Psychology is a big word. Basically mosquitoes, like almost any other insect, identify suitable preys via their scent. Recently it was discovered that lactic acid is one of the main attractions for mosquitoes, which is also why they like feet so much (ever heard that feet smell of cheese? lactic acid). Can't be bothered to find the source of that scientific research, but this page gives you an overview of mosquito 'psychology':
late winter
Also I suggest not riding through the TLG if that means you'll be following the main road from Lijiang to Qiaotou, for reasons that it stinks.
You could cross by ferry (or even bridge now?) at Daju and go in and out the TLG at that point, but that means paying an extra 200 RMB just to use the road between Lijiang and Daju. Which, sigh, is actually worth it.
Done it, loved it. Please read my blog for more information.
www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=tS&doc_id=14040&v=4H
If you're a good rider, you won't need camping gear. But that's catch-22: if you need camping gear, you'll also have to be a good rider. There is nowhere to stay between Baishuitai and Shangri-La, so count on a heavy 101 km with 3 major passes up to 3700 m.
It's not the best time of the year to do it though because rain means _very_ cold and quite probably snow at the higher altitudes. That said, my first Lijiang-Shangrila leg was in June and it wasn't that bad at all (you'll find that blog on the same website if you click on my username).
Can't help you with Lijiang to Lugu, but it sounds a lot easier than the Deqin stretch.
There was definitely a time where it didn't work in any store, even the big ones. Glad it's more or less resolved. Adding leading zeroes doesn't work - not only because there's probably a checksum in the id, but also because many passports (including the Belgian one) use letters of the alphabet for their passport number.
No results found.
First and last experience. Absolutely horrible. I came in late with a big flesh wound. The doctor sewed it up and told me to come back in the morning "perhaps to redo it, and to change the bandage". When I did come back the next morning, they just changed the bandage and sent me off.
When I peeked at my own wound, I noticed it was horribly done. "Like a vet did the stitches," as someone commented. I then had to stay a night in a different hospital in order to do it right, with a 40% chance of getting infections. This cost me a lot more, thanks to Richland fucking up in the beginning.
Whatever X-rays were taken were not printed out and given to me so I couldn't go to another hospital for a second opinion or treatment.
The nurses didn't seem to know where half the things were and the doctors had to repeat orders to get basic things like scissors.
In the next hospital, it was noticed that I had fractured my jaw in two places. On the five X-Rays taken at Richland, they did not notice the fractures.
Pretty sure these people are not actual doctors and are therefore criminal.
Super place. Really cool interior, lots of good beers and drinks, fun toilet inside the telephone booth, and an interesting clientele.
Cons: pretty hard to find, no matching glasses for the imported beers, and home brews need some work.
Teaching and support lamentable.
Four people signed up for the highest-level class and got a teacher who does all the talking, refers to herself as 老师 and makes classes absolutely uninteresting. As of this moment, only 1 person is still going on a regular basis.
While staff is friendly, they are absolutely incapable to help out with visa matters in an adequate way. Lack of information beforehand, lack of support and lack of information during the visa process meant that I am waiting forever for my residence permit to be processed, without any information about why it's taking so long, why they can't get started ... I'd say this school is a good option if all you wanted is a visa, but they can't even handle this properly.
Anyone giving this school a 5-star rating hasn't been to any decently-run schools in Kunming, such as Keats'. The only redeeming quality is facilities and space, those are indeed excellent.
Have been studying at Keats for almost four semesters now and I'm very enthusiastic about the quality of the teachers and the commitment of the school's staff.
One point of criticism is that I think they could put in some effort to group people of the same level together, rather than base it on who was together in last semester's class.
I stayed here in the early days of March 2013. Dave and his wife are swell owners, the staff attentive, the food good, rooms in perfect order, WiFi fast enough... Much like the old hump, the entire place is an excellent place to relax and make friends. And that is what you come to do in Dali, after all. The location is a bit isolated from the old town, but nothing is really far away in Dali. Besides, it makes for a better starting point to walk up Cangshan.
Infrastructure money continues to pour into Kunming
发布者I believe that being part of WTO means that you cannot tax the hell out of private cars.
Look at Vietnam: a two-wheeled paradise until WTO forces them to lower tax on imported cars, which means everyone is going to start driving their cars which means that paradise is going to hell in a handbasket.
So don't blame China alone - blame all members of WTO, the car-producing ones first.
Kunming's former party boss charged with corruption
发布者Well here's nothing shocking.
People involved in major (and seemingly unnecessary) construction projects often have dirt on their hands.
- The metro, gobbling up eight years of the city's annual revenue, is IMHO unnecessary (reducing car culture, or an above-ground or elevated bus system would be wiser), slow (elevated systems are faster to build) and expensive (elevated systems are cheaper to build), and even somewhat dangerous (the city is largely built on a mire).
- Changshui, while certainly a better-looking and more modern airport, has been a headache for pretty much anyone. Wujiaba didn't have nearly as many fog issues and transport to the city centre was convenient. Changshui's metro connection hasn't been finished for years.
- My Chinese colleagues say that everyone knows that tree planting is _the_ preferred way to engage in corruption these days. Something about the fluctuating price and the maintenance costs. I'll ask again tomorrow.
Three massive projects that are expensive, only partially necessary, badly planned and where it's easy to use construction delays and unexpected costs as a smokescreen for a wad of cash here and there.
www.worldofnonging.com/2013/11/kunming-in-deep-metro-woes/
Documentary Under the Dome captivates China
发布者Large-scale farming is by no means the answer. The burning of trash is usually because there's no adequate trash collection service. The burning of rice stalks is a problem but not because they don't rotate crops (you don't rotate crops with rice afaik). There would be alternatives to rice stalk burning, as below paper suggests:
www.ijesd.org/papers/318-M00040.pdf
Documentary Under the Dome captivates China
发布者The YouTube version has (fledgling) Chinglish subtitles.
England's Prince William in China, to visit Yunnan
发布者I thought I'd read that Xishuangbanna is the only native elephant land where populations are actually growing, due to China's protection measures - not true anymore?