Luxurious and cheap Hong Kong Hotels

Hong Kong, a dependent territory of the United Kingdom, transferred its sovereignty to People’s Republic of China. It begins as a trading port, but emerged as a financial centre where service industries are the main basis of capitalist economy. Hong Kong has a multicultural identity that is influenced by both eastern and western cultures and is reflected in its cinema, music and cuisines. It is generally described as a place where east meets west. Western rule ended in 1997, but it has been deeply ingrained in Hong Kong and exists together with traditional practices and philosophies of the Chinese.

Hong Kong is one of the famous tourist destinations. Millions of tourists visit the place every year. The main tourists’ spots include few new territories, the Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon peninsula and 260 other islands. Hong Kong attracts business visitors for it one of the biggest business destinations in Asia. There are many Hong Kong hotels ranging from cheap hotels to star hotels, which serve their clients with various facilities and amenities. Few fantastic hotels are located around Tsimshatsui, Causeway Bay, Wanchai, Admiralty and Central.

There are many top class Hong Kong hotels. One of them is Macau hotels that are located off the southern coast of china, which is 70 km from Hong Kong. Macau’s history perfectly goes with the meaning of its name, which means ‘Door’ or ‘Gateway’. It played an important role in acting as a gateway between east and west and encouraged development by bringing business license to western casino financer. Macau’s food, music and architecture are all about the mixture of culture of east and west. Some main tourist attractions around the place are Cosa Garden, Old Protestant Cemetery and A-Ma temple. The area is well known for its blended culture. There are lots of recreational and entertaining activities such as electronica, enthralled night life, classical music, and Chinese folk pop.

Hong Kong is a major tourist destination, so it caters to people of all sort of budget. There are many 1 to 3 star hotels that offer several different types of discounts and make it easy for people to adjust the vacation in their budget. These cheap hotels in Hong Kong satisfy the need of travelers to stay in the cheap and clean place. The rooms are well furnished with modern architecture and in room facilities. Many of the Hong Kong hotels cater their visitors with conference rooms, restaurant, bars, pool, minibar in the rooms, spa, fitness facilities etc… These hotels on budget are best for the people who focus on their budget before traveling as they serve their visitors at affordable price.

Helping the Panda after the earthquake

It has been terrible to watch the pictures coming from China recently after the earthquakes and aftershocks there. Both animals and humans have been affected; of the animal variety, the Wolong Panda Reserve sits right close to the centre of where the first large earthquake struck on Monday 12 May.

There are about 1,590 pandas left in the wilds of China now, plus 180 or so in various reserves in the Sichuan province, where the earthquake struck, so the pandas at the various reserves are vital to conservation efforts. There’s no doubt about it: pandas need help. A question many will ask is: why help animals the panda when people so desperately need help too?

The panda is important to the Chinese people. The Chinese see the panda as a symbol of their efforts to protect species which are endangered. The panda acts as a sort of check to remind people of the importance of the balance of nature, and the ability of people and animals to live in harmony. The loss of animals such as the panda affects eco-systems in the area and has a knock-on effect for other animals.

With their cuddly appearances, pandas are highly effective at spreading goodwill. Eight of them are off by aircraft to Beijing Zoo to play their part in the Beijing Olympics. Of six pandas who went missing after the earthquake, two – Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan – are due to be given to Taiwan as a goodwill gift. The couple are key symbols of reconciliation between China and Taiwan after many years of rivalry and their names had been in a contest entered by thousands of people. People in Taiwan are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan. The two pandas had both fled after the earthquake, but ambled back to the reserve after failing to find food in the wild.

Pandas International is devoted to saving the panda through research and preservation efforts. It supports panda nature reserves in China through activities such as research, breeding programmes and veterinary care and helps in the reintroduction of pandas back into the wild. It raises money for such activities, including also habitat preservation and enhancement. It supports the China Conservation & Research Centers for the Giant Pandas at the Wolong panda reserve in the Sichuan Province, which was at the centre of the earthquake, and the Bifengxia panda reserve, Yaan City.

Wolong Panda Reserve needs help to rebuild the centre, much of which was damaged or destroyed in the earthquake. Also urgently needed are medical and veterinary supplies and food lots of it, as pandas eat a lot of bamboo and much of their supply has been destroyed in the earthquake. You can find out more about the damage caused and check for news at www.pandasinternational.org

Examples of ways you can help the panda include adopting one, on-line searches, donating money, becoming a member of Pandas International and hosting a panda party to raise money for the pandas. You can find more information on how to help at www.pandasinternational.org.

Weekend Getaways to the Texas State Capitol

By: Allen Shaw
What better way to get away from it all in the Lone Star State than to take a weekend getaway to the state capital in Austin. With fine dining, vibrant culture and a never-ending nightlife, Austin is one of the most easily accessible and inexpensive getaways in the state.
If you are into sports, Austin is the home to the Texas Longhorns. If you hope to become the next Julia Roberts, Austin could be the location where you will finally be discovered (Austin is considered the Hollywood of the Southwest). And if you are into the New York art scene but that pesky "New York" part is keeping you from letting your inner Picasso out, Austin is home to one of the Lone Star State’s most eclectic artist communities.
But the best part of Austin is, of course, the restaurants. If you are into barbecue, Italian or French cuisine…it is all part of the Austin dining experience.
Austin Culture
Austin’s official slogan is the "Live Music Capital of the World." Though the scene revolves around the many nightclubs on the world famous Sixth Street, Austin is also home to the annual film and music festival South by Southwest. The state capital is also home to the longest-running concert music program on American Television…Austin City Limits. And at the end of long night hearing some of the best music Texas has to offer, why not cap it off with some good ole fashioned Texas eatin’?
For a Chinese cuisine dining experience that will go down in the annals of your life as the best Chinese food West of Beijing, take the time to dine at Chinatown. With a choice of four main styles of regional Chinese dining, there is sure to be something there for even the most particular of fine dining connoisseurs.
Buca di Beppo is probably the best Italian dining the entire state of Texas has to offer. And the best part…"It’s meant to be shared! Whether you get the Chicken Marsala or the Fettuccine Alfredo, pass it around the table and share with the whole family.
Do you want to travel back in time to the early 20th Century? How about a trip down your grandparent’s memory lane at Judge’s Hill Restaurant & 1900 Bar? You will feel like a Golden Age actor in a dining room that feels like it was pulled directly out of the early days of the silver screen.
Austin Sports
Though Austin may be the largest city in the United States not to have a professional sports team in at least one of the big four (NFL, NBA, NHL or the MLB), sports is still a strong tourist draw for the state capital. Austin sports fans, as well as fellow Texans from across the state, enthusiastically support the Texas Longhorns football, baseball and basketball teams. And what goes better with sports than barbeque?
Austin is home to some of the best Texas barbeque in the world. The best of the best though can be found at County Line Legendary Barbeque. The roadhouse ambience lends itself well to the Texas motto when it comes to good ole fashioned Bar-B-Q…Get it all over ya!
So as you can see, taking a weekend getaway to Austin could be one of the best investments of your life. From the elegant art of New York to the live music usually associated with Nashville, Austin has it all and then some. And best of all, you will not leave the city hungry.

Outdoor Fitness Equipments

With gyms generally being harshly neon-lit, sweaty, airless boxes, blaring music from MTV, is it any wonder that although most people join them with every intention of following an exercise routine for health and fitness, they soon drop out?

But lately, gyms have been taking on a new avatar, being relocated outdoors. This means that you can begin pumping up your biceps and quadriceps once again, but this time basking in the sun, in the leafy green surroundings of a park near you.

Gym equipment manufacturers have begun producing complete outdoor fitness equipment for enhancing flexibility, agility, cardiovascular fitness and endurance, and for strengthening the upper body, lower body, abs and back. The equipment can be installed on a fitness trail, in a playground, or as a bunch of exercise stations in a park. They can be used by people of all ages, from school kids to senior citizens, and are suitable for both inner-city locations and the suburbs.

The outdoor fitness equipment is made of heavy gauge, strong steel and is designed to withstand the roughest of environments outdoors and last a long time. The equipment is very attractive, with colorful powder coated finishes, can be installed easily, and is practically maintenance free.

They also come with instructions for warming up, stretching, working out, and cooling down routines. The basic idea is for the user to move from one exercise to another, according to the instructions, thus getting a full body workout in an effective and safe way.

And even inclement weather cannot spoil an outdoor exercise regime, because rain does not have an effect on the equipment. They are safe to use even when they are wet. The inspiration for using outdoor equipment comes from China. With the Beijing Olympics approaching, the Chinese government has set up over 4,000 gyms outdoors in the last six years. While similarly, in the U.S. about 6,000 open spaces and parks have exercise equipment that can be accessed by the general public, and in Australia, over 50 percent of the parks have weather-proof, ultra-modern exercise equipment.

According to sports science professionals, an outdoor exercise regimen provides a more varied and functional workout, enhances mood, while you avoid all the smells and germs that indoor gyms have.

Here are some examples of common outdoor fitness equipment:

Horizontal Bars

This is used for pull-ups or chin-ups, which is one of the basic exercises for strengthening the upper body. They can be used for many other types of exercises as well, such as stretching the arms and shoulders, hanging leg-lifts which tone up the muscles in the abdomen, or just dangling by the arms, which helps to align the spine and provides a lower back stretch, which is very beneficial.

Sitting Rotator

This device has three rotating seats that swivel, which helps to stretch the internal and external muscles in the abdomen. It also serves to strengthen the lower back by aligning the spine.

Sit-up Board

This is used for sit-up exercises which target the abdominal muscles primarily, although they also are beneficial for flexor muscles of the upper thighs and hips.

Leg Press Machine

Since it involves some the most major muscles of the body, the leg press is considered one of the most important exercises. Adjustable for different resistance levels, the machine primarily targets the gluteal muscles and the quadriceps.

Climber

This is akin to a climbing wall, with strengthening pulls and hand holds.

Strength & Stretch Bars

This apparatus helps to develop shoulder and arm strength with various pushing and pulling exercises. It has five bars which are set at various heights in order to provide different levels of resistance.

Potential boycott of Beijing Olympics as Chinese troops kill Tibetan protesters

In 1980, the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Summer Olympics because of the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and its killing of Afghan people who fought back. Now there’s talk of boycotting the Beijing Summer Olympics because China, occupiers of Tibet for the past half-century, is killing Tibetans who are fighting back. Cue the “Twilight Zone” music here. Is this deja vu all over again?

Recently Americans got two messages about attending the 2008 Summer Olympics. One, from President Bush, assures citizens that it is OK to go, because, in his infinite wisdom, he says it is all about athletes, not politics. I guess murdering Tibetans by brutal military occupiers is considered just plain old everyday politics as usual to our sports-loving President.

The other message came from the U.S. State Department. It warned Americans who plan to go to the Beijing Olympics to be aware that their hotel rooms, athlete quarters, offices and other areas could be bugged by Chinese authorities. Do I hear the “Twilight Zone” theme again? Additionally, the warning reminded attendees that there could be the potential danger of terrorist attacks and street demonstrations protesting China’s occupation and deadly crackdown in Tibet.

Well, gee whiz, little old problems like those shouldn’t bother American sports fans who’ll spend many millions in devalued dollars to travel to China. Much worse things could happen to them at a Philly Flyers ice hockey game and/or in the parking lot outside what used to be the F.U. Stadium (for First Union, of course), now Wachovia Center.

Most Americans are barely aware of, or don’t particularly give a damn what the Chinese Communist government is doing to its unwilling Tibetan subjects. That’s sad enough, but before they buy tickets to Beijing, they should talk to their dads and granddads who served in the U.S. Armed Forces in Korea and Vietnam. Maybe more importantly, they should consult relatives, neighbors and friends who lost loved ones in those conflicts. Those Americans, totalling more than 100,000, were likely killed by “volunteer” Chinese soldiers and war equipment provided by the same hate-America-but-loves-America n-dollars Communist regime that still rules China.

If potential Olympics attendees don’t want to go so far as to cancel their travel plans, maybe they can stage a mild boycott before they go to show their disapproval of the killings in Tibet. For instance, they could stop buying Chinese made goods sold in America. Oops! On second thought, I guess not. Who wants to bankrupt Wal-Mart, Sears, J.C. Penney and K-Mart, and maybe deny our little kiddies their lethal lead-painted toys next Christmas?

Of course, if there’s a retail boycott against Chinese goods, American toy and clothing manufacturers could meet the demand. What did you say? Wait just a doggone minute! Are you telling me all those American manufacturers went broke years ago trying to compete with cheap Chinese products made by underpaid child labor? If all of this shocks you, don’t even try to protest. Because if you phoned any of the U.S. stores now loaded down almost entirely with Chinese goods, your call would probably be answered in China or India.

The Basic cooking techniques Of China Sichuan Cuisine

Sichuan Cuisine, known more commonly in the West as “Szechuan,” is one of the most famous Chinese cuisines in the world. Characterized by its spicy and pungent flavors, Sichuan cuisine, with a myriad of tastes, emphasizes the use of chili. Pepper and prickly ash are always in accompaniment, producing the typical exciting tastes. Garlic, ginger and fermented soybean are also used in the cooking process. Wild vegetables and meats such as are often chosen as ingredients, while frying, frying without oil, pickling and braising are used as basic cooking techniques.

It can be said that one who doesn’t experience Sichuan food has never reached China.

Typical menu items: Hot Pot; Smoked Duck; Kung Pao Chicken; Water-Boiled Fish; Tasty and Spicy Crab; Twice Cooked Pork; Mapo Tofu

Hope the above menu food names don’t confuse you, because it’s really hard to accomplish a perfect English version menu for Sichuan Cuisine

This has been a headache for the Beijing government. Olympic Game 2008 will soon to come. Many foreigners will flow to China and come to Chinese restaurant. When they choose a Sichuan cuisine restaurant and began to see the menu, some of them may be shocked by the “horrable” food name and fleek away.

See some of these absode name now available in some of the Sichuan restarant:

Manand Wife Lung Slice

Slobbering Chicken

Chicken Without Sexual Life

So funny to the last one. Actually these are all tasty food and beverage known to the Chinese. But they really need a better name.

Among the eight major cuisines of China, Sichuan Cuisine is the most popular.

Sichuan dish is good at agile exertion and specific managing according to material, climate and the diners’ requests. More that 30 methods of cooking are included — stir fry, sauté, deep fry, grill, preserve, bittern, bake and pickle.

As the production develops and economy prospers, Sichuan absorbs the strength of northern and southern food to form a fusion between a northern dish with Sichuan style and a southern dish with Sichuan taste. It is complemented as “Food in China, taste in Sichuan.”

Sichuan concentrates on the changing of taste, which differs in thickness and heaviness. You can not make a Sichuan dish without chili, prickly ash and pepper. Chili, for example, can be used in various ways. Sometimes it can be the main ingredient, or sometimes it can be a secondary ingredient used for seasoning. The taste of Sichuan can differ largely according to climate and the diner’s personal tastes. For instance, the hotness is quite rich in winter and spring because the weather is cold. However the hotness should be reduced by 30% in summer and autumn due to the warm and dry weather. The taste of Sichuan is very delicate and flexible. Therefore, Sichuan is famous for its rich, thick and heavy flavor in addition to its lightness. People who have eaten Sichuan keep praising it and can not forget the beautiful experience.

3 Characteristics of Sichuan Cuisine

Sichuan Cuisine traces back to the ancient Ba Kingdom (modern Chongqing) and Shu Kingdom (modern Chengdu) and is remarkable for its oily and hot taste . This is due to the foggy , cloudy and damp climate in the Sichuan Basin . Hot food is useful for dispersing dampness . Sichuan folks are keen for hot oxen’s giblet pot , hot beancurd and other hot foods .

Another characteristic of the Chuan cuisine is its preparation of different dishes with the same raw material . With a piece of half-fat , half-lean pork , Sichuan cooks can prepare a number of different dishes with different flavors , such as salted-fried pork slices , re-cooked pork slices , sweet and hot shredded pork , fried pork cubes , sliced pork cooked with rice crust , sweet steamed pork chunks , salty steamed pork chunks , pork steamed with ground glutinous rice , white cut hot pork ,etc.

The third characteristic of the Sichuan cuisine is the tasty snacks , including hot ox-head meat , spiced chicken , tea-stewed ducking , marinated rabbit meat , pickled vegetables , dumplings , eight-treasure rice puddings ,etc.

Learn to cook yourself

Many travelers know Sichuan cuisine for its “hot and spicy” flavors or a few of its most famous dishes, but that is only the beginning.Sichuan cuisine is legendary in China for its sophistication and diversity.the regional cuisine boasts 5,000 different dishes.

Sichuan cuisine has enjoyed a worldwide reputation. However, most people immediately think of Sichuan food soon after it is mentioned as a hot or spicy food.It is undear how the red pepper was introduced to Sichuan. You may wonder why the red pepper is so popular. Here is a common explanation.Sichuan has a humid climate that encourages people to eat strongly spiced foods.the red pepper may help reduce internal dampness. Some kitchenware used in cooking sichuan food is also different from others.

Sichuan pepper is another important daily use ingredient in Sichuan cooking.It is known as huajiao(flower pepper).It is the Chinese pepper, and it looks like a reddish brown fruit.the peppercorn comes from the prickly ash tree.the pepper flower creates a most sudden numbing effect on one`s tongue.

Sichuan cuisine so carefully balances color,smell,flavor, shape and nutrition that its dishes not only look pleasant and appealing,bu also nutritious.In Sichuan recipes there are several hundred popular dishes.Sichuan cuisine is able to prduce 100 different flavored dishes!Besides, Sichuan cooks provide dishes that are intentionally toned down for tourists at home and abroad. they have no difficulty in getting Sichuan food that suits their tastes whether it’s in a banquet, outstanding lunches,dinners,or snacks

China Sichuan Cuisine for People Who Like Spicy Food

Sichuan Cuisine, known more commonly in the West as “Szechuan,” is one of the most famous Chinese cuisines in the world. Characterized by its spicy and pungent flavors, Sichuan cuisine, with a myriad of tastes, emphasizes the use of chili. Pepper and prickly ash are always in accompaniment, producing the typical exciting tastes. Garlic, ginger and fermented soybean are also used in the cooking process. Wild vegetables and meats such as are often chosen as ingredients, while frying, frying without oil, pickling and braising are used as basic cooking techniques.

It can be said that one who doesn’t experience Sichuan food has never reached China.

Typical menu items: Hot Pot; Smoked Duck; Kung Pao Chicken; Water-Boiled Fish; Tasty and Spicy Crab; Twice Cooked Pork; Mapo Tofu

Hope the above menu food names don’t confuse you, because it’s really hard to accomplish a perfect English version menu for Sichuan Cuisine

This has been a headache for the Beijing government. Olympic Game 2008 will soon to come. Many foreigners will flow to China and come to Chinese restaurant. When they choose a Sichuan cuisine restaurant and began to see the menu, some of them may be shocked by the “horrable” food name and fleek away.

See some of these absode name now available in some of the Sichuan restarant:

Manand Wife Lung Slice

Slobbering Chicken

Chicken Without Sexual Life

So funny to the last one. Actually these are all tasty food and beverage known to the Chinese. But they really need a better name.

Among the eight major cuisines of China, Sichuan Cuisine is the most popular.

Sichuan dish is good at agile exertion and specific managing according to material, climate and the diners’ requests. More that 30 methods of cooking are included — stir fry, sauté, deep fry, grill, preserve, bittern, bake and pickle.

As the production develops and economy prospers, Sichuan absorbs the strength of northern and southern food to form a fusion between a northern dish with Sichuan style and a southern dish with Sichuan taste. It is complemented as “Food in China, taste in Sichuan.”

Sichuan concentrates on the changing of taste, which differs in thickness and heaviness. You can not make a Sichuan dish without chili, prickly ash and pepper. Chili, for example, can be used in various ways. Sometimes it can be the main ingredient, or sometimes it can be a secondary ingredient used for seasoning. The taste of Sichuan can differ largely according to climate and the diner’s personal tastes. For instance, the hotness is quite rich in winter and spring because the weather is cold. However the hotness should be reduced by 30% in summer and autumn due to the warm and dry weather. The taste of Sichuan is very delicate and flexible. Therefore, Sichuan is famous for its rich, thick and heavy flavor in addition to its lightness. People who have eaten Sichuan keep praising it and can not forget the beautiful experience.

3 Characteristics of Sichuan Cuisine

Sichuan Cuisine traces back to the ancient Ba Kingdom (modern Chongqing) and Shu Kingdom (modern Chengdu) and is remarkable for its oily and hot taste . This is due to the foggy , cloudy and damp climate in the Sichuan Basin . Hot food is useful for dispersing dampness . Sichuan folks are keen for hot oxen’s giblet pot , hot beancurd and other hot foods .

Another characteristic of the Chuan cuisine is its preparation of different dishes with the same raw material . With a piece of half-fat , half-lean pork , Sichuan cooks can prepare a number of different dishes with different flavors , such as salted-fried pork slices , re-cooked pork slices , sweet and hot shredded pork , fried pork cubes , sliced pork cooked with rice crust , sweet steamed pork chunks , salty steamed pork chunks , pork steamed with ground glutinous rice , white cut hot pork ,etc.

The third characteristic of the Sichuan cuisine is the tasty snacks , including hot ox-head meat , spiced chicken , tea-stewed ducking , marinated rabbit meat , pickled vegetables , dumplings , eight-treasure rice puddings ,etc.

Learn to cook yourself

Many travelers know Sichuan cuisine for its “hot and spicy” flavors or a few of its most famous dishes, but that is only the beginning.Sichuan cuisine is legendary in China for its sophistication and diversity.the regional cuisine boasts 5,000 different dishes.

Sichuan cuisine has enjoyed a worldwide reputation. However, most people immediately think of Sichuan food soon after it is mentioned as a hot or spicy food.It is undear how the red pepper was introduced to Sichuan. You may wonder why the red pepper is so popular. Here is a common explanation.Sichuan has a humid climate that encourages people to eat strongly spiced foods.the red pepper may help reduce internal dampness. Some kitchenware used in cooking sichuan food is also different from others.

Sichuan pepper is another important daily use ingredient in Sichuan cooking.It is known as huajiao(flower pepper).It is the Chinese pepper, and it looks like a reddish brown fruit.the peppercorn comes from the prickly ash tree.the pepper flower creates a most sudden numbing effect on one`s tongue.

Sichuan cuisine so carefully balances color,smell,flavor, shape and nutrition that its dishes not only look pleasant and appealing,bu also nutritious.In Sichuan recipes there are several hundred popular dishes.Sichuan cuisine is able to prduce 100 different flavored dishes!Besides, Sichuan cooks provide dishes that are intentionally toned down for tourists at home and abroad. they have no difficulty in getting Sichuan food that suits their tastes whether it`s in a banquet,outstanding lunches,dinners,or snacks

Some Reflections on Bob Woodruff’s China White Wash

“So near to the truth, yet so far.”  That’s the feeling I came away with after watching Bob Woodruff’s recent China Inside Out documentary for ABC news.  It’s regrettable that a journalist of such a high caliber as Woodruff can get so close to a story and not really see it — while helping to perpetuate a number of dangerous myths about China.

 

Woodruff’s approach seemed very promising at first.  He went to four different continents and countries in order to assess the global impacts of China, the countries being Angola, Brazil, Cambodia, and the United States.

The Angolan segment highlighted China’s economic development model in Africa.  The myth perpetrated in this segment is that the development has actually provided a net benefit to the people of Africa.

In fact, the real truth China is practicing a very sophisticated 21st century version of imperialism in which China loans African countries billions of dollars in exchange for encumbering natural resources.  These resources range from oil and natural gas to copper, cobalt, and titanium.  As part of its debt encumbrance strategy, China gets to reduce its unemployment rate by using a large Chinese construction workforce to actually do the work – rather than relying so much on the native population.

In this segment, Woodruff makes repeated references to corruption.  However, in a glaring omission, he fails to make explicit just how much of the billions in Chinese aid is actually siphoned off into offshore bank accounts held by the African elites.  Nor does Woodruff highlight the intense poverty in the countriesChina is supposed to be “benefiting” — other than offering a few images of slums.

That said, the absolute worst omission of the African segment is Woodruff’s failure to mention the Darfur genocide in the Sudan.  Instead, the only thing we get is a passing reference to Chinese aid to the Sudan in exchange for oil.  In fact,China regularly trades its veto power at the UN for African resources in exchange for shielding African despots from UN interventions.

What made Woodruff’s omission all the more galling is that Woodruff did an extensive interview with China’s United Nations Ambassador Wang Guangya.  This is the same reprehensible “diplomat” who has repeatedly blocked UN action on Darfur.  (Wang also has blocked action following the sham Zimbabwe election and the attempts of the West to sanction Iran for its nuclear development).    The failure to confront Wang on the Darfur question was tantamount to appeasement — or, far worse, simple ignorance.

Woodruff’s omissions were equally in evidence in his Brazil segment.  The theme Woodruff drew here is that China’s increasing consumption for soybeans is leading to deforestation of the Amazon and potential environmental problems.  The biggest problems with this segment were a lack of visual imagery to portray the destruction of the Amazon, and the lack of science and statistics to explain how deforestation in the Amazon is likely to affect the global environment and crop production.

In fact, most of the Amazon’s deforestation occurs during the dry season in an orchestrated slash and burn campaign that fouls the skies throughout South America.  Showing that massive environmental carnage — instead of a few big trees being felled — would have made for a far stronger presentation.  Missing, too, was any good explanation of why we should care about the Amazon.  In fact, theAmazon River basin and its rainforest are absolutely critical to the global ecology because they are considered to be the “Lungs of our Planet.”  By recycling carbon dioxide, the rainforest in particular provides more than 20 percent of the world’s oxygen.

Already, more than 20% of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed while the World Wildlife Fund warns that more than half of the forest will be gone by 2030.   According to many scientists, this destruction of the rainforest has the potential to create severe drought conditions not just in South America but also as far north as the American and Canadian farm belts.  The result may well be a global food crisis — high irony indeed given that the destruction of the Amazon rain forest is occurring in the name of increased food production.

Turning to the third segment on Cambodia, Woodruff does a good job tagging the Chinese with at least some responsibility for the Khmer Rouge genocide of millions.  Missing in this segment, however, was any insight into the real reason why China is setting up so many sweat shops in Cambodia.  Too bad Woodruff didn’t get his cameras into some of these sweat shops to expose the slave labor conditions!

My other big beef with the Cambodian segment was the failure of Woodruff to mention how China is using its upstream positioning on the Mekong River to dam that river with bullying impunity.  China’s dam-happy Mekong River design will eventually include 15 mega-dams.  These mega-dams are likely to create economic and environmental effects that are vast and far-ranging — and Cambodiais at the front lines of this onslaught.

To understand the problem, consider the impacts of China’s dams on one of the world’s most fascinating ecological treasures, the legendary Lake Tonle Sap in Cambodia. For much of the year, the lake is only a yard deep with a footprint of only a bit more than 1,000 square miles. During the rainy season, however, flow from the Mekong River helps deepen the lake to roughly 30 feet and increases the area of the lake more than five-fold. This turns Lake Tonle Sap into one of the best breeding grounds for fish in the world.

The obvious problem facing the Tonle Sap is that the China’s mega-dams are evening out the flow of water and thereby preventing the world’s most fertile natural fishery from realizing its full depth and breadth in the critical fish breeding season. Already, fish catches have declined dramatically.  This is already having a significant negative effect on Cambodia’s fishing economy.

Woodruff clearly saved the worst for last in his discussion of the impacts of Chinaon the American economy. He leads off the segment by helping to perpetuate the myth that China’s emergence as the world’s factory floor is the result of cheap, hard-working labor.  (The mouthpiece here is Evan Osnos, Beijing Bureau Chief for the Chicago Tribune — an otherwise cogent voice.)

In fact, my research has clearly shown that cheap labor is only a small part of the China puzzle.  Much of China’s advantage in world markets comes from five unfair mercantilist trade practices that include a complex web of illegal export subsidies, blatant currency manipulation, counterfeiting and piracy that lowers production costs, and lax environmental and health and safety standards that likewise lower production costs.

That China blatantly manipulates its currency seems to be totally lost on both Woodruff and the seemingly clueless Fareed Zakaria.  Indeed, it is Zakaria who helps perpetuate the myth that the Chinese are more frugal savers than American consumers and that’s why China helps the U.S. with its debt by buying U.S.treasury bills.

Note to Woodruff and Zakaria: The purchase of U.S. treasury bills is an integral part of the currency manipulation process.  To maintain China’s fixed peg to the dollar and keep the yuan grossly undervalued, China must recycle dollars back into the U.S.   Of course, individual Chinese citizens have no say in this matter; rather they are merely press-ganged into their frugality by China’s central bank — which wants to keep exports to the U.S. cheap and imports into China dear.  (It’s no accident the U.S. trade deficit regularly hits record highs.)

The failure of Zakaria to understand this currency manipulation process (and the broader role of unfair trade practices in China’s grab of American markets) makes it perfectly understandable why Zakaria ignorantly advises that the U.S. has only two options  with China: “either ride the wave or drown in it.”  In fact, what theU.S. government should be doing to prevent the loss of American jobs is cracking down on China’s unfair trade practices.  Leveling the playing field would go a long way towards bringing jobs back to the U.S.

On that note, it is useful to point out perhaps the biggest myth of the documentary – one perpetuated by none other than Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York.  His Honor piously insists that “the jobs that [China] is creating are low-priced jobs” and “that’s not the kind of jobs we want for our citizens.”

Note to the Mayor: While you’ve apparently been sleeping, China has moved steadily up and across the value chain into everything from autos and biopharma to commercial aircraft.  It’s not just about cheap toys and sneakers anymore.

My bottom line is that I would love to see an in-depth, fair and balanced critical look at the economic, environmental, military, political, and social impacts of China on rest of the world.  All that we have gotten so far from TV is a bunch of puff pieces that miss many of the major points and keep perpetuate a set of very dangerous myths.

©2008 Peter Navarro

Author Bio
Peter Navarro a business professor at the University of California-Irvine, is the author of the best- selling investment book If It’s Raining in Brazil, Buy Starbucks and the path-breaking management book, The Well-Timed Strategy. Professor Navarro is a widely sought after and gifted public speaker and a regular CNBC contributor. Prior to joining CNBC, he appeared frequently on Bloomberg TV, CNN, and NPR, as well as on all three major network news shows. He has testified before Congress and the U.S.-China Commission and his work has appeared in publications ranging from Business Week, the L.A. Times, and New York Times to the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Harvard Business Review.

 

Ten Reasons To Start Learning Chinese

Ten reasons to start learning Chinese

1. Chinese, is one of the Sino-Tibetan languages, or more accurately it is a group of different dialects of which Mandarin (Putonghua) is one. Taken together there are more native speakers of Chinese than any other language. To put this in perspective there are approximately 915 million speakers of Mandarin (without including any of the other dialects such as Cantonese), compared to Spanish, the fourth most widely spoken language in the world with around 400 million speakers.

2. You don’t have to learn Chinese characters to learn to speak Chinese. Pinyin is a method of writing Chinese in the roman alphabet. Hanyu pinyin spells the sound, and includes tone marks to help give the correct pronunciation.

3. Chinese literature. The dialects are not mutually intelligible but the written language is shared between them all. Although you do not need to learn to read Chinese characters to speak the language, by doing so you open the door to an enormously diverse and rich literature. In fact, the earliest record of writing was in Chinese characters although very different in form from modern characters (of which there are many thousand).

3. The Chinese economy is the fastest growing economy in the world, and so in the work environment even speaking a little Chinese will give you a competitive edge, if your company invests in China or is considering doing so.

4. Language and culture are linked and learning something of the Chinese language will help give an appreciation of the cultural heritage of China.

5. China is accessible to the foreign visitor in a way that it has not been in the past and travel to and within China is becoming easier, but to make the most of this opportunity for travel, language at a basic level is important. Mandarin is spoken throughout China.

7. China is becoming increasingly important in the world and may be the dominant economic power in the not so distant future.

8. Food. You can eat in the tourist restaurants in hotels but if you want to see more of China it is more better to try the food and experience the culture in local restaurants.

9. In 2008 the Olympics are being held in Beijing. In 2008 many foreign visitors will descend on China to watch the Olympics. It is an ideal opportunity, if you are lucky enough to be going, to stand out from the crowd by being one of the few who has learnt at least a few words of Mandarin.

10. Like any other language, it is possible to learn a few words and phrases in Mandarin, enough to be polite without spending years in further education. Linguata would help.

Touring China in the winter: Ice and Snow festival showcase

Even though China is well known for its historical, cultural and architectural heritage, tourists still get to enjoy the best of China even in winter. A number of tourist operators in China organize winter tours for tourists who love experiencing the ice and snow festival which China celebrates. Harbin’s Ice and Snow festival is one of the greatest tourist attractions in northern China as the multicolored lanterns and snow carvings and sculptures are a major sight to see during a typical Ice festival in Harbin. Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province is a quiet village in the North of China, which is popular for celebrating the Ice and Snow festival. Walking on the streets of Harbin gives you a warm feeling because the people love talking about the chilliness of city.
The Ice Lantern festival normally takes place between early January and mid February. If you plan to tour China during this time of the year, this is a great time to take pleasure in great fruits and wisdom. The city exhibits its neat ice and snow sculptures and carvings on the frozen rivers. During the festival, famous monuments like cathedrals, pyramids, legendary figures and animals are carved out of ice in enormous sizes. The cold yet warm festival is a grand celebration of Peace and Friendship. The festival is described as warm even in the cold because its natives say the colder it gets, the happier they become.

Ice Lantern Park touring activities includes the ice lantern exhibition held in Zhaolin Park, the Yabuli alpine skiing as well as winter swimming in Songhua River. The Harbin Ice and Snow World continue to showcase large buildings and structures but ice carvings like life-sized horses are sometimes displayed. A typical ice carving of a life sized horse is carved from a single block of ice, which is a fusion of many ice blocks. These structures when sculptured are lit by exterior spotlights below the sculptures.
One of the previous key attractions of the ice festival in Harbin was an ice sculpture of the Great Wall of China which doubled as a long ice slide. As the event progressed from year to year, the tourists and enthusiasts developed and created more enormous ice sculptures of popular landmarks and monuments in China.
Attending the ice festival on its opening night is an unforgettable souvenir one because the explosion of the fireworks over the ice sculptures is a wonderful sight to see. An interesting thing about the fireworks in the ice festival is that unlike most fireworks which build to a climax, the fireworks is displayed on a foreground with four flights of ice stairs leading to another ice stairs of about ten to twelve meters high serving as the centerpiece to the festival grounds.
One of the public attractions during the Harbin Ice festival is the wall of ice that people try to climb during the events but as years go by, the number of people who were able to perform this activity decreased as the sculpted wall of ice became steeper. This winter season will be something to look forward to, as Harbin welcomes tourists and ice sculptors around to experience its annual ice lantern festival.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit Passport to China Tours.

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