The emerging Chinese tourism market

by Grant Martin on

Can one measure the success of a country by the number of tourists that it produces? As the Chinese economy continues to balloon and catapult the country into the first world, the emerging middle class are starting to flex their travel muscles.

Now they can flex them even further. Just this past week the United States and Chinese governments signed an agreement making it easier for the American tourist industry to court Chinese travelers. New York and Nevada even went so far as to get special permission to market their wares to the far east.

Don’t expect to fleece any of these tourist groups out of their hard earned communist yuan though. As our colleagues over at Intelligent Travel reported last week, tourist groups are having none of the bundled hijinks that tour operators have been throwing at them.

I suppose if the economy needs to recover we need to encourage as much tourism as possible. While the Chinese aren’t coming overseas necessarily based on the strength of the yuan (it seems to be more of a novelty at this point), I wonder if we’ll ever reach the point where the Asians are coming to the US for cheap stuff.

Photo of the Day (12/16/07)

by Catherine Bodry on


The mystery of this young woman’s gaze is what drew me to this photo taken by twingadani in Rajasthan, India. What do you suppose she’s thinking? Her look seems to communicate some disdain and perhaps apathy. I can’t help but be curious about her day to day life — in fact, it’s the kind of photo that inspires me to travel.

Have any photos you think might inspire others to travel? Upload them to Gadling’s Flickr pool and we’ll consider them for our Photo of the Day feature.

Where has all the sugar gone?

by Iva Skoch on

Have you noticed that it is virtually impossible to buy chewing gum WITH sugar anywhere in the world anymore? Panama, Italy, Czech Republic, Switzerland…they all sell gum with aspartame or saccharin. Even in Mauritius, one of the world’s top sugar cane growers, I noticed they used artificial sweetener in their gum. Sad, to say the least.

It used to be that sugar-free gum was a US specialty because Americans were obsessed with fitness (like the two extra calories make a difference) and their teeth. Not anymore.

Nowadays, it is virtually impossible to get a piece of gum without aspartame/NutraSweet anywhere in the world. Not because it is so much better for you, but it is so much cheaper to produce. This really blows for me because aspartame gives me an instant headache. Not fun, especially when you travel.

Chatting with the biologist about water bottles (yesterday) brought us to the topic of sugar as well. He feels much more strongly about the use of artificial sugar than drinking water with leeching chemicals. He said:

“If you really want to worry about your health, don’t use anything that has artificial sweetener in it which includes all diet drinks and foods as well as most over the counter medicines. Sugar has been part of man’s existence for thousands of years and until we got modern was never a problem unless we used too much (as we do in the U.S.). I am very afraid of aspartame (NutraSweet) and the neurological damage it does since it is in millions of products used daily. “

Western culture meets Pyongyang

by Jamie Rhein on

An article in yesterday’s New York Times neatly dove-tails with Neil’s Infiltrating North Korea post on Arts and Culture. This coming February the New York Philharmonic will be performing in Pyongyang. North Korea invited them. Perhaps Neil’s visit so impressed the higher ups, i.e., “Who is that incredibly tall American who takes pictures of food and traffic women? He’s so polite, so charming, so interesting. Are there more like him?” that they decided to bring in more. Probably not, but it’s a thought.

The Philharmonic’s visit is no small feat. It’s more than just getting a large group of people with their instruments on an airplane. This is diplomacy at work. Despite the differences countries have politically, it’s hopeful that all will work out if the artists among us have the chance to share their talents around the globe. While the New York Philharmonic is in Pyongyang for their concerts February 26, 2008, they’ll also meet with conservatory students to give instruction. What a fascinating opportunity for both sides. Neil would probably vouch for that.

Big in Japan: Strange mental disorder confines Japanese youths to their rooms

by Matthew Firestone on

If you’re anything like me, you’re awed by the power and capacity of the human mind.

Mankind’s greatest asset, the mind has enabled our species to develop society and technology, and to rise above and beyond even our closest primate ancestors.

If you’re anything like me, you’re also terrified by the power of the capacity of the human mind.

Especially when things start to go wrong…

In all of my time over here in Asia, one of the craziest things I’ve heard about is a uniquely Japanese mental disorder known as hikikomori (??????????), which literally translates as “pulling away, being confined.”

Referred to by Western experts as acute social withdrawal, hikikomori describes youths who choose to completely withdraw from society by shutting themselves inside their parent’s house for years on end.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, a case of hikikomori starts after a youth has remained inside a house for more than six months, though there have been recorded cases of self-imposed isolation extending for more than a decade.

At this point in the article, I am asking that you go outside for a minute, get some sun, and then come back to the computer when you’re ready. Trust me!

Are you back? Feeling a bit more relaxed and healthy? Good.

So, what exactly causes a young Japanese youth to voluntarily imprison themselves in their room for months on end.

(And no, the answer is not so they can play World of Warcraft in real-time!)

Often times, hikikomori start out when a child refuses to go to school, which is a common enough condition to warrant its own unique word in Japanese, namely tōkōkyohi (登校拒否).

As you’d imagine, the pressure to succeed in Japan can be intense, and few children are ready to leave the comfort of home for the angst-ridden classroom.

Japanese psychologists also point out that young adults may feel overwhelmed by Japanese society, and have difficult times fulfilling their expected social roles.

By confining themselves to the home, youths with hikikomori can set their own sleep schedules, and venture outdoors only at night when there is no one around.

Internet gaming has also become a popular escape from reality, especially since it allows for social contact without the pressure of spending face-to-face time with someone.

Needless to say, the stress on the family caused by a youth stricken with hikikomori is immeasurable. In a culture where parents are overprotective of their children, it can literally take months or even years before a family comes to term with the problem, and seeks out professional help.

In fact, most parents of hikikomori youths end up prolonging the inevitable by going out of their way to accommodate their children, either by sneaking their child food or hiding the severity of their child’s condition from family and friends. Sadly, few Japanese parents could ever imagine taking a stand against their children, and forcing them to reenter society.

On that note, I’ve been inside my apartment all day writing, so I think it’s time to take a quiet stroll through the park…