Category Archives: shanghai

Forbes: Shanghai, Beijing as world’s top emerging business centers

Posted on by
2

It was not surprising to see Forbes suggest that Shanghai and Beijing ranked highest in their recent survey measuring which cities are poised to become major global business capitals.

They used a neat picture from Shanghai’s World Financial Center – under construction when I was there in April and basically the opposite of my picture from below the Jin Mao tower:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joeduck/2419944285/in/set-72157604613298418/

http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/23/cities-world-ten-forbeslife-cx_mw_1023cities_slide_11.html?thisSpeed=15000

Jin Mao remains one of the top ten tallest buildings in the world but is still dwarfed by the Shanghai World Trade Center with the massive square opening to stabilize the building in high winds.    The opening was originally designed as a huge circle but after initial approval of that spectacular design, Chinese officials decided it looked too much like the symbolism of the flag of Japan and insisted on a new design.

World’s Tallest Buildings from Wikipedia

Wen Jiabao interviewed by Zakaria

Posted on by
1

Wen Jiabao is the Premier of China, making him one of the most influential international figures of this generation. Today on Fareed Zakaria’s GPS – one of the best shows on TV, we are hearing from Wen Jiabao on several topics of extreme relevance to the global community.

I can’t compliment Zakaria enough for a journalistic style that does two things I’d argue are necessary to get *access to people* while at the same time getting real rather than canned insights. First, he’s polite, which gets access and creates a relaxed atmosphere where real dialog can take place. Second, he asks the *big* questions in a way that brings us real insights into the thinking patterns of the key political and thought leaders he interviews.

Rather than summarize things here I want to link to CNN’s GPS page where I think they will post the interview, because anybody with an interest in where things are going should be paying very close attention.

Much of the current debate in this country about China (as well as many things) takes a sort of cartoon form, where people are stuck on oversimplifying a handful of complex talking points like China’s economic relationship to the USA and China’s Tibet policy (which in my view could largely be solved by shifting treatment of Tibet to an autonomous region like Hong Kong, a relationship that is working fairly well).

Asked about the prevailing economic philosophy who did Wen Jiabao quote? None other than Adam Smith, suggesting that the free hand of capitalism should be balanced by Government regulations to keep things fair and orderly (FYI he’s right that Smith was an advocate of some regulation and application of “morality” to free markets – a historical point often lost in debates here over free market virtues).

What’s Wen Jiabao reading? Stoic Marcus Aurelius apparently is one of his favorite philosophers, a thoughtful but sometimes ruthless Roman emperor who advocated social responsibility and internal progressive social reforms even as he persecuted wars and treated some dissenters ruthlessly.

Olympics Opening Ceremony Fireworks Coverage Faked – sort of…

Posted on by
3

Wow, when I first read this I thought it was a conspiracy theory but the UK Register report appears true.  Some 55 seconds of fireworks during the opening ceremony were computer generated.    The fireworks *really did happen* and presumably looked very similar to the clip, but fearing they could not film this in all it’s spectacle NBC spent about a year creating the fake clip.

Of course this would be crazy if the fireworks did NOT happen, but given that they did it clouds the issue of misrepresentation.   ie they didn’t do this to “fake us out”, rather to better represent a reality that would have been hard to capture in real time.    Still, I don’t like it.   When you fake something like this it is incumbent to present it as a simulation or animation.    Not doing so raises a lot of credibility questions, which are particularly unsavory for the main reporting agency in the world’s top sporting event.

Sheesh – I was prepared to be very complimentary of NBC ever since I heard their great presentation at CES Las Vegas where they talked about Beijing coverage.     C’mon NBC – let’s provide transparency in coverage and distribution and everybody can be happy!

Shanghai Pork Ball Makers

Posted on by
Reply

Shanghai Pork Ball Makers 542

Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

In Shanghai near the Bund we had fried pork balls in dough as a tasty treat at a small place on the street that seemed to be very popular with local folks.

The pork was wrapped in dough and then fried on one side and served – if I’m remembering right – with soy sauce and maybe some other choices. At about .75 for 6 they were a tasty bargain as well.

Yu Yuan Gardens, Shanghai

Posted on by
Reply

Yu Yuan Gardens, Shanghai

Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Shanghai’s Yu Yuan Gardens were one of my favorite China attractions. The surrounding area is filled with shops, restaurants, and is very crowded but the Gardens were quiet and very beautiful. Unlike European gardens most of this area was buildings and walkways with some trees and vegetation that were very carefully landscaped.

Pork Ball Restaurant, Shanghai Near Bund

Posted on by
1

Pork Ball Restaurant, Shanghai Near Bund 596

Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

On the China trip I enjoyed the Shanghai street food more than that of Beijing but not sure if that really represnted differences in the cities of just where I happened to go.

These Shanghai dough balls had a rolled pork ball in the middle and were then steamed and fried on one side. Yum! However my favorite dish during the 14 day trip was the simple, but simply perfect Wonton Soup served near our hotel in Shanghai.

Beijing Tea Scam: Beware Many Tea Houses near Forbidden City / Tiananmen Square

Posted on by
57

Beijing Tea Scam: Avoid the Si Zhu Xiang Tea House near Forbidden City / Tiananmen Square

Originally uploaded by JoeDuck

Update:  Generally, if you are approached by a good English speaker there is a *very good chance* he or she is trying to scam you or sell you something rather than “practice English”.  In Tea houses confirm pricing *before you sit down* or you’ll probably be in for a surprising bill.

Beware the SI ZHU XIANG Tea House in Beijing!

I fell for the Beijing Tea Scam (also common in Shanghai) where you are approached by a person claiming to want to practice english, then subtly lured to a Tea House for a “Tea Ceremony” that is hugely overpriced.

The scam is so good I have learned that many other travelers have also been duped by this because it preys on the fact that you don’t want to insult anybody and generally are unfamiliar enough with the landscape, money, etc. that you just pay the bill.  My bill was $85 for a few tea samples. I’m guessing some who fall for this never even realize that they have been scammed – rather just think they paid “a lot” for Tea as I did untili I realized this was a very clever con game common in Beijing and Shanghai.    I have challenged the charge and cancelled my card and will post follow ups on this later.

The China Tourism groups and guidebooks are guilty of NOT warning people enough about the fact that generally if you are approached in popular tourism areas by people who can speak english they are usually working some sort of sale or scam.   Several sources suggested to me that it is common in China for people to come up and ask to take pictures and “practice” their English.  Although I’m sure there are exceptions to the rule, the notion that people are looking to practice their english is only true in that that they are improving on these very clever short cons.     I think I was approached at least ten times – mostly in Beijing – sometimes it was obvious they were working to sell me something but sometimes not at all apparent.

I can only hope that law enforcement does something to prevent this during the Olympics because a lot of this may overshadow the experience of meeting some of the wonderful people of China, only a tiny number of whom are perpetrating the scams.

Beware the SI ZHU XIANG Tea House in Beijing!

Looking for legitimate tea?   Try Beijing Tea Street but still make sure you understand pricing.  China really takes tea seriously and some are very expensive.

Hung Hom Train Station, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Posted on by
5

Here at Starbucks in Kowloon´s Hung Hom train station I am getting a good wireless signal but not sure if it is Starbucks or not.

Things here seem to be named in complicated ways with some overlap.  This is the key Hong Kong train station to mainland but it is in Kowloon and called Hung Hom.    We will board for Shanghai in about an hour and take the 20 hour train north, hopefully with some scenery.   We have soft sleepers but not the top class of them  and I´m not clear how comfortable we will be yet, but I think just fine.

World’s largest cities

Posted on by
1

Largest city is hard to define, but I think metro area population is the best measure and according to Wikipedia these are the top ten:

1 Tokyo Japan 32,450,000 8,014 4,049
2 Seoul South Korea 20,550,000 5,076 4,048
3 Mexico City[2] Mexico 20,450,000 7,346 2,784
4 New York City[3] United States 19,750,000 17,884 1,104
5 Mumbai India 19,200,000 2,350 8,170
6 Jakarta Indonesia 18,900,000 5,100 3,706
7 Sao Paulo Brazil 18,850,000 8,479 2,223
8 Delhi India 18,600,000 3,182 5,845
9 Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Japan 17,375,000 6,930 2,507
10 Shanghai China 16,650,000 5,177 3,216

Surprising to me was that Shanghai and Hong Kong are both larger than Beijing which was in 16th place, and all three are smaller than New York City. (Where do all our billion+ Chinese friends live, anyway?)

Hey, I’ll be in two of the top ten over the next week! Hong Kong and Shanghai. Cool.