Recording Beijing

I received a text message from my father two days ago asking me not to buy oranges because people found worms inside oranges originated in Guangyuan, Sichuan Province. Two minutes later, I received the same text message from my mom. My wife also received numerous messages from friends and family. I know how fast these things spread. Fruit farmers in Sichuan and other provinces are sure to be affected.

On the very next morning, several major online news aggregators blasted the message to the whole web without any verification. People started to panic and orange price soon dropped in all supermarkets.

Sichuan Provincial Agriculture Department later confirmed that certain amount of oranges from Wangchang County in Guangyuan has been infected with a kind of insect pests, but the infection is under control that no infected oranges have been supplied to the market. In addition, because Wangchang County is a small place, the annual orange output is not even sufficient for local markets in Sichuan Province, let alone going out to other places such as Beijing. The police also emphasized that they are investigating the situation and will go full force to comprehend the person who started the rumor.

I’m not sure if it’s legal or proper to comprehend a person who sent out a text message worrying about his or her family and friends’ health and welfare. But it’s for sure that this is no one man’s job. A single person is not capable of spreading a message to a such wide range. This is even more powerful than CCTV News!

There must be something hidden among everyone who re-sent the message so that it became a deadly nuclear explosion. What is it?

It must be fear I guess. Frequent incidents in food and drug industry make people paranoid about such information. Lack of confidence in the authority and the press make people hanging in nowhere. There’s nothing to believe or dis-believe. We rely on any information apart from the authority to find a little sense of security. At least it’s safer not to eat any more oranges, even if they are clean as soap. It’s always better to stay on the safe side!

But who’s gonna pay for the loss of the fruit farmers? The people who sent out the message? The hypersensitive consumers? The market? Or, the authority?

Beijing Songtang Museum is China’s first traditional residential architecture museum. Started from almost half a century ago, Mr. Li Songtang, a reputed collector, has been collecting and preserving pieces and components of traditional architecture from all over the country. His collections can definitely make him one of the richest men in Beijing, but he never sold a single piece, even when the museum was hard to go on due to lack of fund. He opened his collection to the whole world 1 month before the 2008 Olympics. There’s absolutely no reason not to visit if you are visiting Beijing.

A stone incense stove near the entrance. Also note the sculpture at the background and the two stone piers on both sides of the gate. These are all common elements of traditional residential architecture.

During the time when traditional Siheyuans and Hutongs were being torned down to make room for modern corporate buildings, lots of the stone piers were bought by antique dealers for extremely cheap prices and were re-sold for 100 times profit at antiques markets.

A stone fish pond.

Delicate stone sculptures of fairies.

Various small stone sculptures from the roofs of traditonal buildings.

Delicate and sophiscated stone carving on the wall.

A small shop inside Mr. Li’s Siheyuan, selling traditional papercuts and other art works.

The back door of the “giving name” shop connects Mr. Li’s yard. The owner claimed he’s the best in the industry and tried to persuade everyone visiting the museum to have a chat with him.

Mr. Li Songtang undoubtedly has the finest and the most expensive residence in Beijing, if not the whole country. I left the museum without checking out the other collections inside the rooms due to lack of time. But I’ll definitely come again.

The museum is located near the entrance of Cheng Xian Street, just a few steps away from Lama Temple.

Cheng Xian (meaning “becoming a virtuous man”) Street, also called Guozijian Street, has a history of over 700 years. Entrance to the street is located on the east side of Bei Xinqiao Street, opposite to Lama Temple. Guozijian, now NO.15 on Cheng Xian Street, used to be the highest educational institution in Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasty.

Near the entrance of the street are jammed with “giving names” shops, in which the fortune tellers claim they can change your fate by giving you a new, more fortunate name. They also give names to businesses such as real estate. I guess the developers must be visiting them frequently these days due to the increasing decline of the housing market.

The entrance to Songtang Museum, the first private museum showcasing traditional residential architecture in Beijing. I’ll talk more about the museum tomorrow.

People playing chess outside of the museum.

One of the Dismount Stones outside of the Confucius Temple. Built in Qing Dynasty, this was where everyone came to worship Confucius got off their horses to show respect.

Beijing Guozijian Elementary School, one of the finest basic education institutions in Beijing.

Walking outside of the street, I was attracted to a very interesting gift shop selling pottery dolls mocking a very common scene during the Cultural Revolution, where innocent intellectuals were being charged with various accuses including treason.

Hey! Say hello to Chairman Mao!

More pictures coming tomorrow.

Shanxi province, located at the middle-west part of China, is famous for their wheat food, such as noodles and stuffed steamed bread.

I stumbled across this nice little restaurant on Bei Xinqiao Street and my stomach refused to go on without tasting some of their delicious western China cuisine.

Stepping inside the restaurant you are immediately surrounded by elements of the traditional western China culture. The paper cuts, little sculptures of farm animals, artcrafts used in ancient sacrificing ceremonies, and some very lovely paintings showcasing the farmers’ lives.

Here comes the famous Shaozi Noodle (noodle with mashed assorted vegetables). Note the 2 empty bowls at the background, I already had several other very tasty local side dishes before the noodle!

I got so sleepy with my full stomach when I walked out the restaurant with satisfaction and new hope for the world, and forgot to take note of the name of the restaurant. But you can find it easily beside the only Dao Xiangcun Supermarket on Bei Xinqiao Street. If you are visiting the Lama Temple, why not try out here since they are just a block away? It’ll make your day!

Here comes the Hedgehog!

It’s been a hectic day doing houseworks. Time for some Rock n’ Roll to refresh a little.

Feel the power of one of the most popular metal bands in Beijing, Suffocated:

Zou Tao, an ex-soldier of the PLA, an ordinary golf equipment dealer, is now one of the most famous men across the nation. After his infamous “Don’t Buy Houses for 3 Years” campaign started 2 years ago, he and his team are again in the center of debate for the Housing Wholesale Platform, through which more than 30,000 prospect home buyers are negotiating deals with developers in Shenzhen with the help of Zou Tao. Some of the final prices are unbelievable low compared with regular market quotes according to Zou Tao. But he refused to disclose the actual number for one of the developers was so mad at him because the developer was buried with previous customers’ complaints after Zou Tao released his real floor price to the public some time ago.

Housing price across the nation gone wild in the past several years, especially in 2006 and early 2007 when the Olympics concept was being used by nearly all developers as a marketing hype. Lots of the rich coal mine owners in Shanxi province and business owners in Wenzhou, as well as average middle-class commuters in the major cities had joined the army of house buying in hope of getting huge returns (that’s when the bubbles were created). Some did get rich over night, but some also broke when the prices were too high and no one was willing to become the next victim.

Thanks to Zou Tao’s campaign, housing price in Shenzhen dropped around 40% from the record high in July 2007. The other major cities like Wuhan, Chongqing, and Shanghai soon followed. The last holding place of the developers, Beijing, is also giving up.

But surprisingly, still 1 year before his “3 Years” campaign ends, Zou is now calling home buyers to unite and negotiate deals with the developers. Although Zou insists that the 2 campaigns share the same goal of helping home buyers to get the real value for their investments, some ridicules him for being capricious and suspects him taking money from the “dying” developers.

In the world of recession and the era of decline, not a single type of investment can guarantee return. Houses, gold, expensive collectibles, paintings, and the used to be super hot and mysterious Puerh Tea and the Tibetan Caterpillar Fungus, everything is dropping in price and value. The mankind is now paying back for their greed.

Nomatter if Zou has really got some hidden motives, what he’s doing is definitely beneficial for the low-earning mass including me who are dying for an apartment of their own (if you come from other cities and don’t have your own housing in Beijing, you are being viewed as one of the “floating population” that receive special care from the police). We already have too many scammers around us, like the greedy developers, what harm does it make if there’s one more, especially when he has got the potential to be a real hero?

China United Network Communication Co., Ltd, also known as the new China Unicom, was born yesterday. China Netcom, the biggest broadband provider in China is now history.

According to BTV news, the new China Unicom will put more effort in GSM and WCDMA mobile network communication in order to compete with the mammoth China Mobile. Though most industry insiders are not optimistic about the challenge, the soon to be released 3G licenses will sure give the new China Unicom a competitive edge.

More competition is no doubt good for the ordinary you and me who live, work, sleep, and breathe with mobile phones. Let’s hope for lower cost, better services, less spam text messages, and more respect for our privacy.

And I think it’s the perfect time to brainstorm making money ideas for the upcoming 3G era. I’m serious

The 2008 Xiangshan Red Leaves Festival officially started today. Time to leave the stress, routines, and pollution behind and breathe some fresh and sweet air at Fragrant Hills.

The name of the hills was not derived from the aroma around the area as you may have imagined, but rather the shape of the hills. Looking at the hills from certain distance and use some imagination, you can see a faithful worshipper burning incense at the peak of the hills.

The best time to visit Fragrant Hills is in autumn when the leaves, mainly on Sumac and Maple trees turn red. The whole Xiangshan Park is covered in this warm and passionate color, embellished with green, yellow, grey, and the color of the earth.

Lots of native Beijingers come to the Park every year to collect red leaves on the ground. Some who live in the neighborhood climb the hills every morning as a form of exercise.

The Fragrant Hills Park, also known as Garden of Congenial Tranquility, used to be one of Emperor Qianlong’s favourite country retreats. It was built in 1186 by the Emperor of the Jin Dynasty as a place for Buddhism worship. In 1860 and 1900, the park was severely damaged by war and fire, and was rebuilt in 1949.

The park is located west to Haidian district, 25 miles from central Beijing. Best use public transportation to get there for you wouldn’t want this beautiful place to be surrounded with gas. It’s called Fragrant Hills after all.

Use the following buses: 331, 360, 634, 714, 696, 698, and 318, and try to avoid weekends.

For more information please visit Xiangshan Park.

Photos courtesy of blacart.

The 2008 Autumn Temple of Earth Book Fair, also the 8th Beijing Book Festival, is being held from October 10 to 20 at Temple of Earth Park.

More than 300 publishing houses have brought over 250,000 different genre of books. Some of the newest TV stars, renowned professors from different universities such as Yu Dan, have been invited to give lectures to the public at the park. Photograph exhibitions related to the 30 years of opening and reform, the 2008 Olympics, and the 5.12 earth quake are also accessible for free.

Book fairs in Beijing are great places to get a great variety of books for cheap.  Some of the biggest publishing houses are selling stock books at half of the regular price. Although there are a certain number of pirated books, but it is reported that they are a lot less than previous years.

Due to the great number of visitors, it is highly advised to use public transportation. Get off at the Lama Temple station if you are using Subway Line 2 and 5, and walk to the park.