Author Archives: Stephen Cronin

Superstition and the 4th Floor

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cogdogblog posted a photo showing the inside of a lift, with the fourth floor missing from the controls:

Superstition - the 4th Floor

As you can see in the photo, floor 4 is missing from the elevator controls. This is due to superstition – in Chinese, the word for 4 sounds like the word for death.

From what I’ve seen, the way the number 4 is treated in China is a little like the way the number 13 is treated in the West.

Most buildings I’ve been into do have the fourth floor. Most people I’ve met don’t pay too much attention to the fact that the number is supposed to be unlucky.

Of course there are always some people who treat it more seriously and in general Chinese people are more superstitious than those in the West.

Raise Your Phones for the People

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cogdogblog posted a photo:

Raise Your Phones for the People

What can you say about this! An absolute classic, although the subjects of the photo probably don’t realise just how symbolic it is:

The old generation (loyal comrades holding up Chairman Mao’s little red book), replaced by the younger generation (dressed in jeans and a tee-shirt and holding up a mobile phone).

In a way, that sums up just what modern China is like: racing to become a modern super power, but becoming a little Westernised in the process.

The New CCTV Building In Beijing

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gongfu_king posted a photo of the new CCTV building in Beijing:

bj0

The new CCTV building in Beijing, which has attracted worldwide attention. Note: CCTV stands for China Central Television, which is the national television network of China.

I watched while this was being built, although I didn’t know it was the CCTV building at the time. They built the two legs independently, then joined them up. For some reason, I thought they’d keep building upwards into a spire of some sort. I had an image in my mind of it being shaped vaguely like the Eiffel tower! I’m not sure where I got that from, but I was a bit surprised when I heard it was finished and that was all there was!

However, it is unique and representative of modern Beijing, which is full of interesting architecture, such as this (although most of it designed by foreigners).

Lady and Children

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Darren On The Road posted a photo:
DSC_5682

This is just a photo of a lady and a couple of children, but I find it interesting because it has that human element to it. It also helps show what China’s really like. I’ll probably include more shots of people in future, for that reason. Part of the purpose of this blog is to help people understand what China’s really like. A large part of that are the Chinese people.

At times, living in China can be frustrating, and as anywhere in the world, there are always people who make life harder, but I’ve found the following to be true: Anyone who visits China with an open mind and takes the time to get to know the local people, ends up making some very good friends.

Of course, photos can’t capture that side of things easily, but they can capture the visual aspect of the Chinese people. They are a large part of what makes China so interesting. When you walk out into the street in China, it’s teeming with people. Whichever way you look, you’ll always find something interesting to look at – and often it’s the people.

Starbucks in China

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Starbucks is growing rapidly in China.

I used to occasionally go to the store in the shopping centre at the top of Wangfujing in Beijing. It was always packed on Saturday, although less busy on Sunday. While quite a few Westerners were there, an equal number of Chinese people were there as well, reflecting the growing number of middle class Chinese people, who are adopting somewhat more of a Western influenced lifestyle.

Service was good and staff could speak passable English, although occasionally there’d be a little surprise.

Starbucks in China by

There are already quite a few stores in Beijing (69 stores according to the Starbucks website). I predict more will open in future (even as American and Australian stores close). There is a big demand for the product and the costs of running the stores are much lower, although the prices charged aren’t significantly lower.

There was a bit of controversy about the store in the picture, because it is inside the Forbidden City. There are varying opinions on whether this is appropriate, both amongst the Chinese and foreigners, but I for one would be happy if it was removed.

It may be convenient, but I don’t go to the Forbidden City for convenience, I go to soak up the ambiance of ancient China.

Beijing Mantou and Baozi Stall

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poeloq posted a couple of photos of a small restaurant / food stall:

IMG_5123  IMG_5129

It looks like this small restaurant / food stall is serving steamed mantou (steamed buns) or baozi (steamed buns with a filling inside). You can see the stack of bamboo steamers in the picture. There’s a chance that it’s actually steamed jiaozi (dumplings), but it’s much more likely to be mantou / baozi.

For more information on mantou, check out Wikipedia’s entry on the subject.

Anyway, I really like these photos because they capture the subject well. There are thousands of small food stalls like this in Beijing and in other cities across China and they look just like this. Also, I’m a sucker for black and white photos!

Street Crossing In Beijing

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poeloq posted some photos of a black and white Beijing street scene:

IMG_5025  IMG_5022
IMG_5030  IMG_5032

The images are wonderful: there is great action in each of them; and they work well together.

The first picture is particularly good, because the people are crossing the street in different directions. There’s a lot going on, which makes the picture very interesting.

The second photo is also very interesting they’re all stopped there in the middle of the pedestrian crossing. It looks like they’re having a chat or doing some business there!

I also like the last photo because of the man on the bike heading towards the right and the traffic warden walking to the left, slightly behind him.

Restaurant Staff On Parade

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malias posted a photo of an indeterminate shop’s staff on parade, getting a pep talk, out the front of the shop:

Sell, Sell, Sell - Shop staff on parade in China

It’s interesting to visit this photo’s home page on Flickr and click on All Sizes link to see this in the largest size. At that size, you can clearly see the facial expressions of the staff and it’s quite interesting (not funny as in some of the previous photos I’ve mentioned), but interesting nonetheless.

It is actually quite common to see restaurant staff on parade, but it’s not restricted to restaurants. Managers love nothing better than getting their staff out on the street and chewing them out! It’s just like they are in the military and are on parade.

It’s quite amusing to watch. It’s the little things like this that make living in China great. You just never know what you’re going to see when you go for a walk.

Here’s another photo, this time by Darren On The Road:

DSC_4845

Darren said:

Nearby, in front of a Korean resturant, the waitstaff stood in formation while what I could only assume was the manager drilled them. He would yell something then his partner would yell "ee, ar, san" (1,2,3) and then the whole group would repeat was the first instructor said. I also saw them marching in formation.

Of course, this would never happen in the West. The restaurant staff in the picture would be paid a pittance – maybe 800 yuan a month. No one I know would stand on ‘parade’ while the manager yelled at – not for minimum wage anyway.

Coca-Cola = Delicious Happiness

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myuibe posted a photo:

delicious happiness

This photo is of a Coca-Cola advertisement. Why did I include it in Flickr Picks? Click on the photo to go to the photo’s home page on Flickr and read it. It has some good information on the Chinese translation of Coca-Cola.

To make it easier, I’ll include the translation here: Coca-Cola is translated to Ke kou ko le in Mandarin, which means: Delicious Happiness – at least according to the advertisment.

I can confirm that it’s called Ke kou ko le in Mandarin, but my Chinese is not so good that I can confirm the meaning!