China Travel, News and Lifestyle
Lifestyle
Prostitution in Beijing
Aug 7th
Here in Beijing, prostitution is rampant. You can find prostitutes at clubs, hairdressers, massage parlors and on the streets. The normal price range goes from 100 CNY to as much as 2,000. Prostitution is illegal in China, but it’s pretty hard for the police to bust them, because they’re all covered in some way. Hookers at clubs don’t openly announce their profession, and it’s impossible to see the difference of them and a regular club-going girl. At the hairdressers, how can the police know that they are prostitutes and not just hairdressers? Despite difficulties, the local police has had quite a few successful raids in the past.
The area in Beijing that I live in is called Fulicheng. Several times a week, we get these namecards (pictured above) of massage services with suggestive pictures of girls slipped in under the door while sleeping. Whether they really do massage or not, I’ve yet to find out. But from what I’ve heard, these girls generally do very poor massages. I guess the rest should be left to the imagination. 
Drinking Beijing Style
Aug 4th
When you’re tired of all the Western-style bars and clubs over at Sanlitun, Houhai and Workers Stadium – you should definitely try this out. This is what many Beijingers do and is a cool experience for the casual traveler.
- Make sure you’re with good company.
- Scourge the streets until you find the closest Muslim (Xinjiang) joint, and get a table outdoors.
- Start ordering Yanjing (Beijing) brand beers and some shish kebab (yang rou chuan / lamb on a stick), some pickled peanuts and green beans to go along with it.
- If you don’t know how to order, point at the plate of your neighbors and order what they’ve ordered.
- Let the games begin. Usually 6 bottles is enough for a person.
- Be merry.
The beers go for around 4 CNY ($0.6 USD) per 600 ml bottle and the kebabs 0.5 CNY ($0.1 USD) each. All together it shouldn’t cost more than 35 CNY ($5 USD) per person. Not only is this a very good deal, but also something unique to remember. I liked the food and the beers, and would do this again anytime.
These guys know how to earn money and close when all their customers leave, so don’t worry about the time.
China’s Young Elite – The “Me” Generation
Jul 31st
I recently read a very interesting TIME article called China’s Me Generation about the young elite (dubbed the “Me” Generation by author Simon Elegant) in China and their relation to life, money and politics.
This article struck a chord with me. The lifestyle of the young Chinese elite is one really feasible and respectable and has certainly motivated me to work harder towards my goals. Author Simon Elegant was also spot-on regarding the political standpoints of young Chinese. Contrary to some popular western journalism that blatantly bashes the Chinese government when it comes to politics, this article explores the current situation in a genuine and personal setting. This is definitely an article worth reading.
See excerpt:
Because of China’s one-child policy, instituted in 1978, this is the first generation in the world’s history in which a majority are single children, a group whose solipsistic tendencies have been further encouraged by a growing obsession with consumerism, the Internet and video games. At the same time, today’s young Chinese are better educated and more worldly than their predecessors.
[Via China Law Blog]
The Unlucky Numbers of East
Jul 24th
In China, people are superstitious and picky with numbers. There are two main unlucky numbers; 4 and 13.
4 is romanized (pinyin) as si, which shares the same romanization as the word death. 13 is unlucky, just like in the west.
Chinese people are very careful about numbers. In this apartment building, there are supposed to be 30 floors. However, the floors 4, 13, 14 and 24 are skipped, leaving only 26 floors. Another example is with phone numbers, people avoid the number 4 in them and try to get as many 8 as possible. 8 is romanized as ba, which rhymes with fa, meaning richen in Chinese.
My Apartment in Beijing
Jul 22nd
This is long due and should have been my first or second post. I didn’t do it before because I hadn’t unpacked, and after I unpacked I had to tidy up, add a little laziness and voilà – it took two weeks to get some pictures of the apartment I’m staying in.
The apartment is slightly larger than 90m^2 and considered high-end, located in Fulicheng. The rent is 4500 CNY / month, approximately $600 USD with furniture included. It’s pretty expensive by Beijing standards, you could get a similar place for much cheaper.
I share the apartment, which has two bedrooms and a living room with a friend, so it only works out to be 2250 CNY (300 USD) per month. Even for this amount I got get a similar apartment for myself in Beijing. Anyway, let’s see some photos.
Just entered.
