 alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC
kudos:1
1 edit | OT: You guys be good - In China for the week I am stuck in the shanghai airport for the next few hours waiting for a connecting flight. I left my house over 28 hours ago and still a good 6 hours left 
Not much to see here. Just sitting at the expat bar drinking beer. |
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 Zorack
join:2001-12-14
Fayetteville, WV | Re: You guys be good - In China for the week You've been shanghai'd in shanghai   |
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Re: You guys be good - In China for the week How's the air quality there? 
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Splat |
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 leiboldPremium,MVM
join:2002-07-09
Sunnyvale, CA
kudos:6
 ·SONIC.NET
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Re: OT: You guys be good - In China for the week That should be more then enough time to try out that magnetic levitation train between shanghai international airport and the Expo center. Only takes about 8 minutes one way but reaches speeds above 250mph.
Look, no wheels 
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 DraimanLet me see those devil horns in the sky
join:2012-06-01
Kill Devil Hills, NC | reply to alkizmo
Never been to China but my co-workers son moved there 2 years ago to teach English and loves it. |
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 tmh
@comcastbusiness.net | reply to alkizmo
said by alkizmo:I am stuck in the shanghai airport for the next few hours waiting for a connecting flight.
I hate going through Shanghai. Got booked on two different airlines via Shanghai. Instead of going through transit, I had to go through immigration, then customs, then turn around and head right back in again. All within 90 mins.
The airport itself is okay. |
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 TA63ST215WPremium,MVM
join:2000-11-23
there
kudos:2 | reply to alkizmo
Re: OT: You guys be good - In China for the week I was there! |
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 jkj860The Final Frontier
join:2002-01-10
Valparaiso, IN | reply to alkizmo
Stay clear of all the lead paint |
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TheMGPremium
join:2007-09-04
Canada
kudos:2 | reply to alkizmo
A few years ago I spend a month in China. Spent some time in the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, Xian, and Hangzhou. Rented someone's apartment during the 2 weeks we spent in Beijing instead of staying in a hotel.
Was an awesome trip, so much there to see and do, lots of history and culture. In fact, I wish the trip had been a bit longer! |
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alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC
kudos:1 | You never see a blue sky over there.
But you can breath.
If you have pollen allergies, Shanghai is great to run away
from pollen
said by leibold:That should be more then enough time to try out that magnetic levitation train between shanghai international airport and the Expo center. Only takes about 8 minutes one way but reaches speeds above 250mph.
Not my first trip to Shanghai. I used to liver there for a year and half.
It's a boring ride, but you can tell who is a first timer by the fact that they're taking the picture of the speedometer screen that is at the front of each wagon
said by Draiman:Never been to China but my co-workers son moved there 2 years ago to teach English and loves it.
It's a great place for young adults to go and blow off some steam before settling down, that's for sure.
said by tmh :I hate going through Shanghai. Got booked on two different airlines via Shanghai. Instead of going through transit, I had to go through immigration, then customs, then turn around and head right back in again. All within 90 mins.
The airport itself is okay.
You came from an international origin and had to transit back out?
Never did that sort of trip through Shanghai. I always went domestic upon my arrival, so ya I had to go through customs.
The airport is pretty cool if you have time to explore it, but after the first time, it's boring. It's always the same stores repeating over and over (Like all airports).
said by jkj860:Stay clear of all the lead paint
\I will try to take pictures of weird code safety hazards (stuff we would run away from in North American).
said by TheMG:A few years ago I spend a month in China. Spent some time in the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, Xian, and Hangzhou. Rented someone's apartment during the 2 weeks we spent in Beijing instead of staying in a hotel.
Was an awesome trip, so much there to see and do, lots of history and culture. In fact, I wish the trip had been a bit longer!
2 weeks is really short I understand. I hope you got to go out and enjoy the night life. |
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TheMGPremium
join:2007-09-04
Canada
kudos:2 | said by alkizmo:\I will try to take pictures of weird code safety hazards (stuff we would run away from in North American). The worst I've seen in the time I was there was a temporary 3-phase cable that was run from an outdoor electrical panel. Cable must have been at least 3/0 so probably carrying some serious current. Panel was left wide open. No warning tape or signs around it, nothing. Anyone could have walked right up to the panel at stuck their hands on the bus bars. Yes, it was energized. Unfortunately I didn't snap a picture of it.
said by alkizmo:2 weeks is really short I understand. I hope you got to go out and enjoy the night life. Yep, definitely did. Trip wasn't 2 weeks, it was a full month. 2 weeks is how long I was in Beijing. The remainder of the trip was going around different cities. |
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 ChinaboundPremium
join:2002-12-21
Antioch, IL
kudos:3 | reply to alkizmo
Enjoy your trip. It's a wonderful country. |
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alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC
kudos:1 | reply to alkizmo
Ｉ've been back for a week now but a 5 year old son and 7 month old daugther jetlagged (including my wife and I) plus the fact that my wife's parents stayed in China means very little free time
Anyway, unfortunately I only had one thing I wanted to photograph and I never got the chance (always running by it but never stopping).
It was the apartment building's electrical meter "room". Basically all the main breakers and meters for each apartment was in the entrance lobby. Each breaker (50A) was placed in a transparent plastic box, hooked to the main line through unprotected wires (looked like RW90 8AWG). Those wires came from a cable tray through slot openings. It was basically easy for any of those wires to suffer from mechanical damage (busy lobby) or any of those plastic boxes housing the breakers to get crushed.
Other stuff not picture worthy:
- A shower "stall" that's basically a shower head with a curtain making a semi circle for "privacy" in a bathroom. There was no barrier to prevent water from spreading further out in the bathroom and the floor had almost no incline towards the drain. Worst part is, the shower curtain was too high/long and had the bottom of it had the tendency to cover the drain. Water would then pool over it and form a seal.
- Fancy restaurant bathroom faucets that were too short to go over the sink (half the water would spill on the counter).
- Now this one is more that you have to experience it: There is a small amusement park near where I stayed. It is a permanent installation in the main park of the city. They have all of the basic rides plus more.
That amusement park had the WORST safety code EVER! (Well, that I've ever seen).
1. You could walk up to certain rides while in operation. I had to pull my son back by his collar as he tried to run towards the viking boat as it was in motion.
2. Most rides don't inspire confidence in terms of maintenance. The employees for each ride seemed to live there as some were doing their cooking, lots of laundry lines hooked to parts of the rides, rust rust rust.
3. They don't even know the limits of their rides. They let my son go on one of these things. Later we read the rules posted saying he had to be 1.4 meter (He's barely 1.1 meter). All went well though and he had a blast. Also my wife and I went into this mini-rollercoaster for kids together in the same cart. I knew something was wrong when my legs were sticking out the sides (couldn't sit behind her), then I read the specification plate of the cart in front of me saying 140kg weight limit. Maybe my wife and I were slightly under that , but I didn't take a chance since this was the limit of a properly maintained ride. So I got off before it went off.
4. No order what so ever. People get in while others are still getting off.
Basically the rides scared me for OTHER reasons than the experience itself. I felt like I was playing Russian roulette (being a heavier than the typical Chinese customer).
Other than that, it was a fun trip. Lots of dining out and drinking with/against my brother in law. |
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 CFoo
join:2008-03-19
Nepean, ON | reply to alkizmo
Ahh, I always dread going back to China. Although I was born in Kowloon (by Hong Kong) we always go back to my wife's home town in central China. I cannot get use to the hard mattresses and the all-in-one washroom/shower stall makes for a damp room. Your lucky there was a shower curtain. In my wife's hometown, there is no shower curtain and the whole bathroom gets washed down when you shower.
One thing that is a plus is that I always lose weight (not that I have much to lose) because of the lack of elevators and they live on the 5th floor. Other relatives live on the 6th floor 9different building). Some buildings with 9 stories do not have elevators.
Another issue is their appartment does not have air conditioning or heating. You can buy standalone AC units (which is what most people do) and install in a particular room. In the winter, the in-laws wear their winter coats indoor and use eletrical heaters (sparingly) in the bedroom. |
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Was in Beijing, Xian, Chongqing, and Shanghai 8 years ago... During the month of September...
Beijing had an occasional blue cast to the sky, Xian covered by a Grey Fog of pollution, and my lungs really hurt there. Chongqing wasn't as bad as Xian, and Shanghai had best air quality of all (Being near the Ocean helped), but the humidity was up there.... making it uncomfortable... in a different way.
Heating & Cooking with high sulphur coal has it's drawbacks.......
People were great.... Even the one's 'assigned' to us...
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 fartnesscomputersoc dot comPremium
join:2003-03-25
Look Outside | reply to alkizmo
I plan on going within the next year. Still making my plans. Do I have to book a hotel, and THEN apply for visa? The visa asks where I'll be staying, etc. but I wouldn't know unless I book something first. |
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 ToadmanHypnotoad
join:2001-11-28
Ex Ohioan
kudos:1
·AT&T Midwest
| said by fartness:I plan on going within the next year. Still making my plans. Do I have to book a hotel, and THEN apply for visa? The visa asks where I'll be staying, etc. but I wouldn't know unless I book something first.
Nope, all the chicom goverment wants is your greenbacks. You can put down a generic hotel in Beijing (say Novotel or Hilton) as an address and you are ok.
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This post is made with meat biproducts. |
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alkizmo
join:2007-06-25
Pierrefonds, QC
kudos:1 | reply to fartness
said by CFoo:Your lucky there was a shower curtain. In my wife's hometown, there is no shower curtain and the whole bathroom gets washed down when you shower. I believe the curtain was an afterthought.
We basically had the same experience, except for the curtain
said by CFoo:One thing that is a plus is that I always lose weight (not that I have much to lose) because of the lack of elevators and they live on the 5th floor. Other relatives live on the 6th floor 9different building). Some buildings with 9 stories do not have elevators. My wife's parents live on the 7th floor, no elevator.
Though from experience of living in China for a year and half straight, the weight loss is mostly attributed to the constant walk from place to place, meat filled with bone shards, and weaker beer (4.1% wtf?)
said by CFoo:Another issue is their appartment does not have air conditioning or heating. You can buy standalone AC units (which is what most people do) and install in a particular room. In the winter, the in-laws wear their winter coats indoor and use eletrical heaters (sparingly) in the bedroom.
They must be a bit poorer than my wife's. I've never seen an apartment/condo without split AC systems that have heat function.
said by Jan Janowski:Beijing had an occasional blue cast to the sky, Xian covered by a Grey Fog of pollution, and my lungs really hurt there. Chongqing wasn't as bad as Xian, and Shanghai had best air quality of all (Being near the Ocean helped), but the humidity was up there.... making it uncomfortable... in a different way.
I admit Shanghai had the best air than Beijing and Wuhan. Chengdu seemed pretty good though.
said by fartness:I plan on going within the next year. Still making my plans. Do I have to book a hotel, and THEN apply for visa? The visa asks where I'll be staying, etc. but I wouldn't know unless I book something first.
Nah, the visa part asking where you reside isn't often verified.
Just say "hotel in city X".
It's when you LAND in China that you should try to be more accurate in your declaration form for where you stay.
Anyway unless you stay near a consulate or embassy, you'll probably be dealing with an agent to get the visa (they'll help yuo) |
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