Chaoyangmen Beijing SOHO III
(left to right) Wife Rosalie, Nephew Abel, & Thomas (aka "Ranch Chimp" & "Commie Tommie") March 2013 photo
***** NEW YORK TIMES/ WORLD: China ... various up to date article's on China
Part 5 of "China The Sleeping Giant" is just an update to look at the changing face of China 21st century and it's quest to be competitive and productive leader's. Of course there are various internal issue's going on there, with the change in government as well, bird flu, having to babysit bully neighbour's North Korea, pollution, human/ worker's right's, etc, etc ... they just have their hand's full, and there is certainly enough negative news out there if you want to get some ... not to mention having to hear these knee- jerking asshole's on Wall Street quiver day to day on what and where China's economy is going and all the speculative paranoia or jumping for joy multiple personality disorder's of the shareholder's, who dont know whether to laugh, cry, take a shit or wind their watch from one day to the next, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh {: ) Then of course during election's we get the constant fear card's thrown at us about China, with weakling political mouthpiece's such as Mitt Romney trying to play "tough guy" when in actuality he's a wimp that will do as he's told. But at least China has been taking action which is louder than just the political word's we get fed here or proposal's for "(S)LOW- SPEED rail" in America, or trying to have an internet service here that can at least be half as good as one would expect in a country like South Korea (my neighbour is from SK, and explained to me how slow it is here to there in comparison), with our continuous failing infrastructure across America despite the enormous wealth of this country, etc ... I mean ... all our political mouthpiece's talk about here is "change", well ... what "change" are ya'll talking about? ... uhhhhh ... we do say were No#1, eh? {: ) Of course we hear alot of insult's about China ... but look at some of the result's of their action's over the insult's.
My nephew Abel been living and working in the City of Beijing for awhile and was recently back in Dallas for awhile and for the holidayz, etc. Abel is by trade a martial art's and fitness trainer as well as a guitarist in the black/ death metal genre of music, so he is a busy young man as well. It has been enlightening, and a real treat just sitting down with Abel and him sharing his view as a resident and working man of Beijing, as well as other town's that he frequent's such as Shanghai, etc. I first asked him if he could sum up in few word's what would be Beijing 2013? ... he simply said ... "Damn Tommy ... it's like the wild west without the gun's!" He described the business scene and atmosphere to highlight that ... which make's Dallas- Fort Worth look over- regulated and tight in comparison ... I shit you not ... and remind you, when it come's to infrastucture, architecture, business, development, mass transit/ rail, etc, etc across the board ... DFW rank's in the top's of the nation, it is absolutely booming by U.S. standard's. By his view, if your an entrepreneur/ business person in a town like Beijing and you cant make money ... the problemo must be you ... just about anything and everything goes ... bottom line!
He did tell me that they slowed down the train's/ rail there though ... which now he sayz run's about 180+ mph only, because of some accident and safety regulation's, but it's still quite fast and very comfortable for travel from city to city there, really nice too from what he describe's the trip's as when it come's to comfort, passenger concern and the way they treat their customer's/ rider's ... like first class ... describing here in our country as lacking of respect and concern for the customer. But that respect for the customer carries over to just about everything in China from the way it sound's, with a hospitality and service that is unmatched. Of course we have a government here that is more concerning for the people (exclude republican's ... and even some democrat's {: ) ... however, you can count on the neo- monopolized corporation's and financial institution's here to shit on you daily and train their employee's to not show much respect to the customer, with the incentive ... if they dont, they'll get fired, etc.
But the business scene there is kind of like, let business take it's course, yet there is alot of downside's to that too. For one thing, Abel described the air pollution in Beijing which just blew me away, saying even that many dayz you see a sort or yellowish tan sky, like an urban cloud, that you cant even see the sun through, descibing it to where it reminded me of Buffalo New York year's back when Bethlehem and Republic Steel were mega plant's there, and I will never forget that look and morning odor. The lack of regulation there is dangerous he think's to the country itself, if something isnt done about it, which has attracted so many smaller western investment's there, so China cracking down on some of that will work to their advantage in the longrun. There are still many rural area's though of China that has a level of poverty that is unmatched the way he descibe's it, with million's trying to flee to the cities to survive (it's huge in land), even many just living and working in some type of business labour type camp's, where they live and work and stay in small quarter's, send the money back to their familia's in the rural area's, etc. Beijing is also swamped with foreigner's (his recent girlfriend is from Germany), as they as well pour into there for opportunities.
The nightclub music scene there is loose as a goose the way he describe's it, and I am not sure from how he descibe's if they have some age for drinking, I would assume they do, but from what I hear ... you have young teen's openly getting shitfaced and served in club's there ... drink special's that make our happy hour's and special's here in America look cheap and stingy (this I would never have expected in a country that is so called communist) ... and liberated girl's who want to buy the guy's drink's instead! who are let's just say ... very open {: ) Membership card's seem to be popular there in club's, with some swanky looking card's, he showed me several membership's he carried, with price's for concert's/ show's a steal of a deal, and basically everything is cheap EXCEPT for electronic's/ computer/ smart gadget's/ phone's type item's ... I have no idea why that is, I mean I would figure that electronic's/ tech's would be cheap there. One thing to look out for there is the enormous amount of counterfeit product's that saturate the street's and market's though there from what he tell's me ... be informed I reckon on what is what that your buying out there. Their inner city rail/ transit system is very good and easy to understand, and the best way around town, very clean too. But overall, he really does enjoy living in Beijing and what it has to offer, at least for him.
Megastructures: Beijing Water Cube ... Thanx to NHNZMEDIA
Copycat Architecture Rises in China's Building Boom ... Thanx to PBSNEWSHOUR
Technology pushes Chinese high speed rail dev't ... Thanx to MECHANICALOSCAR
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Nuclear Fusion G- Space Exploration ... Thanx to SINOPROD ... a really tight sounding Beijing metal/ industrial crew that I wanted to close this post with and include in the "RCJ Music/ Art's Honour Roll Society"
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***** PD/ RCJ: "CHINA THE SLEEPING GIANT" PART'S 4 THRU 1
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***** RANCH CHIMP JOURNAL "WELCOME" POST
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2 comments:
Nice picture there Tom! That opening picture is awesome. That is funny your nephew likening it to the wild wild west. It might be but with the clamps of a prison and millions of security hidden and seen. Hell that could be here right?
You know, it isn't just the architecture that is copy cat, everything is now that they want to lead the world. The only way to play catch up in the fast lane is to steal everything which they are.
we have started going after them aggressively for it but it is too late. They learned the necessity of doing it from Russia who is still doing it. They started it under Peter the Great who knew it was necessary too.
I wonder what your nephew feels about the rampant air pollution in Beijing. It is now at world record lows "air quality" Can you believe they have the biggest computer dump in the world too thanks to us and them taking all our shit.
China is playing catch up in their desire to unseat us as no. one. They will fall short. I am not a fan of China and keep them at arms length as they are up to no good. Wish your nephew luck and tell him I said Hi. Take care Tom!
Hey Jim ... the way he described the pollution in Beijing sounded dismal without him using any word's like awful or anything, actually descibing it to me as if it were just a normal typical daily thing you expect, some folk's I reckon paranoid and wearing surgical mask's or whatever. But there is other enviromental factor's as well from what he describe's as the rampant industrial type of revolution it sound's like, we talked about so much shit Jim (over several beer's {: ) ... I had alot of question's for him and was very interested in much, it is also good that he is also fluent in the language to translate thing's for me, since I dont know a goddamn thing about Chinese language. He like's it though Jim, made alot of new friend's, etc, so I reckon that's what count's. I was a lil skeptical Jim when he first planned on moving there and had some talk with him on it, his mom didnt want him to go (worried), his dad was neutral about it ... I explained to him about some of their history, and the reason I done this, is because is is sort of liberated ... a musician as well, who planned on playing there too, so I wanted him to know it just may not be as let's say "loose" or as liberated" as here, to expect that and to be careful of course of offending parties or whatever ... you know the history Jim. But he said he understoood and just wanted to grab the opportunity that became available at the time, etc Oddly (since he pro- gun/ defense) he told me that there are young folk's he met like himself, that have a love for American gun's and collect them, however, they are not able to fire ammo (kind of like when I was in England and they had gun hobby shop's of inoperable arm's, etc) ... folk's wishing they had the luxury as he put it to experience American gun culture ... weird eh?
Thanx for your input here Jim ... later Guy ....
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