Markets and Media in 21st Century China

Hot water, almost too hot, has been abundant in China. All hot things, for that matter, have been accessible. Very cold drinks are hard to come by. This is opposite of what I am used to. Americans like a very cold drink on a hot day. Chinese, however, like warm things. Many believe that cold drinks are bad for you. Instead, on a hot day, some hot tea would make you sweat even more releasing toxins and any evil spirits. This probably corresponds to how hot the Chinese can get their water.

In Henglu, the water given to us to drink and for brushing our teeth was too hot to use for the first hour. It was placed in a very well insulated bottle that kept the water hot for hours. If you used it to brush your teeth straight from the bottle, you would burn yourself. We would let it sit in the insulated bottle until the morning and the water would still be warm! I don't know how they got the water so hot.

The shower water also displays this characteristic. In the States, I turn the nozzle for the shower water almost to the hottest temperature. In China, I can't even turn it halfway. It is on the cold side and the water is hot. A couple times I would get out of the shower and turn the water fully to hot. It would steam immediately and form a sauna in the bathroom. I never realized the reason why or how the water was able to get that hot.

-Bryce Foster

Posted by China Traveller at 6:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In know some of you might have just heard from me a couple hours ago, but I could not resist to throw in this story as soon as possible (that and my grade depends on it). Our five weeks in China have opened our eyes not just to a different culture, but an underground industry that would have Buddha himself turning in his grave. The streets of all the major cities we have visited from Shanghai all the way up to Beijing have been littered with Barber Shops and "Massage" Parlors. We soon learned (not from first hand experience, don't worry Mom and Dad) these establishments turn out to be fronts for the ladies of the night as my crazy high school English teacher might say, or to put in more bluntly, prostitutes. Apparently, prostitution is a fairly prominent industry in China and can be located in the most unsuspecting places. But until tonight that was as close as some of us witnessed these operations. It was about 1 am and a few of us were still up struggling on our final paper and a man right next door to my room exited his abode appearing to have plans to smoke a cigarette, but instead returned with what looked like a 15-year-old scantily-clad young woman (Chinese girls do generally look younger to give the man some credit if that's even possible). Within about 15 minutes to a half hour the shower could be heard running a couple of different times, and who knows what might be occurring right next door. I'll just assume the man was lonely on a business trip and just needed someone to talk to at one in the morning. All I can really say is only in China.

Shocked and Appalled,

Matt Danner

Posted by China Traveller at 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I spent some significant time alone today for the first time since the beginning of the trip.

After dropping what seemed like a fortune at the "Gray Market" (after conversion, I only spent about $60 US), I took the subway toward ECNU. As it ends up, I went about a stop too far and ended up at the Jiangsu Road station.

I decided to stop for dinner near the station and decided on an upscale-looking restaurant which was called the New China Bistro. I was still relatively full from our lunch feast provided by the Shanghai Securities News, so I only got one dish, Black Pepper Calf.

Even before we arrived in China, our professors warned us to be prepared to be stared at. Indeed, I have noticed more than my share of stray glances in the past week and a half. But nothing could compare to tonight.

The looks I got were not just curious glances. They were full-on, honestly-do-you-mind, can-I-help-you-with-something gapes. As the local clientele passed my table, they would literally stop for a few seconds facing me before continuing on their way. One man aimlessless wandered back for a second gawk, and then leaned over the table to inspect what my American taste buds picked off of the menu. Buddy, if you want a bite, just say so.

I'm not sure what looked stranger them -- the fact that I was eating a communal dish all by myself or using chopsticks with my left hand. (Everything John Pomfret said about getting teased for our right-brain tendencies definitely still applies.)

As awkward as all of this might sound in a typical American setting, context here is a huge buffer for what would otherwise be intolerable. I really didn't mind being the odd conversation piece in the room, and it was only after I left that I thought how strange it would be at home to be the subject of so much attention. Many of us have already written about Chinese personal space (or lack thereof), and as long as you keep in mind that none of it is ill-spirited, you can stay pretty mellow -- no matter how cramped the bus is or how clingly the shopkeeper.

Alex Kraus

Posted by China Blog Admin at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

People arguing in public places carries with it a certain amount of entertainment, otherwise people would not stop to look and see what’s going on. But when that argument is in English, at least I have the ability to collect some frame of reference or context as to what the conflict is about. I might spend a moment to hear both sides of the argument and to make a small internal judgment of my own before I head back on my way. However, when you replace the language with Chinese (which I hardly know), this moment of entertainment transforms into pure spectacle. I watched as a woman walked up to the counter with a bowl of soup she had recently purchased and began scolding the cook behind the glass. She spoke so fast that I probably would not have been able to understand her even if I was fluent in Chinese, and with all the pointing and arm-flailing, it looked like she was giving swim instructions rather than complaining about her food. He came back at her with an equal tempo and the two went back and forth for about a minute. In the aftermath, she got her money back and the cook was left with a bowl of soup with something obviously undesirable in it, and I was left confused. What was the argument about? Maybe she was a vegetarian and she found a slice of meat or maybe she was allergic to mushrooms and had made an adamant request, or maybe it was something worse, like a piece of shell or an insect. Who knows? Not able to come up with any judgments of my own, I decided to make my way to the line on the other side of the cafeteria, where they served rice.

Ryan MacPhee

Posted by China Traveller at 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This video is about the popularity of Chinese fireworks. Every day you hear at some point fireworks being set off in the streets. They are set off for a celebration or an opening of a new store or for recreation. They are believed to ward off evil spirits and bad luck. This week is not the Chinese New Year, as mentioned in the video. This week is May Day Holiday where almost everyone is given a week off of work.
Thomas Hubka and I have already purchased our own fireworks. They are about a foot long each and are set off by twisted one end of them. You are supposed to hold them in your hand as something fires out the end of them. I will let you know if either one us loses our hands.

Bryce Foster

Posted by China Traveller at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check out these clips of Monday night's acrobatics show at the Yun Feng Theatre and see why our mouths were gaping open by the end of the night...

Posted by Alex Kraus

Posted by China Blog Admin at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our class gathered in the lobby of the international dorm to head out to our first "Survival Chinese" lesson.

Our instructor, Alice, gave us all our own Chinese names.

Charles McElwee '78 told us about his experience with environmental law in China.

We finally (sort of) figured out the confusing ticket system in the cafeteria, thus narrowly avoiding starvation for another day.

The ladies posed outside the Yun Feng Theatre, where we awaited a Chinese acrobatics performance.

Jess was very excited for the performance.

Our professors posed in front of the "Charming Shanghai" wall mural.

The men in the "Climbing Pole" performance lept through the air from pole to pole. It was spectacular and a bit gut-wrenching.

A woman carrying spinning plates walked on her companions' heads while trying not to touch the other plates.

The woman in the "Air Ballet" scene wowed us with her flexibility and endurance.

Manmeet Singh (alum) gave us a very frank opinion on the economic environment in Shanghai.

Nanjing Road on a national holiday is insanely crowded -- who would have guessed?

"Purse, watch? Purse, watch?" -- Street vendors solicit foreigners with photos of knock-off merchandise. If you like what you see, you can follow them to a back room filled with pirated goods.

Taylor bought a Shanghai Daily, the only English-language publication available at this newsstand.

Hi Thomas.

Posted by Alex Kraus

Posted by China Blog Admin at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)