In a recent issue of Auto Motor und Sport this was noticed:
I feel... so used.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
...In which the lazy blogger uses photos to catch up
So I haven't posted since leaving Qianmen for the Sport and Environment conference, mostly because we didn't have internet for most of that time, but also because I haven't really known what to write about. I kind of took the blog on a weird, pedantic jog in my last post, and I haven't been sure of where to go from there... so I'm just gonna post a few pictures. It's better for everyone this way.
The conference was a bit of a downer. Andrea covered it pretty well, so I'll just add that the site itself will look way cool when finished, but BOCOG and the IOC have missed a huge opportunity by proving every skeptic who says that "sustainability" is just a new buzzzword for the same, tired PR totally correct.
Then, there were the bugs in the hotel. And judging by the large smears on the walls, we weren't the first to spend a few long nights at the Century Longdu Apartments sending large, fast-moving bugs to the big, poorly maintained high-rise in the sky.
But our weekend by the O-Green was not all bad. We happened to wander into the "South Silk Road" restaurant because everything else in the vicinity of the Conference Center seemed overpriced and westerner-oriented, and we hadn't tried Yunnan food yet. We were not surprised to find that the cuisine of the southwestern province is delicious, exotic and a refreshing contrast to the typical northern dishes, but we were shocked to discover that the place was dirt cheap, considering the high quality of ingredients and upscale decor. Here you can see the Fire Beef which was spicy and impossibly tender, and Pork with Mild Peppers and Sour Papaya, which was sweet, slightly spicy and sour with lime and cilantro flavors. Another highlight were the steamed buns which were made with sweet potato and cornmeal, and stuffed with sweet, smoky shredded barbecue ham. Probably the best restaurant we've been to yet, at the price.
Since getting back to Templeside, we went down to Chongwen by subway to check out more hutongs... I've been wanting a picture of this warning on the subway for some time.
Large parts of the protected areas in Chongwen look like war zones, particularly where the streets have been widened. Houses are simply gashed open to make way for the street, leaving half standing structures along these newly-paved roads, giving the place a kind of small-scale Dresden 1946 look. This army tent with a small plot of corn behind it really added to the whole post-apocalyptic feel.
These cats were a much-appreciated photographic distraction from the acres of rubble.
This is a picture from a billboard which currently blocks access to the Qianmen site. It shows what the place will look like once they get rid of all those pesky old buildings.
One of the coolest things about the hutongs which haven't been depopulated are the fruit markets. Fruit is super cheap, and of amazingly high quality. It doesn't all look good from the outside, which fools the American who is used to uniform displays of spotless produce, but the vendor will bust open the spotted, greenish tangerine you just turned your nose up at and make you eat a section, proving that it is lacking nothing in taste and juicyness. The grapefruit here are my favorite... the one in this picture is actually on the small side, as the really big ones can easily be the size of a human head. They are harder and crunchier than I'm used to, but taste delicious, and are a meal unto themselves.
The conference was a bit of a downer. Andrea covered it pretty well, so I'll just add that the site itself will look way cool when finished, but BOCOG and the IOC have missed a huge opportunity by proving every skeptic who says that "sustainability" is just a new buzzzword for the same, tired PR totally correct.
Then, there were the bugs in the hotel. And judging by the large smears on the walls, we weren't the first to spend a few long nights at the Century Longdu Apartments sending large, fast-moving bugs to the big, poorly maintained high-rise in the sky.
But our weekend by the O-Green was not all bad. We happened to wander into the "South Silk Road" restaurant because everything else in the vicinity of the Conference Center seemed overpriced and westerner-oriented, and we hadn't tried Yunnan food yet. We were not surprised to find that the cuisine of the southwestern province is delicious, exotic and a refreshing contrast to the typical northern dishes, but we were shocked to discover that the place was dirt cheap, considering the high quality of ingredients and upscale decor. Here you can see the Fire Beef which was spicy and impossibly tender, and Pork with Mild Peppers and Sour Papaya, which was sweet, slightly spicy and sour with lime and cilantro flavors. Another highlight were the steamed buns which were made with sweet potato and cornmeal, and stuffed with sweet, smoky shredded barbecue ham. Probably the best restaurant we've been to yet, at the price.
Since getting back to Templeside, we went down to Chongwen by subway to check out more hutongs... I've been wanting a picture of this warning on the subway for some time.
Large parts of the protected areas in Chongwen look like war zones, particularly where the streets have been widened. Houses are simply gashed open to make way for the street, leaving half standing structures along these newly-paved roads, giving the place a kind of small-scale Dresden 1946 look. This army tent with a small plot of corn behind it really added to the whole post-apocalyptic feel.
These cats were a much-appreciated photographic distraction from the acres of rubble.
This is a picture from a billboard which currently blocks access to the Qianmen site. It shows what the place will look like once they get rid of all those pesky old buildings.
One of the coolest things about the hutongs which haven't been depopulated are the fruit markets. Fruit is super cheap, and of amazingly high quality. It doesn't all look good from the outside, which fools the American who is used to uniform displays of spotless produce, but the vendor will bust open the spotted, greenish tangerine you just turned your nose up at and make you eat a section, proving that it is lacking nothing in taste and juicyness. The grapefruit here are my favorite... the one in this picture is actually on the small side, as the really big ones can easily be the size of a human head. They are harder and crunchier than I'm used to, but taste delicious, and are a meal unto themselves.
Monday, October 22, 2007
What wouldn't you do for a billion bucks?
Working with Andrea as she investigates the destruction of Qianmen's historic neighborhoods has given me the opportunity to explore a number of related issues and try new research methods. Some are fun, like running around with a camera trying to get pictures over walls without being spotted by guards, and some are less fun... like good, old fashioned dot-connecting. Here's some of what's come up:
China's economy has been blowing up for the last ten years, averaging about 10% growth in the last 5 years, compared to a global average of less than half that. Production not consumption is king here, and rather than the high personal debt rates that we have in America, savings rates in China are particularly high. These savings have been increasingly flooding both the stock markets and real estate markets, which explain both the facts that a) you see construction projects every other block here and b) China now has more billionaires than any nation on earth other than the US of A. Real Estate companies in particular are getting Google-sized IPOs based on a situation which Associate Professor at Beijing University Michael Pettis might call "the double-bubble"
And that's where the rubber hits the road. The Qianmen development is taking place in a parcel of land that is clearly marked in the Beijing Conservation Plan as a protected area, and from what little we can see between the huge barriers in place to prevent nosy parkers from getting a good look, most of the area is either leveled or just now being built. This is bad for a number of reasons which Andrea is far more qualified to explain, but there are numerous other reasons for why this situation is about more than jealousy of those who make it big during market bubbles. For one thing, it's hard to have too much respect for people who make lots of money in a real estate boom in a country where private property is a relatively new phenomenon. The rights and responsibilities of property ownership, the ability of local and central governments to abridge those rights at the behest of developers, and the recourse for property owners facing illegal evictions are all cutting edge issues here. It was a bit mind-blowing to talk to people working in NGO's, who would explained that the policies of the earlier communist eras created a historical context in which ownership is often impossible to determine, let alone verify, and eviction notices can be posted within a few days of the arrival of the wrecking ball.
But, this is not just a case for shaking ones head sadly and saying "that's just China." The 17th CPC Congress is just wrapping up in Beijing, and when the apparatchiks get done with the self-congratulations, they recognize that they have a lot of work to do. The general term "scientific development" is becoming a guiding principle for the party under Hu Jintao, and it points a course in which economic numbers are no longer the only measures of success, and the "harmonious society" is the ultimate goal. Now to a westerner this all sounds very "dear leader-ish" but even on state-run TV the debates over the environment, economic stratification and heritage protection are very real and surprisingly honest. Hell, the Vice-Minister for Construction has even compared the recent destruction of historic architecture to the excesses of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. From how I saw this issue just a month ago, that would be like hearing George Bush comparing Guantanamo Bay to a Soviet Gulag: unthinkable. Now it seems more like George Bush comparing Iraq to Vietnam: an admission that good intentions created a situation that is now entirely out of control.
China's economy has been blowing up for the last ten years, averaging about 10% growth in the last 5 years, compared to a global average of less than half that. Production not consumption is king here, and rather than the high personal debt rates that we have in America, savings rates in China are particularly high. These savings have been increasingly flooding both the stock markets and real estate markets, which explain both the facts that a) you see construction projects every other block here and b) China now has more billionaires than any nation on earth other than the US of A. Real Estate companies in particular are getting Google-sized IPOs based on a situation which Associate Professor at Beijing University Michael Pettis might call "the double-bubble"
"In real estate you're getting overinflated profits from borrowing money to get cheap land and then selling at inflated prices; and then you've got a stock market that is valuing a dollar of earnings at about 40 or 50 times. So you've got a bubble on top of a bubble."It's funny too, because the situation he's referring to specifically here is that of SOHO-China, a real estate company who's recent $1.6 billion Hong Kong IPO grew 15% on it's first day of trading in an otherwise down market... oh yeah, and it's also the company now behind the Qianmen development which Andrea and I are looking into. Not only that, but the the success of the IPO was basically dependent on the Qianmen project "working out" for SOHO, given that the offering was for a price premium more than 1.6 times it's net asset value without the Qianmen project, but as this story in Marketwatch puts it:
But like any gamble, when the zeroes keep getting tacked on, the risk soon becomes impossible to pass up. SOHO's profit was 340 million Yuan in 2006, and this year it's set to be 1.62 billion Yuan. If the Qianmen project gets held up (hint: it won't) their profit will *only* climb to 1.86 billion, but if (when) it does, the 2008 profits are expected to come in at 2.63 billion Yuan. Given the fact that SOHO's IPO lit up the Hong Kong market with 15% growth on it's first day, it seems pretty clear that investors (including Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal) have more faith in the power of projected profits than China's heritage protection laws.The IPO price range's premium to NAV narrows to a maximum of 30% when the value of the Qianmen project is included, analysts said."It's really a gamble on whether you think the Qianmen project will get regulatory approval or not. After all, it's heritage sites we are talking about here," said an analyst with a mainland Chinese asset management fund, who declined to be named.
And that's where the rubber hits the road. The Qianmen development is taking place in a parcel of land that is clearly marked in the Beijing Conservation Plan as a protected area, and from what little we can see between the huge barriers in place to prevent nosy parkers from getting a good look, most of the area is either leveled or just now being built. This is bad for a number of reasons which Andrea is far more qualified to explain, but there are numerous other reasons for why this situation is about more than jealousy of those who make it big during market bubbles. For one thing, it's hard to have too much respect for people who make lots of money in a real estate boom in a country where private property is a relatively new phenomenon. The rights and responsibilities of property ownership, the ability of local and central governments to abridge those rights at the behest of developers, and the recourse for property owners facing illegal evictions are all cutting edge issues here. It was a bit mind-blowing to talk to people working in NGO's, who would explained that the policies of the earlier communist eras created a historical context in which ownership is often impossible to determine, let alone verify, and eviction notices can be posted within a few days of the arrival of the wrecking ball.
But, this is not just a case for shaking ones head sadly and saying "that's just China." The 17th CPC Congress is just wrapping up in Beijing, and when the apparatchiks get done with the self-congratulations, they recognize that they have a lot of work to do. The general term "scientific development" is becoming a guiding principle for the party under Hu Jintao, and it points a course in which economic numbers are no longer the only measures of success, and the "harmonious society" is the ultimate goal. Now to a westerner this all sounds very "dear leader-ish" but even on state-run TV the debates over the environment, economic stratification and heritage protection are very real and surprisingly honest. Hell, the Vice-Minister for Construction has even compared the recent destruction of historic architecture to the excesses of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. From how I saw this issue just a month ago, that would be like hearing George Bush comparing Guantanamo Bay to a Soviet Gulag: unthinkable. Now it seems more like George Bush comparing Iraq to Vietnam: an admission that good intentions created a situation that is now entirely out of control.
Friday, October 19, 2007
The Life Aquatic
Shanghai is, if nothing else, an exhausting city. After several days of heavy-duty shopping, huge crowds and harrowing subway rides, it was definately time to do something a little more relaxing. We couldn't have picked a more tranquil escape from the hustle and bustle than the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium. Wandering around the beautiful tanks of placid, colorful fish we forgot all about the 18 million go-getters we are sharing this non-stop city with... at least until we tried to catch a rush hour subway back across the Huangpu! Here are some pictures of our afternoon at the aquarium...
Who wants this guys job? Dude, don't look now, but there are Giant Japanese Spider Crabs right behind you...
Andrea thought this giant Amazon River fish needed to be put in line, hence the angry fist.
Shark tunnel was way cool.
Going down the elevator, Andrea was getting way excited.
Seal, upside down.
A turtle... not that exciting, but pretty damn cute.
Fish chomping on lettuce. Kind of like "Jaws" for vegetarians.
Andrea trying to reason with more unruly fish.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Qingdao to Shanghai
We awoke early yesterday, and since the weather was the best in the last two days I took an early morning dip in the Yellow Sea, swimming out to the farthest shark net on bathing beach 1 (about a half mile). The water was mild and refreshing, but accidentally swallowing small amounts nearly made me yack up my potato pancake breakfast.
After packing up and checking out of our hostel, we had a light lunch of delicious Shandong steamed dumplings, sat and chatted with the beer lady of Sifang Lu while getting some beer for the train, then caught a cab for the train station. Although we had been warned that the train from Qingdao to Shanghai was particularly long (20 hours) and not especially cheap compared to flying, we have both enjoyed taking the train... this time was no exception. Since our time in China is being divided between cities with anywhere from one to nearly four times the population of Oregon, the window of the train is our only exposure to the rural conditions in which the majority of Chinese people live.
The sights from the window only further deepen the complexity of impression that China leaves on the passing traveler. Lush, wild watersheds dividing huge agricultural fields, themselves split into infinite plots of grains, vegetables and flowers. Large-scale, mechanized agriculture was not strongly evidenced, and the conical sheafs of corn and small groups of workers in the fields were more reminiscent of rural scenes from 50 years ago, then anything you'd see in the American midwest today. But like everywhere else in China, time in rural Shandong and Jiangsu provinces does not stand still. Beside abandoned cinderblock collective farm buildings which look like they had never been inhabited by humans, the flashes of welding torches shone through the gathering dusk. Even as evening faded to night, lights illuminated huge construction sites, as workers toiled through the darkness. The contrast between the gaping, hollow window openings of old buildings which seemed to never have been fitted with frames or panes and the rising skeletons of new buildings were as incomprehensible as the piles of garbage directly next to arduously cultivated fields. If I ever come back here, I will have to spend far more time in the countryside.
The rythmic vibration of the train lulled us to sleep in our comfy bunks, and gently woke me again feeling refreshed... subtract what a hotel would have cost, and this train thing actually turns out to be a hell of a way to travel. As we approached Shanghai, the canals and waterways of Jiangsu province provided a new glimpse of life in China: ancient looking houseboats, homes opening directly onto the water and groups of men fishing from the riverbanks using poles and huge nets. Quickly the small homes and quiet canals gave way to ever higher and higher apartment blocks, and before we knew it, we were in Shanghai. We took the subway to our hostel (a much better ride than Beijing's metro, but less english and pinyin signage), checked in and then took the tube downtown to explore the City.
I don't want to pass too quick a judgment on Shanghai, but the hordes of fellow honkeys, aggressive street hawkers, poseur veneer, and generally frantic pace was a little off-putting after quaint, sleepy Qingdao and friendly, down-home Beijing. But, we've got plenty of time to discover the joys of mega-city life, and already the cheap food and abundance of shopping options are pointing the way. Still, I hope we can get out of the city at least once to wander the intriguing countryside which so confounded me from the train window.
After packing up and checking out of our hostel, we had a light lunch of delicious Shandong steamed dumplings, sat and chatted with the beer lady of Sifang Lu while getting some beer for the train, then caught a cab for the train station. Although we had been warned that the train from Qingdao to Shanghai was particularly long (20 hours) and not especially cheap compared to flying, we have both enjoyed taking the train... this time was no exception. Since our time in China is being divided between cities with anywhere from one to nearly four times the population of Oregon, the window of the train is our only exposure to the rural conditions in which the majority of Chinese people live.
The sights from the window only further deepen the complexity of impression that China leaves on the passing traveler. Lush, wild watersheds dividing huge agricultural fields, themselves split into infinite plots of grains, vegetables and flowers. Large-scale, mechanized agriculture was not strongly evidenced, and the conical sheafs of corn and small groups of workers in the fields were more reminiscent of rural scenes from 50 years ago, then anything you'd see in the American midwest today. But like everywhere else in China, time in rural Shandong and Jiangsu provinces does not stand still. Beside abandoned cinderblock collective farm buildings which look like they had never been inhabited by humans, the flashes of welding torches shone through the gathering dusk. Even as evening faded to night, lights illuminated huge construction sites, as workers toiled through the darkness. The contrast between the gaping, hollow window openings of old buildings which seemed to never have been fitted with frames or panes and the rising skeletons of new buildings were as incomprehensible as the piles of garbage directly next to arduously cultivated fields. If I ever come back here, I will have to spend far more time in the countryside.
The rythmic vibration of the train lulled us to sleep in our comfy bunks, and gently woke me again feeling refreshed... subtract what a hotel would have cost, and this train thing actually turns out to be a hell of a way to travel. As we approached Shanghai, the canals and waterways of Jiangsu province provided a new glimpse of life in China: ancient looking houseboats, homes opening directly onto the water and groups of men fishing from the riverbanks using poles and huge nets. Quickly the small homes and quiet canals gave way to ever higher and higher apartment blocks, and before we knew it, we were in Shanghai. We took the subway to our hostel (a much better ride than Beijing's metro, but less english and pinyin signage), checked in and then took the tube downtown to explore the City.
I don't want to pass too quick a judgment on Shanghai, but the hordes of fellow honkeys, aggressive street hawkers, poseur veneer, and generally frantic pace was a little off-putting after quaint, sleepy Qingdao and friendly, down-home Beijing. But, we've got plenty of time to discover the joys of mega-city life, and already the cheap food and abundance of shopping options are pointing the way. Still, I hope we can get out of the city at least once to wander the intriguing countryside which so confounded me from the train window.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Damn... let's go to the brewery.
After arriving in Qingdao, and briefly exploring the city and beaches, we were so impressed with the beautiful weather that we made the snap decision to stay an extra night here, so as to get in plenty of swimming, sunning and beach lounging before heading to Shanghai. That night in the hostel bar I made a point of asking the bartender what the weather was supposed to be like for the next few days. "Nice," he said. "Sunny," he said.
When we woke up yesterday morning we couldn't tell what the weather was like because you can't even see the sky from our window, but we geared up for a day of beachfront leisure, only to be greeted by gray skies and fog. In our optimism, we thought the sun would burn it off and bring back the clear skies and sun of the day before. So, we wandered around looking for breakfast, a quest which ended up taking hours due to the lack of the streetfood vendors and small bakeries which we had become dependent on in Beijing. Meanwhile it started raining.
Having finally found some potato pancakes, steambread and dried fruit, we made our peace with the fact that we wouldn't be going to the beach that day. So we went back to the hostel, got some real clothes on and hailed a cab to take us to the famous Tsingtao brewery to sample the local goodness. Now, the Lonely Planet Guide Book (which, frankly, sucks) tells us that the term for Tsingtao Brewery is "Qingdao Pijiuchang" and our cabby repeated the phrase as if he knew what we wanted. But, instead of delivering us at our intended destination, he took us out to the local "Beer Carnival" on the edge of town, which wouldn't have been a horrible mistake if the place had looked like it had been open at any point in the last 30 years. Instead, it was crumbling, dilapidated and a disgrace to its enticing name. So then we played pictionary and charades with our cabby, trying to explain what a brewery was, before he called someone who spoke english, at which point he laughed and drove us to the Brewery.
At the brewery, we got to check out all kinds of old-timey beer making stuff, smell hops and yeast and learn all kinds of things about Tsingtao we never knew...
...like its history. Did you know that it was founded by Germans? how cool is that?
We also discovered, that despite its despicable Nazi roots, Tsingtao beer cares about the environment. This was the last picture in a whole display on environmental responsibility... and I thought that there was nothing I could do to help the environment!
The highlight of the brewery (besides the free beer) was the drunk simulator, a room that induces an extreme state of unsteadiness. We still aren't sure if this was caused by a sloping floor, or the rad mural of KISS and other rock greats, but it sure made us feel like we had our slant on.
To enhance the enjoyment of the drunk simulator, there was a camera inside to capture every awkward stagger. This elderly couple didn't look like they enjoyed the experience quite as much as we did.
After cruising the gift shop, and being hugely disappointed by the tasting room (you couldn't try their black beer or the frighteningly enticing "spirulina beer") we ditched the place in total agreement that the Deschutes Brewery in Bend is a way more entertaining experience. With nothing better to do, we had a long two-pitcher lunch at a restaurant across the street, by the end of which we were entertaining ourselves by dubbing the Red Army drama on TV into english. The black beer was good (stout taste without the thick, heavy body), and luckily we had a business card in chinese to show our cab driver, ensuring a drama-free ride back to the hostel. After all, we were in no state for another extended game of charades.
When we woke up yesterday morning we couldn't tell what the weather was like because you can't even see the sky from our window, but we geared up for a day of beachfront leisure, only to be greeted by gray skies and fog. In our optimism, we thought the sun would burn it off and bring back the clear skies and sun of the day before. So, we wandered around looking for breakfast, a quest which ended up taking hours due to the lack of the streetfood vendors and small bakeries which we had become dependent on in Beijing. Meanwhile it started raining.
Having finally found some potato pancakes, steambread and dried fruit, we made our peace with the fact that we wouldn't be going to the beach that day. So we went back to the hostel, got some real clothes on and hailed a cab to take us to the famous Tsingtao brewery to sample the local goodness. Now, the Lonely Planet Guide Book (which, frankly, sucks) tells us that the term for Tsingtao Brewery is "Qingdao Pijiuchang" and our cabby repeated the phrase as if he knew what we wanted. But, instead of delivering us at our intended destination, he took us out to the local "Beer Carnival" on the edge of town, which wouldn't have been a horrible mistake if the place had looked like it had been open at any point in the last 30 years. Instead, it was crumbling, dilapidated and a disgrace to its enticing name. So then we played pictionary and charades with our cabby, trying to explain what a brewery was, before he called someone who spoke english, at which point he laughed and drove us to the Brewery.
At the brewery, we got to check out all kinds of old-timey beer making stuff, smell hops and yeast and learn all kinds of things about Tsingtao we never knew...
...like its history. Did you know that it was founded by Germans? how cool is that?
We also discovered, that despite its despicable Nazi roots, Tsingtao beer cares about the environment. This was the last picture in a whole display on environmental responsibility... and I thought that there was nothing I could do to help the environment!
The highlight of the brewery (besides the free beer) was the drunk simulator, a room that induces an extreme state of unsteadiness. We still aren't sure if this was caused by a sloping floor, or the rad mural of KISS and other rock greats, but it sure made us feel like we had our slant on.
To enhance the enjoyment of the drunk simulator, there was a camera inside to capture every awkward stagger. This elderly couple didn't look like they enjoyed the experience quite as much as we did.After cruising the gift shop, and being hugely disappointed by the tasting room (you couldn't try their black beer or the frighteningly enticing "spirulina beer") we ditched the place in total agreement that the Deschutes Brewery in Bend is a way more entertaining experience. With nothing better to do, we had a long two-pitcher lunch at a restaurant across the street, by the end of which we were entertaining ourselves by dubbing the Red Army drama on TV into english. The black beer was good (stout taste without the thick, heavy body), and luckily we had a business card in chinese to show our cab driver, ensuring a drama-free ride back to the hostel. After all, we were in no state for another extended game of charades.
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