Monday 28 September 2009

This blog has been moved to...

www.enhancing-learning.org

Friday 3 July 2009

Censorship in China

Due to the censorship in China this blog has been moved to:

 www.enhancing-learning.org

Thursday 14 May 2009

Is Chinese difficult?

The spoken language is not difficult. The only hard stone in Chinese are the ideograms (called 汉字 hàn zì)。This is the only obstacle in this language that does not have conjugation of verbs and declinations of adjectives. That's why the majiority of expatriates in Shanghai can speak Chinese but cannot write or recognise more than 10 ideograms. Even language schools in Shanghai offer the teaching of the Hanzi in separate courses, as if the Chinese language could be so easily split in phonetical and grafical representation. 

The learning of the ideograms requires time. To be able to read a newspaper you need to learn 3000 ideograms. An additional problem of the ideograms is that you have to continuosly train the writing as you may risk to forget them after a while. My Chinese teacher, a 50 years old lady, does not remember how to write the colours (黄色,蓝色,红色)as she hardly write these hanzi in her everyday life.

Saturday 9 May 2009

Destruction works continuing: Preparing Shanghai for Expo 2010







The third phrase in my Business Chinese text book is Shanghai has changed considerably (上海的变化真大啊!shàng hǎi de biàn huà zhēn dà ā), said from the CEO of an international company coming to Shanghai for a business trip (出差 chū chāi). Well, I have been living in shàng hǎi half a year now and I can prove that this city is undergoing incredible changes, from day to day. 

Since years now the city is a building site, with hundreds of buildings still in construction (apart the immense Expo Site). Entire districts, made of old houses, have disappeared, are disappearing or are going to disappear. The government is in a hurry to destroy a carry away what could upset the 70 millions tourist that the city is expecting for 2010. 

Well, from one point of view the destruction of the old unhealthy houses could be a very good thing if they would be replaced with new and safely build compounds. But to me it seems that the government is replacing the houses with office buildings or just with compound that can give a home to 1/3 of the original people. I am just wondering what is happening with the people that were once living in these places...

This city is very polluted. The water is contaminated, rats are infesting the city, everywhere is  dirty and smelly. I have read a report in the China Daily today, that in the majiority of the city offices there are rats, and I do not even want to think what the poor people in the slums see in their rooms... In the television a couple of days ago Chinese were happy to show the electric system they have installed all around a "model unit" to electrify the rats that are sometimes big as cats. 
But let's think further, we have to stand up (起来 qǐlái, as the Chinese hymne encouragingly sings), we have to build the tallest building on earth in the muds of Pudong (one day one of the exit in Pudong has to be shut down as there were muds coming out of the metro line). And everything goes under the motto of Better City Better Life and the Expo Mascot, the Haibao (which means treasures of the sea) represents a clean ocean drop, which should stand for life.

How are they going to manage the 70 million tourists if you have now some problems to get a metro, a bus or a taxi in the rush hours?

And I am still waking up in the middle of the night due to the noise of the trucks that are carrying half of the city outside the city.


Friday 8 May 2009

Chinese calligraphy: Figure iceskating on 4 fingers











Equipped with brush, paper, ink and a lot of motivation I had yesterday my first Chinese calligraphy lesson. As any other Chinese (traditional) activity or art expression, this has always seemed to me an easy and relaxing activity. Well, after the first trial I have to admit that writing hanzi (the Chinese name for ideograms) with the brush is everything but easy and that after the first 60 minutes I was mentally exhausted.

In calligrahpy every stroke has to be executed with defined movements, with a defined startin and an ending point for each single stroke that has to be found in one of the 4 parts of the stroke square. Mind, hand, brush and paper must become a unit during the execution of every stroke.

All this remembered me the learning of the hedges of the blades in figure ice skating. As in figure ice skating also in calligraphy the slowliness and the stability of the movement expresses the performer's skills. It took me years to learn the basic lines and movements of the blades on the ice. I suppose that calligraphy will require the same time and dedication. Let's see how far I am able to go. 

***In the picture my name: 米凯拉 (Micaela) 


Monday 4 May 2009

Shanghai Textile University & Raffles Design Center

The best Chinese university for textile engineering studies and fashion marketing is the Dong Hua Da Xue, in Shanghai.

On the campus you also have the Raffles Design Insitute,  apparently a well-known Asian fashion design college that operates in collaboration with the Dong Hua University.  
  • If you log in into the website an operator will give you immediate assistance. Unfortunately you will get answers to your questions only if you are interested in studying at the college. The communication will be shut down if you say you would like to attend a seminar, which of course I find very rude. Also the staff is very rude if you are not interested in the becoming a student.
The Raffles Design Institute is a very nice building, with a modern design. I couldn't take any picture as since the time I put foot in the building I have been unofficially escorted and didn't get a chance to speak with any student. It seemed to me that I was not welcome in institute, mainly because I said that I was not interested in the college 3-years-program (which is far beyond my budget, 230.000 RMB, which is 26.000 Euro).

The staff teaching at the college is international. I was happy to see that even an Italian has found his path into the institute, which is surely a nice and creative place to work and study.

I would recommend a visit to the university and to the Raffles Design College to everybody who is interested in fashion design and fashion marketing. Also the adiacent textile museum is interesting as it explains the method of clothes production and has a good collection of Chinese clothes from the different dynasties (Shanghai Museum of Textile and Costume). Free admission.

 

Thursday 30 April 2009

Cartoon fair

The CICAF, the China International Cartoon and Animation Festival will be held in Hangzhou every spring. I couldn't manage to visit it this year but this is on the wishes-list for next year.

http://www.cicaf.com/english/

Saturday 18 April 2009

China and marketing strategies...

In the last 5 years the considerable increase of the wages of the white collars in the cities has made possible to many Chinese to buy exclusive luxory fashion brands products such as bags, clothes and accessories. In shopping malls, airport duty-frees, taxi, even in restaurants!, there are videos running all day showing the latest creations of Gabbana, Gucci, Armani, Dior, Chanel, Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton... Young Chinese, influenced from these campaigns, want to dress the westerner style and are willing  to pay the same price as in European shops, and sometimes even more. 

Another sector in which Chinese starts to be very interested in is the tourism industry. If 10 years ago only the Chinese elite could afford a Europe-travel, now a great number of Chinese can visit the places that the government never printed in school books: Siena, Florence, San Gimignano, Paris, London are put on show in videos running as entertainment in Chinese flight companies.

Even coffee has become a common drink among Chinese. Many coffee chains have opened in Shanghai, Bejing and in the all tourist spots around China (I have drunk one of the best coffee of my life in Yangshuo, a place among the hills of southern China). Apart from Starbucks, there are many other chains which are sharing this growing market. 

Bier and wine are still behind compared to coffee (probably because Chinese do not like cold drinks). 

Gelato is not loved among Chinese, too cold. The few ice shops in Shanghai and Bejing are just opened for the expatriates.

Bread is quickly appearing on many Chinese tables. Chinese like french bread (which contains more lard than the Italian bread) and many stores have opened in Shanghai selling baguette.


***
China has a population of 1 milliard and 330 millions people and the buying power, together with the wages, is growing everyday. There will be a considerable increase of Chinese tourism in Europe in the coming two years with a considerable increase in the need of Chinese speaking staff at the hotel reception and tourist information centres. People who want to be competitive in the tourism industry should better train their staff in speaking Chinese.


Tuesday 14 April 2009

Is China cheaper than Italy?

No. Even the quality rice is in Italy cheaper...

Prices at 14 April 2009.

High quality rice
Italy: Riso superfino carniaroli, 500gr. 1.82 Euro. (Coop)
China: 静里含香 (jing li han xiang), 500gr. 2.09 Euro. (19 RMB, Carrefour)

High quality fresh Milk
Italy: Lattebusche, 1 L, 0.90 Euro
China: Ubest, 1 L, 1.35 Euro

Coffe at the bar
Venezia: 2,23 Euro to sit at Piazza San Marco, which is the most expensive bar in Italy (read here). 0.88 Cents to drink it on the bar. 
Shanghai: 2,68 Euro, at Changning Street, no view, only traffic and smog. Take away, the same price. The price is the same in all Shanghai, and also in touristic places outside the metropole.

Shoes repair
Italy: TicTac, change of the gummi under the shoes, 12 Euros.
China: shopping mall, 26 Euros.

Secretary (able to speak a couple of foreign languages)
Italy: 900 Euro
China: 1008 Euro (9000 RMB)

I have a lot of hope for Italy. I forecast that in a couple of years Italy will become the China of the new decade. I start to appreciate Italy has I have never done before!


Monday 13 April 2009

Organic food Shanghai

I am interested in buying certified organic food in Shanghai.
I am looking forward fresh eggs, fresh meat, fresh milk (also goat milk), fresh vegetables.
I found these places in the Internet. Does anybody have experience with these suppliers? (Just to let you know, I have been buying from farmers since I am a child, so I have some experience in checking the quality of the products).


Organic?



Guilin and Yangshuo









We are leaving for Guilin this Wednesday, so I thought to publish the program in my blog and add suggestions to this posting when I am back. 
At the beginning I wanted to stay in Yangshuo, as the hotels seem to be more private and personal as the big cement blocks in Guilin. Unfortunately Yangshuo is too far away from Guilin, so I had to book a room in Hotel , with lake view.

1st Day (Wednesday): 
  • Arrive in Guilin, information office (taxis, buses, cruises, guided tours, Chinese teachers, taichi, opera... hopefully in English). 
Famous tourist spots: 
  • Elephant Trunk Hill (south-west Guilin, from here you can see the confluence of the Li River with the Peach Blossom River)
  • Water Moon Cave (which is close to the river)
  • climb Fubo Whirlpool Hill (300 steps, to enjoy the view)
  • Seven Star Park, 1.5 Km from the village. 

2nd/3rd Day (Thursday): 

  • Visit remaining tourist spots in Guilin.
  • Hiking tour with private Chinese speaking guide.
3rd Day (Friday): 
  • Cruise boat to Yangshuo, on the river Li (departure from Zhujian Pier, it takes 5 hours). 
  • If we are lucky we will see the fishermen with the cormorans. I must ask how long this will take. 
  • Afternoon in Yangshuo, if it doesn't rain bike tour in the coutryside (farms, rice fields, clear water).
  • Back to Guilin by bus.


4th Day (Thursday): To Longsheng (from Guilin 2 hours by bus). I have read that Longsheng has the most spectacular rice fields of China. Amazing is the view in spring and in winter, with the terraces covered with snow. From Longsheng there are buses to different spots of the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces. In Longsheng there are plenty of hotsprings and the water is said to the very healthy. There are villages worht seeing everywhere. It is probably advisable to get a private taxi to be able to view all the villages and the different ethnic groups that are living in this part of China.

As the weather is probably not the best (they have forcast heavy rains) we will get a private tai-chi and Chinese teacher or just stroll around in the many shops.

Things I want by in Guilin:

- Puercha (普洱茶)



Monday 6 April 2009

missing parmigiano, salami and fiorentina







I have been "on the road" 11 years, living and working in many countries, from Europe Australia: I have never missed the Italian food. In all countries in which I have been living I always found, almost immediately, something tasty and interesting to eat that have prevented me to miss any of the fabulous Italian dishes. 

When in Austria I loved to eat Leberknoedel (liver dumplings), Spaetzli (a sort of egg noodles), Roastbraten (roastbeef), Kaesnudeln, Kaiserschmarren, Kernoel (pumpkinseedoil) and Kartoffeln. In Bayern Weisswurst and Kraut (with senf seeds, they are simply fantastic). I have been probably the only Italian who has enjoyed the English Cuisine, going crazy for sheperdpie, (a particulare sort of cabbage of which I do not remember the name) and applepie. In Australia I soon got used to the flavour of the different barbeque meats, which I have enjoyed with my collegues in the monthly barbies. The best of all in Australia was the delicious tasmanian meat that I used to buy in the village's shop. 

Since I am in Shanghai I have lost the happiness of food. I do not know where to buy a good roastbeef, a good piece of cheese, fresh eggs (the so-called fresh eggs of the supermarket are at least one month old...). My "flavour" life has imploded and I get tears in my eyes when I think about  the meat I used to have at home, in Italy, the fresh and fragant piece of parmigiano or just the piece of home-made salami the relatives used to bring us at a certain point of the year. For the first time in my life I am missing parmigiano, salami and fiorentina and this surprises myself a lot as I am really feeling ... Italian.

I am aware that the freshness and quality of goods is a problem of every big city, so I would be really grateful if somebody out there could tell me where I can buy a good steak, fresh eggs and genuine potatoes in Shanghai.

Friday 3 April 2009

Packed on/Best before: China and supermarket food safety














I have always thought to be an attentive buyer and to be able to recognise the good food from the bad simply looking at and touching it. This ability enabled me to fully enjoy my staying in different European countries, also in the southern hemisphere. Well, since I am in China I have lost the confidence in my ability and I have adopted a (quasi paranoid) behavior of looking at the food labels. The reason for this is that since my arrival (4 months) I have been sick three times, with diarrhea, vomit and two very expensive hospital check-ups. Two days ago I had my very worst experience, with the symptoms described above together with high fever and a flesh on the face (with small black spots around the eyes). The worst thing for me is that I did not get sick eating in restaurants, but cooking and eating at home (and for an Italian this is a very demotivating experience).

So I feel like to list some advices for my self (so I hope to remember how to behave next time) and for the Italians (relatives, friends, compatriots) that are coming to China for a visit or for a long staying:
  1. If you like to cook fish and meat, buy food in Metro. According to many people the products there are better than in other places (I still have to check it out).
  2. At home and in restaurants avoid to eat any raw meat and raw fish unless you are really sure about its quality.
  3. Always look at the expire date of the products. The food may be already went bad and still be on sell on the supermarket shelf. 
These advices are probably obvious for the majority of buyers, but unfortunately not for me as, as Italian, I grew up in a country where supermarkets have to undergo high hygiene and quality controls and goods are thouroughly checked before being put on the shelf and also after. I still have a lot to learn to make my Chinese experience a comfortable one but I am confident I am on the right way.

Friday 27 March 2009

Learning Chinese in Shanghai - Adult education

I have been living in Shanghai almost 4 months now and during this time I have been attending language courses in different language schools in search of the language school with the most suitable course design and teaching methods.

According to my personal experience I can recommend following schools:

Mandarin House for an intensive private language course. I suggest an intensive, 2- hours-a-day course for 6 weeks. This will permit you to learn the basic vocabulary (about 800 words) and the most relevant grammar topics. 

ChineseTime for an intensive private language course. This language school has good teachers, uses a Learning Management System, eLearning content and teletutoring via Skype. 

Eastern China Normal University (Hua Dong Shi Fan Da Xue) for an intensive course focused on the Chinese writing system. Price: 4months 500 Euros (5000 RMB).

For Business people that are prepared to pay more I recommend New Concept Mandarin, whose teaching methods are similar to "superlearning".

The majority of language schools offer the possibility of attending one hour trial lesson. This is a good chance to evaluate not only the quality of the teaching but also other important aspects such as the school environment (classroom equipment, windows, heating system) and to get an idea of the people that are attending courses in the school. 

A language school can usually organise the accomodation. Depending to the position of the apartment there might be high price differences. For a room in a 2-persons flat the rate is around 130-200 Euro per month. For a room in a family the rate is around 300 Euros (breakfast and dinner are included).

Tuesday 24 March 2009

Contrasts








I took these two pictures two days ago, on my way to uni. 
From my apartment to the campus I only need 25 minutes by feet (2 kilometres). On my way to the uni I pass through all possible worlds, from the nicest park in Shanghai (Zhong Shan Park) through a sort of slum. Well, I try to be very fast there, mainly if they are killing the chickens. I am quicker every morning. This morning I took 17 minutes. I am becoming a good runner.

Monday 23 March 2009

Books for Conversational Chinese

for Italians: Nuovo Parlo Cinese (Vallardi)
for English speakers: Madarin (lonely planet)

6 days Shanghai and sourroundings






1st Day:
Visit to the Bund. Jin Mao Tower (highest building in Shanghai). Cruise on the Hangpu river (the river is disgustingly dirty, but the cruise gives you a good idea of the city's architecture).

2nd Day: Fake markets day. Pearls (Hongqiao Pearl Market), Chinese dresses (Soft-Spinning Material Market), ipod and other electronic stuff (Shanghai Science Technology Museum). Remember: The rule is to give the seller a forth of the price they will ask you. After the bargaining stress you could plan to go to a good tea house to taste some good Chinese tea (my favorite is the Long Jin Cha - the Dragon Well Tea from Hangzhou and the High Mountain Tea from Taiwan).

3rd Day: Museums Day. Shanghai Museum, Expo 2010 Exhibition Center, ShangArt Museum (in the North of the City). 

4th Day: Some parks and Temples. There are some nice parks in Shanghai, e.g. Zhongshan Park (just in front of our apartment).

5th Day: Hangzhou. It is about 1 hour by train in the south-west of Shanghai.

6th Day: Suzhou. It is about 1 hour by train in the east of Shanghai.


Sunday 22 March 2009

What to do in Shanghai?








Shanghai is the largest city in China with over 20 milion inhabitants. It is the center of the automotive industry, so you have a lot of German and American expatriates here working for car producers. Shanghai is a modern and international city (Europeans have been living in the French Concession since the 19th century). So, don't worry if you can not speak Chinese as here the majority of young people can speak (or at least understand) English. Even taxi driver can speak some words English. 

The most interesting things to see (but this is of course my point of view) are:

- The fake markets (probably Shanghai's favorite attraction). where you can buy bags, watches, ipod and even computers for a reduced price... of course you won't get any garantee...; there is an unofficial list of prices to use in these markets (e.g. for a t-shirt you shouldn't pay more than 25 yuan - 2,5 Euro, for a pair of jeans no more than 100 yuan - 10 Euro, for a pearl necklace 40 yuan - 4 Euro... I have seen a similar necklace in a bijou shop last time I was in Europe and it costed 80 Euros). 
  • Tao Bao Cheng
  • Shanghai yatai shenghui mianliao shichang
  • Shanghai qipu lu fuzhuang shichang
  • Shanghai south bund soft-spinning material market
Here you will need some determination to get the right price. But don't worry, after a couple of trials you will also be able to do it!

- The city it self and the numerous open construction sites. During the last 10 years Shanghai has changed a lot. The small popular (and poorly build) houses have been replaced with huge skyscrapers and the government is still investing a lot of money to make Shanghai the nicest and the most important city in the world. As the taxis are very cheap in China, I would suggest you to spend a good time travelling all around to get an idea of the dimensions of the city. Particular interesting is the Expo Construction site which will host the Expo 2010 (it stretches for some square-kilometres on the right side of the river).


- Museums: Of course there are a lot of museums in the city worth visiting. 

- Temples (I will write something about this soon. I must say that I am not really interested in temples also because the majority of them seems to have been built just a couple of years ago... probably I am just ignorant about this topic...).

- Parks: Considering that Shanghai is an ocean of cement, full of smog and people, you will probably feel like to go for a walk in a park during your staying in Shanghai. Parks is one of the most beautiful experience in Shanghai as there you will find a lot of people practicing their favourite sport (e.g. Taichi, Qigong, Chinese ballets and other activities). A visit in the park will fill you with joy and fresh air. The nicest and biggest park in Shanghai is Zhong Shan Gong Yuan (and I live just in front of it). Other parks are Chang Feng Gong Yuan (it is next to my uni campus, the Eastern China Normal University), the Century Gong Yuan (in Pudong, pretty far away from where I live and also in a place that I really do not like a lot). Then there are other small parks in the city but I think that these parks are the most worth for a visit. In the south of the city Shanghai has also a Botanic Garden, which is everything but an interesting place as it is organised as a flower shop and have the same plants you can cultivate at home.

- High quality tailor (well, I found a very good tailor in Shanghai that uses Italian fabrics. One man suits+3 shirts will cost 350 Euro, which is a real bargain considering that more than 80 Euros is the cost of the fabrics). We have made a very nice suit for Francesco. It is simply a dream, something that you will pay surely 800 Euro (only the suit) in an Italian shop.

- Good restaurants:
  • Bukhara (Indian Restaurant) - my favourite *****
  • Coconut (Thai Restaurant) ***
  • Maccalle (Italian Restaurant) ***
  • HotPot King (Chinese Restaurant, hot pot)****
  • Merrylin (Chinese Restaurant, franchising) ****

The best Chinese 5 Stars Restaurants according to Graham Earnshaw, owner of the entertainment park Fuxing: 
  • 1221 The Dining Room
  • Ren Jian
  • Gong de Lin
  • 1931
  • Mandarin Sky 
- Tea Houses (I will write something about this in the coming days...)


What to do before going to China
















  • Check that you have a valid passport.
  • Request visa from the consulate or embassy -> this takes usually one week, but it is better to request it one month before, just to be sure you will have it. The visa will expire after three months from the date in which it was issued.
  • Save relevant numbers (such as the one of the consulate of your country) in your mobile phone. This may be useful in case you need a translator or for any other problem.
  1. Italian consulate Shanghai: +86(21) 54075588
  2. German consulate Shanghai: +86(21) 63912068
  3. Austrian consulate Shanghai: +86(21) 64740268
  4. Australian consulate Shanghai: +86(21) 5292 5500
  5. For other consulates check here.
  • Renew (if it is the case) vaccination against hepatitis A and B. The quality of the water is very bad in China. In some restaurant not only they cook with tap water but they use it to produce "fresh" juices.
  • Buy ticket for China from Europe (it will cost between 500 and 800 Euros).
  • Learn some basic phrases in Chinese (you find a collection of the most used in my blog Wohuishuohanyu). This will help you to get the most out of your staying in China. 
  • I then suggest you to read the Travels of Marco Polo (even in the simplified or children version). This will give you a lot of information about the China's history, the Kublai Kan dinasty and Chinese life (as many things haven't change since then...).