More Fireworks

Any celebration is not complete without copious amounts of fireworks. AmCham did a fabulous job on the fireworks display and that's what everyone was talking about for days after.

More 4th of July

I forgot to mention Ezikiel, a Mexican expat who is a Tequila distributor. Actually, I couldn't figure out how to put two photos on one blog post.

4th of July

Of course we celebrate American independence in China...what were you thinking? Pictured on the left is the American Chamber of Commerce 4th of July Celebration. Let's count how many people in the photo look like they may have originated in the US...don't count the guy standing in the middle of the photo with a grey shirt on. He's Scottish. By the way, the MCs were Canadian. The band was Filipino and the Venue was called Chateaus Margaux. How much more American can you get than that? I did get the band to play "Sweet Home Alabama" and they did a damn good job. I think I was the only one holding my lighter up with the flame on high, though.

Sky View

Last Friday was relatively clear, so I took some shots of the city from out office. We are located on the 35th Floor of the Exchange, so we get a good view of the city. The road which runs up the middle of the photo was the dividing line in between the French and Japanese Concession back in the day. If you follow that road up, you will see the white building with columns across the Hai River. That is the new Tianjin Train Station which will boast a super high-speed train from Tianjin to Beijing in August of this year.

Local flavour

Lay's has figured out how to appeal to local tastes. I went to the supermarket the other day and saw such savoury flavours as "Kim Chee" and "Pepper Steak" and "BBQ Pork Ribs." I kept looking for the "Chicken Feet" flavour, but I guess they haven't gotten the cartilage crunch just right yet.

Not up for the Saloon?

If you are in need of a hair cut and don't want to stop by the dodgy Attractive Saloon as I wrote about in an earlier post, stop by one of the local street barbers who crop up on the weekends. Just be sure to have a hepatitis and tetanus vaccination.

New Basement Sparks Public Interest

When anything opens here in China, it is celebrated with lots of fireworks. The basement of The Exchange Tower (the building in which I work) reopened its basement after a remodel with such fanfare. A crowd gathered outside and I positioned myself inside the foyer to save my eardrums somewhat.