Lan兰州zhou
A site about a surprisingly multifaceted and unsurprisingly polluted city in western China called Lanzhou.
Washington Post Features “Lanzhou New Area,” and it isn’t Pretty
The Washington Post featured a scathing front page article attacking Lanzhou New Area on Sunday; it uses the development project as a symbol for much of the Chinese government’s rapid infrastructure development, which has been funded by astronomically large loans. This blog has discussed the New Area, along with the New District, in previous posts, along with giving a firsthand account, but none have been this critical.The Post cites several economists working within China, which it deserves credit for, although the snap judgements about Lanzhou New Area not having the “sense” of being a commercially viable area could be left out. Either way, a disturbing and foreboding read.
The Dramatic Landscape of China’s Gansu Province (The Atlantic)
The landscape of Gansu Province finally getting some much deserved attention!(Outside of China, that is). Although am I the only one who finds it odd there isn’t a single Dunhuang Caves photo featured here?
“This is where China’s future will be decided”
(October 16 article on Lanzhou) Not sure how I feel about this Washington Post blogger’s sweeping generalizations (after apparently visiting the city for a couple days and walking around outside once) that people in Lanzhou aren’t spending money…they are. Have you been into one of the 1000rmb/hour KTVs here? That are full, all the time? Have you seen the Porsche SUVs on the street? Have you seen how many people have new iPhone 6s? That being said, I fully support his idea that: “China has not built what it needs today, but what it will need tomorrow. That is not hard to figure out when you have an economy of 1.3 billion people growing this fast. The answer is always ‘more.’” In Lanzhou, or at least in the Lanzhou area, largely due to the two new economic zones (one receiving city support, one receiving national support), this is more apparent than ever.
Exposure to air pollution linked to birth defects in Chinese city
This article from environmentalresearchweb.org focuses specifically on Lanzhou - very scary stuff.
High Speed Rail and The New Lanzhou West Station (i.e. it now takes 8 hours to get from Lanzhou to Urumqi, i.e. China is ridiculous)
On December 25, the new Lanzhou West Railway station opened - granted, some of the escalators and parking lots aren’t on yet, the surrounding area is a construction shit show, and there are still (or permanently?) still troops doing marches through the station, it opened! Moreover, the high speed trains are pretty snazzy - see huge amount of leg room, even in 二等座, well-kept bathrooms, and announcements in four languages (Chinese, English, Tibetan and Arabic - sidenote, the English is actually my voice - no joke, English speakers in Lanzhou really are a rarity). In addition to the convenient trip to Urumqi, it now takes 1 hour 14 minutes to get to Xining, Qinghai Province! (previously 2 ½ hours on a smelly train coming from Beijing or Shanghai). These trains are fast! And they aren’t smelly! (yet). Could northeast China really be joining the developed eastern and southern coasts? Considering the Ticket windows (see above) have no “line bars” for keeping people standing in line, I’d say the government’s expectations are REALLY high.
LANZHOU IS GETTING A STARBUCKS…and also a new mall called 万达广场 with a bunch of other fancy stores
Lanzhou’s day has finally arrived…we’re getting a Starbuck. It’s inside the brand new 万达广场, a sleek, curve-filled airport-style mall with other popular international stores like Uniqlo and Sephora (which has actually had its share of Chinese problems lately), along with an authorized Apple seller and so so so many bag stores (there’s an Adidas store which sells ONLY Adidas bags! I didn’t even know Adidas HAD more than like, one standard duffle bag. Manpurses is the only way I can explain this phenomenon). All this proves that Lanzhou has a thriving and ready-to-spend-its-RMB upper-middle class (the upper-upper class Gucci and Burberry stores are old news).
As for the Starbucks…it hasn’t officially opened yet; right now the city “coffee market” (I guess that’s what you call nouveau riche Chinese ordering mochas and green tea lattes as an excuse to sit in fancy places and play with their phones for several hours) is dominated by “501 Coffee” and the Korean chain “Caffe Bene” (who actually have a very popular outlet in 万达广场)…too bad all that is about to CHANGE when 星巴克 opens….because if I know one thing, I know Chinese love the 星巴克…ALMOST as much as America.
And As for 万达广场, Americans will be happy/amused/horrified to learn they had a Black Friday type “Carnival,” where they gave out iphone 6’s and jugs of soybean oil. China’s still China.
兰州新区 Lanzhou New District (Part 2 of…)
A follow-up to my write-up on the Lanzhou “New’s” - could it be over a year ago? - An actual visit! Lanzhou New District (or Lanzhou New Area - which translation is better, do we think?), which is right next to the Lanzhou airport and about an hour outside Lanzhou proper, is a city of extremes: new, tall, big, wide, sparse = most of the newly constructed “新区”. Old, short, small, narrow, and crowded = most of the already existing towns (which used to have their own names, but are now usually referred to by their own residents as just another part of the “新区“). Are these people worried their “院子 style” houses, truck repair shops and country roads are going to be demolished? Most I talked to seemed to be just fine with the idea that their once cheap, out of the way dry land may be desired (i.e. well compensated for by) the government. Until then, they’re just biding their time - repairing construction trucks, running unofficial taxis and providing perishables for the thousands of construction workers.
One of the biggest projects, aside from the mostly empty (yet still policed?) parks, and blocks and blocks of new (mostly still unoccupied) apartments and “villas” (huge “mansions” pretty much identical to these) is the new power plant/factory that will open next year, so locals say. You say the Chinese economy has slowed down recently? Tell these people, they don’t seem to know.
Donkeys and Sheep - welcome to Northwest China
Two Northwest China staples I’m (shamefully! Shockingly!) just getting around to…number one: Donkey（驴肉), or in this case, “驴肉盖饭” (Rice covered with Donkey meat). Now, you may look at these first two pictures and see mostly rice noodles (米线), potato, sauce and green onions, with a bit of meat somewhere in there (at 18元, about $3, turns out donkey meat is actually pretty expensive). This isn’t America, so the meat doesn’t come in huge steak form…you just get a few slices thrown in for flavor. But flavor it HAS…very distinct, almost like venison? Comes with rice, and in my case, beer and a cilantro pepper salad.
Number two: 牛肉泡馍 (beef and soaked bread). Ok, this translation doesn’t sound so appetizing, but this is an incredibly hearty northern dish eaten from 陕西 (Shaanxi) to 青海 (Qinghai) and all provinces in between (OK there are actually only 2 in between). This dish is traditionally made with lamb, but I opted for the beef version and wasn’t disappointed: it’s a very thick, hearty broth (think authentic Ramen in Los Angeles, or OK, Japan for fancy people), with rice noodles, 青菜 (greens – sort of like Bok Choy), some very tender slices of meat, and two torn pieces of 饼 (I’m going with “round bread” on this). Best part? If the place is “authentic” (alternately “lazy,” depending on your viewpoint), they first give you the bowl with two breads in it and let you to tear it yourself. Apparently this way you can get just the right size to your liking. When eating, you’re supposed to alternate: sip of soup, piece of drenched bread, sip of soup, etc. At 23元 (about $4), the price can’t compare to a 6元 bowl of Lanzhou pulled noodles. But being delicious, hearty, NOT low calorie…this could get you through the whole winter, people. It may just be my plan.
PS-Note about the south, glad to see no more violence or force, yet anyway.
Women’s Rights and Celebrity SCANDAL at the Golden Rooster Film Festival (金鸡百花电影节)
The 32nd Annual Golden Rooster/Hundred Flowers Film Festival was held in scenic Lanzhou this year (does that red carpet look a little low-budget? Well this isn’t Beijing people) – the award, actually a statue of a golden rooster (albeit a sleek one), was started in 1981, the year of the Rooster, and has been held annually in cities throughout China ever since. The Hundred Flowers, a festival in which people all over China can vote for their favorite movies and actors, was actually started in 1962 (see winner “The Red Detachment of Women” 红色娘子兵, actually a pretty good movie about hardcore female revolutionary soldiers, and the awesomeness of Communism, obviously), then mysteriously stopped from 1964-79, a period which exactly coincides with that of the Cultural Revolution, huh (and was this award name a take on the Hundred Flowers Movement, i.e. the period in 1956 when scholars and artists were encouraged to express criticism of Mao and the Communist regime only to be brutally repressed? Ironic award show names…I like it). Anyway, the Golden Rooster/Hundred Flowers combo happened in 1992, which is why half the news sites confusingly call it the “23rd annual” (in-depth background research courtesy of Wikipedia).
Onto the only reason anyone in Lanzhou cares about this…the celebrities! Hot female actor/director Zhao Wei won “Best Director,” which no one seems to be making a big deal of here (gender equality totally solved in China? I mean no, but still), Wong Kar Wai’s “The Grandmaster” 《一代宗师》 won best picture, and Huang Xiaoming won best Male Performer. Huang is seen above dancing with Zhao Wei at the awards, which the Chinese celebrity blogs ATE UP, thinking his singer/actor girlfriend “Angela Baby” must be JEALOUS! Well blogs, sorry, but 37 year-old Huang is obviously not going to be interested in old lady Zhao (she’s 38). Angela Baby, on the other hand, is a VERY MATURE 25 (clearly demonstrated by her self-chosen name). The rest of the winners are listed here.
The new 中秋节
Autumn Festival (中秋节), which falls on the 15th day of the 8th Lunar month, or Sept, 8 this year, is traditionally celebrated with mooncakes (月饼) and “watching the moon” with family. But nowadays, with the government and most businesses only designating a single day off work, it’s become a day to celebrate…what else? Capitalism! See example A: an “Autumn Festival” gift given by a Lanzhou private school to its teachers (who didn’t even get the day off). The brochure includes a message from the school’s founder, then provides a catalog of modern, designer home and beauty items. Recipients go to the gift company’s website, pick an item, then fill in their information and receive the item via express delivery service, all free of charge. Items include: a knife set (!), perfume bottle, razor, juicer, vitamins apparently used by Yao Ming, and much more. Isn’t that better than spending time with family?