Ali in China

Leaving China

Thanks to everyone who's followed my somewhat sporadic blog over the last two years. Today I leave China for Singapore, and new adventures. I'm happy to have had the chance to experience life in a culture so completely opposite to the one I grew up in. I'm also excited to be moving on. 

I spent my last two weeks in China traveling a bit and being amazed at the physical beauty and cultural heritage of China:

Then I came back to Beijing, went to the post office, and was reminded that China has big plans that often fall short in the execution:

I recommend you visit China to see all the glorious contradictions for yourself.

'The world is a book and those who do not travel see only a page.' - St. Augustine

 

A Relaxing Walk in Beijing

This is a walk for one of my favorite areas in Beijing - full of old temples, quiet streets with big trees, quirky shops and yummy food. It's a nice way to escape the hustle and noise of modern Beijing, and if you go at night Wudoaying Hutong has such gems as Beijing's only (I think) Vampire bar, the V, and the Vanguard VA bar with frequent live music.  

Guozijian Street

Here is an overview of the area:

You can arrive by subway at either the west or east side, but I find it is easier to get lost coming from the west (Andingmen) side. Therefore the tour starts in the NW corner (Lama Temple stop on subway line 2) and continues clockwise, although really can be done in any direction. 

Here is a handy giude to some basic numbers:

What does this cost? : 这是多少钱？(Zhè shì duōshăo qián) 

This is: 这是 (Zhè shì)

How much?: 多少 (Duōshăo)

Money: 钱 (Qián)

0: 零 (líng)

1: 一 (yī)

2: 二 (èr)

3: 三 (sān)

4: 四 (sì)

5: 五 (wŭ)

6: 六 (liù)

7: 七 (qī)

8: 八 (bā)

9: 九 (jiŭ)

10: 十 (shí)

11: 十一 (shí yī)

12: 十二 (shí èr)

20: 二十(èr shí)

100: 一百(yī băi)

101: 一百零一(yī băi líng yī)

110: 一百一[十] (yī băi yī [shí]) 

Detail of Imperial College (Guozijian) Gate

A Walk in Beijing

My dad and stepmom are coming to visit soon and I have been worrying about what they will do while I am at work. I feel a little guilty that I didn't prepare more when my mom and my other stepmom came to visit a year ago. They want to walk around and explore the city - but they live in NY, where getting lost is fun, and this is Beijing, where the blocks feel like they go on for miles and are filled with impassable obstacles like trees (trees are impassable when the sidewalk is less than three feet wide) and parked cars.

We just had a three day holiday (after working Saturday, classic Chinese holiday style, see my blog post on the confusing way days off are arranged for Chinese Holidays), and I spent some of my time trying to plan a good route for adventurous first time visitors without language skills. It might be too much walking, and it certainly isn't revolutionary, but this is what I came up with. It takes you to Qianhai (Houhai) Lake, which will be full of lotus flowers in summer, the drum and bell towers, and an old hutong-turned-trendy-shopping street that is in the process of being upgraded to a fancier tourist attraction with newly build 'old' style buildings, a la Qianmen. 

The numbers follow the route and often start at the bottom of the page. What do you think?

Entertainment - Anywhere, for Any Reason

I attended two events this weekend. One was a wedding for a couple that my boyfriend knows and the other was promotional event for a housing development my company did the landscape design for. They were both full of extra performances, but only in one case did it make sense. 

THE WEDDING

The wedding started with a video of the elaborate proposal, had performances by the fathers of both the bride and the groom, a dance routine by friends and classmates, and an arm wrestling competition between two rival schools, one attended by the bride and the other by the groom. It was great. Everyone loved it because it was all intimately connected with the people being celebrated, and the people who had been invited.

THE REAL ESTATE PROMOTION

The real estate event started with eight women dressed in silver lame and go-go boots lip-syncing (what do you call it when lips aren't actually involved?) on drums covered in water that splashed when they were hit.  Then there was a pair of acrobats. A raffle for an iPad. Next, singing, choreographed children. Another raffle, this one with one of the adorable kids (wearing fake glasses - it's a fashion thing) picking the numbers. At some point they played the theme song to Star Wars. To wind down the show there was a live sax player. And, yes, interspersed between the events were presentations on the project by the designers.

I guess the organizers were afraid the audience would get bored. I can see how a free show with a raffle would attract the crowds - 350 people showed up - but how many of those people are really interested in buying? Why not raffle local services in the community instead? Why not have a public Q&A session? Didn't they read Seth Godin's recent blog on the perils of attracting easy customers?

So, here's a gratuitously cute picture and a song I find entertaining. Enjoy. 

Fun. We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe)

How not to go sightseeing

I went to Prince Gong's Mansion, 恭王府(Gōng Wáng Fǔ) yesterday because I've already been to all the major sights in Beijing and I'm trying to see what's worthwhile 'off the beaten track'. Of all the photos I took, this is my favorite.

The mansion is a labarinth of a compound with a lake, gardens, and courtyards that may or may not be the setting for the famous novel Dream of the Red Chamber, 红楼梦(Hónglóu Mèng). It should be beautiful but I went at high noon and the light was too bright and the only things that struck me were a cool bamboo courtyard and these three kettles, looking like a little piece of real in the middle of an overwrought stage set of imitation. Maybe the stage worked in Prince Gong's day, but yesterday the illusion was ruined by the lighting and the crowds and the restoration. 

I'd rather go and see some 京剧(Jīngjù), Beijing Opera. I think it might feel more real.

Happy Spring!

The ritzy neighborhood where I live knows it's Easter but there is no sign of it most places in Beijing - of course this is Easter Bunny Easter, just like Christmas is Santa Clause Christmas. Guess the Jewish holidays aren't commercial enough to catch on. Hannukah Harry, where are you?

How to Stick to a Schedule in China

Actually, I don't know how to do it. I've missed more than one Sunday post since promising I would do it weekly. Last Sunday I was on a business trip (not because weekends are more of a suggestion than a sacred institution in China but because working days were rearranged for 清明节 (Qing Ming Jie), Tomb Sweeping Day.

I often miss my Chinese classes due to unpredictable changes in my work schedule, either working overtime or last minute meetings or business trips. Chinese has the most wonderful phrase for business travel: 出差 (chūchāi). Instead of saying 'I have left town on a business trip', you can just say 我出差了 (Wǒ chūchāile). Brilliant. 

This is where I was:

Six hours from home, in a little town in 广东省 (Guǎngdōng province), with no VPN. I could have posted on Monday, but I was busy being a tourist in Beijing, taking pictures of people taking pictures of people.

So I think the answer is, if I was really determined I could post every Sunday. I could always carry a portable computing device with a VPN and personal wi-fi. I could. It would be harder to always make my class - I would have to say no to work, which seems like a bad idea. But I can always reschedule my class - rescheduling is fairly easy here because no one else can stick to a schedule, either. Everyone is being jerked around by their clients, who keep you waiting to show how important they are. Especially if your client is the 政府 (zhèngfǔ), the goovernment.

When I go on a business trip my company never books the return flight. They wait until the last minute, and if they don't they have to change the booking two or three times. It seems normal because that's how everyone operates here - but I imagine if you are visiting China on business and have only one week to get things done - you would go insane.

 

The only thing left to do is look at the beauty around you, and enjoy. 

Four things you'll miss if you move to China

It's spring. How do I know? Because they're cutting the pretty winter lights off the trees in my neighborhood and because my heat was turned off. Sure, China is home to an increasingly large group of bilionaire's happy to pay inflated prices for 'luxury goods' (LVMH anyone?), but the majority of people still lack some basic comforts that Americans take for granted.

1) HEAT

OK, everyone has heat in winter, when you might really die from exposure, but heat is controlled by the government. People pay for it, at a subsidized rate, and there are nationwide dates when it is turned on and off. From November 15 to March 15 there is heat. Today, March 25th, after ten days without heat, Beijing is still in the low 30s at night. Last week the highs were in the 50s. Even with highs forecast in the 60s next week, I doubt my dark little apartment will feel warm.

2) FLUFFY SHEETS

Apparently dryers are a luxury item. I never understood the many ways they make life wonderful before - they suck up all that pesky lint, for one thing. It's amazing how much lint there is on clothes after a good wash. I go through, like, two lint rollers a week. They also make clothes and towels fluffy. My towels always resemble Wasa Crisps after I wash them. 

3) INDIVIDUAL EATING

I think the food in China is pretty damn good on the whole and often downright excellent. But I still cringe a little at the practice of using personal chopsticks for sharing communal dishes. This is done at meals between family, friends, business associates, etc. It is convenient and also I think meant to show that everyone at the table is like family, which is a really sweet idea. But I can't help thinking that fewer people would be sick all winter long if this practice was changed. I have occasionally seen tables set with two sets of chopsticks per diner, one long and one short - the long one for bringing food to your plate and the short one for bringing down the home stretch to your mouth. A nice idea but really, who wants to add an extra step if it's not necessary?

4) UNCENSORED INTERNET

Aside from the creepy social implications for a country that tries to censor what it's citizens talk about online, it's really irritating when your #1 search engine (yes, I am talking about the almighty GOOGLE) stops working when you really need to find something for work. 

Homesickness is just a way to meet new friends

I came across a great article today in the New York Times about homesickness. You can find it here. (I grew up in New York and wherever I live I still consider it the only paper worth reading.) The article discusses how common it was for early settlers of America to talk about being homesick, also known as suffering from nostalgia. The author then brings us up to date:

'Today, explicit discussions of homesickness are rare, for the emotion is typically regarded as an embarrassing impediment to individual progress and prosperity. This silence makes mobility appear deceptively easy.'

Of course, Skype and Facebook and long distance calling cards make keeping in touch easier. And in truth, I don't use them as often as I should. But no amount of emails or even video chats make up for being gone, for missing out on all the little things that don't seem important enough to talk about long distance but that tie people together when they are a daily part of each others lives. 

I think of Americans, myself included, as highly independant people. I have traveled alone, and wherever I go people ask why. Why would you want to travel by yourself. Why would you want to move to another country, alone. I used to think this question was insulting. I came because I wanted to, I don't need a reason, and besides, it's none of your business. But actually, they're being nice. They're showing interest. Being nosy is part of being human. It's the first step to making a new friend.

I've been lucky. I've travelled to great places like Spain and Bali with great friends. And I came to China with just one friend and have made many more. But I'm still homesick, and I'm homesick for two towns - the one I was born in, New York, and the one I chose to live in for ten years, Miami.

Maybe when I leave Beijing I'll be homesick for three cities, but I think it's been worth it. I feel closer to all my relatives and forbears that have left their home countries and chosen their own lives somewhere else. I feel like I've had three lives, and I love them all. 

When common sense makes no sense

I was in a hotel elevator today and witnessed someone trying to get to their floor. He pressed the right button, 11, and it didn't light up. He took out his key card and swiped it over several key-card-shaped areas, and 11 still didn't light up. He noticed a slot, inserted the key card, and pressed 11. Still nothing. Then someone else entered the elevator, calmly inserted and removed his key card from the slot, and pressed floor 9. Instant success. Was the second guy smarter than the first guy? Probably not. Did he have more common sense? Yes. Why? Only because he had prior experience with that particular system. 

Working in China, I often feel like that guy trying unsuccessfully to swipe the card. I am using skills that work for a different system. Rationally I know I should adopt the new skills that work here but I stubbornly want to change the elevator so that you can swipe the key card.

What else is different?

• PIN numbers are 6 digits long, not 4. You'd be surprised how awkward this revelation can be. 
• You often have to show your ticket when you get off a train or airplane as well as when you get on. Very awkward when you've already crumpled it up with your tissue and handed it to the stewardess when she collected the trash.
• The receipt you get from a store is worthless unless it is stamped with an official red stamp.
• You have to pre-pay all your utilities and pay your rent in 3-month chunks.
• In America we move one day holidays to Monday to be next to the weekend. In China they move the weekend to be next to the one day holiday, and then require that you work Saturday and Sunday. 

All this should be obvious, right? It's just common sense, after all.