Recently there was a fire in a Beijing suburb. The fire was located in an area and building that housed migrant workers. This trigger sparked not only the fire but the legal expulsion of a large number of migrant workers and their businesses from Beijing. These expulsion movements are not new and have occurred with regularity in the past. Use and abuse of migrant workers in China has long been a point of contention. This article also mentions the migrant workers, poverty and the hukou program. Chinese intellectuals have spoke out against the mass evictions in the middle of winter.
After living in China for a while, few things really get under my skin. One is the incessant spitting. The other is the toilet paper situation in Chinese public washrooms. Thank goodness here in Canada we always seem to have toilet paper in public washrooms. As for spitting, yes, when Chinese people come to Canada they also bring their spitting, though it is not as prevalent.
In general, almost universally, there will be no toilet paper in Chinese public washrooms. This includes restaurants. You need to come prepared, as all Chinese people are. Wallet? Check. Keys? Check. Toilet Paper?…
Dried persimmon are a delightfully sweet staple for Chinese New Year in Northern China
Persimmons are a staple Chinese New Year item in Northern China. Persimmons look similar to a tomato but taste sweet. Chinese villages grow them and dry them for some much needed fruit during the winter. Persimmons evoke a feeling of happiness that is difficult to describe, and can be called a comfort food. Grown and dried outside, in the presence of heavy smog, any fruit or vegetable will look bad, and persimmon is no different. Persimmon grown in heavy smog is not fit to consume.
The original Tower Bridge in London, vs the copy bridge in Suzhou, China. The copy is hideous.
Visiting China is always exciting. the country is steeped in its own unique history and has treasures not known in the rest of the world. It is very odd, and disconcerting, when China’s architects blatantly copy world famous foreign landmarks. This is not a new phenomenon and has been going on for many a decade. The most recent case is a copy of London’s famous Tower Bridge, now copied and even embellished in Suzhou.
Beijing PM2.5 Air Pollution particles lodged in face mask material, under an electron microscope, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Liu Yong, photo2
Fool, it does not take, to believe that the terrible air pollution in Beijing and Northern China, is not fog, and is hazardous to your health. These images are taken with an electron microscope proves the point.
Liu Yong (刘勇), doctoral student from the Beijing University of Chemical Technology (北京化工大学) took these photos of face mask material after about 8 hours of use. The pollution particles lodged into the face mask material was analyzed for hazardous materials. Found were calcium carbonate (碳酸钙), iron oxide (氧化铁), sulfate (硫酸盐)。 The masks are MaiXingRen 霾星人 brand, though the article does not specifically state this.
Woe is Beijing, China’s air pollution reading. Here is the PM2.5 pollution levels between Toronto and Beijing this morning, ~9:00 EST. Beijing is truly shocking.
The PM 2.5 level of pollution measures air pollution particles that are 2.5 microns or less, or called fine particulate. This particle size will get inhaled and trapped in the lungs. In comparison a human hair is 100 microns in diameter.
Air quality PM2.5 pollution levels, Toronto vs Beijing, 2016 Dec 04, 09:00 EST. Toronto is less than 10% of Bejing’s PM2.5 level air pollution.
This cannot be good for anyone living in Beijing or North-East China.
Driven by a sense of futility with the Chinese justice system and willing to kill himself and others, motorcycle taxi driver Ji Zhongxing went to the Beijing Airport from his home town of Heze, Shandong Province and tried to blow himself up with a home made bomb. Seemingly a rare occurrence of such cases in China, was this guy just a crackpot that blew his lid, or does this point to a deeper and troubling issue in Chinese society? Let us consider the Chinese perspective.
It has been a long time since I have talked to him, but I still clearly recall going to school with Mark Rowswell. In China he is much more commonly known as “Da Shan”, or Big Mountain. Mark is not only Canadian, like myself, but also comes from Toronto, my home town.
I met Mark while attending classes at Beijing University. As fellow Canadians in a place with many more Americans and other foreigners, we, of course, got to know each other. It turns out that his parents lived near lived near my parents, in the quiet suburb of North York, around Don Mills and Finch.
Parking Costs in China's large cities is becoming prohibitive. And so it should. Too many cars in a city reduces the quality of life for everyone.
Anyone who has recently visited China and Beijing knows that there are too many cars on the streets, thus clogging the free flow of traffic. Gone are the days of riding a bicycle. Public transit is the only way to get around, but buses are just as slow as cars. Beijing has started a lottery for potential new car buyers, which helps. The solution may lie in a scarcity of parking spaces. If you have no parking space you have no place to park your car.
Ten bad driving habits, by Chen Xin, People Daily, equally applicable here in Toronto, Canada
As a lifelong resident of Toronto I can attest that many fellow Torontonians wonder out loud why Chinese drivers are so terrible. I am one of them. As I live in Scarborough, a heavily Chinese area of Toronto, there are certain major intersections that I avoid due to a very high proportion of Chinese drivers that approach 100%. As my ethnic background is Chinese, I have ruled out genetics. Moreover I know many Canadian born Chinese, or Huayi, that are excellent drivers. Further, anyone from Hong Kong can attest to the prowess of their local driving skill. So why are Chinese drivers so terrible?
