For most organic solvent requirements - I use WD-40 or the Chinese variant and paper towels or rags, old toothbrushes, etc. Having an old candy or cookie (biscuit) tin will help for light dipping/spraying, depending on the size of the appliance one wishes to scrub down.
1. US Commerce Trade and American Chamber of Commerce (and I'm sure the UK equivalents) published a "Doing Business in China" booklet. It's mostly focused on the more developed eastern seaboard.
China is a complicated as eastern and western Europe combined - so I find it infinitely amazing that "one book" covers all - this is equivalent to a pamphlet proclaiming "Doing Business in Europe", neglecting the rich and diverse cultures of all those people groups (before the EU).
On that note - as I understand the expo - most of these guys are SME's (Small to Medium Enterprises) looking for trading partners to represent them - with sales quotas (aka dreams).
On that note - I'd recommend you advertise yourself as that gap-filler - proposing an initial Tmall site, for a modest if not obscene fee, to help them trial the entire market of China...that has either internet or mobile internet services.
Then your only problem - import logistics, taxes, customs, government approvals, etc ad infinitum - which you can also provide for yet another negotiable fee.
Several years ago, I met the last VP of Sales for Nortel before the company finally died. His claim to fame - he helped Nortel get their equipment carrier certified for use in China - aka he was great at helping Nortel spend money.
So that's a primary issue facing all these tiny importers...the upfront costs of getting their product and or service certified for import into China.
$0.02
Not sure if you're interested, but you can also go to your local car dealer to have the engine steam cleaned - it's somewhat cleaner than spraying degreaser on the engine and letting the runoff spill into the sewers (although I'm guessing the car dealers do this in China).
It's kind of a good practice - have the engine steam cleaned with every oil change or at least once a year - helps somewhat reduce the risk of engine fires if your vehicle is a leaky thing.
Regrets - no info on Mazagran, however their former space has been taken over by Salvadors - and will feature similarly avant garde cuisine.
Stay tuned for their soft or grand opening announcement.
@alien
Climatology is the scientific study of climate and climate change. No disagreement there. Is the global climate changing (generally accepted definition - measurable deviations in 10 year increments or something like that) - no argument there.
But - how to apply that knowledge in a responsible, sustainable, and potentially scalable manner, as opposed to an academic discussion on climate change (or big bang theory) in a meaningful (aka revenue producing) manner?
We may not be able to avert or divert the effects of climate change (whether natural or induced), but we can definitely and actively make the world and where we live a better place - if we were to work together.
Kunming has about 6.5 million people producing 6.5 million people's worth of waste. The usual solution for developing countries (and the USA) is to bury it in landfills or burn it (and now we burn it to create energy) - but that contributes to climate change and pollution.
My uncles in Sydney, Australia have some extreme municipal rules regarding separation of recyclables and the in-home burning (to ash) and compression of waste. They were mandated/forced to buy an expensive trash incinerator/compactor for their home (as were all in their residential complex).
Modification of that kind of system to include energy generation and storage, which could then be used to supplement the energy requirements of the trash compacting system - might be an interesting pilot project. Haven't seen that kind of stuff on alibaba (or I'm using the wrong keywords).
No results found.
Took the family here to stroll around and there's a LOT of walking. Many of the stores appear closed, but the bar street nestled inside seems quite well populated.
We chose the Japanese restaurant near the entrance (there are many entrances). The food and service was quite acceptable - from the fruit salad, tuna salad, curry pork cutlet, and the ubiquitous California Sush Rolls (you can buy the small size or the large size).
It rained a little while we were there, which helped drench the heat and humidity. When the sun came out - it was HOT.
If you're lucky, you'll occasionally see people (usually women) wearing minority clothing being photographed by professional photographers. There's also a small photographer's store where you can rent various ethnic clothing and have professional pictures taken (maybe the two are related...now that I think about it).
There's also the ubiquitous game centers (shooting galleries etc) for the kids and unaccompanied teenagers.
It seems the most popular venues were the prolific food courts - but that's probably related to it being lunchtime when we visited. The place is clean and plenty of antiqued door fronts (the wood panels) for those photo shoots.
Capping off the visit, one must of course take pictures on the bridges crossing the lily ponds and the landmark temple spire. We didn't make it to the surrounding temples. Maybe next time.
Transportation is everywhere - but make sure you have your mobile phone ride share app working, just in case you hit rush hour.
Again - for now - it seems many vendors were closed - but I'm positive that'll change again as the economy begins to rebound.
Excellent way to spend a half day as opposed to the kids faces glued to their mobile devices...fresh air, good food, plenty of people watching, and walking...walking...walking...
Took the family here a few days ago. Wonderful place to go walking with lots of snack & drink kiosks (along with chairs and tables) to rest frequently. This zoo is similar to most other large open air zoos with reasonably spacious enclosures. This place is HUGE so be prepared for a LOT of walking. Consider wearing sensible hiking or walking shoes. Your feet will be grateful.
Entrance fees when we went still cny100 for adults and kids cny70. Feeding the animals at the managed venues - cny30 per site...per child. Monkeys can be fed by tossing carrots and sliced apples into their enclosure - which is good. Monkeys famous for flash mobbing. Can be terrifying for kids (and adults). Even in the enclosures, you can clearly see they're territorial and aggressive. Bullying is displayed frequently enough for teaching moments for the kids (cuz there are monkeys in all schools everywhere in the world).
MOST people bring their own food and drink, as the kiosks are quite expensive. Example a cny5 drink outside is cny10 in the zoo, so expect most everything to be twice as expensive. I had a bbq chick drumstick (leg?) for cny25...ouch.
Bring carrots. LOTS of carrots. The zoo has several managed (paid) and unmanaged petting areas for most semi-domesticated animals, such as the Alpacas (seriously cute), deer, giraffes (ok...you can feed the giraffes on an elevated platform, but probably difficult to "pat" the animals. It's kind of spectacular to actually see giraffes face to face - these animals are simply vertigo inducing huge and tall.
The seal show was nice - typical of seal shows everywhere. Seals are kind of like the dogs of the sea. Friendly and ravenous appetites so easily trainable.
Lots of cheap touristy souvenirs to buy the for the kiddies (and relatives kids).
HIGHLY recommend taking the bus tour - they basically zoom around picking up and dropping off customers (they check your e-ticket at every pickup site) at entrances and exits to walking enclosures. They'll drop you off at roughly 15 minute walking sites. NO need to rush and you can grab ANY bus upon emerging from the walking enclosure sites.
Of course, the ultimate attraction always the lion and tiger exhibits at the top of the mountain.
Bring a fan. It gets hot. We were fortunate as the sky was mostly overcast so the temperature was generally cool, but heated up almost instantly whenever the sun peeked out of the clouds.
Bring LOTS of water. Most veteran tourists have their own liter bottles of water. Bring your own umbrella. When the sun comes out - it's HOT. Bring a wide brimmed hat if you're into comfort over vanity. SUNTAN LOTION never goes astray.
Aside from that - typical Chinese group site with everyone rushing the buses and ticket counters. Not so much rushing for the food venues, so seems the elevated prices keep that comfortably in check.
All in all - GREAT place to take the kiddies (or a date if you both know you're into each other - cuz you'll be spending an entire day together). The Outdoor Zoo seems exceptionally well designed with plenty of both managed and unmanaged (eg walking deer along the roadside and the stroll through the peacock "garden").
Easy cab or shared ride out and back. Taxis aplenty when you're ready to leave (just walk past the parking lot gate - they'll be waiting for you). You should consider dining out or delivery at the end of the day.
Took the kiddies here again.
1. It's FREE.
2. NO knives, lighters, sharp objects, etc. There's a place in front to check bags, luggage (if you're traveling), etc - but the exit is in the rear of the monolithic building, so it's a bit of a hike to walk back around to the checked storage area (it's also FREE).
THIRD FLOOR
We went straight to the third floor - History and artifacts of Yunnan (mostly). Rich history - lots of original sculptures etc removed from grottoes and displayed in the museum. Lots of English language titles and occasionally some explanatory text in English.
SECOND FLOOR
This is the evolution floor with lots of petrified artifacts - sea life mostly, lots of recreations of animals and environments from pre-man times.
There are coffee shops and dining areas on the first floor and drink vending machines on the second and third floors. The place is HUGE so a great place to take the kiddies and walk around until they're tired. They'll probably enjoy the dinosaur exhibit on the second floor the most. Wait a few minutes and the dinosaurs will roar and move their heads and maybe pretend to chew (open and close their maws).
PLENTY of parking and unfortunately NOT close to any subway station, so you'll have to grab a cab or rideshare but seems taxis and transportation are aplenty in the city and surrounding environs.
And...it's FREE for now. Museum closes at 5pm so make sure you leave by 430-445 so you can hike back to the storage area if you checked anything in as they also close at 5pm.
Enjoy!
This is a great place to walk around and generally kill time while shopping for nothing in particular. Nearby is the Paulaner Brewhouse for super fantastic food, coffee and drinks, outdoor patio dining or just hanging and people watching.
DATE
2022.01.17
SUMMARY
Just popped in for the annual to biennial visa health check. Cost was CNY 487 - don't forget to bring at least THREE (3) visa pictures and your mask.
As usual, there are TWO health codes to display - the usual kunming/yunnan green QR code and the green "Arrow" code.
ARRIVAL
I went late in the morning, but still managed to shuttle through all the departments and get out before lunch.
I used didi to get there and the map now correctly shows the rear parking entrance as the destination drop-off point. You can also take the subway to a nearby station, and walk walk walk walk walk - it's actually not too far but it will elevate your blood pressure and pulse (BPP) - so make sure to rest 5-10 minutes to allow your BPP to drop back to resting state.
Upon arrival at the main gate, you'll do the usual check-in procedure - mask, sign-in, green QR code, temperature check.
Once inside - Present your passport, green QR code, and green (hopefully) arrow code. Scan the QR codes on your left as you walk in if you don't have these prepared already. The staff will then pass you an application form. Walk over to the wall of stand-up desks to your right, fill out the forms, then stroll over to the clerks to present the form. They'll print out a sheet of bar coded labels for your tests, take your digital picture, attach everything together with a paper clip, then direct you to the cashier to pay CNY 487 (WeChat, alipay, bank card, etc) Don't know if they still accept cash.
HEALTH CHECKS
Hike up the the 2nd or 3rd floor to start the battery of tests:
3rd floor
Chest X-ray
Physical (height, weight, BMI/body mass index)
2nd floor
ECG
Sonogram
Urine test
Blood Test
Eye test (color blindness and eye chart)
Dental
Heart (pulse, blood pressure)
I may have missed a few like the OB GYN...
It seems they also have a COVID/NAT (nucleic acid test) center in a shipping container lab outside the health center - but I didn't bother jogging over to check if it was still operational. In retrospect, should've checked, as the hospitals are jam packed with Chinese New Year travelers.
RESULTS PICKUP
The test results are ready the afternoon of the second day. The facility seems sparsely busy even though they service both foreigners and nationals. There were rarely lines or noticeable waits beyond a few minutes, with at most 1-2 people ahead of you.
Staff are always nice, polite, professional and tirelessly patient for those of us with limited to no communications abilities.
Turbulence on Paris-Kunming flight injures 20
Posted byChina Eastern is a relatively new airline with relatively new staff who may NOT understand the importance of passenger safety - such as buckling in ALWAYS, when seated. Chinese also are relatively new to air travel and tend to skirt the safety rules in favor of comfort, not quite understanding the comfort of a heavier than air vehicle hurtling through the air with no training wheels or emergency lanes to "pull over and stop".
I'm positive China Air will be doing some supplementary training to reinforce air passenger safety, with their flight crews.
As for the culture of deception and avoidance of responsibility - this is the result of immature management who still believe that dishonesty and deception attracts customers - as opposed to damages brand, trust, and loyalty - hopefully, this too shall evolve to somewhat more transparency.
In reality - with all the media - it's moronic stupidity to employ these kinds of poor public relations practices, since the truths, in their various incarnations, are almost immediately posted all over public and social media.
Lijiang observatory helps unravel mysteries of quantum communication
Posted bySpooky...
Yunnan's capital scrambles as 'Civilized Kunming' audit looms
Posted byCulture takes generations to instill, generations to extinct. Let's hope this is a good, consistent, and sustainable start as opposed to an empty superficial gesture.
Yunnan prison break prompts province-wide manhunt
Posted byThanks to all for sharing the capture news.
Learning to make traditional Tibetan thangka in Shangri-la
Posted byWow. Thank you for sharing that incredibly interesting experience. I wonder if they accept short-term child students.