The Hasty and Overcrowded China

Just at the end of holiday do I come to accept such a fact: The price that we have to pay for being luxuriously feasted with first two clear and fine days is that we have to endure the smog the rest of the holiday. But wait a minute, maybe my luck is not that bad.

This National Day holiday, I barely visited anywhere but several nearby scenic spots. I kept learning the news the number of visitors to those famous spots hit record high. The Broken Bridge in Hangzhou has turned into a bridge of visitors; The Great Wall has been renamed as “Wall of Men”.

Those who have planned to drive home are having a hard time, too. The traffic jam is so heavy that the express ways became a huge parking lot (one of the rare resources in most big cities in China,huh?). Someone even humorously suggests those who haven’t got married seek their romance in that spacious”parking lot”–You have plenty of time for achieving your success. A couple had to change their plan to a sightseeing visit to Tianjin due the heavy traffic. They previously planned to drive back to their hometown in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province.

What are travels or tours for? For me, I travel for pleasure, for fun, and for some time with my family. What if it is ruined by mental tensions during the trip or worries about the return tickets?

Oh my! I’d rather stay at home, even though I have to endure those smoggy days.

 

 

 

 

A Walk In The Olympic Forest Park

Last Sunday,my wife Alice and I went to the Olympic Forest Park. We went there in our own car.Alice has got her driving license already,but is still not skilled enough to drive on some busy roads.So we have to get on the roads in the early mornings. That morning,we decided to have a walk in the park nearby.Everything was fine and we reached there safe and sound. The following pictures were taken by me with my cellphone.We hadn’t been there for months and things had changed a lot there…. More beautiful than before. A bit hot as it was, the park was  a cozy place for a picnic outside.

 

The walk was a quick one,partly because Frank was still home, busy with his preparations for the final exam.Everything was fine till we were trying to park our car in our underground parking space in the neighbourhood.The car was almost right in its place when she pressed the accelerator hard. She was too nervous to remove her foot away onto the brake. Then I saw the car bumping backward and almost rushed out of the space.There was several seconds of silence.Neither of us saw why this was happening.Alice was still in the car,dumbfounded. I heard myself shouting at her,”Why were you pressing the accelerator that hard?See where the car is!”She said nothing.And I said nothing more,either. I went to the people in the parking lot and asked for help. With their help, the car was moved in its place.

 

Lucky that nobody was hurt,and nothing was damaged except several slight scratches on our car that required some repairing work.Later that afternoon,we sent the car to the 4S store with the help of Alice’s brother and everything went back to its order.

 

When everything was done,we went home. Alice was so nervous that she needed a rest.Then I cooked supper for us. While I was cooking, she went in.She came up to me, her arms circling my waist, her head against the back of my neck. Then she said,”I’ve come to know you are so tolerant….Well,you know,if you had made the same mistake,Iwould have chewed you out…..hundred percent sure..”

 

Hearing this, I felt a bit misty in my eyes. After a while, I said slowly,”You still don’t know me well enough.. I was angry not because you damaged the car,I was worrying about your safety. It has something more to do with sorry than anger. You know, it’s me who should’ve driven the car,but I didn’t. And that’s why I was so eager to get the driving license as early as possible. So, not because I am tolerant,just because I feel sorry about it.”

 

God bless me.

Guangzhou: Free Public Transit Canceled

It is reported that the beneficial policy of free transportation will be canceled due to the heavy traffic burden which has far exceeded capacity of the city’s transport systems. Just one week of its implementation, the policy has to be annulled. 

I’m wondering why such absurdities happen repeatedly all over China. It reflects an irresponsible attitude of our local governments when formulating or enforcing a new policy. Can they be more considerate when putting a new regulation into operation?

This reminds me of the personalized car plates in Beijing several years ago. The local traffic administration announced that the residents could have their car plate numbers tailored by providing the numbers they figured out by themselves. The policy met heating popularity soon after it was carried out, and the administration received numerous applications within a few days. However, problems came up. Some applicants used inappropriate or even vulgar wordings such as USA-, SEX-, you name it. This was beyond the authority’s consideration. They issued another circular that the service had been suspended for further notice. 

Those government officials seem to have always been taking stopgap measures and have never given further thought about the possible unforeseen situations when they’re making a new policy. Thus, such often happen as the urban gas pipelines have been digged up for refurbishment though such work had been done the previous year. Why are they wasting time and money instead of doing something more meaningful?

 Think before you leap, can those bureaucrats think more before they really do something? Try to be well-planned and do not waste our taxpayers’ hard-earned money!

“The Mean Genes”

Just can’t help blogging by my cellphone though it’s so inconvenient, because I can do it on my company’s shuttle bus, which saves a lot of time for me. Let’s come up to the chalk,now!

Here’s a news about misers, who are too stingy about their money. A recent study done by some scientists shows that people being too thrifty in money-spending may be traced back to their parents. In other words, you may have genetically inherited parsimony from your parents. If you find somebody’s kept borrowing money or other stuff from you and never repay them, don’t blame him, but his/her parents.

Sounds ridiculous,huh? We Chinese may have blown up at this news, because all of us cannot put up with blames upon our parents. I’m wondering what these ‘scientists’ are doing for,and why they are willing to waste their time on such a meaningless subject.

The Magic ATMs

Another interesting news. A new type of ATM has begun serving the money drawers in Guangzhou recently. What is magic about this machine is that drawers who wear masks, sunglasses or hats trying to hide their appearances will be rejected. The physical appearances will be required when a drawing request is being processed.

This is indeed a novel idea. Considering those kaleidoscopic ways used by some illegal money drawers, this machine may provide some safety for us card owners to some extent. At least, it will scare some of them away.

However, the more illumination, the more temptation. Some risk takers may figure out more novel ways to circumvent this latest preventive measures, who knows?

The Power of Censorship

Last night I received a message from sina microblog administrator ,informing me one of the comments I made had been deleted due to some sensative wordings in it. To be honest, I made the comment on a news covering a case in Shanxi Province related to house demolition. A man in his early 50s was beaten to death by some men because he had refused to be relocated due to his disagreement with the developer. Meng, selling tofu for years to save money for his son’s wedding house, was a well-behaved peasant. However, he finally turned to antagonism against the developer when he realized they were plotting to occupy his house without getting nothing but a slip of receipt. The man was beaten to death in an extremely barbaric way.

 I chilled at the administrator’s notice. I feel the power of censorship here.  It’s just like an invisible hand behind you, ready to muffle your mouth any time you’ve said sth’improper’.

How pathetic…..

Food Or Life?

Here’s a picture from today’s China Daily mobile version. A baby elephant was attacked by a crocodile when drinking water by a pond where the crocodile was hiding. The hungry crocodile was trying hard to pull its prospective delicacy into the water while the calf elephant was straining every nerve to break away from the covetous predator. In a bout for food or life, life’s prevailed this time. Sure, the calf elephant couldn’t have made it without the help from other adult elephants. See, how much unity counts!

Billionairs’ Housing Allowances

Let’s spotlight Shenzhen this time. A recent sensational news blasted the internet. In a list publicized by Shenzhen local government shows that some billionairs are among those who are receiving housing allowances. The news has aroused great indignation among the netizens and has triggered heating discussions nationwide. The topic has turned into several big question-marks: are these guys whose wealth has to be calculated on billions eligible for receiving such allowances?What on earth is the purpose of housing allowances? Is it something to help a lame dog over a stile or just to paint the lily?
What is Shenzhen local government like in this case? Through this I consider the local government as an apple polisher, a wealth worshipper,a policy-maker as well as a trouble maker who has created further social disparity. It reflects its indifference to the common people. This in their mind, how can they place the common folks in priority and put themselves in our shoes? However,this conception has been so deep-rooted in our officials’ mind that virtually nothing can remove it. A nation in need of the people-first spirit is hopeless…

“Affordable Apartments” vs. “Affordable Graves”

Just read an interesting piece of news a while ago. The local government of Ningbo,Zhejiang Province, carried out some ‘affordable graves’ for its residents. Each grave will cost no more than rmb7800.

We Chinese are leading a tough life now, and it’s indeed not easy to make a living in here. So, do give a second thought when you choose to die due to your failure to get an ‘affordable apartment’, coz it may be equally costly for you to get an’ affordable grave’!? To be or not to be, it’s not only a question for Hamlet, but all people of the middle or lower classes in China.

Mad Cow Disease: Mengniu’s “PR Gate”

While the Melamine-tainted milk powder still stinks , the major domestic dairy producers are being involved in another ignominious scandal recently. Rumour has it that Mengniu, one of the leading dairy producers in China, is being blamed for sabotaging the reputation of its domestic counterparts by hiring a PR company who had been plotting to defame the other competitors. The victims include Yili and Synutra. (Source:Baidu) It is said that the previously Synutra scandal ( some babies who had used the producer’s product showed signs of precocious puberty) has been plotted by Mengniu, aiming to beat the producer by ruining its established reputation in the market. The move was successful and Synutra has been suffering from financial loss and reputational damage ever since, and is still struggling to restore its damaged corporate image. Yili, another dairy giant in the same area with Mengniu (Inner Mongolia), also claimed that Mengniu’s staff were trying to defame one of its baby milk brands by spreading some false news in the market. It also claims that the police has tracked down the case and a Mengniu personnel involved has been arrested. It’s indeed a shame for the domestic producers, another solid proof that many Chinese producers don’t follow the rules and try to win the competition by some illegal means. While we call for integrity in business, why do they keep doing such unscrupulous things only to put the Chinese image to shame? There is no winner in this smear campaign, only to bring more humiliation to China’s dairy industry, or even worse, disgrace the global image of China. We Chinese often boast of our long history and profound wisdom, but this time, these people have employed their wisdom in a wrong occasion, and in a wrong way. A cow provides milk for us, but it turns threatening when it’s contracted MCD.