Gridlock (updated)

UPDATE: August 09, 2007

In a recent email to a friend in Shanghai, I coined a the new phrase "driver induced gridlock" to describe the type of gridlock caused solely by impatient, ignorant drivers as opposed to gridlock caused by too much traffic, accidents, bad weather, etc.

----------------------------------------

Original Post: July 31, 2007

Traffic congestion in Shanghai is usually not too bad. Many people use public transportation (ferry, bus, subway, and light rail), bike, take taxis, or walk. But during rush hour the subway is packed, buses are crowded, traffic moves slowly and empty taxis are few.

One of the busiest intersections in Shanghai - Nandan Lu and Caixi Bei Lu - is just below our apartment window. It has loads of pedestrian, bus, motorbike, bicycle, and bus traffic due to it's proximity to a major metro station, a major business and shopping district, a sports stadium complex, and a major north-south expressway.

It is amazing to peer from our window and watch the action - the flow of humans and machines. However, last Saturday night, the flow became a trickle. Gridlock. Even though there was no accident, no construction, and the traffic lights were working, the flow came to a momentary stop.

Here's a photo.


After about 10 minutes the grid became unlocked.

Huang Yu

The 3-wheeled bicycle plus driver is the real workhorse of China. They carry anything, anyone,anywhere, anytime. Their common name in Shanghai is huang yu ("yellow fish" or "croaker") as in the past these wagons were mainly used to transport fish. Northerners have a different name.

Last night we saw a huang yu moving an incredibly large load - probably Styrofoam - and Sun-Ling spotted it just in time for me to shoot this video (I apologize in advance for the overly long credits. Sometimes I just can't help myself with Windows Movie Maker).



Here are a few other shots of 3-wheelers in action.

My summer projects: #1

Summer is hot in Shanghai. I tend to stay indoors. Last Saturday the two of us nested in our apartment all day. Didn't even unlock the door to take out the trash.

This is a great time to catch up on reading. One of my bookgroup books for the upcoming year is "Leaving Mother Lake." I had known about the book soon after our arrival in Shanghai. The book is a memoir of a celebrity from a matriarchal minority group. I did not feel compelled to read the book, because 1) I abhor self promoters. 2) I am skeptical of the claim of matriarchal society.

Nevertheless I would read any book for a bookgroup. Once I got started with the story, I got totally immersed. I read other books on the subject. I am up to 5 books. I found the celebrity every bit annoying as I suspected. She also turned out to be a sociopath -- the details in her memoir by a Chinese writer is drastically different from "Leaving Mother Lake." But the story has all the issues I am interested in: indigenous cultures, women's issues, religion, influence of modern culture, effects of tourism, etc.

While in the process, I finally managed to read my 1st Chinese book cover to cover since coming to Shanghai. I was only looking at travel guide books before. I also learned how to buy used Chinese books online. And, I learned that my initial intuition was correct -- there is no true matriarchal society. They are matrilineal at best.

----------------------------------------------------------

A word about Chinese Minorities or Minority Groups: 97% of Chinese are Han, like myself. There are officially 50+ minority group with distinct languages & cultures, but I recently learned at the founding of the Republic in the 50s, 600+ groups applied for such a status.

Shenyang Trip (Updated with link to full trip report)

A few weeks ago we made a weekend trip to the city of Shenyang in the northeast of China. UPDATE: READ the full trip report over on meckleyearth. The purpose was three-fold: visit the parent's of a friend, escape the heat of Shanghai, and check out the sights in Shenyang - the original capital of the Qing Dynasty. Also this would be our first north of the Great Wall.

We enjoyed the trip quite a bit even though it was hotter than Shanghai. 8-) Highlights were:

Dinner with the Wangs
The Imperial Tombs (east and north)
General Zhang's Home
The Qing Imperial Place
Government Square at night
The Tawan Pagoda
Chairman Mao's Statue in Zhongshan Square
Eating at a Jiaozi Restaurant
Ladies riding bikes with hat, scarf, and gloves



Imperial Tomb



To see all the photos click here (they all have descriptions).

To see video of kids roller blading around General Zhang's statue, click here.

To see video of the Shenyang people exercising/dancing at night in Government Square, click here.

World Population Day

For most westerners, one of the first things that comes to mind about China is the "one child policy". However, China has slowly been loosening the "one child policy". Read this article from the July 11th (World Population Day) edition of China Daily. It is generally accurate based on my conversations with friends, co-workers, and family.

Two observations on Chinese movies

John and I have done a pretty good job keeping up with top Chinese movies that make it to the West. We have seen a few more since we moved to Shanghai. There are two things we found to be really different about Chinese movies

Observation #1. Romantic love is never requited. Lovers never end up to be happy couples. One or both usually die, or marry someone they don't love, or you name it. Best known examples of this are Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. This may not apply to the very silly movies which we stay clear off. The one exception we found so far is Comrades: Almost a Love Story. The search continues...

Observation #2. Movies that start out funny may not be comedies. In fact, they can have very devastating endings. An example is Happy Times. I don't even feel like listing more of them here. I distinctly dislike, rather, cannot stand these movies. I feel so cheated.

Once again, it all has to do with expectations. Since Observation #2 is a rather recent revelation, I have not learned to adjust my expectations. On the other hand, Observation #1 has held true for so long that now I just assume someone dies in the end, so I am not disappointed.

Chinese Hotels

On our recent trip to Zhenjiang, China we stayed at a cheap, new, modern hotel in the center of town. It's part of a chain: Hanting Inns & Hotel. [I can't find a website to insert the link.]

Used to be I could lump Chinese hotels into two groups. The first: excellent 4 and 5 star hotels with clean rooms, English speaking staff, over priced but decent restaurants, and run by international companies with experience doing business in Asia. This would be the Marriots, Hiltons, Crown Plazas, Regals, etc. Price: 400 RMB and up.

The second: worn out 3-star hotels with moldy and stained carpet, ancient elevators, drained swimming pools, inattentive staff, over salted food, and intermittent hot water. Price 150 to 400 RMB. (20 to 50 USD). And I should not forget my favorite feature: The between-the-bed master console with 17 knobs and switches to remotely control the TV, mirror lamp, reading lamps, fridge, AC, etc. I should really take a photo of one of these.

Recently there are some new budget hotel chains; Jin Jiang, Home Inns, Hotel 168, and Hanting Inns, which are attempting to bring together low cost, modern style, good service, convenient location, and cleanliness. Time will tell if they manage to pull it off.

Last year we stayed the SSAW hotel in Hangzhou which had a truly "European Modern" look, including see-through bath. So after staying the Hanting in Zhenjiang with a similar look for 155 RMB per night, we are hoping for a trend.

Our room in the Hanting Inn in Zhenjiang, China. Near the intersection of Jiefang Lu and Zhongshan Lu.


Our room in the SSAW Hotel in downtown Hangzhou.

Movie Theater Scene in Shanghai: Then and Now

I grew up during the cultural deprivation of the Cultural Revolution. Although there were 5 movie theaters within a 200 meter walk of my home, only a handful of movies would be shown over the span of a year: Chinese Government propaganda films and a few North Korean imports which were much more popular.

By the time I was old enough to go to the movies by myself, the scene was much improved; more movies, different themes, and more imports beginning with Eastern European Communist Block countries. I loved going to the movies. It seemed like I was going to the movies several times a week. In addition, a big variety of movies was also shown on television.

Nowadays all the movie theaters in Shanghai are set up pretty much the same way as the US (stadium seating for example) except the popcorn is sweet not salty and the seats are sold by seat number not general admission. In addition to Chinese movies, top US action movies are very popular. For the last few weeks "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" showed all day long at 3 out of the 4 screens at a nearby theater. Prices of tickets also match US level too: 90 RMB (~$12) for premium showings.

Recently an art house movie theater has set up shop, but we are yet to visit.

Road Rage

One day last week on the way home from work, the shuttle bus came to a stop on Humin Elevated Expressway and I woke me from my nap just in time to see a guy running down the middle of the highway. He stopped about 50 meters in front of the bus and started arguing with the driver of a minivan. I quickly pulled out my mobile phone and snapped this photo as we drove by. They are not dancing. ;-)