Leaving Tianjin

The new train station in Tianjin is quite nice, and I hopped on a Z train from Tianjin to Shanghai on Monday. I had a 软卧, which is a soft sleeper, four to a room but there were only two of us. Two of my friends, Mark and Mark, saw me off at the station at 8pm and the train arrived in Shanghai at about 7am on Tuesday. The train was cheaper than a flight and not bad at all.

Non-reporting reporting

My friend Scott Gurian, who is the news director for KGOU in Oklahoma City, called me last week and recorded the conversation, which is part of a larger story on China. The story, which will air on 11 Aug 2008 at 11am and excerpts are here. As a caveat for the Chinese government...I was not reporting, it was merely a recorded conversation.

Media clarity

You may not know it, but some reporters push one side of a story and I am going to set one story straight. A couple of weeks ago, I watched a BBC broadcast about people who were being forced out of their homes to make room for flower beds. Although this is true, they totally missed the fact that those flower beds are merely temporary fill until a building is built. See the photo? This is Nanjing Rd in Tianjin, really the major corridor for businesses. The bottom left of the photo shows a large park area. This is actually two sites which will be developed in the next few years. The Chinese government isn't just forcing people out of their homes, there is a greater purpose. Additionally, the property rights law which was ratified last October requires compensation for relocation in event of Chinese-styled Eminent Domain reclamation. The downside of that plan is there is not established market for property as a family will often live in a home for generations.

Breaking zoo rules

Here I am, feeding the animals like a rebel! As you can see, the grass truly is greener on the other side of the fence for these guys, so I brought a little of the other side to them. One was eating a plastic bag, to which I informed one of the zoo keepers. I was amazed at how few people were there, though.

Rush hour

I have been trying to snap a good video of rush hour here, but don't seem to find the right opportunity, so here's a photo from the bike lane. It's packed from this point all the way up to 巴黎台桥 (Balitai Bridge) which is not the immediate bridge depicted, but the far bridge. Everyone seems to be in such a rush, and inexperienced at rules of efficiency that a complete traffic jam ensues because everybody wants to be first. This is one result of the rapidly increasing incomes throughout China (I see VERY few old cars). There are millions of new drivers in China every year, so picture millions of 30-40 year-olds who drive like 16 year-olds (or worse) hitting the streets. Welcome to a new breed of rush hour.

Birthday cake

Although this posting is about three weeks overdue, Michael and Sophie (my host family) were kind enough to get a birthday cake for me. There were two candles for each decade and one for the year, so I turned 21 for the sixth year in a row! A tradition for the Chinese is for the celebrant to cut through the cake and leave the knife, to which someone else will take over.

Walking on water

It turns out that, among other things, I can walk on water...at least fall on my butt on water! My friend, Daniel and I went by 天津天塌 (the TV Tower Park in Tianjin) and saw these balls you can walk in, though it was substantially harder than I thought at first. We drew a crowd of about 30 people who were interested in watching crazy Americans make fools of themselves, and we were more than happy to provide the entertainment. There is a limit of 15 minutes in the ball because it is air-tight, but when we both got out, we felt a bit nauseous and light-headed due to the high levels of carbon dioxide. I think we lasted about 10 minutes before we finally gave up.