Norwegian Moon

by Erik Olsen on

And you thought it was just the Germans and the Brits who behaved badly at soccer games (the Americans would probably give them a run for their money if they cared much about soccer). This is not a World Cup story, alas, but one about a mere match in (of all places China). Turns out it was the Norwegians pulling off shenanigans.

A 25-year-old Norwegian student at the University of Beijing got a wee bit upset and showered both the ref and spectators with abuse. He was shown a green card (green for naughty) and then a red one (really naughty). Then he was ejected from the game.  Not one to go out peacefully, e ten pulled down his shorts and mooned everyone. Apparently, the Chinese are not used to seeing naked buttocks in public, a least not ones so lily white, and so the match was suspended with the student facing punitive action, perhaps even being deported. Ah, those mad Norwegians. I call them kin, you know.

Word for the Travel Wise (05/26/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Considering voodoo dolls are a big enough issue to make news all over, now seems like the perfect time to flip through our Chinese dictionaries for a word that could become just as recognizable as the illegal sale of the toy.

Today’s word is a Mandarin word used in China:

xiang zi – suitcase

Although there haven’t been any known voodoo doll arrests you surely don’t want to be the first to get caught red-handed. By no means am I suggesting you smuggle the dolls in and out of China’s borders, but I know how it is when you just have to have something. If this should be your case make sure you’ve got some decent luggage. Request the kind of suitcase or xiang zi with tons of hiding space, I mean pockets.

Mandarin is the most widely spoken of the Chinese language and can be a bit difficult to learn, but there are many sites online that can help get you started. The best will probably cost a small amount of money and the links are many so for sources pointing to additional sources check out About and Mandarin Tools. Mandarin tools is good if you’d like to add pinyin tools and other Chinese text files to your computer. Zap Chinese is free and has small dictionaries of common words with audio. Mei Wah is an awesome and funny site on becoming more aware as an eater and learning Chinese by way of menus and restaurant signs. China Language online is another excellent site I recently stumbled upon providing info on Mandarin, Cantonese and Hakka. In addition to these past recommendations check out the Hong Kong Language Learning Center (HKLLC) for study abroad in Hong Kong or Beijing. Qi Journal has a section dedicated to Chinese culture and language study.

Past Mandarin words: zhu ni hao yun, guo nian ha, mu di di, hao

China Makes Voodoo Dolls a No-No

by Adrienne Wilson on

If a voodoo doll with a pin attached ready for the pricking was high on your list of souvenirs to pick up while perusing the vendor stalls on Beijing’s streets then you’ll have to do some searching. (Think Shenzhen and Guangzhou.) Apparently the Chinese government doesn’t like these dolls and for various reasons, but placing the ban has created a craze according to this Newsweek piece found on MSN. Concerned authorities at the Industrial and Commercial Management Department claim the dolls encourage superstition and “promote feudalism and feudal beliefs.” Other citizens equally upset about the dolls and (whispers) maybe even a little afraid of an enemy they may have crossed in the past, are calling on the Communist Party to enforce a nationwide ban on the voodoo dolls. However, vendors sing a different tune where one individual believes teens purchased the dolls because they were cool, not because they were trying to hurt each other.

For those still looking to flatter their enemies by wasting countless hours of their own precious time with pricking, poking, and prodding at the plush, yarn or hand-made dolls can check the web where internet sales for the dolls continue to flourish. See MSN for the full details.

Red Corner: Luxury Trains to Tibet, with Karaoke!

by Neil Woodburn on

There is no quicker way to destroy locale culture and customs than simply providing easy transport to the tourist masses.

Case in point: One of the more isolated, and difficult to reach areas on this planet has traditionally been Tibet. As Erik pointed out in a post last March, the Chinese government will be opening up a direct rail line to Lhasa this July. Many see this as just another dagger in the back of Tibetan culture as the Chinese continue their campaign to China-size the country they invaded in 1950. An inexpensive rail line will undoubtedly flood Tibet with even more Chinese influence in the form of trade and immigration, eventually diluting their unique culture altogether.

Politics aside, the Chinese government is acting very capitalistic with the launching of a luxury train that will whisk mostly foreign tourists from Beijing to Lhasa in 48 hours. For $1,000 a day, “adventurers” can lumber to the roof of the world with the comfort of onboard showers, folk dance shows, karaoke and pressurized cabins.

The journey itself promises to be amongst the great train trips in the world–I just don’t think I could stomach it in such kitschy opulence.

China’s Big Ferris Wheel

by Erik Olsen on

The Chinese are all about doing things bigger these days. Bigger highways, bigger buildings, bigger egos. Well, now for the amusement-minded, the Chinese are building what they say is the world’s tallest Ferris wheel in the country’s south. Personally, I hate Ferris Wheels. I think they are silly and so, oh, 19th century. But whatever. I post this for those who deign to concern themselves with such things. So, yes, here is the 525-foot-high Star of Nanchang, which opened in early May in a riverside park in Jiangxi province. 

The Ferris wheel (named for Ferris Buehler, who apparently designed the first one on one of his notorious “days off”) is a full 82 feet taller than the London Eye on the banks of the Thames in London which, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the current record-holder.