Olympic watches (and much more) at Silk Street market in Beijing

by Jamie Rhein on

Last night, one of the news commentators during the men’s gymnastics All-Around competition mentioned going to the Silk Market in Beijing and seeing watches with Yang Wei’s face on them. Yang Wei is the men’s gold medal winner for the All-Around and the Chinese gymnastic darling.

The commentator (I forgot which one) mentioned that the Silk Market, now referred to as Silk Street, is his favorite place in Beijing, I have to say he has good taste. If you’re in Beijing, it’s a place not to miss. Stalls upon stalls of wonderful items.

When we were there several years ago, instead of Yang Wei’s face, alarm clocks and watches with Mao’s face were part of the offerings. We loaded up on handmade quilts instead, even though they are a lot more cumbersome than watches and alarm clocks to pack. I think we bought five in all, plus a large duffel bag with wheels in which to carry them.

Since I was there, the Silk Market’s venue has changed from an alley to a regular five-story shopping mall. Not as funky, for sure, but from what I’ve read, there is A LOT more to buy and the shopping is more organized.

If you can’t find Yang Wei’s face on a watch, which I think would be a pretty fun and funky souvenir, and if quilts are too big for you to handle, look for items that are Chinese zodiac related. I also bought these for friends of mine whose birth year I could remember.

Behind the Olympics: Rising stars to follow

by Jerry Guo on

Michael Phelps. Tyson Gay. Shawn Johnson. These Olympians have become household names, and they’re getting their share of the airtime, no doubt about that.

But there’s a whole cast of characters with equally captivating narratives that unfortunately have been dwarfed in their shadows.

  • In wrestling, there’s Laura Flessel-Colovic of France, who’s perhaps better known by her nickname, “the wasp.” The 36-year-old gave birth in 2001 but is still going strong, winning gold last year at the European Championships. This is probably her last Olympics, so she’s looking to go out strong.

  • In tennis, there’s Sania Mirza of India, who is known for her looks, country of origin (India is not a tennis powerhouse to say the least), if not her backhand and serve. She’s India’s best tennis player in history, by far, and is an absolute sports legend in that country. She was recently voted one of the top 10 most attractive tennis stars in an international survey. Her Chinese counterpart, by the way, is Li Na, the first from China to break the top 20 in the players’ rankings.
  • In boxing, there’s Manus Boonjumnong of Thailand, who achieved notoriety by beating world champion Willy Blain to win gold at Athens in the light welterweight (64 kg) class. He’s got quite a colorful history as a wild partier (cashing in his $600,000 Athens win on football bets and booze). But maybe he’s turned a corner, seeing as he spent some serious time in a monastery.
  • In table tennis, there’s Wang Hao of China, who is the equivalent of Yao Ming, just in a slightly less popular sport in the West (ping pong). He’s the number one player in the world, but who suffered an all-around embarassing defeat to South Korea in the finals during Athens. No doubt “Hurricane Hao,” as fans like to boast, is gearing up for a rematch.
  • In yachting, there’s Ben Ainslie of Great Britain, who’s looking at his third consecutive gold in the Olympics. Enough said, right? His country is pinning their highest hopes for an Olympic gold on Ainslie, who rumors has it insists on Chinese food before each race.

China busing in government-trained “cheer squads” to fill empty seats at Olympics

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Just like the Oscars have “seat-fillers” to hide the empty seats when people go to the bathroom, the Chinese are busing in state-trained “cheer squads” to fill the surprising numbers of empty seats at the Olympics.

Dressed in identical bright yellow t-shirts, the cheer squads are meant to improve the Olympic atmosphere and avoid embarrassing television shots of all the no-shows at the Games. As the Washington Post notes, “The U.S. softball team played in a stadium only about 30 percent full on Tuesday, while the day before, 10 of 18 venues did not reach 80 percent capacity.”

Officials blame the poor crowds on everything from the weather to strict visa regulations to spectators not wanting to watch the less exciting sports.

Beijing hotel owners, who were expected to be some of the biggest beneficiaries of the 2008 Olympics, have been underwhelmed by the amount of business the Games have brought. From the Washington Post: “‘Business is worse than at this time last year,’ said a receptionist at a 22-room hotel in Beijing’s Chongwen district, where rooms cost $28 a night. ‘It’s the season for traveling and last year the hotel was full. The Olympics should have brought business to Beijing, but the reality is too far from the expectation.'”

“Ugly” Girl was Cut from Opening Ceremony

by Josh Lew on

The opening ceremony last week in Beijing was quite memorable. The sheer magnitude of the spectacle was, in fact, almost unbelievable. When former Olympic medalist and millionaire clothing designer Li Ning made his lap around the roof of the Bird’s Nest without falling or extinguishing his torch, China must have breathed a collective sigh of relief. The whole thing went off without a hitch.

But a bit of controversy has come to the surface recently. Remember that little flying singer with the pig-tails who almost stole the entire show? According to the ceremony’s music director, Chen Qigang, she was simply mouthing the words.

That’s not really a controversy. Singing in front of so many people is a lot to ask of someone so young.

But wait. The little girl, Lin Miaoke, was not even supposed to be part of the show. She was a replacement for the original singer, seven-year-old Yang Peiyi. Yang was not going to lip-sync. What happened? A sore throat? Stage fright?

Government officials and the ceremony’s producers decided to cut Yang in favor of Lin because Yang, with her crooked teeth and baby-fat cheeks, was deemed too ugly.

Chen explained: “The reason why little Yang was not chosen to appear was because we wanted to project the right image…”

Yang’s voice was still heard on the stadium’s sound system. Apparently, Lin didn’t have the singing chops to match her good looks.

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Pursuing the American Dream in China

by Jamie Rhein on

Because the Olympics are in China, you’ve probably noticed an increase of stories and news segments with a China focus occupying the airways. For example, The Today Show on NBC is looking at China from a variety of angles.

One story, presented Monday, illustrated just how fluid the world’s economy can be and how there is an interchange between cultures as a result. For example, if you head to China, you can find an Auntie Anne’s, an American franchise that specializes in soft pretzels.

The Auntie Anne’s in Beijing was started by a Chinese American couple whose parents had immigrated to the United States as a way to make a better life for themselves and their children. This couple moved to China to open China’s first Auntie Ann’s after researching what would work in China and realizing that the enterprise was a way to seize a profitable opportunity. They discovered that one way to make money in another country is to export a popular, established brand.

As the segment illustrated, some Chinese Americans are returning to China as a way to make a better life for themselves. One motivation, in addition to making money, is to learn Chinese and also to learn more about the culture of their heritage-something they often pooh-poohed as they were growing up.

As the segment noted, most plan to return to the United States once the money has been made. It’s not that they have an issue with life in the U.S., they are going after financial opportunity in the country where their parents were born.

If you look at the history of the Silk Road, and how goods and services moved from Asia to Europe and from Europe to China centuries ago, the pattern in similar. Now, though, soft pretzels are part of the scenery.