Archives for the month of: February, 2009

A sign of the financial times

February 28, 09 //

What used to be considered a safe investment for mum and dad investors in Hong Kong has hurt many. On Friday I walked past the Chong Hing Bank and protesters are still holding out on reclaiming some of their invested money in Lehman Brothers mini-bonds. More on the background to this story can be found at China Stakes.

On the flipside, I hear from those in trading circles that money is slowly starting to flow again, cautiously. Fingers crossed confidence will be restored and this market dip is sharp but short.

Japan’s snow monkeys

February 24, 09 //

As the lack of updating shows I’ve been in search of snow in Japan – and happy to say found vast quantities of it to ski. As with most holidays I’m now back doing some work and playing catchup so for the time being I’ll leave you in the hands of the entertaining snow monkeys we visited in Jigokudani (Hell Valley) just outside Nagano.

Photos: Fuxing Park

February 12, 09 //

Spring is was in the air this week and the town rejoiced by shedding their puffy jackets. One place the local Shanghai population flock to is Fuxing Park on the Puxi side of town in the former French Concession. Created by the French in ye olde Shanghai days for French-only citizens, today the park is open for all to enjoy.

What’s different in Shanghai to back home are the types of activities happening in parks. At home you’d see various ball sports being played, a bbq, and picnics. In Fuxing Park residents participate in outdoor singing, dancing, karaoke, tai chi, kung foo, cards, checkers, tea, badminton, arguing, walking backwards, hitting themselves, kite flying, and more.

Below are just a few pictures of those activities and the characters that make up the park.

[Show as slideshow]

Victorian bushfire appeal in Shanghai

February 11, 09 //

In the last week bushfires (forest fires for the yanks) have ripped through the state of Victoria in Australia. It’s been the worst natural disaster the country has faces in over 100 years and so far has claimed the lives of more than 180 people with many more injured.

The fires have destroyed over a 1,000 homes leaving many homeless or seeking refuge. Many towns have been completely destroyed. The fire has had a devastating impact on the environment with over 1 million animals estimated to be dead and millions of hectares of bush wiped out. While a financial sum can’t bring back what has been destroyed the bill for rebuilding is going to run into the billions.

So, if you’re in Shanghai and would like to donate (and drink) AustCham Shanghai together with sponsors Just Beer, Kakadu, and Elders are donating all proceeds from beer and raffle ticket sales at Aussie Drinks this Friday to the Australian Red Cross bushfire efforts.

Entry is only 30RMB for non-members and Australian beers will cost between 20-30RMB, and Australian wine between 35-45RMB. With those bargain basement prices for imported drinks I don’t think many could afford not to help out.

The raffle will cost only 10RMB with the following prizes up for grabs:
* Voucher for 2000RMB to redeem on a pair of ECCO shoes
* 4 cases of VB home delivered, valued at 1008RMB sponsored by Just Beer
* Dinner for 6 at the Kommune Great “Ozzie BBQ” on Wednesdays, valued at 888RMB
* 400RMB voucher for home delievery plus a bottle of Hugh Hamilton “The Rascal” Shiraz valued at 298 RMB per bottle, Sponsored by Elders.
* Donut King Party voucher valued at 680RMB sponsored by Donut King
* Box of 25 gourmet meat pies valued at 600RMB sponsored by Allied Pickfords
* Travel package for two people to Zhou Zhuang valued at 600RMB sponsored by Sunrise Travel
* 600RMB travel voucher to be redeemed on flights, tours etc. sponsored by Classic Travel

What: AustCham Friday Drinks (Bushfire appeal)
When: Friday 13th February 2009
Where: Kakadu, No. 8 Jianguo Zhong Lu nr Chongqing Lu
Address in Chinese:
建国中路8号卡卡图澳大利亚餐厅, 近重庆南路 (往重庆路开到底在建国路口下车)

For more information visit the Austcham Shanghai Website.

bushfires

How to set up a Youku account in English

February 10, 09 //

Youku is a Chinese online video sharing service, like YouTube, but in many ways much, much better. For one, it’s faster than YouTube if you’re living inside China. Secondly, it’s full of content like TV shows, movies, video clips, and news pieces. And Thirdly, there’s a heap of user-generated content providing a stream of interesting and not so interesting content by Chinese netizens.

For non-Chinese readers like myself it’s easy enough to find content by using the search bar, but after a while you may want to save that funny video of a firecracker going off inside some guys pants to show to others later. To do this you’ll need to set up an account. Luckily, it’s actually quite easy to do so here’s the instructions:

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Video: The Laowai busker

February 4, 09 //

I’m partial to a good busker and happy to give a few clams for entertaining street art. But what happens when Mark, a self-proclaimed ‘crazy Kiwi guy’ decides to take the mic from a Shanghai busker singing his best version “Wonderwall” by Oasis for passing tourists next to the Pearl Tower?

Mark says “Move over Rover, and let Laowai take over” so he can sing about…..chronic masturbation, of course!

Judging from the crowd, the solo performance about solo performances didn’t go down like a Jay Chou concert but good on him for having a go. And for that, I won’t mention a token joke about Kiwis and the Little Sheep restaurants in Shanghai.

Without further ado, here’s that guy singing about Shanghai salami slapping (Blister in the Sun):

How to recharge a China Mobile card in English

February 3, 09 //

The title of today’s post suggests this has been something I’ve found difficult to do without the help of the lovely lady in the convenience store who obviously thinks I’m as retarded as I look.

However, today the shopkeep’s daughter was crying in the store and she was pre-occupied with other customers so I got the card and went on my merry way. Now, the problem with recharging the card is that the English instructions aren’t very clear, in fact, they are downright confusing. However, I don’t blame China Mobile – I live in a country of a bazillion Mandarin speakers so I really should be able to understand the Chinese instructions better.

But, I don’t (yet). So, if you’re in the same boat as me then follow these instructions on how to set up and recharge a Chine Mobile pre-pay account. Don’t try and understand what is being said…just follow these instructions:

1. Purchase a pre-pay sim if you don’t already have one.
2. Put it in your phone
3. Purchase a China Mobile pre-pay recharge card
4. Scratch off the coat to get the PIN number
5. Dial 13800138000
6. The automated service will begin. Press 2 for English, then press 2, then press 1#, and then 1 to confirm.
7. You will now be prompted for the PIN number which is the scratched off bit on your card. After entering it hit the # key.
8. It will say something like ‘wait a minute’ before it confirms that your card is now charged and ready to go. If you have fat triangle fingers and screwed it up then go back to 7.

That’s it. At any time you should be able to ring up 10086 and find out how much credit you have left on the pre-pay account. Normally you’ll get 1-2 txt messages a day warning you before it’s over as well. If you’re expecting important calls it’s noteworthy to not let it expire as people won’t be able to call you if you don’t recharge the card.

Video: Shanzhai Movie – Kung Foo Bear

February 1, 09 //

This is a funny parody of Shanzhai film making – even if I couldn’t understand all the words. Here is – Kung Foo ~~Panda~~, er Bear: