Hong Kong and Macau

Ever wonder what "Asia's World City" is like? Ever wonder if people have British accents there? Ever wonder if Hong Kong is a part of China or actually its own country?

Here is some trivia:

All the signs jutting out

• According to the UN and WHO, Hong Kong had the longest life expectancy of any region in the world. 
• Hong Kong is one of the Alpha+ cities (a city that greatly enhances the global economy).
• 90% of the population uses public transit--the highest in the world (and let me tell you-those metros were SUPER clean and roomy).
• Hong Kong became a colony of Britain after the First Opium War (1839-42).
• Britain controlled Hong Kong until 1997, when China regained control, although Hong Kong follows its own political system (It is considered a Special Administrative Region in the People's Republic of China. I had to pass through immigration coming and leaving Hong Kong).
• People mostly speak Cantonese.
• It is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. World's most "Vertical City."
• "Hong Kong" means "fragrant harbor."
• Nicknames include: "Pearl of the Orient," "Golden Egg," "The Orient Manhattan," "The paradise of shopping," "Food Paradise," and "City of Life." 

Hong Kong was definitely one of the cities I wanted to see in Asia. I had been told that it felt like New York, but with an Asian flair, something I had to see. I also was told that it had a mixture of British and Asian traditions. I like seeing the clash of different cultures, and thought it would be proper to travel there for Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). I went with my friend Tahnesia. Together, we decided to go for four days, visiting Hong Kong Disneyland for one, and Macau for another.

The harbor from Ritz Carlton's Ozone Bar

I know that Hong Kong is one of the most densest cities in the world, but I was still shocked when I arrived and Tahnesia and I were first walking through a street of fruit vendors. You couldn't cross the street from one vendor to the next because there was a steady flow of people. You had to walk with them like robots that are all programmed the same. There seemed to be much more people than in Shanghai. On the other hand, the air quality seemed better and the temperature was definitely warmer…although I still wore my coat. I can't wait for spring time in Shanghai….something that I won't get until March because February is cold! In fact, it snowed today! It was the first time I saw falling snow! Perfect timing too because my roommate and I saw Disney's Frozen today!

Signs light up the night 

Anyway, back to Hong Kong. What's more than the massive amount of people, were the massive signs that jutted out into the street….talk about the spirit of capitalism. Hong Kong's motto could be "The Bigger, the Better," because nobody could miss these signs. Even a blind person would run into them. The hostel we got seemed nice on Hostelworld.com, but it turned out quite pathetically small and dirty, located in the center of downtown Kowloon. Even though we paid for a separate bathroom and $25 US dollars a night, we had a bathroom where the shower hung over the toilet so the toilet so get all wet, and we found about four roaches in the time we were there. This was probably the worst hostel I've stayed at (and I've stayed at quite a few by now). It was Tahnesia's first time staying at a hostel and now I'm afraid she's turned off by them. Don't ever stay at Dragon Hostel!

On top of Victoria's Peak looking at the skyline

The first full day we were there, we decided to check out Victoria's Peak, which overlooks all of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. We took this cable car all the way up the mountain and looked out at the spectacular view. Hong Kong is made up of little islands that are surrounded by the Pearl River Delta and the South China Sea. Hong Kong can sure be a beautiful city with a skyline like that! While we were at the top of the peak, we ate at Bubba Gump, where I had pasta with scampi (there's good seafood in Hong Kong).


Next, Tahnesia suggested we go to the Ritz Carlton for some drinks at the Ozone Bar, Hong Kong's highest bar at floor 87 (I think). The drinks there were really good, but really expensive. The bar itself was fancy and offered a stellar view of the harbor. We stayed up there for a few hours, waiting for it to get dark so we could see the nightly light show (that didn't turn out to be that grand). We did get to see the sunset and the regular lights of the city to pop up. Afterwards, we wandered around the Ladies Market by our hostel where I bought my traditional spoon and magnet for my collections.      

The next morning we got up super early to take the metro to Hong Kong Disneyland! Yes, you can take the metro there! Can you imagine how fun that would have been as kids, if you didn't need your folks to drive you there? So, Disneyland always reminds me of home because I live so close to it in California. Still, I had not been in about three years (a record for me). I am a Disney fan, as well as my brother who studies animation, so to say the least, I was excited. 

It was cool to notice all the differences. Unlike the California Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World in Florida, Hong Kong Disneyland is pretty small…you can definitely do everything in a day. We went on all the rides except for two and saw the parade and the Lion King show, which was epic. Also unlike the others, HK Dland has a Toys Story Land, Mystic Point Land, and Grizzly Gulch land. My favorite new ride was the Mystic Point Mansion (I think it should come to America). Even though I didn't get a picture with Mickey and Minnie, I caught them in their Asian garb. We stayed all day and even caught some of the fireworks. It was a great day!  

Wynn Hotel and Casino

The Ruins of St. Paul's

For our third day, Tahnesia brought up Macau. I had never even heard of the place before this trip. It turns out that alike Hong Kong, it is a Special Region of China as well. It is also the location of the largest casino in the world (located at the Venetian). Basically, it will be as big as Vegas someday soon. In Macau, people speak Mandarin and Portuguese, since there is a large influence there. It's crazy how different it is than Hong Kong which is just an hour's boat ride away. Tahnesia and I took TurboJet over to the island which we also had to pass through immigration for. We spent a little time at the casinos, but mostly we walked around Macau. Strangely enough, Macau felt more like an European city than an Asian one. And like all cities in Asia, the new is blended right in with the old. The Ruins of St.Paul's Cathedral is a famous and religious site and from the top of the mountain it stands on, one can see the popular casinos rising up in the distance. Senado Square was decorated with a bunch of lanterns for the Chinese New Year and they looked so colorful against the yellow buildings. Macau was beautiful! A strange mix of cultures and a strange mix of eras. I loved it! 

Senado Square

 Other highlights of Macau was the tower that kind of resembled the Seattle Space Needle, the mermaid  swimming around in the fish tank at the MGM Grand Resort, and the same canal rides in the Venetian like the hotel in Vegas.

 That brings me to our last day in Hong Kong. We saved the Big Buddha for the last day, the day of Chinese New Year. We got up early and had a big American breakfast at this place called The Flying Pan. It turned out that the owner, who came to our table making small talk with us, was from Huntington Beach! What a small world…she had first came to Aisa to teach English as well…12 years later and she was still there. Crazy how that happens. The breakfast tasted so good because it's hard to find an American-style breakfast place in Shanghai (although there is one called Mr.Pancake!).

Once we were full, we took another "cable car"to see the Big Buddha, whose official name has left my head. We had to wait in a long line to finally get to the cable car, but when we got there, it was worth it. The cable car took us high above the sea and we could see the Big Buddha from a distance. There was also a temple we checked out on the "Big Buddha" island. It was cool to see people lining up to worship the statue and people burning huge sticks of incense at the temple in honor of their Gods. The incense sticks looked like huge pencils that were being sharpened and there was so much smoke everywhere! It was kind of hard to breathe because of all of it. Thousands upon thousands of people visit this Buddha every week and especially on the week of Spring Festival, when everyone is praying for good luck for the upcoming year.



On top of the Buddha Mountain…what an experience!

Overall, Hong Kong and Macau was a cool trip that I will never forget. I honestly like Hong Kong better than Beijing and maybe even Shanghai even though I have spent more time there. Tahnesia and I took Spring Airlines back to Shanghai and made it there at 2 AM, so we had to wait for the metro to open at 6 AM…thankfully there is a 24 hour Burger King at the airport. I miss the Hong Kong dollar where it is: $1=$7 HK dollars. It's good to be back besides that…it was even warm in Shanghai for a few days after our trip. Now onto teaching AP English courses….and planning for my next trip to….Tokyo!  

People celebrating the Chinese New Year…along with their dragon!

Sean Visits Shanghai

As I said before, these past three weeks Sean visited me in Shanghai during his winter break…how I miss those long winter breaks at USF!. He came three days after Christmas so we could spend the New Year together. I can't believe it's already 2014! It had been four months since I had last seen him!

His plane came in right after my last class at my weekend school so I took the metro the long way to the airport to pick him up. He had previously been to China in high school, but had forgotten some of his experiences, so he didn't mind coming to Shanghai again. It was pretty late by the time we got back to my apartment and he was feeling jet lagged, so we went to sleep and slept in for the majority of Sunday.

The next week, I took him around Shanghai, visiting the famous Bund, the Buddhist Jing'an Temple, and the road where a bunch of "antiques" are sold. We also went to a few bars like Zapata's (the expat bar) and this one his dad told us to check out in the Xintiandi area. Also, in the Xintiandi area I took him to the Merry Kissmas tree that was still up for a few more days after Christmas.

Throughout these three weeks, we had a lot of dumplings. I took him to this famous restaurant called Din Tai Fung, Yang's Dumplings (juicy fried dumplings), and this chain dumpling place by my apartment where you can buy 10 dumplings for less than $2. He couldn't believe that we could both eat dinner for about $4. The cheap food is definitely something I'm going to miss when I come back home. Besides dumplings, he wanted to treat me to food that I normally can't afford on my teacher's salary, like Mexican food and pizza, both more expensive than normal Chinese food here, since they are "western." Sean was happy to eat all the "western" food because he really didn't like the authentic Chinese food (besides the dumplings of course) especially the meat on a stick or "street meat" part. I hadn't eaten pizza in about three months (that has to be some sort of record for me), so I wasn't complaining. Authentic Chinese food is certainly very different than American Chinese food. Sad to say, but I have been craving some American Chinese food for a while now, especially orange chicken.

Us at The Vue Bar (Sean blinked!)

On New Year's Eve we decided to celebrate by going to The Vue Bar at the Hyatt on the Bund. The Vue Bar is constantly rated as one of the best bars/clubs in Shanghai. Of course there was a New Year's Eve party with free-flowing champagne all night long. Before we left, Sean gave me my Christmas/New Years gift--a necklace from Tiffany and co! :) The view from The Vue Bar (a perfect name) was extraordinary. We danced, drank champagne, and wore flashy gold hats until we counted down to 2014, which still sounds like a year in the future to me. From one of the windows we could see lanterns flying by. For the New Year, and especially the Chinese New Year, people light lanterns and let them go flying up into the sky. There was also a firework and light show over the Bund, but we were too busy dancing to notice. After about 1AM we decided to go home, but couldn't find a cab because it was so busy. We were basically stranded at the Hyatt. At one point Sean was going to get a room, but we weren't able to because we didn't have a passport. Finally, after about two hours of half-sleeping on their couches in their lobby and standing outside in the cold, we hailed a cab and made it back home without the driver getting lost (something that happens often).    

Our view from The Vue Bar at The Hyatt on the Bund

Hangzhou: 
 The last weekend Sean was visiting, we decided to get out of Shanghai and visit a city that was a little bit more on the country side. We decided to go to Hangzhou, a smaller city that is home to a giant lake called West Lake and the "Tea Capital" of China where they make pan-fried leaves--longjing tea, also called "Dragon Well tea," mostly by hand. Before coming here with Sean, I had not thought about adventuring outside of Shanghai to visit other little cities. Now, I'm really glad that I did. Hangzhou is a peaceful place. It was good to get out of Shanghai for a little bit and enjoy some nature. We took a train to Hangzhou and it only took a little over an hour. In Hangzhou we stayed at this nice bed and breakfast where the host actually had an app that allowed him to translate what he was saying into English--pretty cool. The room was really nice with our own little tea set and everything.

Our first day there, we got up and went to the front desk to see if we could get any breakfast. The guy gave us some toast, two eggs, and some sour milk. We had no choice but to go to the Starbucks that was outside of the temple we were going to check out. I joked, "What would we do without Starbucks?" But when we went walking through this park/garden next to West Lake, one of the old buildings there had been transformed into a Starbucks! The building was right in the middle of the garden as though it was supposed to be a memorial or museum or something. This was the first time I have been mad at Starbucks and/or the capitalism in China. People can come up to me all day in the streets trying to get me to buy something from them, but when people start to transform beautiful and historic places into places for profit is when I have a problem with it.

Besides the Starbucks though, the garden was beautiful. It began to rain and was pretty cold that day, but it made everything look five times prettier. There were little "teahouses" everywhere along the lake and a little path you could take to cut through the lake. The reeds in the lake were what really drew my attention. They added some color to the gray day and made it took beautiful. Apparently the views in Hangzhou have inspired poets and painters for decades.

While we were there we also checked out the Temple and had some more fried dumplings. The Temple here was not as epic as the one in Shanghai. Instead of deities, the main statues in this temple showcased a revered warrior. Later that night, we decided to take a boat trip around West Lake. The boat ride was so calming, but it soon got cold (Sean was even colder than I was). There are little islands in the middle if the West Lake and usually they put on a show that Sean's mom raved about but since it is winter time, the show is temporarily put on hold.

The next day, we went to see the Leifeng Pagoda. It was originally built in 1942, but was then reconstructed in 2002, to look like it does today. We went to the very top of the Pagoda and saw all of Hangzhou spread out before us. It was a great trip and I was really sad to see him go, not to mention slightly jealous that he was going back home which I won't see for another five months.

On another note, I am now starting to teach an AP English Language and Composition class, a class I haven't taken in about five years. Still, I loved my AP English classes I took in high school and I hope I can do a good job with teaching my new high school students who are hoping to go to America for college next year. I'm going to have them read The Scarlet Letter and The Catcher in the Rye, two of my favorites I read back then.    

Sean loves to lead dances. He took on the challenge of dancing with all the old women on Nanjing Road, the downtown area of Shanghai: 

Sean likes the workout equipment

2014: Year of the Horse

Happy 2014!

I have spent the last three weeks with my boyfriend Sean who came to visit me in Shanghai. He came three days after Christmas, just in time for the "Western New Years."The Chinese New Year comes at the end of this month (Jan. 31th). This year will be the year of the horse. Sean bought me this cute, stuffed animal of a red horse that street vendors were selling in anticipation for the holiday and it made me realize how little I know about it. I'm doing my research. 

I have received those little red envelopes in the past from some of my Chinese friends and I

know that I was born in the year of the ram (or goat), but that is particularly all I knew about the holiday. That is pretty sad considering that I went to college in San Francisco, which has the largest and oldest Chinatown and Chinese New Year Parade outside of Asia. According to my good old friend Wikipedia, back in 1848, the newly arrived Chinese for the Gold Rush began the parade to teach others about their culture. 

At my weekend school I teach at, I asked my supervisor if people who live in Shanghai celebrate both holidays. She said that they acknowledge the Western New Year as well as the traditional Chinese New Year, but some families celebrate both, while others just celebrate the Chinese New Year, also called the "Spring Festival."

Chinese New Year is celebrated on a different day every year, since it is based off of the lunar calendar, usually it falls sometime between Jan. 21st to Feb. 20th. Although I knew that the Chinese calendar is based off of the moon, I did not realize how the dates in the Chinese calendar differ so much from what is called the "Gregorian Calendar." For instance, some months are repeated twice in one year in the Chinese calendar, according to my supervisor. Wikipedia right now is telling me this is called an "intercalation." This is the insertion of a "day, week, or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases." So, the Chinese calendar has some leap months and days, like the Gregorian one has a leap day once every four years. How do they write and record the double months for the Chinese version? That's my question. 

Wikipedia gives an account of the myth that began Chinese New Year--a beast called Nian:

Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t attack any more people. One day people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. Time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjun Laozu's mount.

There are traditionally fifteen days of celebration for the Chinese New Year (not practiced by everyone):

Day 1: Welcoming deities of the heaven and the earth. People light fireworks and burn bamboo sticks.

Day 2: Was when married women would visit their birth parents. "God of Wealth" comes.

Day 3: Rural villagers burn paper for the God of Wrath. People should stay home.

Day 4: Spring dinners

Day 5: The God of Wealth's birthday. People shoot off fireworks and eat dumplings.

Day 7: Everyone grows one year older today. 

Day 8: Dinner to celibate the eve of the birth of the Jade Emperor, the ruler of heaven. Employees are thanked today. Incense is often burnt and food offerings are made.

Day 9: People offer prayers to the Jade Emperor. Incense, tea, fruit, and roast pig are offered. 

Day 10: Jade Emperor's party.

Day 13: People eat vegetarian food to clean out their stomachs. Businesses pray to the God of War for success. 

Day 15: The Lantern Festival: Families walk with lanterns in the streets and put them outside their houses to guide wayward spirits home. Rice dumplings are eaten.  

The Chinese New Year is mostly a time to celebrate with family and big "reunion" dinners are held featuring mostly meat dishes and food that symbolizes prosperity and good luck. For instance, mandarin oranges have a name that sounds like the word for "good luck," noodles represent a long life, and melon seeds means having many children. Red packets containing money are given as gifts. The amount of money in these should be given in even numbers, because money given at the time of funerals is in odd numbers. This is determined by the first digit. The numbers 6 and 8 are considered the luckiest. Also, fireworks are always set off. In ancient China, gunpowder would be placed in bamboo shoots and lit to create fireworks. 

I will be leaving Hong Kong on Chinese New Year, which means that it will be crazy busy, but I'm still excited. 

For now, here is a common Chinese phrase: 

迎春接福 Yíngchúnjiēfú - "Greet the New Year and encounter happiness"

0h, the Weather Outside is Frightful

Brrrrrrr….
this is for sure the coldest winter I've ever had. It is 3 degrees Celsius in Shanghai (which would be 37 degrees Fahrenheit in the United States). I came prepared this time though, unlike the last time I was abroad. When I studied abroad in Rome, Italy, in the spring time, it snowed for the first time in 30 years. I had not planned on traveling to Switzerland and the Netherlands either. I didn't bring a single coat on that trip besides my black peacoat, which was seeing its last days. I had to hand over way too many euros for a coat suitable for the snow. So, this time I brought two thick coats, two nice jackets, a hat, scarf, and gloves. I'm certainly glad I did. Even with my thorough packing however, I still had to buy another scarf and a pair of fuzzy leggings. I never thought Shanghai would get this cold (I admit that I didn't believe the weather reports I looked up before moving here). The nice, warm pearl milk teas do help though…especially ones from Coco. And, my new roommate Lauren figured out how to use our heaters in our apartment! No more going to bed with three layers of clothing!

The weekend after I completed my smog video for my internship, the air quality index levels rose to an all-time high of 500 in shanghai, which is extremely hazardous for everyone. The government advised people to stay indoors, especially children. I bought a cloth mask for that weekend, and fortunately have not had to wear it since.
   
I can't believe I have been here for four months already. Although it seems like it has been a long time since orientation, the weeks feel shorter and shorter. Sean is coming to visit in a week which will make the entire month of January speed by. I can't wait until he gets here! I feel like I have been here long enough now where I can be his Shanghai tour guide. It is the first time I haven't been home for Christmas, but he's bringing some to me.

In other news, I recently got my first freelance photography job! My friend at my internship recommended me to her friend who needed someone to take photos at this realty show at this hotel in downtown Shanghai. I took a bunch of pictures for MSM Luxury Estates, located in Beverly Hills, and had a blast going out with them after the event to this club called the Mint, which has its own shark tanks.

My internship also wanted me to take some pictures this past week of this Christmas tree at this mall that lights up when two people kiss beneath it. I took some great pictures of couples kissing underneath the tree for a local charity that donates money for surgeries for children with cleft palette. Then, they changed their mind. Instead of taking the pictures, they wanted me in the picture. The night before the deadline I had to pose for the picture, and I had to bring someone to kiss! My poor roommate Lauren agreed to come with me, and now we have a funny story to laugh about. The picture is in the recent City Weekend magazine taking up a full page with a blurb I wrote about the event. Now I'm thinking about taking Sean there…he just can't be jealous that I kissed Lauren there first!

Besides all this, I have bought my flight to Hong Kong for Spring Festival! I will be there for four days with my friend and coming back to Shanghai on Chinese New Year! Looking forward to ringing in 2014, chinese style!

Stuck in the Smog

This is a video I did for my internship at City Weekend, here in Shanghai:  

   

Article Version:

Is China Stuck in the Smog?

Now under the rule of Chinese President Xi Jinping, China has the second-biggest economy, behind the U.S., according to the Wall Street Journal. China is also the world’s most populated country even with the “one-child policy,” according to the World Population Review.

But, an unprecedented amount of air pollution in China has caused the central government to place environmental concerns over economic ones. In September, at the 18^th Air Pollution Control Conference in Beijing, the government initiated a new goal of reducing the amount of air pollutants by 10% by 2017, according to CNN.

One of these pollutants is coal. The World Coal Association states that China relies on the fossil fuel for 70 to 80% of their energy needs, the most in the world. The government plans to stop the production of coal in power plants located in heavily polluted cities, CNN says.

However, Nitin Dani, president of the nonprofit GreenDrinks, believes that the amount is going to increase. He says: “Everyone wants the latest smart phone, the latest TV. Some of them might be energy-saving, but a lot of them are very energy-intensive. A lot of the things in the past you could do without energy, but you need these things now, right? So, I mean, I think one of the main reasons is definitely the change in lifestyle if you look at it from an individual level, but from an industrial level, products, services…they are all increasing. Population is increasing. “

Shanghai, China’s and the world’s most populous city, has reached an unhealthy amount of PM 2.5 in their air. Lately, they have been at a 169 reading, according to the Real-time Air Quality Index, which puts Shanghai on equal ground as Beijing.

Ping Zhuang of the International Fund for China’s Environment, talks about what makes up the air pollution. “In China, the primary contributing factors for PM 2.5 are largely because the increasing amount of vehicles. Actually, Shanghai in a way is better than Beijing, but still Shanghai everyday is increasing the amount of vehicles. The emissions from the exhaust, and also many factories, and also many construction sites always stir up pollutants.”

He adds, “And it use to be PM 10, larger particles, now 2.5, meaning because the smaller particles can actually go through your lungs, you know, stay there. You walk in the streets, one day you come down and your collar is like black.”

An average of five and a half years has been reduced from the life expectancy for residents of northern China, according to CNN. Instead of facing the problem of pollution and risk the loss of jobs, local authorities build national parks and endorse green projects, according to Reuters.  

Mr. Zhuang says, “I think what China is really lacking is a strict enforcement of these policies and regulations. If everyone showed more concern, and put more pressure on the government and industries, polluting industries, then it will change.”

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Jeremy Rifkin, president of the Foundation on Economic Trends and best-selling author of The Third Industrial Revolution, thinks China can lead the third industrial revolution if they stop using fossil fuels and concentrate on their renewable energies, like geothermal heat, biomass, and wind and solar power.