(this is a repost from Facebook)
While Beijing is still cheaper than Shanghai or certainly Hong Kong, for example, the cost of living continues to zip higher and higher.
A lot of this has to do with inflation, with some food prices doubling or tripling over just a few years ago! Real estate speculation and the Olympic crunch is making housing more expensive too..
But thankfully transportation is still cheap ! In an effort to keep transport green and efficient, the government lowered subway fares to just 2 yuan (about 30 cents U.S.). With the new extensive subway lines, this is a good deal...
Even better, if you just want to get from A to B, is take the bus ! Bus fares, using a prepaid IC card (also works on the subway) is just 0.40 yuan.. that's, hm.. less than 6 cents !!
Anything even more economical than that ? Bike it ! Parking your bike at a watched bike parking lot will set you back 0.20 yuan.. about 3 cents.
Of course, if you're dealing with Beijing's occasional "inclement weather" (sandstorms and whatnot) you can always splurge and spring for one of the city's ubiquitous taxis.. they start at 10 yuan.. that's only about $1.40...
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Beijing road rage - the Northern temper
This post will be on a lighter note... sort of.
As the weather heats up, the Northern temper seems to melt down a little bit.
Don't get me wrong, I quite like Beijing people. They have a reputation for being straightforward, honest, and tolerant of outsiders. I've found this to be true for the most part.
However, Beijing folks seem to have a certain propensity towards physical public altercations. You'll see this in the form of good old fashioned Road Rage from time to time. Let me tell you of the four altercations I've witnessed in public so far this year.
Incident #1: Walking down a narrow side street, I noticed one of the city's ubiquitous taxis suddenly come zipping around the corner. It drifts too close to one side and sideswipes a parked motorcycle (with the motorcyclist still on it). The stocky cyclist - apparently not too damaged from the collision - goes into beserk mode and starts pummeling the driver like a Muay Thai banana bag.. even the arrival of the police doesn't prevent this fellow from occasionally Hulking up and getting a few more licks in at the cab driver..
Incident #2: On our way to the grocery store, we notice a crowd surrounding two cars which have apparently gotten into a fenderbender. There are two couples screaming and pointing at each other. The women are particularly loud. Without warning, they start grabbing each other's hair and getting into a catfight..
Incident #3: On the subway this time. A young couple is having a lover' s quarrel. Really quarrelling.. she's accusing him of cheating on her. Standard stuff. Then she starts basically beating him up..
Incident #4: A "mianbao" (loaf-of-bread-like minivan) cuts off the bus I'm riding in. The bus driver utters a stream of choice words at the van through his open driver's side window. That does it. A couple of indignant chaps burst out of the van and start throwing haymakers at the bus driver.. through the open window. Fortunately, a peacemaking granny on the bus seems to break things up. After all, as she says, "I have some place to be!"
Don't let all this give you the wrong impression. It's a great city with great people. Just be civil to your fellow driver/passenger/pedestrian/grocery store shopper and you'll be fine.
As the weather heats up, the Northern temper seems to melt down a little bit.
Don't get me wrong, I quite like Beijing people. They have a reputation for being straightforward, honest, and tolerant of outsiders. I've found this to be true for the most part.
However, Beijing folks seem to have a certain propensity towards physical public altercations. You'll see this in the form of good old fashioned Road Rage from time to time. Let me tell you of the four altercations I've witnessed in public so far this year.
Incident #1: Walking down a narrow side street, I noticed one of the city's ubiquitous taxis suddenly come zipping around the corner. It drifts too close to one side and sideswipes a parked motorcycle (with the motorcyclist still on it). The stocky cyclist - apparently not too damaged from the collision - goes into beserk mode and starts pummeling the driver like a Muay Thai banana bag.. even the arrival of the police doesn't prevent this fellow from occasionally Hulking up and getting a few more licks in at the cab driver..
Incident #2: On our way to the grocery store, we notice a crowd surrounding two cars which have apparently gotten into a fenderbender. There are two couples screaming and pointing at each other. The women are particularly loud. Without warning, they start grabbing each other's hair and getting into a catfight..
Incident #3: On the subway this time. A young couple is having a lover' s quarrel. Really quarrelling.. she's accusing him of cheating on her. Standard stuff. Then she starts basically beating him up..
Incident #4: A "mianbao" (loaf-of-bread-like minivan) cuts off the bus I'm riding in. The bus driver utters a stream of choice words at the van through his open driver's side window. That does it. A couple of indignant chaps burst out of the van and start throwing haymakers at the bus driver.. through the open window. Fortunately, a peacemaking granny on the bus seems to break things up. After all, as she says, "I have some place to be!"
Don't let all this give you the wrong impression. It's a great city with great people. Just be civil to your fellow driver/passenger/pedestrian/grocery store shopper and you'll be fine.
Monday, May 19, 2008
National mourning period begins...
Today the 3-day national period of mourning began commemorating the Sichuan earthquake victims began. At exactly 2:28pm - exactly a week after the initial quake hit -3 minutes of silence were observed nationwide.
I was on the street at the time and ALL traffic came to a stop.
I saw whole office buildings practically emptied as employees huddled together in silence. This silence was soon punctuated by the wailing of air raid sirens and cars joined in with a steady blaring of their horns..
I'll upload my video of this later.
Edit: well, my video had too much glare from the sun so it wasn't that great. Instead, here's a link from CNN. It was a solemn moment
I was on the street at the time and ALL traffic came to a stop.
I saw whole office buildings practically emptied as employees huddled together in silence. This silence was soon punctuated by the wailing of air raid sirens and cars joined in with a steady blaring of their horns..
I'll upload my video of this later.
Edit: well, my video had too much glare from the sun so it wasn't that great. Instead, here's a link from CNN. It was a solemn moment
Sunday, May 18, 2008
YOU can help victims of the Sichuan Earthquake!
as i noted on Facebook:
YOU can HELP some of the many victims of the deadly Sichuan Earthquake!
Go to one of these links or other official Red Cross sites to donate (check the box for "China Earthquake):
https://www.paypaq.com/redcross/new/index.php
https://www.redcross.org.hk/donation/user_donation.asp?langId=1
"BEIJING, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the powerful earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province rose to 28,881 nationwide as of 2 p.m. Saturday, while 198,347 people were injured, according to the Information Office of the State Council.
link: Three Girls Rescued After Being Buried for 87 Hours
YOU can HELP some of the many victims of the deadly Sichuan Earthquake!
Go to one of these links or other official Red Cross sites to donate (check the box for "China Earthquake):
https://www.paypaq.com/red
https://www.redcross.org.h
"BEIJING, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the powerful earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province rose to 28,881 nationwide as of 2 p.m. Saturday, while 198,347 people were injured, according to the Information Office of the State Council.
A total of 15.61 million houses in quake areas were damaged, with 3.13 million collapsed."
link: Three Girls Rescued After Being Buried for 87 Hours
Saturday, May 17, 2008
The Morning Market
The Morning Market is noisy, lively, crowded and brimming with an amazing array of colours and smells.
Before the coming of the Carrefour hypermarket franchise, this is where Beijing went to buy it's groceries. You'll rarely see a foreigner here, but every morning till 12:30 it's packed with people buying their fish, eggplants, steamed buns, toilet paper, you-name-it here.
shopping tips: haggling a *bit* for prices is the norm (it's already cheaper and often better quality than at the supermarket). To that purpose dressing down seems to help; this is one place women leave their LV and Prada (real or fake) behind.
In the video below - taken just this morning - you see a row of vendors hawking various cooked foods like jian bing and shao bing (pancakes and omelettes) fried on a large skillet, dou hua (soft tofu) and other treats. After that, we go to the main area of the market, where most of the floorspace is taken up by vegetable sellers.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-595771705826868021&hl=en
Before the coming of the Carrefour hypermarket franchise, this is where Beijing went to buy it's groceries. You'll rarely see a foreigner here, but every morning till 12:30 it's packed with people buying their fish, eggplants, steamed buns, toilet paper, you-name-it here.
shopping tips: haggling a *bit* for prices is the norm (it's already cheaper and often better quality than at the supermarket). To that purpose dressing down seems to help; this is one place women leave their LV and Prada (real or fake) behind.
In the video below - taken just this morning - you see a row of vendors hawking various cooked foods like jian bing and shao bing (pancakes and omelettes) fried on a large skillet, dou hua (soft tofu) and other treats. After that, we go to the main area of the market, where most of the floorspace is taken up by vegetable sellers.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-595771705826868021&hl=en
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