I love Beijing's yang rou chuanr (ie lamb kebabs) and have had many memorable drink filled evenings in which they've played a major role (as Common said "drunk nights get remembered more than sober ones"). It is almost necessary dining after a night at one of Gongti's clubs or a Houhai bar.
Yangrou chuanr have sort of been adopted as a Beijing food (alongside jianbing and kungpao chicken) like curries have become a part of British cuisine. They are found all over the city and despite foreigners often denouncing them as "hepatitis on a stick", other than one incident, in 15 years of eating them, I've yet to get sick. Its the food that when Beijingers leave the city, especially to go overseas, they miss the most. The kebabs are great as a quick snack, an impromptu sandwich when put between some naan or shaobing, or as the best accompaniment to beer and good conversation.
However, as of late, fears have been spreading due to a text message and a nationwide rumor that some Xinjiang terrorists have been combining AIDS blood with yangrou chuanr and serving them to unsuspecting people around the nation. Other than Liuzhou Laowai's entry, this has gotten little play in the english China blogsphere (I guess people are sort of concerned with something else), though Chinese bbs' are going crazy. The only serious news article I could find after a very quick search was this one, debunking the story, from a paper in Fuyang, though Beijing Evening News carried an article in its paper the other night.
There are two things at play here, one is China's extremely limited knowledge of AIDS (hell, a few years ago a rumor was spread that eating watermelon could lead to AIDS) and realistic fear of food safety (even before the cardboard baozi scandal, Chinese (especially older people) regularly would comment about the dangers of dining at smaller establishments).
Anyways, this rumor has been debunked, so go out and enjoy yourselves tonight and have plenty of yangrou chuanr!
UPDATE: Having just read Shanghaiist's story on the proposed information security law currently being discussed, one wonders if these rumors, which typically spread through sms, will be a thing of the past.
note: while I love yangrou chuanr, I regret the name has been spoiled by the infamous troll...
Showing posts with label scams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scams. Show all posts
2008/03/20
Crime in China (alternative title I Call Bullshit!)
Slate used to run a great series entitled the "bogus trend story of the week", and this entry will be in that vain. Looked at in a different way, this could be viewed as classic China-bashing and piling on, as it came out on Monday when China was definitely in the news, but for something a little more important and even more negative.
The title of the story says it all, Foreigners Grapple With Crime in China. Events in Xian a few weeks ago weren't exactly positive, but circumstances were brought to a quick ending with no injury to the foreigners involved. The article leads with that incident, certainly a scary situation, but an incredibly unusual one.
It then goes on to state: "But anecdotal evidence suggests foreigners are increasingly targeted, as a booming economy erodes old taboos and some Chinese grow bolder." It's always wonderful to be able to hide behind "anecdotal" evidence, but because its only anecdotal, its impossible to use to establish a trend.
Go on you say? The author follows with some of that "anecdotal" evidence: "In cosmopolitan Shanghai in recent months, a foreigner had a knife put to his throat and his money taken. Another was tricked into paying up to $1,000 for a $7 taxi ride. Four thugs surrounded an English boxing star, Ricky Hatton, and stole his $8,000 Rolex." The knife incident in Shanghai can be counted, but the guy who was "tricked", I simply can't understand and rarely have sympathy for and while its a scam and embarrassing for China, whether its criminal is another matters. With all the play that has been given to the 2 recent scam incidents on Nanjing Rd, I'm really shocked that there has been no coverage anywhere else of this $1,000 for a $7 taxi ride.
As for the Hatton incident, it has me really shocked that 4 thieves could overwhelm a world champion boxer, I could see it being possible after he was beaten to a pulp by Money May, but this wasn't the case. In fact, while a search of English sources turns up no hits other than the author's story, Chinese sources (and they are only bbs') put the event in August 2006. Since when is almost 2 years ago "recent months"? I wonder how "recent" the other 2 incidents were.
The author follows all that fear mongering up with "Shanghai and Beijing are still safer than most foreign cities of their size. Punishments for crimes against foreigners are heavier, police-linked neighborhood watch groups are highly vigilant, and Chinese can't own guns." Probably the first logical thing she wrote in the article. If they are so safe, why are foreigners "grappling" with crime (sorry, I linked to the IHT version which uses a better headline, but I used the AP headline, the AP version (headline is the only difference) can be found here)?
Despite how safe these cities are, probably far safer than any major city in the US, the writer still claims that "The U.S. government now warns Americans against muggings, beatings and even carjackings, especially in the nightlife and shopping districts of large cities." Umm, they do? Where? A quick look through the State Department website shows no travel warnings or alerts for China in the past 6 months, with the glaring exception of the one issued for that certain region in western China, though that was issued 2 days before the article came out and has nothing to do with crime.
I'm not going to go through the rest of the article as it is just more babble and "anecdotal" evidence, but finally, mercifully the article comes to a conclusion with:
The title of the story says it all, Foreigners Grapple With Crime in China. Events in Xian a few weeks ago weren't exactly positive, but circumstances were brought to a quick ending with no injury to the foreigners involved. The article leads with that incident, certainly a scary situation, but an incredibly unusual one.
It then goes on to state: "But anecdotal evidence suggests foreigners are increasingly targeted, as a booming economy erodes old taboos and some Chinese grow bolder." It's always wonderful to be able to hide behind "anecdotal" evidence, but because its only anecdotal, its impossible to use to establish a trend.
Go on you say? The author follows with some of that "anecdotal" evidence: "In cosmopolitan Shanghai in recent months, a foreigner had a knife put to his throat and his money taken. Another was tricked into paying up to $1,000 for a $7 taxi ride. Four thugs surrounded an English boxing star, Ricky Hatton, and stole his $8,000 Rolex." The knife incident in Shanghai can be counted, but the guy who was "tricked", I simply can't understand and rarely have sympathy for and while its a scam and embarrassing for China, whether its criminal is another matters. With all the play that has been given to the 2 recent scam incidents on Nanjing Rd, I'm really shocked that there has been no coverage anywhere else of this $1,000 for a $7 taxi ride.
As for the Hatton incident, it has me really shocked that 4 thieves could overwhelm a world champion boxer, I could see it being possible after he was beaten to a pulp by Money May, but this wasn't the case. In fact, while a search of English sources turns up no hits other than the author's story, Chinese sources (and they are only bbs') put the event in August 2006. Since when is almost 2 years ago "recent months"? I wonder how "recent" the other 2 incidents were.
The author follows all that fear mongering up with "Shanghai and Beijing are still safer than most foreign cities of their size. Punishments for crimes against foreigners are heavier, police-linked neighborhood watch groups are highly vigilant, and Chinese can't own guns." Probably the first logical thing she wrote in the article. If they are so safe, why are foreigners "grappling" with crime (sorry, I linked to the IHT version which uses a better headline, but I used the AP headline, the AP version (headline is the only difference) can be found here)?
Despite how safe these cities are, probably far safer than any major city in the US, the writer still claims that "The U.S. government now warns Americans against muggings, beatings and even carjackings, especially in the nightlife and shopping districts of large cities." Umm, they do? Where? A quick look through the State Department website shows no travel warnings or alerts for China in the past 6 months, with the glaring exception of the one issued for that certain region in western China, though that was issued 2 days before the article came out and has nothing to do with crime.
I'm not going to go through the rest of the article as it is just more babble and "anecdotal" evidence, but finally, mercifully the article comes to a conclusion with:
Ahh, the teahouse scam which has been around since foreigners have been coming to China. I think Marco Polo fell for one of those even, but since they've been around for so long, it's also virtually impossible to come to China without knowing to be careful of people who come up to you at tourist spots speaking English and claiming to be "art students." Finally, the conclusion says it all, Chinese cities are some of the safest in the world for foreigners and while crime exists, what's the point of this story, coming over a week after the Xian incident, the only recent newsworthy China foreigner crime story? I hate being a conspiracy theorist, but this looks to be another example of kicking China when its down. The story is already cold, why couldn't it have waited another week? As for a "rising trend"? Yeah, right...Consulates warn people to beware of Chinese who invite foreigners to a teahouse,
ostensibly to practice their English, then present them with a huge bill and
sometimes threaten violence.
Such crimes are a byproduct of a freewheeling economy and more mobile society. "The ability of control in China now is a lot less than it was," Broadfoot said.
But he added, "Gee, on the security side, I'd rather have the Olympics in Beijing than in L.A. Though both cities will get you with pollution."
2008/01/13
Tourist Scams 1: Donghuamen Night Market
There once was a day where tourists who came to the capital faced assurance that they would get ripped off, in fact it was state policy, one price for foreigners, one price for Chinese; one currency for foreigners, one currency for Chinese. Beyond that policy, the majority of the people who you came across were (relatively) honest and well-intentioned. Today's Beijing is far different, while everyone pays with the same currency and (should) pay the same prices, honesty is a rare thing to find in this city. Instead, merchants and vendors will often do their best to get more money from foreigners at every turn. While I tend to avoid the overly touristy parts of the city, there are some that just can't be avoided, and so when I come across a rip off artist or hear verifiable evidence of a scam, I'll make sure to print it here as a service to all those visiting this (once?) great city.
Donghuamen Night Market is extremely famous, though many people, even some who've visited it, don't know it by name. It takes its name from the street of the same name that its on, but many mistakenly call it the Wangfujing Food Street (there is a separate Wangfujing Food Street that is open all day and has far less options), as it is just to the west of Wangfujing. It is well known not because of its quality or tradition, but because of the crazy options that you can purchase there, including bugs, scorpions, and sea horses.
First, let me say that unless you are going to sample some of the wilder options, are staying at Wangfujing, or are limiting your China travels to just Beijing and Shanghai, avoid this "market". There are very few stands selling Beijing specialities like bao du (boiled tripe) and yang za sui (lamb offal in soup), but those aren't the things most foreigners would want to sample anyways. Since the government has come in over the past few years and made the market more uniform in an attempt to turn it into a bigger tourist destination, quality standards and cleanliness have definitely improved, so if you go for the popular yangrou chuanr, you know you'll be getting one of the cleanest versions in the city. Regional options abound, including Guangdong's grilled oysters, Tianjin's baozi, and Chongqing's suanla fen making this market a decent option for visitors who will only be visiting China for a very brief time (and limiting that visit to one or two major cities). As with any touristy area, prices are higher than anywhere else in the city and portions are much smaller.
So there's a bit about the market, where is the "scam"? The boards at each stand clearly show prices, but the item names are all in Chinese and not every item is always listed (especially at the chuanr vendors). The other night when buying a Chinese "wrap" at one of the stands, I asked the price and the vendor correctly stated it to be RMB5, though the vendors next to him were having a discussion in Chinese, one said he made a mistake and should have said RMB10, another said that was too cheap and he should have said RMB15, I paid the RMB5 and as I walked away, I asked if I should really pay RMB15 considering the sign clearly says its RMB5? Vendors often attempt to charge anything from RMB1 to RMB10 over the price of what the signs say, but being able to read Chinese helps and sometimes you just need to walk away.
Granted, this isn't one of the worst scams in the city and being charged what amounts to a little more than US$1 isn't a big deal, it is unnecessary and improper, especially considering that there are little more than 200 days until the Olympics. These petty attempts to squeeze money out of the unsuspecting or unknowing are wrong and give the city a black eye.
Knowing all this, why do I still stop by on a regular basis? Mainly, its proximity to my apartment makes it a good spot for a really fast meal. Plus, a steaming hot bowl of yang za sui and an ear of grilled corn is an excellent meal and provides the heat needed to face another cold winter's day in Beijing.
Donghuamen Night Market is extremely famous, though many people, even some who've visited it, don't know it by name. It takes its name from the street of the same name that its on, but many mistakenly call it the Wangfujing Food Street (there is a separate Wangfujing Food Street that is open all day and has far less options), as it is just to the west of Wangfujing. It is well known not because of its quality or tradition, but because of the crazy options that you can purchase there, including bugs, scorpions, and sea horses.
First, let me say that unless you are going to sample some of the wilder options, are staying at Wangfujing, or are limiting your China travels to just Beijing and Shanghai, avoid this "market". There are very few stands selling Beijing specialities like bao du (boiled tripe) and yang za sui (lamb offal in soup), but those aren't the things most foreigners would want to sample anyways. Since the government has come in over the past few years and made the market more uniform in an attempt to turn it into a bigger tourist destination, quality standards and cleanliness have definitely improved, so if you go for the popular yangrou chuanr, you know you'll be getting one of the cleanest versions in the city. Regional options abound, including Guangdong's grilled oysters, Tianjin's baozi, and Chongqing's suanla fen making this market a decent option for visitors who will only be visiting China for a very brief time (and limiting that visit to one or two major cities). As with any touristy area, prices are higher than anywhere else in the city and portions are much smaller.
So there's a bit about the market, where is the "scam"? The boards at each stand clearly show prices, but the item names are all in Chinese and not every item is always listed (especially at the chuanr vendors). The other night when buying a Chinese "wrap" at one of the stands, I asked the price and the vendor correctly stated it to be RMB5, though the vendors next to him were having a discussion in Chinese, one said he made a mistake and should have said RMB10, another said that was too cheap and he should have said RMB15, I paid the RMB5 and as I walked away, I asked if I should really pay RMB15 considering the sign clearly says its RMB5? Vendors often attempt to charge anything from RMB1 to RMB10 over the price of what the signs say, but being able to read Chinese helps and sometimes you just need to walk away.
Granted, this isn't one of the worst scams in the city and being charged what amounts to a little more than US$1 isn't a big deal, it is unnecessary and improper, especially considering that there are little more than 200 days until the Olympics. These petty attempts to squeeze money out of the unsuspecting or unknowing are wrong and give the city a black eye.
Knowing all this, why do I still stop by on a regular basis? Mainly, its proximity to my apartment makes it a good spot for a really fast meal. Plus, a steaming hot bowl of yang za sui and an ear of grilled corn is an excellent meal and provides the heat needed to face another cold winter's day in Beijing.
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