Tag: beijing

Earth hour – March 27, 2010

April 6, 2010 / / 1 Comment

A couple of weeks ago, I was eating dinner at a small Yunnan restaurant when the owner announced that she was turning out the lights for an hour to bring attention to our dependence on electricity and its environmental impact.  At first we thought it was a little weird, but after they gave us candles, it became a surprisingly enjoyable eating experience.

The next day, when I was buying breakfast at one of my stand-bys, a bakery chain called Holiland, I noticed a poster in the window:

Here’s a close-up of the poster:

The poster announces that each of Holiland’s 1000 or so stores in China participated in Earth Hour, an event organized by the World Wildlife Fund to highlight the need to develop a sustainable economy.  I was pleasantly surprised to see this kind of participation by a Chinese company.  It shows that corporate responsibility (as a concept) does exist in China, and that environmental awareness among Chinese consumers is high enough such that some companies find this kind of publicity worthwhile.

I was deeply humbled to learn that both the restaurant owner and Holiland knew about this Earth Hour thing before I did.  Some environmentalist I am, huh?

For those of you in Beijing, I highly recommend the restaurant.  It’s a little tough to find, but very cozy, very friendly, with delicious yet inexpensive food.

First hike of spring

March 27, 2010 / / 2 Comments

Note:  Thanks to all who participated in the bio-processor contest.  I will spend some time researching all of your leads and announce the winner within 2 weeks.

Last weekend, I went hiking for the first time in Beijing.  The trip was organized through a free on-line forum called 綠野, which literally means “Green Wild”.  Unfortunately, the hike was neither green nor wild.  The buds of spring have yet to appear in Beijing, and the mountains on which we hiked, though about 30  kilometers (18 miles) from downtown, still put us in view of Beijing’s urban sprawl.

Please note that I am definitely not ragging on Green Wild.  The hike was well-organized and I met some interesting people.  The existence of groups like Green Wild reflects a growing interest in wilderness appreciation and preservation among professional urban Chinese, and that’s a great thing.  I’m sure that I’ll post more about Green Wild activities in the future.

As you may have read in the news, last weekend welcomed the first major sandstorm of the year in Beijing.  These sandstorms are a yearly occurrence in northern China, significantly worsening over the past several decades as deforestation and poor land management resulted in rapid desertification.  China’s government started tackling this problem in earnest through reforestation and re-introduction of wild grasses and shrubbery about ten years ago, and Beijingers thought that the worst was behind them after the last two years passed with no major sandstorms.  There has been progress, but last weekend’s storm showed clearly that the war is not over.

When I woke up on Saturday, the day of the hike, the sky was yellower than my urine after a hard day of digging ditches.  I’m now kicking myself for not taking a picture.  At the time, I was more concerned that the hike would be canceled.  But the Green Wild forum did not announce a cancellation, so I set off into the maelstrom. Continue reading

Beijing Subway and Urban Planning

March 5, 2010 / / 1 Comment

Note:  Read more about Curitiba’s wise urban planning in Natural Capitalism by Amory Lovins, pages 288-308 (full text available on-line).  I promise this blog isn’t an advertisement for Mr. Lovins, I just really like that book.

Beijing’s subway system is, by many measures, a convenient and well-run public transport system.  At two yuan (about 30 cents) per ride, it is very affordable by Chinese standards.  Its average daily ridership is over 5 million (serving a population of 22 million), and its 100+ stops on nine lines render most places in the downtown area accessible with an additional 15 yuan ($2.00) cab ride.  In comparison, New York City’s subway system has an average daily ridership of 5.2 million (serving a population of 8.3 million), 400+ stops and 26 lines.

By the year 2015, Beijing plans to double the number of lines to 18, with a total of 400+ stations (see map above).  Daily ridership is estimated to grow to 8 million.  All of this sounds like pretty good planning, right? Continue reading

Toilets

February 23, 2010 / / 6 Comments

Urination, defecation and flatulence are all favorite topics of mine.  They never get old.  If I live to be 90, I’ll still laugh when someone within earshot lets one rip.  Especially if it’s a shart.  So it’s fitting that my first substantive post is about toilets.

In the past, public toilets in China were notoriously bad – dirty, smelly, leaky, plugged up, and often filled with maggots.  They’re probably still not great in much of the country, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the quality of public toilets in Beijing.  Here’s a urinal I found on Gulou Dajie, in an old neighborhood with lots of hutongs (ancient alleyways) and siheyuan (ancient courtyard-style houses).

Notice anything odd about this urinal?

I’ll give you a hint: how do you flush it?
Continue reading