China Travel, News and Lifestyle
Archive for August, 2007
Hairdressing in Zhuhai Rocks
Aug 30th
If you ever visit South China, you’ve got to try the hairdressers here. They are just so much better than in other cities.
The special thing is, when you first arrive, they first take you to wash your hair and massage your upper body for around half an hour. During the massage, they will place hot towels under your neck and on your forehead and even help you clean your inner ear. After the massage, they proceed as usual by cutting your hair, rinsing it, drying it and applying some gel.
This costs 25 CNY, which translates to less than $4 USD. 
New York Times: New Power in Africa
Aug 28th
New York Times, known for its quality articles and one of my favorite news sources, has launched a new article series about the increasing Chinese influence in Africa.
Engadget Going Retail In China
Aug 20th
Sorry for the quality – didn’t bring my camera.
Today I went for a stroll in the local computer city of Xiangzhou district, Zhuhai (in Guangdong, China) and was overjoyed to find Engadget, my favorite gadget blog, selling stuff over a counter there.
I thought that it would be very new, since it wasn’t yet announced on the blog. And therefore, I thought that the founders would be there to celebrate the launch. Guess what? They weren’t there, not even Thomas Ricker was there. Worst of all, the Engadget Chinese staff (living the closest) weren’t there either. This is really lazy of Engadget, running a business long-distance like this.
When I approached, I realized no one talked English… Engadget is the world’s largest English blog, so this didn’t make sense either. Engadget – you guys suck at business.
I’m really disappointed and shocked. In how stupid some Chinese vendors can be.
Honey, It’s Been A Long Time
Aug 10th
There’s no complete Beijing IKEA visit without staying and eating their Swedish meatballs after the shopping. As I sat down and chunked the meatballs in, I had a nostalgic feeling creeping through my spine. The meatballs were OK, a little on the raw side. I don’t get why we got fries. It should have just come with boiled or mashed potatoes.
The IKEA restaurant in Beijing isn’t just a place for tired shoppers to eat, but acts like a dedicated restaurant. People come from all over town just to eat the food there. Apart from meatballs, they’ve also got several salmon dishes as well as Chinese dishes.
If in Beijing, it’s definitely a worthwhile visit.
Back to Sweden… Sort Of
Aug 9th
A while back I went to the Beijing IKEA with a few friends, it is the second largest in the world dwarfed only by one in IKEA’s home country Sweden.
Entering IKEA felt just as if I was back in Sweden. Everything was the same as Swedish IKEAs. Except one thing. Here, the people were Chinese. 
Products in the IKEA in Beijing cost roughly half of what they would have cost in Sweden. Since most of the products are produced in China, their savings in transport are passed on to the consumer.
Another difference is that in Sweden IKEA furniture is the cheapest you can get, and a popular brand amongst young people. In China, it’s also popular amongst young people, but for entirely different reasons. IKEA in China is more or less a luxury brand and a is used as a fashion statement.
