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.
Kunming new home sales plunge
发布者Personally, I do not see a huge re-adjustment of prices anytime soon.
The reason is that a lot of this property was bought for investment and is not used for homes. Many are undecorated and will remain so. Many Chinese are still looking to buy a bargain, but again as a possible investment.
No-one is in a hurry to sell, except developers. Unless the banks get heavy with them, and a red envelope usually cures that, they will not drastically drop prices to sell units. In fact if they did it would affect their equity, as the housing stock would be worth a somewhat less on paper.
Many private owner here have 2 or more properties. I know one guy with over 30. Many local companies also own properties, also mostly undecorated. The only thing that would force people to sell would be if there was a recession that hit China and people needed to liquefy their assets. Property prices could then tumble due to a rush to sell before the bubble burst, and this would become a self fulfilling prophecy.
But most Chinese will play the long game.
my 2 cents
Recipe: Spicy taro and greens
发布者I would like to see more recipes like this.
Simple recipe for a common local food.
There are many fresh foods that I have not seen before and am not sure what to do with them. I am sure I am not alone.
There are also some dishes that are more palatable for foreigners, than others.
Perhaps GoK could open up to submissions of simple recipes from other writers.
Getting Away: Xishan
发布者Went there last week. Did not see what happened at ticket office, but if you get the chair lift (I enjoy the ride) they make you buy tickets for Long Men (Dragon Gate) as well. Even if you don't want to go to Long Men.
Chinese college freshmen increasingly unfit
发布者PS
The comment about kids going to the doctors during military training in the article. There is nothing wrong with the kids, this is a 'sick note' culture developing. "Mummy, I don't want to go to school today. My tummy hurts".
Chinese college freshmen increasingly unfit
发布者There is no emphasis on sport in schools. Yes kids to physical jerks every day, but it is not strenuous. Also, participating in a real sport will lead to improved physical dexterity (as well as strength), and for team sports kids will learn to be part of a unit that works together, something missing at the moment.
All of this will require taking time out of the classroom learning schedule. What many people here don't acknowledge is study burn out, taking time out of class for sport can and does improve classroom performance.
Not everyone will excel at sport, but all who do it will benefit in many ways. Not just in fitness.