There is another option for gift giving or even end of the year tax breaks though, and that’s giving to a charity. You can always donate in the name of your gift recipient, and while they might have enjoyed a physical present more, perhaps they’ll be just as grateful not to have to try to figure out how to regift that panda poop tea.

Since charity giving among Chinese has dropped quite a lot this year after various charity related scandals, many charities in China could especially use the boost. Of course we don’t want to see our money siphoned off to line the pockets of dishonest charity administrators instead of really helping those it’s meant to help, so we’ve got to be careful about who we give to. I’ve put together a short list of a few charities working in China that seem fairly reputable, and of course if you’ve got more suggestions please add them in the comments!

1. Half the Sky

Dedicated to bringing the love and concern of family to thousands of orphaned children in China who have lost theirs. Their goal is to ensure that every one of China’s orphans has a caring adult in her life. They provide individual nurture and stimulation for babies, innovative preschools that encourage an early love of learning, personalized learning opportunities for older children, and loving — and most important, permanent — foster homes for children whose special needs may keep them from being adopted.

I’ve personally met Half the Sky workers in local orphanages and seen the great work they are doing.  Without their help, Chinese orphanages would be a much more dismal and horrible place for kids to spend their childhoods.

2. Wokai

Wokai is a microfinance loan provider seeking to create opportunity for those living in poverty in rural China. In their own words:

“Utilizing the principle of microfinance, we connect you with people in rural China who want to start small businesses, but just need a little help getting there. You make a tax deductible contribution to sponsor that person’s loan, watch as they grow their businesses, repay their loans, and lift themselves from poverty. At the end of the year, you re-invest your contribution and help another borrower start a businesses.”

I gave a loan through Wokai last year and earmarked it as a Christmas gift for some of my family back in the US. They really enjoyed reading the stories of those applying for the loan, choosing who they wanted “their” money to go to, and then getting to re-allocate the money after the loan was repaid.

3. Living With Dead Hearts

We’ve mentioned this film being made about kidnapped children in China and we still think it’s a good cause!  It explores the widespread problem of kidnapping through the eyes of parents searching for their children, as well as examining the lives of street children and adults to see what happens to kids after they’re kidnapped. The film is currently in production and is tentatively slated for release in 2012. They are still accepting donations so hurry to be a part of this before they wrap!

4. The Library Project

The Library Project donates books and libraries to under financed schools and orphanages in the developing world. They believe education is the key motivator to breaking the cycle of poverty that exists in the developing world. As they see it, education is change.

I used to work in a library before moving to China, and books have always and will always hold a very special place in my heart. I can’t imagine being without books. As I’m now a teacher, I’d love to see better education here in China. Although it’s also been mentioned on this blog several times already, I couldn’t leave it off. Building libraries in rural schools and orphanages? I can’t say no to that!

5. Bright Connection

The Bright Connection is a rehabilitation center for helping children with cerebral palsy, autism, developmental delays and hearing impairments live as normal people. Located in Sanya, it was founded by Maggie and John Davis whose own adopted daughter suffers from cerebral palsy. When they discovered there were no resources to help parents with these children, they poured their hearts, time, and life savings into creating one. Over the years they have had to keep expanding the center to accommodate more and more children, including several from the local orphanage. They have been featured in the Sanya Expat website as well as the Hainan news. You can see a video about their work and “meet” some of the kids here.

Full disclaimer: I have known John and Maggie since 2005 when I moved to Sanya, and have done some volunteer work with The Bright Connection. Personally I think they are doing a great job!

6. JAR – Jaiya’s Animal Rescue

Our fellow humans aren’t the only ones hoping for a bit of holiday giving. Jaiya’s Animal Rescue (JAR) in Shanghai does an amazing job running a rescue center and animal adoption events. In their words:

JAR is a non-profit small animal rescue group that is committed to protecting and improving the health and welfare of animals through pet health care, education, and the promotion of adoption / fostercare as an alternative approach to purchasing animals. We are dedicated to domestic animal population control, promoting pet adoption/fostering and reducing the incidence of abandonment.

They are currently maxed out with rescued animals and could surely use both financial support, or help with animal adoptions. Also check out our interview with JAR from last year.

Hope you have a great Christmas (or Hannukah, or birthday if you’re like me and celebrate in December) and thanks for checking out these great China Charities! And please, if you know of, or are involved with a good China-focused charity, please make mention of it in the comments.

Tickets to 八所 (a town I’d never heard of) in hand, we decided to buy a map of 海南 and see where we were going. It was on the coast! Excellent. There seemed to be some tourist attractions nearby as well. A hot springs, which I nixed as I had an ear infection, was forbidden to swim, and had not brought a bathing suit. There was also this place called 万人坑. Ten-thousand person…check dictionary…hole? with no idea what that meant, it was close to the ocean and we’d see if we could find it!

As we rode the bus through the evening one of my travelling companions got a text from a friend in Beijing. It was one of those mass holiday texts that people send out to everyone in their phones this time of year. She read through it and then, somewhat shocked, translated it to English for us: “This year we have three holidays: Teachers Day is the 10th, thank you to the teachers! 911 is the 11th, thank you to Bin Laden! Mooncake day is the 12th, thank you to Chang’E and Hou Yi!” I wondered aloud if he realized he was sending that text to an American, and she just shook her head and shrugged.

Soon we’d arrived and after checking in at the third hotel (the first two were small and made excuses — the tv is broken… there is no air-con… the fan doesn’t work — until we got the hint that they didn’t want to deal with foreigners and moved on) and got some sleep. In the morning, after a failed attempt to drink locally brewed Hainan coffee, we pulled out our map and started asking around about places to visit. We met a very nice older man who told us 万人坑 was just up the road and we could take a 三轮车 (like a tuk-tuk) there, and it shouldn’t cost more than 4-5 yuan. Since we’d already had an incident with a  三轮车 who wanted to charge us 10 yuan for a fairly short trip, and when we disagreed she said the higher price was because we were foreign, we figured if it was that close we might as well just walk.

We’d walked only about three or four minutes when the nice older man caught up to us on his bike. He explained he didn’t have to go to work (as a security guard at a resort) for another half hour, and he might as well show us the way! Good thing he did, too. The way meandered for 20 more minutes over a mud track through a village. We chatted and enjoyed getting to know him. He was a retired teacher. He either taught English or music, but it was hard to tell through his thick Hainan accent which it had been. We decided it must have been music, since the only English he’d attempted with us thus far had been an emphatic THANK YOU! in response to our profuse 谢谢‘s. We laughed and joked with him as we walked down the path.

Finally we came to the 万人坑. I wandered ahead, picking my way over the sandy soil and carefully around the abundant cacti towards the concrete spire, while the others stopped to read the sign at the entrance. Just as I was about to climb the stairs to the platform, they called out a warning. “It’s a mass grave!” Yeah. Ten-thousand person grave. More somber now, we stood on the platform together to read the inscription. It was long, and our helpful new friend kept standing in front of the bits we were reading to point out other bits of the text and explain more about what it said.

The grave turned out to contain conscripts from all over south China who’d been forced to work in Hainan during what the Chinese call the War of Japanese Agression and we call World War II; mining, building roads, laying rail lines, refining salt. They’d been worked to death and buried here, under our feet. Were there really 10,000? It was hard to know and even the numbers on the inscription seemed to conflict with each other. Was it appropriate to visit a Chinese mass grave on the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in American history? At the time it felt uncomfortable. We’d come out, happy with our adventure, having no idea where we were going. Our guide had known. He didn’t seem to take offense at our high spirits or curiosity. Should we be thinking about these Chinese victims when every other American was thinking about OUR victims? What would our friends and families back home think?

I feel so disconnected from America these days, anyway. I haven’t lived there since January of 2005. I miss certain people, of course. And while occasionally I get a craving for a Bloomin’ Onion or an original glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut, my life is here in China. It feels right to me to be standing here, speaking Chinese with this old man and learning the history of the locality.

China is my home now. I’ve had many homes before (I’d lived in three countries by the time I was five) and I don’t think of it as losing the homes I’ve had before, but gaining more with each new home I have. I have Hainan in my heart, now. I mourn with them their tragedies, the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the unknown numbers in the grave in Basuo. I have Chicago in my heart and I remember being there on that day, in 2001. I remember how every yard and window sprouted patriotic displays that fall and winter until it seemed that instead of Christmas in July we had Independence Day in December. I have Japan in my heart too, hard as it is for my friends here in China to understand. I mourn with them the losses of the earthquake and tsunami. It seems like it only just happened, not six months ago already.

I hope my American friends can understand that I don’t stand with them any less if I also stand with new friends in China on this day. I wonder if more of us Americans stood with people of other lands and felt their losses with our own, if more understanding could lead to fewer of those losses one day.

So, it’s a little late and most of us have begrudgingly returned to work, but 新年快乐 fellow laowai.

I captured my own thoughts, photos and videos of my 6th Chinese New Year’s Eve on my blog, and so won’t waste space with a reiteration here.

However, I wanted to share this great short video by Jonah M. Kessel, Paul Morris and Kit Gillet:

2011: The Year of the Rabbit from Jonah Kessel on Vimeo.

To capture the spirit of the Spring Festival, the three of us hit the alleys, streets and roofs of Beijing to capture the pyrotechnique display put on by the Chinese people. The truly remarkable aspect of the events that take place on New Year’s Eve is that all of the fireworks you see in the video are bought and set off by regular Beijingers – a perfect visual representation of the overwhelming size of China’s population. This creates a unique organized display of chaos which lights up the sky and echoes through the streets of China.

Jonah gives a rundown on what went in to filming the video and what gear they used at his blog. Be sure to check it out.

Jonah M. Kessel is a Beijing-based freelance visual journalist and interactive art director specializing in photography, video, news and Web design.
Paul Morris is a Beijing-based freelance assistant producer and lighting cameraman.
Kit Gillet is a Beijing-based freelance journalist and documentary maker.

h/t Danwei.org (via HaoHaoReport)

November 20 – Football (aka Soccer)

After trips all over the metropolis, I decided to settle close to home.  I knew that there was a football match at the Tianhe Sports Centre, a short walk away from my house. I had heard that most soccer tickets were pretty easy to get, unless China was playing of course. Just to prepare myself for the game, and to decide on a team to cheer for, I checked out who was playing.

It was the Women’s Semi-final. Korea vs. Korea.

After looking that up, I got pretty darned excited, I mean, how often do you get to see two countries at war play a sport against one another? What would the crowd be like? How would the players react?

I met up with some friends and headed on over to the venue. Right after showing up we find someone trying to sell tickets. After a bit of haggling we end up paying 80RMB for the 50 kuai tickets. Not terrible, but we probably could have done better.

After we get into the stadium and find some seats, the game was maybe 5 minutes in. Looking down at the pitch, we can see that the white team was clearly dominating the red team. Logically, we assume that the white team is the South Koreans, since they are known for having a much stronger squad.

Circled: North Korea

The stadium was at about two-thirds capacity, with the side we were seated at (camera side) having the majority of people. Across the field there was a small North Korean cheering section with flags and everything. I noticed that nobody else was sitting around them. I couldn’t help but wonder if it were the athletes, and everyone else was kept away.

As the game went on, the white team continued to dominate.  Eventually, as the first half neared an end, they finally scored. I jumped for joy, along with the rest of the crowd. Then I looked at the scoreboard PRK: 1 KOR: 0.

I had spent the whole first half cheering for the Evil Korea.

Lesson learned, GO RED!!!!

The second half was a bit more even, with the white (note to self: North Korea) dominating most of the play. Eventually though, as time dwindled down, the red (note to self: SOUTH Korea) tied it up.

I was a little disappointed by this time that the crowd was mostly Chinese. There are a lot of Koreans in Guangzhou, and I was hoping that they would have filled the stadium. The spectators were pretty respectful, giving even cheers for both sides. Even though I expected them to be more in favour of the North, it didn’t really pan out that way.

The game went into extra time, and to my surprise, the North Korean team (in white) scored twice late in the frame to win the game, much to the delight of the bizarre North Korean cheering section across the field from us.

As we left, we noticed several nice buses surrounded by a military presence, complete with a tank. As much as I wanted to take a picture, I thought better of that. While there was security at all of the events, there wasn’t that much anywhere else. Did they expect the Korean teams to take it out of hand? Was it there to escort the North Koreans back? Or was it just because it was Saturday night? I really have no idea, and I didn’t want to stop to ask these questions.

November 21 – Cricket

After getting tickets from scalpers, friends of friends, or students, it was about time that we got tickets legally. About a week before, my girlfriend and I went to the ICBC Bank to get tickets. After standing in line for tickets, we were told that we needed an ICBC account, so after an hour of waiting and signing things, and getting my passport copied down, I got one and we purchased some tickets. It really was a painful process that reminded me of signing up for a bank account with China Merchant’s just to go to the Expo.  Does this make sense to anyone else out there?

…and rant over. Back to the games!

After several great experiences, and minimal problems, it was about time that our luck ran out. After consulting a map, it seemed like cricket wouldn’t be that difficult to get to. Sure it was far away, but Guangzhou’s subway system is good enough.  Long story short: I was wrong; horribly, horribly wrong.

We had to take the subway, and then a bus, and then walk, and then wait. None of the volunteers were all that knowledgeable (shocking, since they were so great for the other events), and the transit links were worse.

We finally got to the venue, at 9:40 for a 9:30 start. While it sucks being late, one of the advantages is that usually everyone else has already arrived, and the lines are easier to get through.  This was not one of those times. Everyone else had arrived late as well.

The line to get into the stadium was super long, super slow moving, and super pushy.

When we got up to the front, my girlfriend asked one of the volunteers, why it was taking so long. He answer that “We didn’t think cricket would be so popular, and everyone came at once!”.

Either Cricket Fever is going to sweep China in the near future, or the tickets were given away for free, you decide!

I had to state the obvious, but people usually come to sporting events at once.  You know, when the event starts.

We finally got in, were seated under the hot sun, and joined the rest of the crowd an hour after the event started.

Now I am sure that cricket is a great and elegant game. I am sure that there is a great deal of strategy, and some excellent athleticism involved. But I just don’t get it. I had the game roughly explained to me before hand, but I was still confused. And apparently I wasn’t alone. I’m sure that a cricket purist would have been embarrassed by the crowds lack of knowledge, and if that is any of you out there, I’m sorry, but I just didn’t get the game.

We left after a few hours to go grab some food, and proceed to our next event of the day. Yet another English sport that North Americans have changed into a game that they call their own…

November 21 – Rugby

Now this was more like it!

I had seen Rugby 7s on TV a few years ago, but I didn’t really understand it. Seven on a side, two seven minute halves, sure makes for an exciting and fast paced game! Our tickets were good for a total of nine matches on the opening day of the tournament.

There were so many games, both mens and women’s that I honestly am struggling to remember the individual scores. However, there was one pretty central theme to the games: lop-sided scores. One of the common themes for international tournaments is that the opening games are usually the best teams against the worst teams, to serve as a bit of a warm-up for everyone (e.g. Brazil opening the World Cup against North Korea, or Canada opening the Winter Olympic Ice Hockey against Norway).

The games were fast and furious, but more often than not ended up with scores of fifty-something to zero.

Energized and exhausted, we decided to take the subway back to civilization. Apparently, everyone in the giant rugby stadium had the same idea. The subway was crowded, and I don’t just mean typical Chinese volume, I mean insane and sardineesque.

For safety reasons, they held people upstairs before allowing them to go down to the train platforms. Now of course, people were pushing and shoving, in ways that I am sure I don’t need to explain to anyone who has spent anytime in the Middle Kingdom.

The security guard yelled something and all that I could make out was “waiguoren“. My girlfriend explained that he said something to the effect of “Don’t push, there are foreigners here. Do you want them to see you acting like this?”.

We went down to the trains in an orderly fashion.

November 24 – Water Polo

I wish that I had some grand story to tell for my final event, but sadly I don’t. Water Polo was simply fantastic, they are athletes of the highest caliber.

The semi-final match between China and South Korea was a lot of fun. China utterly humiliated their opponents, winning 22-7, sending the fans home happy.

I tried to cheer, I tried to get into it, but the fact remained. I was just too damn tired.

Good thing the Games won’t happen for another 4 years, I don’t think that I have the energy for it to take place any sooner.

Asian Games: Coming to a Super Nova Near You!

The 16th Asiad is winding down here in Guangzhou. I’ll be honest, first I was excited about the event, then angry at all the construction, then angrier that I couldn’t get tickets, then excited again, then confused, then hungry, and finally back to excited. Now I find myself sad that they will be ending soon, and plotting my trip to Korea for the 2014 version of the event!  I was lucky enough to take in six and a half events over the past two weeks.

For all the issues they had planning, and running this event. I can say from my own experiences as a spectator, it was fantastic, and the city and country should be pretty darned proud.

What experiences you ask? Well just read on to find out!

November 16 – Hockey

It all started innocently enough. One of my students asked me if I liked hockey. Being a red and white blooded Canadian I said “Of course!”, thinking he was talking about my countries national frozen sport. He then tells me that he has two tickets to see hockey that night that he couldn’t use, since his mom had to go out of town, so he offers them to me. I hurriedly accept and reimburse him for the tickets, even though he tries to refuse the money. Looking at the tickets, I realize that he meant field hockey, which is something that I had actually never seen played before. Nonetheless I accept.

That evening, my girlfriend and I arrive to the venue with anticipation, unsure as to what to expect exactly. Just that day I had read on BBC that the venues were both sold out and empty. The Aoti Field Hockey Stadium was somewhere in between the two extremes. There was a respectable crowd, but certainly room for more spectators. After arriving five minutes late, we see that the score is 2-0 for South Korea leading Oman. Apparently South Korea’s team is good, who knew?

Apparently hockey can be played on the Field these days...

A few spectators sit behind us and talk a little loudly in Chinese. My girlfriend starts to laugh. She tells me that one of them said after looking at the Omani team “I didn’t think that there were black people in Asian”. To which the other replied “No stupid, they’re Indian”. Had I understood I would have added “Warmer…warmer…”

Volunteer’s start to address the crowd and lead cheers for both countries. South Korea is the only one to respond, as they run up the score. With the score 8-0 in the dying minutes the crowd gains new life. Oman made a few dashes towards the goal, and the crowd loved it. The spectators drew incredibly raucous as Oman pressed on making last shots. The clocked ticked down as another Omani chance was stifled, much to the chagrin of everyone not Korean, Oman loses 8-0.

As we prepare to leave, the announcer comes on and tells us that in half an hour the second game featuring China and Singapore will start. Unsure what to do, we stay still, figuring that someone would tell us to leave if we had to. Nobody came, and the majority of spectators stayed. Apparently we had tickets to a double header.

With China on the field, there was no split cheering, and no hopes for the underdog to score a goal. Everyone was all PRC, and I loved it. The first half went by with no goals, but a ton of “Jia Yo’s”. The five rams came out and danced, but everyone wanted blood, or at least a goal.

Eventually the patience of the crowd paid off and the stands erupted when China scored the first of the game. Cheers grew louder as play got fiercer. China eventually added another to send everyone home happy with a 2-0 win. As the crowds poured out I wondered how many fans understood the rules of the game (note: I sure didn’t), but I certainly didn’t wonder how many people enjoyed it.

I was reminded of an old joke I have had for almost 15 years with my friend Troy. He and I are both huge hockey fans and it has been our main topic of conversation for the duration of our friendship. Whenever talks switch to another sport like basketball, one of us always asks “Do you know what would make [Sport X] better?” to which the other replies “If it were hockey”. Field hockey may be better to me if it were on ice, but it was still pretty darned great.

November 17 – Artistic Gymnastics

The first day did it. We had Asian Games fever. The only prescription? More tickets!!

For Reference: Panyu is somewhere to the East of Mordor on this map - photo by Anthony Forester

Looking at the schedule, Gymnastics was the one to go to next. While I’m impressed with the art and athleticism of the sport, it has never really done it for me on a wider scale. My other half on the other hand, loves it. When she found out about the Asian Games, that was the one thing that she wanted to see. Being the loving man that I am, I wouldn’t let a simple thing like not having tickets, or having to go all the way to Panyu get in my way of giving her what she wanted.

We make the lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnng trek out to Panyu in an attempt to scalp some tickets. I had read that it wasn’t that difficult, and many people were selling some tickets at cost. After looking up that the tickets for Gymnastics were 200RMB, I figure that this should be no problem, right?

Well we show up on the look out for the seedy characters who have tickets to move. Things start off well as we get off the metro. Someone immediately tries to sell us tickets for 810RMB each. Not bad, just a 305% markup, comparable to the Pearl Market in Beijing. Undeterred we press on, finding the clear “seedy corner” of the area, where we get offered tickets on a bi-minutely basis.

Sadly though, the prices only go up, peaking at around 1000RMB per ticket, to which I had an inappropriate two word reply. We tried to get them to lower the costs, but to no avail. They went as low as 600RMB, but it was after the event started, and they said “If we promised that, they’d look for it.”.

Defeated, we made the long trek back to civilization and called it a night.

November 20 – Sepatakraw

Had you asked me what sepatakraw was two weeks ago I would have answered either “A character from Harry Potter” or “Your mom’s a sepatakraw”. Now I would answer it with “The Superbowl meets Christmas”!

Like most stories, this one starts with “A Friend of a Friend”. See, a friend of my friend was working as a volunteer for the Asian Games and had two free tickets to see the Thai sport, which is best described as “volleyball with feet”. Now my friend, Ryan (not the one associated with this site, I do have friends not on the internet) had two tickets, but there was a problem, nine of us wanted to go.

We arrived, thinking that we could scalp some tickets. We failed last time, so why not try again? Surely it was possible! Little did we realize that a very sizable Thai population showed up to watch their women’s team take on the Chinese in a Gold Medal showdown. Tickets were unavailable.

But non-internet-Ryan went out and asked his friends for more tickets. It didn’t look good, so this Ryan and another guy went in. Then after a tense few minutes, more tickets surfaced, and eventually we were all allowed in. My ticket was one step above being scribbled on a napkin, but it did the trick.

What followed was perhaps the most intense and exciting few hours I’ve ever spent.

We ended up seated in the Thai cheering section. While it felt strange to cheer against the country that I live in, it would have felt weirder to cheer against the people I was surrounded by. I’ve been to Thailand a few times, and loved it, so why not?

He can never trim his mustache, then he'd have to make a new four headed mask

The Thai’s took to us just as much as we took to them. The invited us to join every cheer, and dance along with them after every point. Like a crazy college game in North America, a few Thai spectators were dressed up. One had a wat on his head, one was a one man band, and one had fashioned a four headed hat so he could watch the game no matter which way he turned.

What struck me the most was how different the cheering styles of the Thai and Chinese spectators was. The Chinese all chanted in unison, while the Thais would play songs and dance and chant very freely and loosely, but will with collective joy whenever Thailand scored a point.

As the game wore on, I grew more and more excited. As Thailand was closing out the game, I had a volunteer tap me on the shoulder.

JIA YO!!!!

“Excuse me, where are you from?” She asked

“Canada” I replied

“Then why are you cheering for Thailand?”

“Because that’s were the seats were”

Just saying it out loud made me feel kind of silly, but apparently it satisfied her. All silliness went away a few minutes later when the Thai national anthem started to celebrate their Gold Medal. Although I had no reason to be, I sure was proud.

My guest today, Sara is a fellow inhabitant of the great City of Five Rams. Sara Jaaksola always had a dream about visiting China. But only in February 2010 she found the way to make it true and is now enjoyning her life in Guangzhou. In her blog, Living A Dream In China, she writes about her life, experiences and studies in this amazing country.

In less than 2 weeks Guangzhou plays host to the Asian Games. Given we both have front row seats to the construction and hype, it seems like a pretty logical talking point. So, join us today for Fact or Fiction XI: Let the Games Begin!!!

1. Guangzhou will be ready for the Asian Games.

Glen: FACT

New Delhi this is not! I realize that there is still some construction going on, when it should have finished September 30th. However, I recall people having similar concerns back in 2008 in Beijing, but they not only finished everything, but exceeded expectations — expect Guangzhou to do the same.

Sara: FACT
The Asian Games are the number one thing in Guangzhou right now. I am sure that the city will do anything to finish renovations and buldings on time. There seems to be a lot of work still needed to be done, but I am convinced that Chinese people can do miracles when it is about giving face to the city and the whole country.

So far so good! Boy will we ever be embarassed if this turns into New Delhi 2.0! 1 for 1

2. Guangzhou will become more of a tourist destination after the Asian Games.

Glen: FICTION

As much as I would love to see this city become a glamorous tourist destination, I just don’t see that happening. The Asian Games are hardly the Olympics or Expo, and the Tianhe Sports Complex is hardly the Birds Nest or the China Pavilion. Beijing and Shanghai both attracted a huge amount of foreign visitors for their big events, and I just don’t see Guangzhou doing the same. I think that the vast majority of spectators to the events will be Chinese nationals or expats living in the Pearl River Delta. Both of which already come to Guangzhou as it is.

Sara: FICTION

Asian Games will surely attract a lot of Asian tourists and the city will be like a beehive in November. But to become a major tourist spot Guangzhou would need more. Beijing has its cultural sites and Shanghai is a modern metropolis. But Guangzhou is still more the factory of the world than an appealing tourist destination.

So I guess we won’t be seeing more visitors, maybe we like it that way! 2 for 2.

3. The physical changes to the city have been mostly positive.

Glen: FACT

The first time I came to visit GZ was in January 2010 when the construction was well underway. Since then, there have been new museums, subway lines, apartment buildings, and great restaurants opened. I’m very excited to see this place after the last bits of construction are done. I remember being in awe of Shanghai’s pre- and post-Expo transformation, and I’m excited to see it here.

Sara: FACT

Changes seem to be mostly positive. The public transport has improved a lot and will be free during the games. New roads have been built and older ones renovated. But there are also downsides coming along the Games. One of the stadiums is located in the University Town and the villages on the island have been almost completely surrounded with ugly looking walls. The people living there are greatly dissapointed with this renewal.

Continues to look great. Time to switch things up. 3 for 3

4. Guangzhou will host another major international event (e.g. Olympics, Expo) in the near future.

Sara: FICTION

After Asian Games the second biggest event might be the Canton Fair that is held every spring and fall. But usually a same city doesn’t hold many Olympic-scale events in a short time span. First it was Beijing, then Shanghai and now Guangzhou. I think next time it will be some other city’s turn.

Glen: FICTION

Yeah I totally agree. Guangzhou is a great place for an upper-medium sized event like the Asian Games, but it may not have the infastructure or global recognition to handle something like Beijing and Shanghai have. Were I a betting man, I would think that the next major event in China would be a Winter Games (not necessarily the Olympics mind you) in Haerbin, or they’ll put something else in Beijing. Sadly, we’ve got to go to the back of the line now.

And we keep on rolling. 4 for 4. Can this be the first ever perfect score?

5. The Asian Games will have the same impact on Guangzhou that the Olympics had on Beijing or the Expo had on Shanghai.

Sara: FACT

Even with the concerns and negative issues, the Beijing Olumpics gave a lot of face to China and I am sure the Asian Games will do the same to Guangzhou. The city is doing it’s best and through volunteers a leafleft was delivered to every household in order to instruct people on how to behave during the games. I think the biggest impact will be to make Guangzhou more known abroad and gain national pride.

Glen: FICTION

I think that the two aformentioned events did a great job of opening up China to the rest of the world, and showing the nation as a new, modern place. I think that the Asian Games will get some of the sports media around, but it won’t get the kind of big name celebrities and politicians showing up like the Olympics or Expo did. I think that these games will be largely ignored by the Western media, since no European or North American countries will be present. Unless something goes wrong of course…

I totally jinxed it! 4 for 5.

6. You will attend some of the games.

Sara: FICTION

I am not into sports but it would also feel little bit strange to attend an event that is making Guangzhou go crazy in many ways. Asian Games makes the life here little bit more strict and more complicated. Also Chinese students are forced to attend the games and wave flags. I will be only observing the closest stadium across the road.

Glen: FACT

That is assuming that I can navigate the online ticketing system, which has not been easy so far. Living two hours away from Shanghai during the Expo was the closest I’ve been to any sort of international event, and I think it would be a bit of a waste to not take in the opportunity. Sure, I’m not excatly the biggest fan of synchronized diving or archery, but it is always fun to get in on the collective experience.

And so it ends, not with a bang but with a wimper. 4 for 6.

For Sara, I’m Glen, thanks for reading! We hope that you enjoy the Games.  As always, we welcome comments/concerns/criticisms.  Let us have it

So thank you China for…

• …economic stability. Things are not so great on the other side of the Pacific for a variety of reasons, and I am certainly thankful to have a good job, and comfortable lifestyle over here.
• …a new beginning. I’ve been very lucky this year to have a new job, in a new city. Sure it has new challenges, but also plenty of new rewards.
• …a China family. I feel like the people I’ve grown closest to around here have become more than friends to me, they are family. We are dealing with the same things together and have grown very close to one another. I was lucky to have two of my closest friends come to visit Guangzhou recently, it was great to show them my new life, and it let me see the city through fresh eyes again.
• …finally cooling off. I don’t know about your part of the PRC, but it was pretty darned hot from July to September. The weather seems to have cooled off a bit, I appreciate it, and so do the people who had to smell me.
• …having so much to see. As some of you may know, I love to travel. I foolishly thought that I had “done China” after a few months of back packing around. Now I know much better than that.
• …every single guest for Fact or Fiction. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing the monthly Fact or Fiction columns here.  Ryan, Steven, Ericka, Matt, Rebekah, Josh, Fred, Katherine, Travis, and Sascha have been a pleasure to interact with, and I know that they have all helped me improve my writing. I hope that people out there have enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
• …putting the Asian Games in Guangzhou. The city has undergone a major renovation since I arrived in July. There are new Subway lines under construction, new stadiums being built, roads being paved, and plenty more. It’s great to see such positive change in a city that has a less than stellar reputation. Also, I’m pretty darned excited to go and see some events.
• …the “Bed Intruder Song”. Alright so this has nothing to do with China, but it’s pretty awesome. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, watch both of these videos in order.

How could you not be thankful for that little bid of modern-day poetry?

• …the wet market. Last night my girlfriend and I made a vegan-Canadian-Thanksgiving with green beans, tofu, and sweet potatoes. Best of all: it was dirt cheap. Gotta love inexpensive, fresh produce!
• …for all of your excentricities. Just when I think I have some handle on this zany country, it throws me a curve. Thanks for keeping me on my toes China, I may get angry sometimes but I do appreciate it.

So what did I miss?

Miss World @ Shanghai Expo Iceland Pavilion

If you’re heading to the Shanghai Expo and don’t feel like spending your day under the sun in line for one of the biggie pavilions; head over to the (surely cool) Iceland Pavilion, where you can rub elbows with Miss World 2005 Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir. According to the Iceland Expo site, Unnur is heading up the role of Deputy Director of Pavilion and Director for PR & Events (I figure that between her name and her title, she must need two business cards).

Huge hat tip and thanks to Lost Laowai reader Giulia for snapping the photo and sending in the tip. In talking to Unnur at the pavilion she mentioned she was only going to be at the pavilion for the next couple weeks, so if you’d like to meet a real-life Miss World, head on over soon.

My guest today is Katherine, better known around here as Baoru.  You can read her work on CNReviews where she posts a great deal about life in the Middle Kingdom.  Quite recently her informative posts on the Shanghai Expo have received a great deal of web traffic, and for obvious reasons.  She also writes a blog in Expotia, the Official Hotel Reservation Service Provider of Expo 2010.  If that wasn’t enough, depending on your perspective, she is either lucky or brave enough to be a volunteer at the World Expo in Shanghai.

Looking at my guests resume, the topic seems rather obvious to me.  We will be talking about the biggest event to currently be underway in China, the Shanghai Expo.  We will be tackling issues like lines, toilets, and our favourite pavilions, so join us for Fact or Fiction 8:  Hey Ho, Expo!

1.  The lines are far too long at the Shanghai Expo.

Glen: FICTION

This is by far the biggest complaint that I’ve heard so far from people about the Expo.  However, most of what I’ve noticed is that most of the griping is from people who haven’t even been to the Expo!  Most of the lines there really aren’t that bad.  Sure the German, Korean, and American Pavilions have terrifying long lines, but there are plenty of other ones that don’t have it that bad.  I think that you just need to be smart about which ones you choose and it won’t be too bad.

Katherine: FICTION

Everyone is really making exaggerated remarks on that one. [I am sometimes guilty of this too!] And the old ladies and grand pops bringing in the colorful, foldable chairs are not helping. I bet the distributor of those chairs is making a killing at this point in time! I may be biased because I get fast pass access to a few pavilions (due to my status as a volunteer), but I also waited for a friend while I was inside the Expo Garden already. And when I visit the Expo with someone else, I also need to line up. It was not that long a wait. Try the Urban Best Practices Area in Puxi and the corporate pavilions there also. Sometimes you do not even need to line up to get in.

They are off to a great start!  Looks like they are not in the mob of people that are upset with the mobs of people.  1 for 1.

2.  The UK Pavillion has the best design of the Pavilions.

Great Pavilion or Greatest Pavilion?

Glen: FACT

It’s certainly the weirdest one there! It looks like some sort of alien spore coming to take over the planet, and I for one like that in a building.  It is extra cool from the inside where you can see the light coming in through all of the plastic tubes.  I highly recommend it to anyone going to the Expo, lines or not.

Katherine: FICTION

The UK Pavilion looks cool definitely, but it is not the best in design for me. Even if it is a must-see pavilion. I agree with you though that it looks alien spore-ish. They got my vote for being innovative in design. But best design for me is the China Pavilion. It’s so Chinese and so unique at the same time. The inverted pyramid, strong red color, and grand staircase leading to the top got me.

Almost all the way in agreement, but not quite.  1 for 2.

3.  The Theme Pavilions are the best ones to visit.

Glen: FACT

I said this in my post a few months ago about the Expo and my mind certainly hasn’t changed since then.  I only went to the Urbanian Pavilion and the Pavilion of the Future, but they were both fantastic!  There is a lot of cool information in there presented in a very interesting fashion.  Sure you need to book times, but it’s so worth it and they are most certainly very different than all of the other pavilions that you find.

Katherine: FACT

If it were not for the fact that the Expo Garden is a bit far from our place, I could go back to the Theme Pavilions again and again and just stay there absorbing all the neat information inside. Everyone is talking about the country pavilions like how many pavilions they got into. Not so many are making it a point to check out the Theme Pavilions. There are 3 in Pudong side and 2 in Puxi, and all of them are worth the visit.

And we’re back on track…2 for 3.  Let’s switch it up to get more interesting.

4.  There are enough restaurants and toilets at the Expo.

Katherine: FACT.

Ask me again during the first few weeks of the Expo opening, and I would have given you a different answer. These days, I think everyone is able to use the washrooms without need of lining up (both squat and Western-style). Though the ayi’s have to work double time, because some people are just darn unhygienic when it comes to the toilets. But when you gotta go, you gotta go. Heh. About eating, avoid the known fast foods; and be adventurous when trying out what to eat! There are affordable eats inside the Expo Garden. ICS EXPO 360 host Steven Weathers shared his personal tips with CNReviews on international treats and coffee at the Expo.  You could check out his Expo videos in Expotia as well!

Glen: FACT

I never had huge problems going to the toilet, and surprisingly I rarely had to wait a long time for my girlfriend to use it!  The toilets are well spaced, clean, and plentiful, so you can’t really complain there.  Food can be a bit of a challenge, but if you are smart, then you either a) bought food, or b) ate in the pavilions.  There are little to no lines at the restaurants inside the pavilions, so if you time your visits around food then you’re fine.  Try the Sri Lanka and Nepal pavilions for the best food that I found.

Good, toilets are a mess thing to disagree over…3 for 4.

5. The Shanghai World Expo can be considered a success.

Katherine: FACT.

For me, the Shanghai World Expo is all about people understanding other cultures, especially for the local Chinese. If you cannot go out-of-the-country, the Expo is a good way to expose yourself to other cultures and traditions. And this is not just by visiting the different pavilions. I think interacting with the people involved is a good way to get glimpses also.

Glen: FACT

I completely agree with you on this one.  I think that this event is going a long way to building a bit of a world view for locals who have been closed off for a long time.  Sure it may be a little Disneyesque at points, but it certainly is better than nothing.  Also, the amount of money that is being brought in to the region is fantastic, and hopefully it will have a long term positive effect on tourism and international business in and around Shanghai.  Lastly, the physical improvements made to the city cannot be understated.  Sure, a year ago Shanghai looked like a war zone with all of the dust and cranes everywhere, but now it is sparkling and brand new.

Solid agreement here.  Anyone think that these two may be the same person?  4 for 5.

Oh crap…the rules have changed!

6.  SPECIAL NEW RULES FACT OR FICTION TOPIC:  List your 5 favourite Pavilions at the Expo.

Katherine:

1. China Pavilion
2. Urbanian Pavilion (one of the Theme Pavilions) – This pavilion follows the lives of 6 families from the different continents around the world. I like this, because you get to know and see for yourself how people live and work in their part of the world. And the exhibits are just awesome!
3. Philippine Pavilion – Ok, I am biased here; because I am from the Philippines. Hehe. But seriously, our country is not that known in other parts of the world; and I think the pavilion gave justice showing what you can see in the Philippines. There is traditional massage and different genres of music and entertainment to suit your taste. If you want to know more about the Philippines, our pavilion guides are very knowledgeable (and they are the friendliest there is!).
4. USA Pavilion – Not sure if many will agree with me here. But I like the USA Pavilion, because of the content (even if they are just movies). I am all for idealism and children as the hopes of the future, so the USA Pavilion gets my vote.
5. Shanghai Corporate Pavilion – You can control the lights showing on the facade of the pavilion through group effort by the people inside. The message is simple and clear and geared towards the development of Shanghai. I mentioned my weakness for idealism, so with this pavilion–just how idealistic can you get? They might be pulling our leg with the lights control thing, but it still looks cool.

Glen:
(Note:  I only included Pavilions that I have been to so several big ones like Japan, Germany, and China are omitted.  Apologies all)

1. Urbanian Pavilion -  When I try to explain it to people I can’t seem to do it justice.  Six Families from around the world are followed in all aspects of their lives and the result is pure awesome.
2. UK Pavilion -  As I said earlier, it has a great design from the outside, and it is borderline surreal from the inside.  Well worth the wait.
3. Australia Pavilion -  I love the layout and design of this one.  The movie at the end is so cool, even if it is all in Chinese (that is their national language, right?).  Maybe I give it extra credit because it was the first one that I went to and my two hilarious Aussie friends gave me the “guided tour”, but I still think that anyone would love it.
4. USA Pavilion – I’m with Katherine on this one.  I know a lot of people didn’t like it, but I thought it was great.  The second movie is a little boring, but the first and third are great.  I think that it captured the idealism of the American spirit.
5. Morocco Pavilion -  This one is very simple but very beautiful.  After seeing alien spores, giant apples, and other weird things, it is refreshing to see a pavilion built in traditional architecture for the country with simple facts and figures about it.  This pavilion serves as an actual exposition.

I have no idea how to judge this one, but they had a few in common so let’s count that as partial agreement.  4.5 for 6, making this the most harmonious edition ever!

For Katherine, I’m Glen, thanks for reading!  We hope that you all enjoy the Expo while you still can.  As always, we welcome comments/concerns/criticisms.  Let us have it