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1000 traffic cameras

Shanghai has a total of around 1000 hidden traffic cameras aimed at speeders, according to an article in today’s Shanghai Daily. That seems a huge amount to me, even though the city is very big. The most famous camera is the one on the road from Hongqiao airport to Yan’an Lu where taxi drivers slow down to about 20 km/h in order to avoid a fine, and after that speed up to 100 km/h again. But during my travels through the city I have only seen very few others, so they must be hidden very well!

I wonder if the article is confusing speed cameras with normal cameras that record the traffic flow and what’s happening on the street. I am aware that most big roads in Shanghai have cameras that allow police to see what’s happening all over the city. Last year I visited Guangdong Radio, and in the studio we were shown part of the system: you could name a road or intersection and with one click you were shown the cars and people there. You could even zoom in! Since then I have noted these cameras all over the place, so I think that these are the cameras that the Shanghai Daily mentions.

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Night flights

China will relax its regulations for night flights reports the Shanghai Daily. Bad news for residents living close to airports, but good news for travellers. Flights are now allowed to take off or arrive from 6 AM in the morning until 2 AM at night. But the change will likely not affect schedules for the next 6 months, because these have already been made. Hopefully there will finally be late night flights from Beijing to Shanghai, so you can have an (early) dinner in Beijing and still make it home at night in Shanghai.

The stated reason for the change is that the fleets of Chinese airlines are increasing rapidly, and more timeslots are needed. The other reason mentioned is that there have been ‘recent years of safe operation’ (the ban for night flights was originally introduced because of safety reasons). Years of safe operation? The last plane crash in China was only 15 months ago (China Eastern from Baotou to Shanghai)!

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Sweet Fajalobi – Surinam restaurant in Shanghai

Last night Qi and I decided to try out the only Surinam (South American) restaurant in Shanghai. The restaurant is called Sweet Fajalobi – The taste of South America, and is located on 362 Shaanxi Bei Lu, just north of Plaza 66 (taxi: Beijing Lu/Shaanxi Lu). It’s a two-storey restaurant, with a small patio in the back. The atmosphere is relaxed, with South-American music (not too loud), and small tables with a candle on it. There is also a bar, with Hoegaarden (white beer) on draught. The walls have pictures and art from Surinam on it.

The menu was very interesting for me, because it contained lots of Dutch food items (Surinam used to be a Dutch colony until 1975). I am not a big fan of Dutch cuisine, as it is generally quite boring (potatoes, meat and vegetables), but there are some things that I like to eat every now and then. And this restaurant has some of them on its menu. I started with two appetizers: ‘kroket’ (made of chicken meat) and ‘broodje vlees’ (with meatloaf), both things that I’d eat as a snack in Holland. It was the first time for me to eat kroket in a restaurant in China (mainland China that is, in Hong Kong I think I had kroket once in 1998 in a Dutch snack bar on Lang Kwai Fong that has since disappeared). Broodje vlees was different from what I expected, but likely the Surinam version of this is different from Holland. Other Dutch menu items included for example bruine bonen (kidney beans) and zuurkool (sauerkraut, cabbage).

The Surinam kitchen has influences from many different cuisines, not only Dutch, but also Indonesian, Indian and Chinese. The menu reflects this with sateh and nasi goreng from Indonesia, curries from India and several Chinese dishes. The restaurant has several set menu’s, that are very reasonably priced (88 kuai for 3 courses). Our total price amounted to RMB 268 for 3 appetizers and 2 main courses plus drinks. The taste was very good and the service excellent, and I will certainly go back here soon. The restaurant is also open for lunch. Reservations: 021-6271 3300

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Shanghai events on upcoming.org

Just came accross a user-generated content site that shows events worldwide, upcoming.org. After checking the events for Shanghai, I decided to sign up. In total Shanghai has 204 users and I hope it will be more soon. This is the kind of site I like, because you come accross events that might not be announced in other places. If you are bored (does not happen to me too often 🙂 you just log on and see if there is anything going on in town. The site has RSS feeds for events in different cities, making it even easier to keep up-to-date. The events for Shanghai can be found here: http://upcoming.org/metro/cn/sh/sh

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Direct KLM flights to Chengdu

Two years ago I was the producer of a film for a Singaporean real estate company about Chengdu. In total I spent about 2 weeks there (for location scouting and the actual production) and I really liked the city. It’s very relaxed, a bit laid back actually, with lots of parks and two rivers crossing the town. But it also has all the comforts of modern life such as good hotels, bars, restaurants and even two big Carrefour supermarkets stocked with foreign products.

A hidden gem, because it’s not a city where many tourists go. The only ones I met were people on their way to Tibet (flights to Lhasa leave from Chengdu) or people looking to see panda’s (there is a big panda reserve in the mountains north of the city). But that might change, because KLM is planning a bi-weekly direct flight from Amsterdam to Chengdu.

A KLM spokesman said: “KLM views China as one of its most important growth markets. With the introduction of this new service we are matching words with deeds to connect an entirely new region to Europe, and via Schiphol [airport], with the rest of the world”. Flights will start on May 28 this year, and are operated by a Boeing 777.

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Chinese signs for offices and bars

First there was a regulation that China-produced cars should carry a name in Chinese characters. Now also companies, stores, restaurants and bars need to have a Chinese name on its signs writes the Shanghai Daily. The reason, according to an official with the Shanghai Language Works Commission “Foreign-language-only signboards will probably hamper people’s understanding and deliberately set up communication barriers for most Chinese.”

Although I understand the reasoning, I think the officials are making too big a deal out of it. There should be more pressing issues than forcing foreign companies to put Chinese signs on the wall (my companies have Chinese names on our signboards by the way, next to the English ones). But luckily the punishment is not that serious: first you get a warning, and then your name will be published on a black-list in local Chinese media. The English name or the Chinese name?

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TV show about Dutch people moving to China

Today I received an email from a Dutch TV company that is looking to produce a reality TV program about Dutch people that are planning to move to China. They will be followed during about four months, both before leaving and after arriving in China. I think this is an excellent idea, as long as China will not be shown in a too stereotypical way. In case there are any interested Dutch people reading this blog with plans to move to China, please contact Bob Keller at bob.keller@stokvisproducties.nl

The whole email in Dutch follows here:

Beste Marc,

Ik ben via een Internet site bij je terechtgekomen. Jij bent volgens mij al een tijd in China aan het werk en wellicht kan je me helpen met mijn zoektocht. De omroep de Tros heeft in oktober een speciale China week, voor deze thema week willen we ook een speciale China aflevering maken van het televisie programma ”Ik Vertrek”.

In dit programma volgen we mensen die vertrekken uit Nederland en iets nieuws gaan beginnen in een ander land.

Voor dit programma zoeken wij op dit moment een verhaal van mensen, die zich permanent of voor langere tijd in China vestigen. Wij volgen telkens 1 gezin/stel bij de voorbereiding van het vertrek in Nederland en tijdens de eerste periode in China.

In totaal volgt een filmploeg ca. 15 dagen, verspreid over een periode van ca. 4 maanden, de verrichtingen van deze mensen. En dan wordt alles gefilmd. Ook eventuele tegenslag. Op de eindmontage hebben de deelnemers geen invloed. Er staat geen geldelijke beloning tegenover, maar het programma levert zeer veel reacties op. Er kijken gemiddeld een miljoen mensen naar en dat levert veel reacties en dus ‘free publicity’ op. Wij zijn vooral op zoek naar mensen, die al binnen enkele maanden vertrekken.

Ik wilde je vragen of je Nederlandse mensen kent die plannen hebben om naar China te verhuizen. Wellicht kan je me verder helpen met contacten.

Ik hoop iets van je te horen. Het liefst via het email adres van Bob Keller.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Esther Janmaat

namens Bob Keller
Eindredacteur ‘Ik Vertrek’

RENE STOKVIS PRODUCTIES BV

Plein 1945, nr. 27
Postbus 35
1250 AA Laren (NH)
www.stokvisproducties.nl
T +31 (0)35 5395018
F +31 (0)35 5380898
E bob.keller@stokvisproducties.nl

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Virgin complex

Sometimes I really wonder whether the editors of Chinese newspapers are making up some of their stories. Today was one of those times, when the Shanghai Daily carried this story:

A man whose anonym is a Zhao Tong, has received two brain operations to rid himself of his virgin complex, Shanghai Evening Post reported today.

Zhao, 28, had the second operation yesterday, because he wants to marry his girlfriend but can’t get rid of the thoughts of her not being a virgin.

After the operation, he felt light-headed and was disorganized, but said he now doesn’t think about his girlfriend’s “un-virgin” status as much as he used to.

Pan Jiyang, a psychological doctor at the Guangzhou Overseas Chinese Hospital, said the complex is caused by some biological factors.

Zhao Zhenhuan, the dean of the Guangzhou Brain Hospital, said that treating mental diseases by brain operation began in the late 1980s in China. In the United States, only when pharmaceutical treatments don’t work, can patients receive brain operation.

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Taxi drivers…

Early Monday morning I took a taxi from the Sheraton to Beijing airport. When arriving there the driver told me the price was RMB 80 and I paid him (in Beijing taxi’s, especially the more expensive taxi’s at 5-star hotels, the meter is often out of view). Then I asked him for the receipt, which he reluctantly gave to me. Normally I do not really check the receipt, but because he did not automatically give it to me I took a closer look. I turns out that the total amount was only RMB 63. That’s the sort of thing that ticks me off: don’t try to cheat me, even if it’s just for a few RMB. So I point it out to the driver and he says that I agreed to the price. I agreed to the price? I asked him how much it was because I could not see the meter and then paid him, that’s not agreeing on a price. Then he said he did not have enough change, thereby undermining his first argument.

A loud verbal fight outside the taxi started, and soon we had many people around us. The driver then decided to give me back an additional RMB 15 (suddenly he had change!) and hoped I would leave. But I did not, because I felt he should learn a lesson not to try to overcharge foreigners. So I wrote down his taxi license number and his license plate. The driver knew he would be in serious trouble if I would report this, so he tried to bribe me with RMB 100. I told him I didn’t want his money, and left the scene. I did not report him, but I think (or at least hope) he learned his lesson.

A few hours later at the exit of Shanghai airport a goodlooking young lady in a business suit was asking foreigners in good English to follow her to the taxi stand. Because she was dressed like a business woman even I thought for a moment that she was part of a new airport system with different taxi stands. But when I saw her walking in the direction of the parking lot, I knew she was just one of the touts trying to get foreigners into overpriced illegal taxi’s.

Not much later I was at the front of the official taxi line, and was directed to the first taxi in line. Next to it were three drivers and they seemed to discuss who could ‘take me for a ride’. I wanted to get into the first taxi, but the second driver told me to go to his taxi. Fine with me. So I get in, and he makes a sign with his hands to show him a card where I want to go, assuming I am a tourist. The other drivers stand next to his open window nosy to find out where this guy can take me. Too bad for the driver I tell him my home address in Chinese. When I also tell him the shortest way to get there, he seems really disappointed. Bad luck for him, no possibility to rip off a foreigner…