John & Chrisʼs News from China - Issue 4 22nd December 2011 ENTRANCE TO THE OLD CHINESE TOWN OF GANGXIA NEAR WHERE WE NOW LIVE, TAKEN FROM THE OLD TOWN
INTRODUCTION TO OUR NEWSLETTER NUMBER FOUR! Hello again everyone, After finally solving most of our seemingly endless PC & Internet problems here, which had resulted in the long delay for the last newsletter from China, we are thankfully able to send you this one on time, and just in time for Christmas. Well, things have moved on a good deal here since the last newsletter should have been sent out. Chris has had various new
and exciting jobs. We have also enable a longer stay for us here completed a joint demonstration in China. class to the IT Department at the Lenovo Computer Company! Please read on for the details. We think that it’s now in an We've moved accommodation easier to read format! yet again, but this time hopefully for the long term here. We Also attached is our Christmas extended our visa after a visit to Card as a PDF file. All you have Hong Kong and we signed a one to do is print it off, fold it in four year rental contract on a new and put it on your mantelpiece! apartment in Shenzhen. We hope you will enjoy this, our We've also visited some more fourth newsletter from China, interesting places here and taken but remember that if you want to a lot of new photos. unsubscribe, we will not be offended! We've also been introduced to the possibility of two new We wish our family and all our business ventures. So, we now many friends all over the world a feel things are finally working very Happy Christmas & a very out for us and that this will Prosperous New Year!
HON G KO N G The red square on the right is where Shenzhen is, right next to Hong Kong. To get there, we got a metro to the boarder which is the Shenzhen River. We crossed over the river bridge on foot and then went t h ro u g h c u s t o m s , which are still there even though Hong Kong is now part of China. We then got straight onto a Hong Kong Metro! Very easy.
One of my students likened the shape of China to that of a Chicken!
VISIT TO HONG KONG Towards Mid-November, we spent a weekend just across the Shenzhen river in Hong Kong – the fabled city 'where East meets West'! We'd had to go there to reactivate our double-entry visas for another 90 days, so those of you not already in the loop will gather from this that we aren’t planning to be home for Christmas. In spite of now 14 years of independence from British rule, Hong Kong is really still a kind of semi-independent state in China and the series of passport control checks and customs you go through to get in and out seems ridiculous - it's so near, but takes so much time and trouble to get there. We did some sight seeing there, which included the indispensable sight-seeing bus tour with audio commentary (we always do this one in every major city we visit). 'The Peak' Tram excursion to the top of the mountain with a great panorama over the city and harbour was worth the while, and we also went to see the spectacular, night time 'sound and light' show down at Victoria Harbour, with laser beams shooting off colourfully illuminated sky scrapers in time to music. We also did a little bit of shopping there, though we avoided the really up market malls with endless Gucci, Armani, Pierre Cardin etc. I’d been pinning my hopes on finding a new pair of comfortable shoes for general wear, as I'd really packed rather inadequately in that department on leaving the UK, and I couldn’t get any in my size anywhere in main land China. The biggest size here is a 44 (EU), (10 UK) and I take a size 11, or 45 (never mind BIG NOSES!). Anyway, I got more or less what I was looking for in a size 44.5 (they just fit!), but paid through the nose at the HK dollar equivalent of £83.00. In fact, everything in Hong Kong seemed astronomically expensive - we reckon even more than London. We are told here that they are 'international' prices. We had a meal that cost the equivalent of over £100.00 for only main course with a few small cans of beer each, and in a late night bar we paid the equivalent of nearly £7.00 for a pint of Kronenberg 1664. So, although we had a very enjoyable trip and were impressed with much of HK, we were glad to get back to Shenzhen!
CH R I S ’ S B IG N O SE JO B CHRIS’S BIG NOSE JOB In November, Chris had his first (and last) 'Big Nose' job when he was asked to go to a city called Xiantang in the Hunan province. Hunan province is much further North of Guangdong, but he made the journey in a couple of hours or so by bullet train, the fastest in China, travelling at 300 kph. On arrival in Hunan province in the evening, Chris was immediately shocked by the big contrast in temperature there compared with Guangdong. It was COLD and DAMP - the first time he'd felt cold in China, after being melted away in Guangdong for more than two months. The thing was, they hadn't warned him in advance and he was dressed in only a short-sleeved shirt, with no jacket or coat. The trip turned out to be something of a whirl wind tour, as he had to be up at 6.30 in the morning to get to the meeting on time, after having had a very late dinner at about midnight. He was taken to the meeting, where he presented an outline of the plan for the project on behalf of the company. Straight afterwards, he was whisked off to a restaurant for a group lunch and was then driven all the way back to Shenzhen by car, a journey that took nearly 10 hours all told, with numerous stops on the way at motorway services.
Xiantang in the Hunan Province
Xiantang in the Hunan Province
Shenzhen is immediately North of Hong
Weather July is warmest with an average temperature of 33 °C at noon.
They had intended to take him on a tour of the new development site, but the weather there was so cold and wet they cancelled and just sent him home. So, unlike John's trips, he didn't get to see any of the city and, again owing to the horrid weather, didn't even get any pictures.
January is coldest with an average temperature of 2.1 °C at night.
Chris is now much too busy teaching to do any more of these kind of jobs, and in any case, he doesn't think his nose is quite big enough!
cultivated, not much natural vegetation is left. The landscape is
Note: John has provided some information on the right as Chris didn’t see anything. Good job he missed the earthquakes!
temperate moist forest biozone . The soil in the area is high in
Xiantang has distinct cold and warm seasons, like cold winters and warm summers. The temperatures do not differ much between day and night.
Nature Xiantang has a humid ( 0.65 p/pet) climate. The land area is totally mostly covered with rain fed croplands. The climate is classified as a humid subtropical (no dry season, hot summer)), with a warm acrisols, alisols, plinthosols (ac), acid soil with clay-enriched lower horizon and low saturation of bases.
H AIRC UTS! WE HAVE HA D TH REE H AIRCUTS ALREADY IN CHINA IN JUST OVER 4 MONTHS. AS NONE OF THE BARBERS SPEAK ENGLISH, WE WERE WONDERING HOW WE WOULD GET ON, AND CHRIS WAS POSITIVELY DREADING HIS FIRST HAIRCUT IN CHINA! OUR FIRST WAS IN HUIZHOU, THE FIRST CITY WE WERE BASED IN LONG TERM. IT COST 25 YUAN (£2.50) AND WE WERE QUITE PLEASED WITH THE OUTCOME. I WENT FIRST AND AS CHRIS WAS HAPPY WITH THE WAY MINE WAS CUT, HE THEN WENT BACK TO THE SAME PLACE THE FOLLOWING DAY. THIS PRICE DID NOT INCLUDE WASHING OUR HAIR BEFORE OR AFTER THE CUT. THE SHOP WAS MORE UPMARKET AND UNI-SEX. OUR NEXT HAIRCUT WAS WHILE IN THE HOTEL IN LONGHAU, NORTH SHENZHEN, AFTER ARRIVING IN SHENZHEN FROM HUIZHOU. WE SPOTTED THE BARBERS SIGN AND WENT FOR IT. WE HAD A CUT BY THE BARBER, FOLLOWED BY WASHING BY HIS WIFE. THE COST WAS 10 YUAN (£1.00). WE FELT THAT THE FIRST CUT IN HUIZHOU WAS THEREFORE A BIT OF A RIP OFF!
The haircut here was really expensive at £2.50!
OU R T H I R D C U T WA S N E A R OU R N E W APARTMENT IN GANGXIA, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OLD TOWN. THIS WAS ALSO A NORMAL BARBER’S SHOP AND COST 10 YUAN, (£1.00), BUT WITHOUT ANY WASHING. BOTH WERE GOOD CUTS! IN ANY MANCHESTER BARBERS SHOPS, WE PAID BETWEEN £7.00 TO £9.00, WITHOUT WASHING. THE CUTS IN ALL THREE BARBERS SHOPS WERE REALLY GOOD, SO WE ARE PLEASED AT OUR ABILITY TO USE SIGN LANGUAGE!
P H OTO S O F I N T E R E S T During our move to central Shenzhen: Chris squashed into the back of a taxi with our cases and bags!
Some interesting “Chinglish”!
MO R E P H OTO S O F I N T E R E S T The sequence of three shots (below right) were taken whilst on a bus. First there is one motorbike coming down a one-way street towards our bus.
End of one of the Metro Lines - For now! Nice Restaurant, but at the end of the night all their rubbish was thrown onto the pavement! No doubt the street cleaner’s came round during the night, but we found it a strange way of dsisposing of rubbish!
I should have snapped this one without calling Chris to turn round. There were 7 assistants helping Chris look for a Duvet and covers in Carrefour. Once I shouted for Chris to look round, most dived for cover - What a shame!
Then it builds up to several and the bus is completely blocked in by all these bikes going the wrong way. Interestingly enough the bus was in the right hand lane which was for turning right, but he was actually going straight on, but making no progress!
EVEN M O R E P H OTO S O F I N T E R EST R I G H T : This is a Dentist’s Surgery. I g n o re t h e Scooter. The guy in the doorway may well be the dentist! The patients are treated immediately behind the window in FULL view!
BELOW: One of only two accidents that we have seen so far in 4 months. (Surprisingly enough!) I am amazed at the da ma ge from one small motorbike. The rider was nowhere to be seen, but this was here for several hours.
ABOVE: The Doctor in Huizhou who speaks English. Notice his white gown hung up outside!
One of several swimmers in the Reservoir at Red Flower lake, above Huizhou. Despite the many signs forbidding swimming and warning of the dangers, it appears that they are permitted to swim by the authorities as long as they have the inflatable yellow bag. This bag also houses their clothes! This swimmer swam up to the dam and walked out to meet his family/friends.
Notice this neat way of not digging the roads up all the time. These slabs, that lift o u t i n d i v i d u a l l y, a re frequently to be seen on many pavements here and contain all the services to the street. How clever is that!
A N D Y E T M O R E P H OTO S O F I N T E R E S T - AT L E A S T W E H O P E S O ! Open air hairdressing!
Some Kind of Street Cleaner
Strange to see umbrellas in the sun!
ABOVE: Ingenious Sockets sold everywhere. This one takes the two types of Chinese plug, plus English square pins and South African Round pins (Same as the Old English round pins). Brilliant!
RIGHT: This cage of LIVE chickens is across the street from a restaurant. This puts a whole new meaning to FRESH chicken on any menu!
LEFT: The motorbikes at the front are taxis! They frequently carry TWO passengers and I have BEEN on one, sandwiched in the middle! It’s 45 years since I was last a passenger on a bike! An old form of transport is at the back.
GA N G XIA (SHENZHEN) - OUR LATEST PLAC E ! Most building here are stunningly lit up at night and these photos can never do them justice.
Note that most outside establishments have these very small stools for customers to perch on! Very uncomfortable for us tall people!
View from our window
We are only half way up the building!
In summer this will be our pool!
OUR LATEST ACCOMMODATION IN SHENZHEN On returning from our visit to Hong Kong, we began our search in earnest for an apartment of our own to rent in Shenzhen. We were still at that time in yet another hotel in Shenzhen – the fifth one since arriving in China. We narrowed down the great expanse of the city to a central area that would be practical, mainly for ease of access by metro to our current jobs.
The incredible S h e r a t o n Hotel, just down the road from our flat and opposite one of Chris’s L a n g u a g e Centres.
We looked at some apartments in an area we liked called Jingtian, but weren't too impressed with what we got for the rental fees there, and another problem was that most didn't provide internet with adequate bandwidth for our requirements. One did, at the same price as what we ended up getting; it was three bedrooms, but the lounge had a high window with no view! Then Chris managed to get in touch with an Australian teacher we'd met some weeks earlier, and whose apartment we'd seen and were impressed by. It was in the Gangxia area, which is
GA N G XIA (SHENZHEN) - OUR LATEST PLAC E ! on the central metro line and quite central in the city. We asked James if we could meet up again to see some apartments in his block, and he told us that he could help us get a special deal with the agent who lets flats in the block. Ultimately, we got one we liked that was vacant and, thanks to who and not what we knew, we got a good deal on the agent's fee. We also got a lot of help from James's Chinese girlfriend Ling.
The Old Town
The apartment is on the 16th floor of a 32 story block, and only a couple of minutes walk from two metro stations, on different lines. There are three blocks in total, with a 5th floor, communal garden with fish pond, games room and large swimming pool for summer. Carrefour is a 10 minute walk away and a 13 Yuan taxi ride back with all the bags (￡1.30). It's only a studio flat, but very modern, clean and practical, or one might say “compact and bijou”. It consists of a combined bedroom and lounge, a small, but separate kitchen and a small bathroom (with the best shower we've ever had). There is also an open-ended, utility “gallery” off the lounge, with washing machine and clothes drying maidens. It's probably the smallest place we've ever lived in, but the rent is really an excellent rate for such a central and up market location and we're really happy with it all. We were also very impressed by the nearby “old village”, perfectly preserved amongst the fabulous new developments of stunning skyscrapers and awesome, international, 5 star hotels. We’d been given a guided tour of this fascinating, living museum of an older Shenzhen, that is referred to affectionately by foreigners here as “The Ghetto”, and it is such a little Chinese cultural gem, nestled amongst the ultra-modern metropolis that has sprung up around it. Perhaps needless to say, we've found a couple of good watering holes there in the form of restaurants with “do-able-for-us” menus, with picture menus and of course, the good old amber nectar - the ubiquitous Tsingtao, costing here the equivalent of 50p - 80p a 600 ml bottle. (approx. 1 pint).
The Old Town
Many Eating The outside Old Town places have these very small plastic stools
The Sheraton from Chris’s Office window on the 34th floor.
On the way to Carrefour
The Old Town
The Old Town
Above: Our favourite restaurant in the Old Town
CHRIS’S NEW TEACHING JOBS While still in Huizhou, Chris mentioned to a teacher colleague that he just 'couldn't do children'. His colleague, an Australian called Robert, told him - 'I have a friend, a fellow Aussie called James, who teaches hotel staff in Shenzhen'. When we arrived in Shenzhen and were looking for an apartment, we contacted James and got to meet him. James introduced Chris to his employer, Clarity Academy, who supply all the major hotels in Shenzhen with English teachers for their staff. In fact, we were both invited to a lunch to meet the boss.
Joint Demo (Chris & John) at Lenovo (The Computer Manufacturer)
Chris was soon enrolled to teach the staff at the incredible 5 star, Intercontinental Hotel in Shenzhen, with two classes, one at basic level and the other intermediate - advanced. He is currently teaching there twice a week on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Chris actually took over from an American teacher, who had had to return to the USA some two thirds way through the course. So, the classes finish soon into New Year, but Chris is hoping to be given a longer term contract with Clarity for full time work after the Chinese New Year holiday. The other agency - OMT, that both he and John were already enrolled with, came up with a new, 'one on one' student for Chris. His student booked an intensive, one month course with three hour sessions on five days of the week. The student is studying fashion design in Singapore, (but currently has a month off) and her ultimate ambition is to go to London's Central St. Martins School of Art and Design, following in the foot steps of her idol Alexander McQueen. Chris is helping her to improve her written and spoken English, as well as expanding her vocabulary. This has been great for Chris, as he is an ex-art student himself, and so felt he had a lot of common ground with this particular student.
John continues his classes with the CRM Software House Students until the end of December
All in all, Chris now currently has 21 hours teaching work per week and John 4 hours a week, which is what we were originally planning for. More over, we are now where we originally wanted to be – in Shenzhen, in our own nice, little cosy apartment and with no shackles to dodgy agents and our fate firmly back in our own hands. John at an English Corner at one of the Language Schools
Chris in our Studio Apartment
JOH N ’ S T R I P U P W U TA N M O U N TA I N Back in October, John & Chris met a Chinese lady called Kiki on a Shenzhen Metro. Once in Shenzhen we made contact again and Kiki took us to English Corner. An English corner is a spot in a park, or sometimes a language school, where Chinese people can come together and meet English speaking people to practice their English. After this meeting, Kiki invited us to go walking up a mountain near her home in North East Shenzhen. A day was finally chosen and on Saturday 5th November John met Kiki at a Metro station near her home suburb. It took John 1.5 hours on two Metros to get there! Unfortunately, Chris was unable to go, but I think on reflection that this was just as well, as it was a two hour walk to the main steps up the last part of the mountain. The first stage was to walk from the metro to a bus stop some distance away. We then took two buses to get to Wutan Village at the base of the mountain. The mountain is just under 1,000 metres high. The first walking stage was up the mountain road, which zigzagged up the base of the mountain, but had restricted access to traffic. I was totally amazed by how many people were walking up this mountain pass. There were families, friends, lone occasional walkers and bike riders. But there were hundreds, if not thousands of them! My guide Kiki told me that she came every week to keep fit and get out of her flat. She usually sets off at 7 am with her friends, but this week, as I don’t do 7 a.m Kiki went later especially for me! We met at 10 a.m at the Metro, so leaving the flat at 8:30 am was really early for a retired John Knight!
After two hours we reached a flat part with hundreds of people and many calls to be photographed with various groups of Chinese. It seemed I was the only Westerner there and so a bit of a celebrity! On the way up to this point I could see two places up to the top of the mountain that had two sets of steps each. One set of steps on each was for upward walkers and the other for downward walkers. Yes, there were so many people up this mountain all the time that they had a one-way system! The two sets of steps were chock-a-block with thousands of people going up and down this mountain. It was awesome to think that so many people escaped like this, in such a healthy fashion! Unfortunately, I wasn’t used to several hours walking and so declined to go the last bit to the top. This may have taken another hour anyway, and so would have made an extra two hours hard climbing and a gruelling descent! So, we turned back and it took us less time to get back. We chatted a lot of the way back with a Chinese guy, but Kiki had to translate. We retraced our steps and it turned out that I was invited to a meal at her friends house, a Marketing Director who had his Mother staying and she had prepared a traditional meal for us. I found out that he had 10 to 14 Mb download speed in his flat, which I measured, whilst we were having mega-problems in the old port area. In fact, we weren’t getting enough bandwidth to send emails! So, I was very jealous! All in all, I had a very pleasant day out in purely Chinese company.
Notice the lines of people going up and another line coming down!
MO R E P H OTO F RO M T H I S T R I P
Our Dinner Host with the 14 Mb download speed!
JOHN ’ S T R I P U P NA N S H A N M O U N TA I N Some members of my English Class at the CRM Software Development Company, near Shenzhen University, invited me to go walking with them up Nanshan Mountain. This mountain overlooked the area where our last apartment was located, near the port of Shenzhen. (See Newsletter Issue 3). Poor weather had postponed this outing for three weeks, as rain and/or cloud was forecast. Eventually, we were able to set off on Saturday 3rd December, after a good forecast that turned out to be accurate. I was treated to a picnic at the top, eating some food that Mark had specially made, after quizzing me earlier about what type of Chinese food I was eating. I have to say that
his home cooked food was truly delicious. His boss had been unable to turn up on the re-organised day, and so I ate his share as well! We didn’t set off until 3 p.m, so it was dark by the time we got down to the bottom again. Another treat was in store as they took me for Dinner in a speciality restaurant. The speciality being soup with meat on the bone. We were all issued with a plastic glove and a straw! The glove to pick up and chew the meat from the bone and the straw to suck out the bone marrow afterwards. It was all very tasty I have to say! I had a very enjoyable day out with these two treats from my students.
THOMAS (6YEARS)
J O H N ’ S F OUR FACTORY VISITS These four factories that John has visited over the last three weeks all want to sell into the UK & Europe. They cover Plastic Molding, Aluminium, Zinc & Magnesium die casting and pressing., plus powder coating. As can be seen from the examples, these products are made for mobile phones, electrical parts, routers, plus computer server cabinets, street lamps and such like. They want European Companies to outsource their work to them. They cover every aspect of the work from design, tool making, manuafacture, to painting and shipping.