan community.

Interesting But Relevant?

2008-11-22T21:09:00.002-06:00

US News & World Report went from the irrelevant step sister behind Time and Newsweek to a major player for its annual rankings of US universities, graduate schools, and hospitals. Though these lists are roundly denounced for being meaningless, law schools do everything in their power to improve their numbers (including sending out free iTunes cards to applicants).

Recently, US News released their World's Best Colleges and, unsurprisingly, Harvard is number 1. The list was put together based on 6 categories: Academic Peer Review, Employer Review, Student to Faculty Ratio, Proportion of International Faculty, Proportion of International Students, and Citations Per Faculty.

The University of Tokyo is the top Asian university that came in at 19th, while University of Hong Kong was 26th. Two other HK institutions were in the top 50 as Hong Kong University of Science and Technology was 39th and Chinese University of Hong Kong was 42nd. This would surprise a lot of HKers as the only school people want to attend is HKU. Beijing University was the highest mainland institute, coming in at 50th, no surprise, but the low ranking (especially behind the HK schools) may shock a few.

Other Chinese schools on the list:
Qinghua University, 56
University of Southern California, 102 (couldn't pass this up)
Fudan University, 113
University of Science and Technology of China, 141
Nanjing University, 143
Shanghai Jiaotong University, 144

So what do the rankings mean? Is there any importance to them beyond just an interesting discussion? How does one decide Beida is 50th and Dartmouth is 54th and does it even matter to anyone? Anyways, I'm a sucker for lists.

And while we're at it, some notables for our writers/readers:
King's College London, 22
University of Virginia, 96
Georgetown University, 110
Indiana University, 170

Are You Serious, Clark?*

2008-11-21T02:09:00.004-06:00

I was thinking about blogging the insanity of the Big Three CEOs taking separate private jets to DC when they went to Congress to beg for a bail out, but decided against it originally. Today, I saw this post on Ted Leonsis' blog (Ted's the big guy behind the NHL Capitals and AOL):

My family uses AIG as an insurance company on our homes and personal
effects.
We received in the mail today a huge Tiffany box with two champagne
glasses within as a thank you for our business and for good cheer this holiday
season.

All I can say is, "are you serious, Clark?" Don't these companies have PR teams or do they just not care?

*If you don't know what movie this is from, go immediately and rent (do people still rent movies?) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and enjoy, a great way to get you into the holiday spirit...

CBD Shopping: Craziness Both High and Low

2008-11-21T01:44:00.002-06:00

The annual Guomao Shopping Bazaar is once again upon us and the masses have descended upon Guomao to fight their way through the crowds in search of major bargains. In reality, the Bazaar is a complete waste of time, as by the time you read this, all the good stuff has been picked over and many of the items look like they are outlet or made for China type things you'd never see in the brand's regular store. For guys there is very little to choose from, though Pink has some decent shirts for RMB850 (though many are from LAST winter's collection). Also, some decent Paul Smith (starting around RMB4100) and Neil Barrett suits (RMB5200) at the Lane Crawford stall, but that's about it.

In the middle of high and low is the new tshirt and bag store SQY-T, with some incredibly interesting designs and stores in Beijing and Shanghai, well worth checking out

At the other end of the fashion scale, an interesting "night market" environment has suddenly been created at the southwest corner of Guomao Bridge, running from the corner to the street dividing Yintai and Jianwai Soho. Everything from traditional winter food options like sweet potato, corn, and pineapple to gloves, sweaters, bags, dvds, jewelry, and small household goods are sold on the sidewalk and from the trunks of cars in this small stretch. It will be interesting to see how long this "market" is allowed to continue.

Congratulations to the New Lawyers!

2008-11-21T00:11:00.002-06:00

As many American colleagues are finding out their bar results (or manically awaiting them), today the Chinese bar results are officially out. While in the US every state has its own exam, in China it is a national exam. Also, for Chinese law school grads it is incredibly difficult, as only 10% or so of test takers pass (in comparison 70%+ in the US pass).

This year, though, it seems the Chinese bar was a lot easier, as I've only heard about a very small number of people who didn't pass. Now the interesting question is, was the test just that much easier this year or was it a conscious decision that China needs more lawyers (more lawyers? just the thought of that makes my head hurt)? So far talk around the office is that next year the test will be made harder, what do you think?

China's Tough Times Ahead

2008-11-20T20:47:00.003-06:00

Long before the economic crisis began, I've been talking about the difficulties that China will face in the 4th quarter of this year and the first few quarters of next year, but I feel like I'm always "crying wolf" in an environment that just doesn't want to hear it. The Olympics were incredibly costly, as talked about yesterday, the final price tag might have been in the neighborhood of US$40 billion and the pay off in return is sure to have fallen far short of what the government expected. There were definitely plans for how to deal with the costs of the Olympics, but even with the best plans 1. the losses were greater than expected, and 2. at some point they have to actually pay.

Beyond the Olympics, there was the unexpected consequences of the Sichuan earthquake and the huge bill that comes from that as schools, homes, and businesses need to be rebuilt from scratch in many cases. Even in the best circumstances, things were going to be hard, but when the global economy suddenly went down hill, its' going to be harder than ever on China, and especially those in earthquake damaged areas. This point was brought home excellently in a post on All Roads Lead to China.

Chongqing is far more tempting than Chengdu for most companies, especially as Bo Xilai works his magic there, but for companies looking to help (and get some good PR along the way), Chengdu should be seriously considered if they are looking to get away from the east coast.

Also, while on All Roads, I came across this scary post about fake Corona beer and some interesting comments. Having consumed more than my fair share of alcohol, its a sobering thought (sorry for the pun) and having been involved in some deals involving high end maotai, when you find out how little they actually produce each year and how much is actually out there, its pretty obvious that a large amount of the maotai for sale isn't kosher.

Bylines at Customs: The $40 Billion Disconnect

2008-11-20T01:44:00.003-06:00

The Wall Street Journal's China Journal posted results from a survey yesterday regarding the "brand values" of countries and saw China only ranked 56th out of 78 countries while only 29% of respondents around the world rated China as "excellent" or "very good".

I'm not sure why the Wall Street Journal attempted to tie it in to the Olympics, but to me there seems a major disconnect between the two. This Olympics, more so than anything, was not meant as an external statement, but a necessary moment of pride for the Chinese people, it was about domestic nationalism just as much as portraying the image of a modern power abroad.

Further, almost as a throwaway, at the end is the paragraph:

The Futurebrand survey did toss China a bone. The country beat out United Arab
Emirates to place first in a category called “Most Impressive Last Year” – given
to the country with the “most noteworthy performances.”

The survey data is more or less what one would expect. Further, reading the survey further, China is deemed a country "in vogue" which means that it is becoming the "new 'it' destination" and "establishing itself as the new place to be." The survey is also centrally focused on the tourist industry above all, something that WSJ fails to mention. What frustrated me about the blog entry was that somehow the Olympics were less of a success or that China should regret the huge price tag due to this one survey.

Unlike a lot of countries (including fellow Asian destinations Singapore, Malaysia, and Korea) China does no international marketing/ad campaigns in an attempt to promote tourism and a more positive image. Perhaps a more proactive marketing campaign would be helpful, but China is well aware that the world knows the major tourist sites in China and no marketing is needed to bring people to the country. While that is true, there are many amazing natural sights and tourist gems that don't get enough international attention beyond the limited focus of most tourists on Shanghai, Beijing, and Xian. When issues like T!bet and food safety were in the news a lot over the past year it is understandable why the "Chinese brand" would not meet with overwhelming positive responses. Not to mention the fact that among most travelers, China's absolute foreignness is, unfortunately, a deterrent to visiting.

The results, to me, don't mean that the Olympics were a waste, it just means that it may be time to start doing more promotion and showing more of what China is about to foreigners, especially now that the nation is still in the limelight after the spectacular Olympics. However, with the global financial meltdown, people aren't spending as much on vacations and the one big hurdle to traveling to China, the expensive airfare, is sure to deter many from visiting. Considering how the government is PR-stupid, it makes such a campaign extremely unlikely.

If a Coach is Named in the Forest...

2008-11-19T09:59:00.004-06:00

The Chinese Football Association (CFA), the much maligned organization formerly headed by the hated Xie Yalong, has completed its search for the next Chinese men's soccer (football) team coach and it is...wait for it...Wang Baoshan. It's such a big story that not even People's Daily/Xinhuanet bothered carrying it in their English editions.

With China knocked out of qualification for the 2010 World Cup and only a few boring friendlies on the horizon, the next year or so will be incredibly dull for fans of the Chinese national team. The CFA limited their "search" to domestic candidates, they claimed the limitation was due to economic considerations, a fair point, but what international coach in his right mind wants to come to a team where they'll be able to coach in nothing more than friendlies for the next 2 years?

Even when considering the numerous domestic options, the choice of Wang seems strange. His Shenzhen side currently sits 14th in the CSL standings in 3rd to last place and is (?) in the midst of a relegation battle. (or possibly saved by Wuhan being removed from the league). Most of the articles are so bold as to state that the search basically narrowed down to 6 options, Shen Xiangfu, Yin Tiesheng, Gao Hongbo, Cheng Yaodong, Wu Jingui and Wang. Out of the 6, Wang is by far the least famous/experienced/accomplished, so is it any surprise the CFA chose him? The choice was based on his knowledge of the players as he served as an assistant under the previous manager.

To call the CFA's debate over who should become the new coach a "search" is almost laughable, considering the position has remained open for nearly 6 months and the end result is that all the usual suspects were trotted out. What is interesting is that no mention of former players like Fan Zhiyi or Hao Haidong was made as part of the search. Granted, neither have any previous real coaching experience, but that hasn't stopped even better footballing nations and sides from throwing players into the fire. Plus, with the calls for a new revolution of Chinese football, it might take a firebrand like Hao to actually deliver.

The choice of Wang as the next head coach doesn't inspire me to believe that the next few years are going to see Chinese soccer improve very much. It may be hard to believe, but its possible we've yet to see the national team hit rock bottom.

It's tough being a Chinese soccer fan, which is probably why so few exist anymore.

No More CCTV for CSL

2008-11-19T01:38:00.002-06:00

After a crazy ending that resulted in a huge kick boxing, punching, and general handbags skirmish in the recent Chinese Super League (CSL) match between Beijing and Tianjin, all caught by tv cameras, CCTV has announced that it is no longer going to show CSL games and will limit or entirely stop its news reporting of the matches. It should also be noted that the now post-controversy match ritual of stoning the away team's bus by wannabe hooligans was employed. Chinese soccer, which rarely garners any mention in the foreign press now must deal with widespread negative press, as the story of CCTV's decision was picked up widely (I was shocked to see it first in the Guardian's "Fiver" this morning) due to an AP story on the subject.

What the AP doesn't mention is that this isn't the first time CCTV has stopped its live coverage of CSL matches, that matches will still be broadcast on local sports channels which are commonly received around the nation, and that in a Netease poll (part of this article), 65% of respondents stated that the CSL is so crappy that CCTV should have done this sooner, while another 30% of people stated that they never paid attention to the CSL anyways. Only 3% were unhappy with CCTV's decision.

This is sad as this has been an incredibly exciting CSL season this year, with Shanghai and Shandong tied at the top of the table with only a few matches left after Shanghai's heart stopping late goal victory last weekend (just wait for the cries, or worse, of match fixing). Chinese football is in a major funk, as was reported here recently, and this isn't going to improve the situation.

In somewhat related news, CCTV has reached an agreement with UEFA and will continue broadcasting Champions League matches for the next 3 years.

When Old Red Friends Meet

2008-11-17T02:48:00.003-06:00

It's always interesting when China meets with the two Communist strongholds that represent the old order of things, Cuba and North Korea. These sort of meetings attract attention not only among China hands, but watchers of global politics in general as comparisons between the progress of "Communist" China and Communist North Korea/Cuba can't be helped.

Currently, Hu Jintao is on a state visit to Cuba to meet with the island's new head, Raul Castro. Classic lines like "China adopted market economics long ago while Cuba still has a Soviet-style command system where more than 90 percent of the economy is in state hands" can't be avoided by reporters. While China will openly acknowledge the "strategic" relationship between the two countries, in reality, it always feels like China is playing the role of the big brother who simply can't bring himself to cut his younger, hard up, loser brother off due to the strength of familial ties.

While I am optimistic enough to believe that more and more university student exchanges between the US and China will promote understanding, I'm not one to believe that China will serve as a model for reforms in these other countries. China would be able to help, of course, especially in the Cuban situation as there are similar advantages (ie a large population of often highly educated, or at the very least rich, emigres living in the US who would love to help Cuba out or even return just as soon as the government changes), yet it would mean another competitor and potentially the loss of a market as China would likely have to go head-to-head against the US.

Those in China are sure to "enjoy" a night or two with lots of news images of Hu shaking hands with Cuban leaders, embassy meetings, etc, but whether anything really comes from this is yet to be seen. At the same time, its hard not to pay attention when these nations meet.