This is Beijing-Beijing English blog

Curious how swimming sensation Michael Phelps was able to grab eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympic Games? The National Aquatic Center has opened one of its swimming pools to let the public swim like an Olympian.

Since Saturday, hundreds of water lovers from home and abroad have jumped into the warm-up pool at the center, dubbed the Water Cube for its unique blue bubble design.

“The water is much warmer than other public indoor pools and it tasted like purified water,” Jiang Yinghui, a middle-aged woman from Beijing, told China Daily after getting out of the pool yesterday.

Swimmers at the Water Cube broke 25 world records during the 2008 Olympics and the pool here is believed by many to be the fastest Olympic pool in the world. Some reports also said the pool water was so clean swimmers could drink it.

Jiang said she did take a sip of the water in the pool but felt she swam a little faster.

“It is much easier to float on the water here,” she said.

The warm-up pool is a standard competition pool: 50 m long, 25 m wide and 2 m deep. It can hold about 100 people at the same time.

Every swimmer must get a health check and a deep-water certificate before entering the pool for safety reasons, and all these services are available at the place, center management said.

Naja Bluner from Switzerland came up with the idea to swim at the Water Cube when visiting the Olympic Green yesterday. She bought her swimwear, and went through the health check and deep-water swimming test quickly.

“It is very convenient and the staff are really helpful,” she said.

Travelers Claudio Saldano and Eraciela Calzolari from Uruguay were amazed by the Olympic venue.

“It is so nice and we saw it many times on TV last year,” Saldano said. “We love swimming and swim three times a week at home. We are so impressed by the Beijing Olympic venues and decided we must visit here this year.”

This architectural landmark, open for public visits since last October, has become one of the top travel destinations in Beijing. According to the marketing plan, it will become a comprehensive aquatic sports center with swimming, diving and entertainment programs, the center’s manager Zhao Zhixiong said.

Large-scale interior reconstruction will start in October and next summer people will see a new Water Cube, he added.

The pool will be open Thursday to Sunday from 2 pm to 7 pm until October. The entrance fee is 50 yuan ($7) for two hours.

Liu Xiang (R) attends a group discussion during the ongoing National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing on Wednesday.

Although he was elected as a member of the CPPCC last year, it is Liu’s debut at the conference – albeit one week late because he just flew back from Huston after three months because of surgery and rehabilitation in the United States due to a foot injury.

Surrounded by the expectant media outside the meeting hall where members of the sports field would join in a group discussion, the former Olympic champion and world record holder said he was a bit of nervous as a newcomer to the conference.

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The No.1 water bar at Qianmen began to service the customer. It is the first water bar at Qianmen which sell sofe drick like coke, etc.

Today is the International Women’s day, so let us give more attention to the women. Expecially to those beauty attentent and jounalist for the CPC and CPPCC as they also make their contribution to the country.

Education in Beijing is least satisfactory in the country as it fails to maintain fairness, according to a recent survey.

Ji’an in Jiangxi province ranks No. 1 in overall assessment of public education, followed by Hangzhou and Nanchang, said the recently-released 2009 Development report of China’s Education.

Taiyuan, Kunming and Beijing figure on the bottom of the list.

The annual report, produced and released by the 21st Century Education Research Academy, has been evaluating public education satisfaction since 2003.

The survey, conducted late last year, covered 30 major cities in the country, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Lanzhou.

About 6,000 local residents aged 18-60 years old were polled in each city, and asked questions on “general evaluation of public education, fairness, costs, education quality, students’ burden and the quality of teachers”.

“The government has promised to provide satisfactory education to its people, and we need to know how far it’s going with its promise,” said Professor Yang Dongping of the Beijing Institute of Technology, who led the survey.

“We found that the average point of public education satisfaction in 2008 was lower than that of the previous year,” Yang said.

The average score of major cities nationwide on public education satisfaction last year was 3.0, while the figure in 2007 was 3.5.

The survey used a 5-point scale, with 5 meaning “very satisfied” and 1 meaning “very dissatisfied”.

The survey found that Taiyuan, Beijing, Xi’an and Changchun failed to clear the No.2 – “dissatisfied” – category on education fairness, one of the most debated issues in the education system of the country.

“These cities are notorious for high-cost schools and lack of honest ethos in local education departments,” Yang said.

Wu Mei, a mother of a 12-year-old boy in Beijing, said she has to pay 30,000 yuan a year for her son’s education in a relatively better high school.

“Parents have to help their children find a better high school, using all connections, money and tricks, in this age of razor-sharp competition,” Wu said.

Although the government has insisted on the policy of neighborhood admissions, supporting weak schools, and encouraging the development of non-public schools, selecting the best of schools is an “unavoidable concern” for parents, especially as the social gap widens, said Qin Hangyin, a researcher with the China National Institute for Educational Research.

Beijing, along with other nine cities including Xi’an, Chongqing and Harbin, also flunk in public satisfaction on cost of education.

Xindi (27 years old) and Xiao Han (24 years old) were both wearing wedding cloth. They stand on the streen of Beijing hands in hands. They said they know how to love and they found their love in Beijing. They hugged and invited to the amazment pssers-by: “welcome to attend our wedding.”

This happened on  February 14, the Western Valentine’s Day. And this scene happened at the old streets of Beijing. A pair of lala (lesbian), a pair of comrades (male homosexuals) took their wedding photo on the public.

This kind of activity of homosexusl have been hold in Beijing for 3 years. Orgnizer Sam said the first two years activety the group send roses to the passers-by in Beijing’s business district Chongwenmen and Jianguomen. This year they plan this wedding photography show wanted to arouse the concern of gay marriage.

For the ability of the people today, the most important thing is to keep learning with time. Otherwise we will be behind the others if we do not keep learing. So nowdays the online degree will be a good choice.

Online degree courses are normally taken by people who have no time to attend a full time college but still would like to increase their knowledge in their respective fields. Online degree courses are available in literally all fields today like management, medical transcription services, hospitality management, medical sciences, nursing, health management, IT enabled services, graphics and animation and much, much more

First, the online degree will give more chance for those people who want to pursue their career further. Expecially for those who need a jot at an early ageto support their famliy. This will not be late at all for them to further their education and improve their station in life. Second, the online degree will save time for there people. They don’t have to school to attend the class as usual. They can choose their free  time to learn online.

Under the recession of the economy, An online university degree from a reputable college is the best option for those students who want to enhance their career prospects and study after hours. Even some of my colleague who are doing good work, they choose the online degree at their free time. This will give them more confidence at this time and in the future.

Slumdog story all too common

It’s really hard to find a good reason, for everyone endowed with an ability to reason, to spend money watching “Slumdog Millionaire”.

Thanks to the articles provided by China Daily in the page “Life” of February 23, 2009, we know now that this Oscar -winning movie shows, of course in the typical highly artistic way of great Western film productions, the most absurd hopes of the underprivileged young workers of the third world.

The movie shows the problems that the poor have to endure in the emerging economies, and judging by its runaway success – succeeds in making them appear normal, acceptable, and even funny.

Nevertheless, it’s really not worth wasting our time, and human sensitivity, to watch “gangsters using a spoon to scoop out the eyes of boys and girls” so they could ‘earn double’ as beggars”.

It’s strange indeed that there are Indians who felt offended by the word “slumdog”. A dog’s life is definitely not that abject.

Cervini in Beijing

Via email

How to leverage a rich culture

“Culture plays a vital role in promoting Sino-African relations,” President Hu Jintao made this comment while on a visit to the Chinese Culture Center in Mauritius on Feb 17.

The Chinese Culture Center, the first cultural facility that the Chinese government opened overseas, has expanded over the past 20 years. Apart from language teaching and introduction of traditional Chinese culture, it has also hosted arts and photo exhibitions, performances and film festivals, which attracted successive presidents and prime ministers. China has opened seven such culture centers overseas, and will open at least five more.

In a global information age, soft sources of power such as culture, political values, and diplomacy are part of what makes a great power. Success depends not only on whose army wins, but also on whose story wins. But China’s soft power still has a long way to go.

China has always had an attractive traditional culture; the problem now is how to make the most effective use of its rich cultural reservoir to influence the outside world.

Meteohoo

on the China Daily website

Protecting rights of farmers

The objectives of doubling the per capita income of rural residents by 2020 are to lift the living standards of the peasants and narrow the income gap between farmers and urbanites.

The government has heard and is responding to the dissatisfaction of the rural population and is acting to formulate laws which will protect the farmers from corrupt land-grabbing local officials. This move would hopefully redress past wrongs and stabilize the rural economy.

With new legislation, farmers will be able to sell their rights attached to their land to reorganize agriculture and rural communities. However, I do see a need to provide unbiased legal and financial services to farmers contemplating the move to sell their land rights.

Another step forward for China.

Cestmoi

on the China Daily website

A well known Chinese blogger whose pen name is “Qian Leixian” (Prostate in flames) was stabbed by two thugs at the One Way Street bookshop last weekend.It seems highly probable, though not yet known for certain, that his attackers were offended by his blog.

Stabbed in the stomach by two thugs at a bookshop in Beijing; condition not critical; attackers still at large; motives unknown

 

ProState in Flames is an extremely well-known blog. At 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon, it’s writer, Xu Lai (internet name ProState), was stabbed in the stomach by two thugs at the end of a meet-the-readers event at a bookshop in Beijing. His attackers are currently still at large and their motives are unknown. After emergency treatment in hospital, ProState is in good condition and his life is not in danger.

Invited to attend a small meet-the-readers event

Xu Lai’s book Fanciful Creatures introduces him as a native of Jiangsu province, a lover of mythology and divination and the owner of the blog ProState in Flames. He has worked as a reporter, editor and commentator for various media in Beijing and Shanghai. He won the best novel category at the 30th Hong Kong Youth Literary Awards.

Yesterday afternoon, between 2 and 4pm, the One Way Street bookshop in Beijing held a small event for Xu Lai to meet his readers. The topic was ProState’s “trivial pursuits.” In a post by “Bo Tong” at the 1984bbs forum (ProState is one of the forum’s administrators), the writer says he went to the event and describes what happened as follows:

“Xu Lai arrived about 2 o’clock. After chatting with the host, he began to talk freely and confidently about his “trivial pursuits” and his understanding of notebook novels. (I don’t know why, but during the talk there was a lot of noise on the first floor and requests for quiet had no effect.) After the talk, he answered various questions, mostly about his book Fanciful Creatures, comparisons between himself and other writers of the post-80s generation, his blog and his ideology and ideals etc. ProState kept saying, modestly, that he’s a clumsy speaker and when answering questions on sensitive subjects, he spoke obliquely. There were none of the revalations we would have expected. His main subject was literary experience and creative feelings.”

Two men forced “ProState” into the men’s toilet and attacked him

21st Century Business Herald reporter Guo Jianlong, who was at the scene, says he was on the first floor when the incident took place. Xu Lai was chatting with several people on the second floor. Guo Jianlong suddenly noticed there was a great commotion. Moments later, he realized Xu Lai was at the top of the staircase on the second floor, clutching his stomach and leaning against the wall. Xu Lai’s wife later told Guo that after the talk, two men forced Xu Lai into the mens toilet. She felt something was wrong so she pushed her way in to see what was going on and discovered the two men were attacking him. One was holding a vegetable knife, the other holding a dagger. One of them was preparing to hack Xu Lai’s hand with the vegetable knife. Having been discovered, the two men rushed out of the shop and ran in the direction of Chang’an Avenue. They were chased, but they got away. Someone at the scene took a blurred picture of the attackers and there’s a cctv camera on the street so it should be possible to obtain a true likeness of the attackers.

Yesterday, at 4.55pm, netizen “Zola” quickly sent out a Twitter message: “Guo Jianlong phoned: ProState is lying on the ground clutching his stomach. I told them to cover the wound with their hands to stop the blood, keep him calm and his breathing relaxed so he has chance of survival.” “Not life-threatening, only one stab wound, Guo Jianlong and Xu Lai’s wife went to the hospital together. Stab wound is about the length of a hand, a lot of blood. Mood stable. On the way to hospital.” Guo Jianlong confirmed the contents of that phone call to the Southern Metropolis Daily.

Blog probably created enemies

Another well-known blogger, “Hecaitou,” says he saw a photograph taken at the scene after Xu Lai was rescued, in which Xu was on the floor, clutching his stomach. At that time someone heard one of the attackers say, “You brought this on yourself. You know why we’re doing this don’t you?”

The news quickly spread on the internet. Netizen “doubleleaf” sent out constant Twitter updates from his mobile phone.

Guo Jianlong says that after the crime was reported, the police were the first to arrive. The ambulance didn’t arrive until about 10 minutes later. At first there wasn’t much loss of blood and it was only when Xu arrived at the hospital that the blood flow increased. Xu Lai remained conscious throughout. Zhang Shougang, who helped move Xu at the hospital says he was taken from the the emergency ward to the operating theater at about 7pm. When they were lifting him, the blood hadn’t been cleaned from his body and Zhang’s hands were covered in blood.

At about 10.25 last night, Hecaitou received a phone call from Xu’s family who told him the operation was over. The knife had punctured a small hole in his body which had been stitched up. He was fully conscious and his blood pressure was normal. Hecaitou said Xu Lai is a low-key sort of person and he’s just a science journalist who wouldn’t provoke anyone. However, there are many things on his blog that can touch a nerve and he has probably made enemies that way.

Han Yagu had never heard of Valentine’s Day before he came to Beijing from his rural home in northwest China’s Qinghai Province. As he learned more about it, he realized how big the gap was between his life and that of his 20-something urban contemporaries.

“They are already in their 20s, but they still think of playing and having fun instead of working hard and earning money for their families,” he said.

Han, 20, a cook in a Muslim restaurant in downtown Beijing, is among the 130-million plus migrant workers who’ve left rural villages to seek their fortune in the cities. But their fortunes are meager in comparison with natives of the big cities, and their holiday celebrations are modest as well.

As China has opened to the outside world, Western holidays and customs like Valentine’s Day have gained popularity, especially among trendy white-collar workers and college students. While well-off urban lovers offer roses and chocolates, migrants have little time or money to spare for such gestures.

Rare, expensive words

On Valentine’s Day, about all Han can do is call his wife in their home 2,000 km away. With a monthly income of only 1,000-plus yuan (146 U.S. dollars), he can’t afford to call home every day, although he and his wife exchange frequent, affectionate text messages.

Han fell in love back home and got married in November. With the money he earned in Beijing, Han gave his wife 70 grams of gold and 28,000 yuan for their wedding. That was a hefty sum for him. Just 23 days later, he had to return to Beijing and leave his wife home.

“If she were here with me, I would also give her a bunch of flowers like the young people in Beijing,” said Han. “But I cannot, so I will think over what I’m going to say on the phone.”

Han isn’t tempted by the women of Beijing. “I don’t like the dresses and manners. Their hairstyles are like hedgehogs and their make-up makes them look like ghosts,” said Han. “My wife is filial and faithful to Allah. She is the most precious gift that Allah gave me.”

Many hurt by downturn

Adding to the plight of many low-paid migrant workers is the economic downturn that has cost many their jobs. The government has estimated that about 20 million migrant workers, or 15 percent of the total, have lost their jobs and returned to their hometowns.

This Valentine’s Day will be a lonely one for Li Xiulin, a 28-year-old woman who divorced recently. She has also been laid off, and her employer did not pay all her back wages.

Li came from central Hunan Province, a major labor export region of China. For a stranger without a college degree or skills, new work has been tough to find in Beijing. After being laid off, she rented a small fruit stall to make a living.

As a single woman, she’s totally on her own. At 6:30 every morning, she rides a bicycle to replenish her stock, and she then works in her stall until late at night.

“Valentine’s Day means nothing to me,” she said. “A single woman’s life is really a hardship.”

A simple celebration

Xu Lei, 24, who comes from a rural area on the outskirts of Beijing, is another victim of the economic crisis. He lost his job after his factory, crippled by losses, shut down.

This is his first Valentine’s Day with his girlfriend, but they have more on their minds than the holiday.

“Our Valentine’s Day will have to be just an ordinary day. I don’t need roses and he doesn’t need chocolate. The gift I want is a new job for him,” said Xu’s girlfriend Zhang Xiaoying, a migrant worker from the central Henan Province who is a supermarket cashier.

Xu and Zhang have spent a year together in Beijing. During this year, their life has been less about romance than about finding, losing and finding jobs again. Valentine’s Day will be a simple holiday for them: they will buy some cheap gifts for each other and return to their rented apartment to prepare a meal.

Waiting for Mr. right

Zhang Jin, who works as a housekeeper in Beijing, came to Beijing for money but is still hoping for romance.

“I’ve never received flowers on Valentine’s Day,” said the 40-year-old native of north China’s Hebei Province. “I long for a family.” However, Zhang said as a stranger in Beijing, she could not trust people she met.

“Their biggest problem is lack of a sense of security in making friends, they cannot verify the validity of each other’s identities,” said Wei Wei, the founder of the Little Bird Hotline, a non-governmental organization. “And their transient lifestyles lead to many uncertainties.”