CCTV Headquarters and Prisonbreak Tattoo

My posting has been less-then-frequent lately due to Shanghai keeping me occupied and a post about Beijing taking longer than planned. So for now, I'll share two semi-random photos from Beijing and Shanghai which include someone riding a bicycle.

China Central Television (CCTV) Headquarters in Bejing

Prisonbreak Tattoo in Shanghai

If you see any non-bicycle-related connections between the two scenes, please feel free to share your ideas. Otherwise, more later...

A Non-Traditional Traditional Performance of Gabrieli

In a post I wrote while guest blogging for James Fallows over 2 years ago, I shared some of what inspired this blog's name. I also shared a musical fugue and explained my choice of a specific video recording:

One, it is a fantastic example of how technology can be used to find new ways for people to express themselves - even when the subject is an old masterpiece. Another reason is it features instruments from an older period of music unfamiliar to many. Finally, and not least, the performer is a friend of mine who I first met while studying at the Peabody Conservatory of Music of Johns Hopkins about a decade and half ago.

For similar reasons, I would like to now share another recording by James Howard Young. The piece performed, Canzon Primi Toni à 8 by Giovanni Gabrieli, is not a fugue but an earlier form of contrapuntal music. I doubt Gabrieli ever imagined his music would be performed in the manner James chose. And who knows how (or if) today's music will be performed in the year 2429. So lose yourself for a few minutes in a piece from 1597 that even after hundreds of years continues to receive new interpretations.


[video also here]

Performers:

Tenor Recorder 1: James Howard Young
Bass Recorder 1: James Howard Young
Great Bass Recorder 1: James Howard Young
Subbass Recorder 1: James Howard Young
Tenor Recorder 2: James Howard Young
Bass Recorder 2: James Howard Young
Great Bass Recorder 2: James Howard Young
Subbass Recorder 2: James Howard Young

Watchful Geese in Guangdong's Sujiawei Village

About two years ago next to a pond in Sujiawei, Guangdong province ...




... I met two Chinese geese.



According to the waterfowl breeder website Ashton Waterfall:

The Chinese is one of the post popular and well known breeds of domestic goose. Unofficially, there are two kinds of Chinese geese: those that hate the world and everything that moves within it, and those which have to be picked up and carried to their shed. They are so tame that they prefer to stand around your feet and won't be driven. The sort you end up with depends partly on the strain, but mainly on how you rear them and treat them. They can be wonderful watchdogs - tame and real pets with their owners, but noisy when anything unusual is around.

Unlike the geese mentioned in the previous post, I saw no signs these two geese were employed by the local police. Nonetheless, the geese seemed more than willing to serve as watchdogs. Based on the above description, I believe I fitted into the "everything that moves" and "unusual" categories since they raised quite a ruckus when I approached. After listening to their eloquent protests and photographing them (which didn't seem to please them either), I left them in peace so I could enjoy lunch in a traditional setting.

And no, I didn't even try to pick them up.

Assorted Links: Fruit is Good, a Future Mini-Atlantis, and Police Geese

On this first Friday of August* I will share a few links to a semi-random assortment of pieces which don't strongly connect to any recent themes here but caught my attention and may provide some minor enlightenment for others as well.

1. Even though fruit is full of sugar, it is good for you. More specifically:

Dr. David Ludwig, the director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, said that sugar consumed in fruit is not linked to any adverse health effects, no matter how much you eat. In a recent perspective piece in The Journal of the American Medical Association, he cited observational studies that showed that increased fruit consumption is tied to lower body weight and a lower risk of obesity-associated diseases.

Whole fruits, he explained, contain a bounty of antioxidants and healthful nutrients, and their cellular scaffolding, made of fiber, makes us feel full and provides other metabolic benefits. When you bite into an apple, for example, the fruit’s fiber helps slow your absorption of fructose, the main sugar in most fruits. But fiber is not the full story.

See the blog post in The New York Times here for more, including why the following holds true in terms of health benefits: fresh fruit > dried fruit > fruit juice. I have found that the last claim can easily rile some fruit-juice lovers.

2. Often those who had little to do with creating a problem are among those who are most affected by it:

Almost no one in America has heard of the Alaskan village of Kivalina. It clings to a narrow spit of sand on the edge of the Bering Sea, far too small to feature on maps of Alaska, never mind the United States.

Which is perhaps just as well, because within a decade Kivalina is likely to be under water. Gone, forever. Remembered - if at all - as the birthplace of America's first climate change refugees.

I'm not sure if the "forever" is a foregone conclusion. There could be another ice age in thousands of years, right? Whatever the case, see the article on BBC News Magazine here for more about the plight of the indigenous Inuit people who live in Kivalina.

3. If you have never had the chance to interact with a goose, I recommend visiting your local geese congregation point. Geese have a lot of character, including the desire to fight crime as appears to be the case in Xinjiang, China:

Law enforcement agents described the geese as a new “highlight of stability maintenance work” and said they had proved themselves “better than dogs” in tackling crime.

“Geese are very brave. They spread their wings and will attack any strangers entering [someone’s] home,” said Mr Zhang, the local police chief. The birds were like “a radar that does not need power”, he added.

See the article on The Telegraph here for more about the heroics of the police geese.

I had another piece to share in this post, but I now feel commenting on it deserves more thoughtful consideration than I now have time for. So I'll share it later. Plus, it's hard to top a gaggle of geese.


*This date holds no particular significance for me, but it seemed like enough of an excuse for semi-random linkage. Who knows, maybe it's the beginning of a tradition.

A New Online View from Cambodia's Streets

Earlier this year I posted photos from Phnom Penh of people riding pedal-powered vehicles, motorbikes, and motorized-vehicles which were pulling or pushing something. Not only did the photos include a variety of vehicles, but they also captured many other aspects of life in Cambodia's capital city.

If all goes as planned, many more street scenes will be available online through Google's Street View. Jon Russell in The Next Web reports that Google has brought its cameras to Cambodia:

Cambodia becomes the 51st country on the planet to embrace Street View and, like many others, tourism is among the driving factors. Google says it is working closely with the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia, the APSARA Authority (ANA), and the Phnom Penh Municipality to make the program happen.

Street View cars have started whizzing around capital city Phnom Penh capturing images and, as is common with Street View projects, they will expand to cover other cities, town and areas of interest over “the next few years.”

Although I would be surprised if Google's cameras make it to where I explored in Kampot's Fish Isle, it may soon be easier for people to track down some of what I saw in Phnom Penh, whether it is the iPhone jailbreaking stand, the restaurant which serves tasty spiders, or even the Facebook Ice Cream store. Russell reports that the famous Angkor Wat historical site is a target for Google's Street View cameras and that government officials see it as an opportunity for Cambodia to showcase itself to the world. In that sense, even if many Cambodians cannot afford to own the technology required to use Street View, they might benefit from it encouraging people to explore Cambodia.

I don't have any photos of a Street View car in Phnom Penh, so instead here's someone who might like to ride one.

What I Really Thought About Red Star's Ad

Last week I wrote about a smog-filled advertisement for Red Star's erguotou, a type of Chinese liquor. This week Weijing Zhu wrote about the same marketing campaign and has inspired me to write some more on this topic.

In Zhu's post on The World of Chinese, my earlier post is referenced:

As Brian Glucroft writes in Isidor’s Fugue, one of the ads uses this imagery:

“Two people with bicycles on a narrow road passing by what appears to be a factory emitting copious amounts of pollution and contributing to the smog blanketing a nearby empty field.”

Glucroft tries to link images of pollution and driving people to drink, which he thought was the message. However...

Following "however" are some details and claims which are interesting but which do not rule out the possibility that the image of pollution was used in the hope it would drive people to drink. Whether or not Zhu believed this possibility had been ruled out, Zhu's characterization of what I wrote is not what I intended. Here is what I wrote:

An article on Red Star Wine's website (in Chinese) describes the marketing campaign. No, there is no mention of a strategy to use images of pollution to drive people to drink. Instead, Red Star Wine believes it can connect with younger people by evoking a desire for brotherhood and by tapping into the popularity of nostalgic themes in China through the use of Soviet-style imagery.

First of all, pointing out that an article on Red Star's website made no mention of the pollution-driving-people-to-drink possibility was an attempt at humor. I doubt that Red Star would want to publicize the idea it was deliberately trying to depress people so that they would buy its erguotou. Second of all, even if the humor is missed, what I wrote indicates that I am aware of a particular hypothetical explanation for the ad's design, but it does not indicate whether I ever thought this explanation was the correct one. For example, I might have mentioned the explanation because I thought it would reflect readers' first interpretation of the ad.

Later in Zhu's post, there is mention of an article on CNR which claims Red Star's ads have been successful. But Zhu either did not notice or chose not to mention that the article on CNR is the exact same article* which I referenced on Red Star's website and is found under a section titled "Company News". There is no author listed for the article, and it can be found on a large number of other websites as well. Although it smells like one, I am not positive the article is a Red Star press release. But there's at least good reason to ask if Red Star had a hand in its creation. Needless to say, I think some healthy skepticism of the article's claims of success is warranted.**

And even if the article is a press release, I would not necessarily be convinced its claims reflected Red Star's true vision for the ad. As I've already suggested, there could be reasons why Red Star would not want to be forthcoming about how it expects its marketing to be effective. Regardless, I believe the article's explanation of the ad's design is worth considering. I also see value in considering other possible reasons the ad might be effective, whether or not Red Star intended them.



* except for some sections of the text being bizarrely duplicated in Red Star's version

** Even if Red Star had no connection with the writing of the article, I'd have many questions about the evidence provided. That's another story though.

Traveling to a Far Away Yet Nearby City

Five years ago I traveled by bus about 280 km (175 miles) by bus from Shanghai to Yangzhou, Jiangsu province. I was told the trip would take 3.5 to 4 hours.

In afternoon traffic the trip actually lasted about 5 hours.

Three days ago I traveled on land 1318 km (819 miles) from Beijing to Shanghai. I was told the trip would take 4 hours and 55 minutes.

It did.

Such a feat is now possible with China's high-speed rail. Like many other times, I appreciated the convenience it provided. In this case it allowed me to avoid flying -- no small matter. Of the world's top 35 international airports, Beijing's and Shanghai's are the worst for on time departures.

The similarity of my trips to Yangzhou and from Beijing in terms of time despite the difference in terms of distance reminded me that the "closeness" of cities to each other depends on the factors being considered. For example, some aspects of Shanghai and Beijing are similar since they are two of the most economically developed and international cities in China. Yangzhou doesn't fit into those categories, but due to its proximity it has some closer cultural similarities, including cuisine, with Shanghai than does Beijing.

More on this theme later. For now, I'm just happy I didn't need to take a bus from Beijing.

Scenes from an Old Bridge in Tongcheng, Anhui Province

Today I was surprised to learn that someone I met was from the city of Tongcheng (桐城) in Anhui province. She seemed even more surprised to learn that I had visited there about 5 years ago. With the exception of a famous mountain, Anhui is not a common destination for foreigners. And Tongcheng is not one of Anhui's more prominent cities.

In the Tongcheng spirit, here are a few photos from an historic bridge:

As I looked through other photos from Tongcheng, many of which include scenes of older buildings with traditional Chinese architectural styles, I was reminded of someone recently saying he had never seen anything "old" in China that had not been "disney-fied". To highlight some of what he has missed, I will share more scenes from Tongcheng later.

Marketing in China: Drinking Red Star in a Smoggy Field

Imagine this scene: two people with bicycles on a narrow road passing by what appears to be a factory emitting copious amounts of pollution and contributing to the smog blanketing a nearby empty field.

Now consider the purposes for which you might use a black and white photo of that scene.

Did you think "that would be perfect to promote a Chinese brand of alcohol"? If you did, pat yourself on the back, because as I waited for a train to arrive at a subway station in Beijing I saw an advertisement for a brand of erguotou -- a type of liquor especially popular in Beijing.

An article on Red Star Wine's website (in Chinese) describes the marketing campaign. No, there is no mention of a strategy to use images of pollution to drive people to drink. Instead, Red Star Wine believes it can connect with younger people by evoking a desire for brotherhood and by tapping into the popularity of nostalgic themes in China through the use of Soviet-style imagery.

Will it work? All I can say for sure is it motivated me, not exactly a main target consumer for Red Star, to buy a 150ml bottle (the smallest I saw) for 13 yuan (about US $2.10) at a local convenience store so I could give it a try.

On that note, here we go...

Not horrible. I definitely have had less positive erguotou experiences in the past. And to me the bottle looks trendier than most other similarly priced erguotous. I'm not sure I'll be tempted to buy it again in the future though. Maybe I should have tried it on ice.

I'm intrigued by the ad campaign and there are many questions it raises to me such as "Do the signs of pollution in the ad have any negative (or even positive) impact on its effectiveness?", "Could a similar strategy be effective for marketing erguotou in  the US, even if it may work for different reasons?", and "Why is the one man walking his bicycle?"

I'll save exploring those issues for another day, though, since I am now confirming something I earlier predicted to myself. Red Star has quite a kick.

A Not-As-Green Road on Hong Kong Island

For a contrast to the photo that I shared of a "green road" on Hong Kong Island, here are two photos taken at 8 a.m. on a Monday last year while I stood on a pedestrian bridge over King's Road in Hong Kong Island's Quarry Bay.

The scenes are obviously much more urban than the earlier scene. However, hiking trails through lush greenery in the large Tai Tam Country park are only a few minutes walk away. On the side, even closer is one of my favorite places for a simple but tasty dish of Hong Kong style roasted duck and rice. Even if these two photos were mixed up with all of my other photos of urban scenes in China, clues such as the trams and minibuses would tell me right away that I was looking at Hong Kong. More urban scenes with Hong Kong trams (and the variety of advertisements they display) can be found in earlier posts here and here.

Although at the moment I am thinking about parks, restaurants, and trams in Hong Kong, I am still in Beijing and will remain here a little longer. A return to Beijing scenes and other topics is on the way.

A Green Road on Hong Kong Island

I am sharing the above photo for two reasons.

One, today Hong Kong was on my mind. It has been almost a year since I was last there, and it might not be too much longer before I stop by again.

Two, it provides a contrast to the many photos of Hong Kong which capture the density of its population and buildings. Not long before taking the photo last year, I was surrounded by a rather urban scene on the northern side of Hong Kong Island. But a friend and I decided to take a walk and we ended up in higher and greener regions of the island. When we were on the above road we had no exact plan for where we were going next.

I will follow up on the Hong Kong green theme at some point in the future. But if you're curious as to where my friend and I ended up after a long walk, see the post here for the scene we enjoyed and to see the friendly family we met.

A Beijing Day in a Mask

Today I inhaled some of the cleanest air I have ever breathed in Beijing. No, the Olympics did not return to China. There was another reason.

Shortly after reading the article "1,600 Die Prematurely in Hong Kong As Smog Spikes", I noticed that the air quality for Beijing today was being described as "very unhealthy". I then felt sufficiently motivated to do something I had never done before: wear a face mask due to smog.

Fortunately, I did not need to make use of the "Filtering Respirator for Fire Self-Rescue" in my room, because the other day I picked up some 3M KN90 masks. In general, KN90 masks do not filter as much as the highly recommended N95 masks, but that was the best 3M mask available at 7-Eleven -- a convenient stop for where I am staying. I figured the difference between no mask and a 90% efficient mask was far greater than the difference between a 90% efficient mask and a 95% efficient mask.

So I donned my mask and went outside. I don't have any photos to share, but the air looked only a shade better than it did when I visited Tiananmen Square last month -- not very good. I had to fiddle with the mask to make sure it was properly sealed, but it was straightforward to wear. I must say, though, that I felt rather self-conscious. Eventually that feeling seemed to fade a little, and I didn't notice any more stares than usual.

Although people in Beijing may not be fazed by seeing someone wearing a mask, after passing hundreds and hundreds of people today I did not see another person wearing one. I've seen a very small minority of people wearing masks on other days, though, especially when the readings are in the "hazardous" category.

One of the first things I noticed about the mask was the heat it trapped around my mouth and nose. The weather was slightly cool today, so it didn't pose much of a nuisance. But I could imagine there'd be a bit of discomfort on hotter days. On the plus side, it might help keep your face warm during the winter.

The other thing I noticed was that some smells (particularly those I did not wish to smell) seemed to be more noticeable while wearing the mask. I would have thought the opposite would occur since the mask covers the nose. Perhaps the air pocket under the mask helps funnel up into the nose any chemicals which enter.

Although the mask provided a barrier to completely effortless breathing, the effect did not feel bothersome to me. This can be more of an issue with masks that filter a higher percentage of particles.

Maybe the biggest negative was that the mask was held in place by elastic straps which went around the ears. It was comfortable at first, but after several hours my ears felt sore.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about the experience. If I were to stay in Beijing long term, I'd consider investing in a higher quality mask that does not anchor itself on the ears and does not make me look I just walked out of a hospital. Whatever the case, at least I breathed some cleaner air today.