Forums > Living in Kunming > Used car lots? There is a big one on the way out of Beichen. Follow Beichen DaDao eastwards, past the old B&Q and onto the third ring road. A couple of km up the road on the right is a big car sales area. I am pretty sure it is a car auction place. I may also sell grey imports.
Forums > Living in Kunming > computer advice? There is always Linux, which is open source. The office suite is not as flexible (powerful) as other products, but it is MS Office compatible. Also the range of APPs available for it is smaller than the range of APPs for MS Win OS, but it is getting better.
I have Linux Mint (like windows) on one of my old laptops, and because it is less memory hungry it runs fine on the 15+ years old machine. Because Mint looks similar to a Windows/Mac environment, it is pretty intuitive and pretty easy to adjust too.
I am sure that Linux products and choice of compatibles has moved forward a lot in the 4 years since I had it installed.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Transferring money into China Something I learned a while back, you need to be very specific about the questions you ask, and don't ask open questions.
The BOC employee may have assumed you were talking about cash, in its narrowest sense. You need to specifically state that you want to bring money in to purchase a house. If the bank staff still say no, ask to speak to a manager.
Also make sure you go to the main branch, as sub branch staff (even managers) are often less knowledgeable about their own bank's procedures.
Assuming it is possible for property purchases. If it is done properly, with all of the correct paperwork, you will then have the proper paperwork to take the money out again if you liquidate the property at a future date.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Anyone affected by flooding? Some roads in the xiaoqu were under about 100mm of water before dawn, and houses with basements were affected.
Anyone else affected?
Forums > Living in Kunming > Civilized Kunming On a seperate note. I see they already have the recycle/separation bins for sale in Metro. Not cheap at about 4-5x the price of Taobao.
Red panda detained, held for questioning
发布者Reminds me of this little gem from history. www.thisishartlepool.co.uk/history/thehartlepoolmonkey.asp
Red panda detained, held for questioning
发布者Kinda makes you wonder if it escaped the clutches of an illegal animal trader whilst on the way to some eating establishment.
Kunming neighborhoods face water rationing
发布者There really is an argument for limited all year round water restrictions, and not just waiting till it reaches crisis and then implementing crisis measures.
Interview: Environmentalist Li Yuan
发布者Taiyangneng (solar heating systems) can be wasteful but need not be. Ours has a small wind driven pump on the roof that constantly circulates the water around the house, so that there is always hot water throughout the system, close to every tap.
Chinese academic ponders globe-spanning railways
发布者@ Blobbles,
I agree, the train to the US would not be that great. A journey for enthusiasts perhaps.
Look at Chinese travelers today, who takes the 2-3 day journeys now? Those without the means to pay for another choice. I do not see it being a feasible link for business travelers.
Rail links to the US would be useful for freight trains, but they will not be doing 300kph in the foreseeable future.