Posts filed under 'Beijing'
Nobody can escape the all powerful, pervasive BSOD - not even the picture perfect Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony. In this case BSOD revealed itself during the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. Someone snapped this priceless picture of the BSOD sneaking up to Li Ning, who was suspended in the air lighting the cauldron : )
Fortunately, the BSOD was projected on a very obscure location on the Bird’s Nest so only a small number of people noticed it…
August 13th, 2008
China is planning to enable city-wide wireless Internet access in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Qingdao, Yangzhou and Shenzhen.
Beijing
Wireless Internet access is already available for free within Beijing’s city center (Beijing WiCity English homepage) during the Olympics. By the end of 2009, wireless Internet will be available for all areas within the 5th ring road. By the end of 2010, the wireless Internet service will be available within the entire Beijing municipality.
Although the wireless Internet service in Beijing is initially free during the Olympics, usage fees are planned after the Olympics: 0.12 yuan/minute, 20 yuan/day, 60 yuan/week or 80 yuan/month. In comparison, currently GPRS access costs 660 yuan for 6 months and CDMA access costs 620 yuan for 7 months.
Shanghai
Wireless Internet access is already available in downtown Shanghai. The entire city will have coverage before the 2010 World Expo.
Guangzhou
Guangzhou is planning to enable city-wide wireless Internet access in 3 phases, all to be completed in time for the 2010 Asian Games.
Specific implementation timelines have not yet been announced in the other cities. However in general, wireless Internet access in China’s major cities is expected to grow rapidly over the next 2 years, i.e. there will presumably be broad coverage in all major Chinese cities by the end of 2010.
Source:
http://it.people.com.cn/GB/1068/42899/7626258.html
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/citylife/2008-06/11/content_6752831.htm
http://english.nanjing.gov.cn/today/njnew/polity/200805/t20080520_239022.htm
August 9th, 2008
According to this Chinese report, Bill Gates and family just arrived in Beijing and will be attending the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony tomorrow. The report claims that:
- He will be in Beijing from August 7th until August 12th to tour the city and watch ping pong and other Olympics competitions
- On August 12th, they will fly to Hong Kong to catch the equestrian events
- After Hong Kong, they will return to Beijing to attend some other Olympics events
The Chinese will sure be glad to see him - in capitalist China most people view him as a total rock-star : )
August 7th, 2008
Jing Jia is Baidu’s advertising product – their homepage is http://jingjia.baidu.com/ (warning: in Chinese; there’s currently no English translation). Like Google Adwords, Jingjia lets advertisers bid on keywords and uses the Pay-Per-Click model: advertisers only pay when users click on their ads in search results. Jingjia also lets advertisers define targeted geographic areas and daily spending limits.
However one big difference between Baidu Jingjia and Google AdWords is the presentation of ads in search results: Baidu Jingjia mixes ads into organic search results, rendering ads in the same font, colors and appearance as organic search results. The only way to tell if a search result is organic or paid is by looking at the hyperlink URLs - paid results undergo a Baidu redirect, probably to track click throughs. Most Baidu search users will not notice the difference between organic and paid search results. Contrast that with Google, which prominently highlights ads (with a red background) and mark them clearly with the label “Sponsored Links”.
Baidu also has another advertising product called Huo Bao Di Dai, which roughly translates to “Hot-Zone”. These are ads that appear on the right side of the search results page. Unlike Jingjia, Hot-Zone does not follow a Pay-Per-Click model. Advertisers pay Baidu a fixed fee to display ads for a fixed period of time – this is regardless of the number of actual click throughs or actual ad impressions.
Here’s a screenshot that compares Google Ads and Baidu Ads side by side in search results:
August 7th, 2008
Apparently, starting from August 1st online merchants in Beijing are required to have business licenses to continue selling on the Internet. It will be interesting to see how this plays out because there has been a lot of debate and resistance to this new requirement – according to this news article as of July 31st not a single online merchant has applied for the required license. Online commerce websites such as TaoBao also have not added any new verification features to ensure that merchants have the requisite business license.
88% of the respondents to an informal online survey on Sina.com do not support this new business license requirement. 86% of the respondents think that this new requirement will have a negative impact on the growth of online commerce in China.
According to the Zhongguancun Department of Commercial Affairs, to apply for the license, online merchants will need to present their property ownership certificate (?), personal identification card and temporary residence registration.
We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks/months:
- Will this new requirement be postponed or cancelled due to strong opposition from Chinese Internet users and websites? Beijing is supposed to be a testing ground before a nationwide rollout of this new requirement.
- Will the government will enforce this new requirement (which will conveniently also make it easier for them to collect taxes on online transactions), to the detriment of China’s fledging online marketplace? A lot of small/casual sellers may be driven away due to the hassles involved in getting and maintaining a license.
http://tech.sina.com.cn/focus/wdxg08/index.shtml
http://business.sohu.com/20080801/n258521239.shtml
http://news.ctocio.com.cn/72/8240072.shtml
August 1st, 2008
Welcome to Beijing, host city of the 2008 Summer Olympics and capital of the most populous country in the world. For most people who are visiting Beijing for the first time – I’m certain that when the visit is over, your image of China will be very different from the one that you arrived with!
Beijing has plenty to offer to visitors – ancient cultural landscapes, ultra modern skyscrapers, hopping nightlife, amazing Chinese cuisine, opportunities to interact with people who grew up and live in a very different world from you, etc. Having lived here for a while now, what do I think are the “must see” or “must do” things in Beijing?
The Great Wall at Simatai (密云司马台长城)
No Beijing visit would be complete if you don’t see the great wall! The great wall at Badaling is most popular and touristy – I’ve never been to Badaling, however from what I’ve heard you’re better off avoiding it because of the crowds and hawkers you will encounter there. Besides, the great wall at Badaling is so heavily restored… some people no longer consider it the “real” great wall.
Simatai is much more authentic, less crowded and regarded by most as superior to the circus that is Badaling.
Forbidden City (故宫) and Tiananmen Square (天安门广场)
The Forbidden City was the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties – it’s hard not to be awed while walking around the huge and ancient complex. Don’t forget your camera! There’re plenty of vantage points from which to take cool pictures.
Tiananmen Square is south of the Forbidden City. It’s a big square (duh) – personally I did not find it super interesting but I guess it’s cool to walk around one of the most politically-charged squares in the world : ) There is extensive police presence (there may be many more plainclothes officers too) so think twice before you engage in any silly pranks. I have heard that the flag raising and lowering drills at sunrise and sunset are pretty cool to watch.
English Corner (英文角) at Renmin University (人民大学)
Overdosed on historical/cultural plces and crave some direct interaction with local Chinese? It’s hard to think of a better place than the English Corner at Renmin University. Every Friday evening from around 7pm onwards, the Chinese gather here to practice speaking English with each other. Shy? No worries – any person that speaks good native English (or looks like he/she can speak good English) is very popular here.
Afunti (阿凡提) Dinner-show
It will be a memorable night at Afunti – over a Xinjiang-style dinner of juicy kebabs and beer, you will be treated to a visual feast of kung-fu moves, belly dancing and much more. If you’re lucky you may become a part of the performance.. and even walk away with a prize!
Afunti is usually packed – definitely call in advance to make a reservation: 6527-2288. The address in Chinese is 东城区朝阳门内大街后拐棒胡同甲2号 (朝阳门北小街的西侧). If the taxi driver does not recognize this address, call the restaurant and have the restaurant staff give the driver directions.
FYI it is a few hundred meters east of the “Dongsi” (东四) station on Beijing Subway Line 5. However I do not recommend walking from the subway as it’s not a short walk and the restaurant is easy to miss as it’s not well signed / hidden in a small alley.
Walk Nanluoguxiang (南锣鼓巷), the drum tower (鼓楼) and Houhai (后海)
Nanluoguxiang (literally translates to “South Drum Alley”) is a quaint hutong with interesting small restaurants, cafes, bars and shops. A big plus is that it’s not super commercialized, touristy and loud (yet. I hope never ever) like Lotus Lane (荷花市场), the Worker’s Stadium area (工体西门) and Sanlitun (三里屯) for example. Nanluoguxiang is a great place to chill with friends in the evening/night. Tell the taxi driver to drop you off at the south end of this alley/street – 南锣鼓巷的南侧 (地安门东大街和南锣鼓巷的交叉).
Walk north through Nanluoguxiang for about 1 kilometer (about 0.6 miles) until you hit a major road/intersection, Guloudongdajie (鼓楼东大街). At the intersection turn left (head east) and walk for a few hundred meters until you see the drum tower – it will come up on your right, you can’t miss it. Feel free to explore the area around the drum tower… I think you can even go inside for a fee.
South of the drum tower is a big (3-way?) intersection. Walk south along the major road that heads south – Dianmenwaidajie (地安门外大街). Cross over to the west side of this road as soon as possible. As you walk south, look out on your right for Yandaixiejie (烟袋斜街), a little alley with restaurants, bars and shops. You should see a gate/arch with the 烟袋斜街 inscription at the entrance of this alley. There will probably be lots of other tourists walking in and out of this alley so it should be quite obvious when you get there.
Walk down this alley and you will eventually see a big lake, Houhai (后海). From here it should not be hard to find restaurants or bars to go to, or stuff to do – for example you can rent boats on the lake, or do a hutong tour on a rickshaw, etc.
Dashanzi 798 Art District (大山子798文化艺术区)
This is a cluster of art galleries situated in an old abandoned military industrial-factory zone that was code named 798. Don’t forget your camera – the juxtaposition of art and abandoned factories is.. hmm, unique?
Other things to do
February 2nd, 2008
In late 2006, after living in the United States for 7 years I decided to move to Beijing. I arrived in Beijing not really knowing what to expect – which was both nerve wracking and exciting : ) After having lived in Beijing for more than a year, what’s the verdict? Here’s what I’ve come to love about this city:
I love the buzz, the opportunities, the energy
These are exciting times for China. A few years ago she become the third country on the planet to launch a human to Space. Her red hot economy – already huge by any standard – is growing at double digit rates and seems on track to be the world’s biggest economy in the not too distant future. The country is a gigantic construction site.. they are building new stuff everywhere. The number of mobile phone users in China already surpasses the entire population of the United States. It won’t be very long before the number of Internet users in China passes the same threshold. and so on.
Beijing, the capital of China, exemplifies the superlative transformation that the country is undergoing. 3 new subway lines are scheduled to open in the next few months (in time for the Olympics). Tech startups are mushrooming in Zhongguancun, arguably the “Silicon Valley of China”. Crazy looking buildings that look like alien spaceships are shooting up across the city. When the Beijing-Shanghai high speed railway is completed in a few years, travel time between the 2 biggest and most important Chinese cities will be halved, to 5 hours. A sense of hope and excitement about the future is in the air.
I love the food
I never knew fat could taste so good until I ate Dongpo pork ( 东坡肉) in Beijing! While I always sort of knew there were many different types of Chinese cuisines, only in Beijing are they all so accessible in one place. Xinjiang lamb kebabs, Cantonese dim-sum, Spicy Szechuan, Yunnan pineapple rice, Hakka toufu, etc are all a short taxi ride away. Chinese food here is definitely way better than the “Americanized” Chinese food in the US : ) Once in a while I miss fortune cookies though…
I love that Beijing is hosting the Olympics this year
A palpable sense of Olympic frenzy has gripped the city. It’s impossible to walk around the city without encountering at least one Olympic countdown clock. Not a day goes by without some Olympics-related news in the local papers. To reduce dust and pollution apparently most, if not all construction in Beijing is supposed to pause or finish before the Olympics. I think a good number of new buildings will be completed in the next few months – the city will certainly look and feel very different from today.
I love the crazy architecture
From top to bottom, left to right: Linked hybrid, National Theatre, CCTV tower, Water Cube, Bird’s Nest
I love the yellow wine
Believe it or not, yellow wine (HuaDiao 花雕) is served by warming it up in ginger (gives it a spicy flavor) or dried plums (sweetens it)… great stuff. STAY AWAY from the Chinese “white wine” though (BaiJiu) it’s very nasty.
Next time I’ll tell you what I hate about Beijing…
January 17th, 2008
