Food "from home"...

This weekend my friend Camilla visited us in Beijing. We had a nice dinner together on Saturday evening at Uama Teppanyaki with a lot to eat.

Camilla was also bringing us some food from Sweden so yesterday evening we "celebrated" with Chorizo with black pepper sauce (try!), potatoe gratin and vegetables.
Thank you Camilla!

Fastes way to get around in Beijing?

The seven "racers" from the Beijingers test (Foto: the Beijinger)


Have You ever wondered which is the most efficient mode of transportation in Beijing?
The monthly paper and website "the Beijinger" have sent out seven intrepid movers and shakers in a race from their offices at Dawang Lu (in the CBD area - not far away from where we live) to the Drum Tower (a few blocks north of the Forbidden City) at rush hour in order to uncover which form of transport is the King of Commutes.

Here are the results:

7th place
Bus and wits (time: 1hr 41’40”,)
+ Very social method of navigation whereby one gets to know old men, disgruntled construction workers and attractive young women who laugh at you because of your ineptitude.
+ Sense of pride in the com­munity effort.
- Basically the least efficient way to travel anywhere.

6th place

The Subway (time: 53’20”)
A veritable underground village, complete with a predictably mundane, though air-conditioned, journey.
+ Sometimes, at least, air conditioned.
+ Front row seats for public displays of affection.
+ Listening for “Our next destation.”
- Not always close to your final destination.
- The feeling of being herded like cattle through a narrow, hot hallway.

5th place
Taxi (time: 40’37”)
The conversations run the gamut from anti-Japanese diatribes to deep, contemplative silence. And the risk to your life is slight, but only in the grand scheme of things.
+ Scintillating conversation
+ No smoking laws that are often but not always enforced.
- Dangerous, dangerous driving

- The black cabs.

4th place
Personal vehicle (Time: 39’00”)
The Western way: a single-occupant, gas-inefficient car, made complete with the addition of a patriotic miniature Chinese flag.
+ Can take personal control over your safety and wellbeing
+ Can decorate the interior with full Hello Kitty mock-up.
- Bumper-to-bumper traffic takes on a whole new meaning
- Gas ain’t cheap.

3rd place
Running (time: 36’50”)
If you can withstand the constant barrage of potentially carcinogenic car exhaust, compounded by poor general air quality, it makes a lot of sense to run.
+ ”How did you get here?” “Oh, I ran. No big deal.”
+ Bonus brag­ging points if you smoke a pack along the way.
- It will kill you if you do it too often.

2nd place
Motor scooter (time: 33’50”)
Ironically, the motor scooter is the vehicle of choice for both younger biker types and older Chinese women. Hopefully, passersby will know into which category you fit.
+ Chic and cool

+ The Hog makes a beautiful noise.
- Weaving between lanes of traffic might just be dangerous

- Un­helmeted, you run the risk of knocking the cool shades off of your face.

1st place
The bicycle (time: 28’10”)
The Thumbelina of the Beijing traffic world: small, nimble, and agile. No surprise, then, that the perennial Chinese favorite leads the way.
+ Ride on sidewalks, go between cars, go the wrong way, sneak by crossing guards, and run red lights

+ Good for the environment, and good for you. Kind of like trees.
- You’re breathing in a lung full of bus exhaust every 5 minutes

- Actually requires effort.

This article was originally excerpted from the Insider’s Guide to Beijing. Fully updated for 2009, the guide is available in stores in Beijing, Shanghai and other Chinese cities and on the web at Amazon.com and http://www.immersionguides.com/. To have a copy delivered to your home, office or hotel in Beijing, call 5820 7101 or e-mail distribution@immersionguides.com . I can really recommend this book! Have the latest three years edition and they are all worth the money (100 RMB)

Conclution:

I will use my dear friend more in the future. It is goos both for the

environment and myself....

No Oasis concerts in China

During the past months there have been (and still are) adds and posters all over town that the famous band Oasis is having a concert in Beijing on April 3. This was supposted to be one of the bigger music events during the year.

Now the concert have been cancelled and tickets are refunded. The official reason for the cancelation is Oasis were informed Saturday, the 28th of February by their Chinese promoters, (Emma Entertainment/Ticketmaster China) that representatives from the Chinese Government have revoked the performance licenses already issued for the band and ordered their shows in both Beijing and Shanghai to be immediately cancelled.
The government have instructed the ticket agencies to stop selling tickets and to reimburse the thousands of fans who have already purchased tickets for these inaugural Oasis shows in the People's Republic of China.
The licensing and immigration process for the two shows had been fully and successfully complied with well before the shows went on sale. The Chinese authorities action in cancelling these shows marks a reversal of their decision regarding the band which has left both Oasis and the promoters bewildered.
According to the show's promoters, officials within the Chinese Ministry of Culture only recently discovered that Noel Gallagher appeared at a Free Tibet Benefit Concert on Randall's Island in NY in 1997 and have now deemed that the band are consequently unsuitable to perform to their fans in the Chinese Republic on 3rd and 5th of April, during its 60th anniversary year.
Oasis are extremely disappointed that they are now being prevented from undertaking their planned tour of mainland China and hope that the powers that be within China will reconsider their decision and allow the band to perform to their Chinese fans at some stage in the future.

This is not the first concert by international artist that have been cancelled in Beijing during the last year and probably not the last.
Now we also know that the Chinese Goverment keep a long record of what you are doing and that your past can catch up with you at any time....