Just so you know, I have finally moved over to a new web host. This probably won’t affect you - although hopefully the site will run a bit quicker now. Most of the changes and improvements are all behind the scenes. If you do notice any problems with the new site please leave a comment!
If you want to know a bit more about the changes and find out why I made the move, head over to a more detailed post on my other blog.
Since I have been here in Beijing (7 months maybe now?) the traffic has got worse and worse. To go anywhere in the city during morning and evening rush hours is a real nightmare. The figures are quite frightening too - I remember reading somewhere that 1000 new cars are bought every day here, furthermore, even as far back as 2005 the city had already become the worlds number one motor vehicle exhaust producer- I really am quite puzzled about how the government plans to tackle this growing problem.
Over the last couple of decades the Chinese have been busily building roads here to deal with Beijing’s rapid growth. First there were the first and second ring roads, then came the third ring road, now there is also a fourth and fifth ring road circling the capital - and plenty of cars, buses, lorries and taxis circling around them too. Due to the city’s subway system being very limited (although this is changing with the arrival of the 2008 Olympics) and the city’s bus system being rather crowded and slow, plus the fact that many Beijing residents now have some spare cash lying around thanks to the Country’s rapid economic growth, many people are now buying their own cars to get around the city. I think this also has its roots in Chinese culture - men here love to flaunt their money around and buying a car is a sure-fire way of doing this.
Whilst every day more and more people are able to afford to run a car in the capital, the construction of new roads is on the contrary quite limited. Soon, traffic will be at bursting point; to the extent that going anywhere in your own car will be no quicker than going via taxi or bus - although the journey will be much more comfortable. I can only hope that the roads will get so clogged that the government will be forced to take some proper action - such as improving its bus service, introducing congestion charging fees or toll gates and expanding its subway system to new parts of the city.
Meanwhile, despite some changes to public transport here (reduces in bus and subway charges and two new subway lines) Beijing will continue to be the polluted city it is for some time.
Me and Siqi have been busy in the kitchen over the last couple of weeks and have churned out some tasty meals. Here are a couple of things we’ve made recently:
Cola Chicken Wings
Chicken wings cooked in a cola sauce with plenty of spice to go with it! Yum…
京酱肉丝
Pork strips cooked in a hoisin sauce on a bed of 豆腐 (Tofu Skin). Traditional Beijing dish.
Next on the list is my favourite dish: 宫保鸡丁 (Kung Pao Chicken) - but that’s going to take some serious practice to get right!
There is a national holiday this Friday - which means no classes for all of us at 首师大 (Capital Normal).
Whilst I have no definite plans as of yet, me and Siqi fancy heading out to a ‘Drum & Bass’ night at 白兔子 (White Rabbit) in one of Beijing’s bar districts to let some steam off. Friday will definitely involve a lie-in and a big Chinese fry-up. If we feel up to it and the weather is good (which it hasn’t been these last few days) we may head to 香山 (The Fragrant Mountain) to stretch our legs.
As for the rest of the weekend… everything remains to be seen. Hopefully I can catch up with some fellow Capital Normal students and maybe have some people round here for dinner. I also fancy picking up my chinese copy of Harry Potter 3 again - it’s been a bit neglected over the last couple of weeks (much to my frustration) as I have been too busy with other things.
As for my small eBay business (I’ve been selling lots of clothes to the UK and other parts of the world to make some pocket money) - I sold my last Abercrombie + Fitch Hoody today and am now going to try and sell some t-shirts as the weather steadily gets warmer. Have to see how things go…
No more updates for now, maybe some photos to follow soon.
Jono
