China my experience

Google's politic in China is going to change

During the censorship is more and more present in China, Google, decide to do not still censor the results of the its search engine.

Indeed the Californian company face to many web attack these times, which came from China, as other twenty other big companies.

These attacks was mainly done to access to Gmail account owned by Chinese human rights activists.

Because of these attacks, the watching politic of beijing and the uncomfortable face to the law that Google have to respect, the decision to review the business operation have been announce by David Drummond, chief legal officer. In concrete terms, Google do no still want to accept to censor the search engine's results.

Of course, Google is aware that the search engine can be shutdown and potentially close the offices.

In my opinion I think that it's a very courageous decision and of worldwide importance. I'm wondering how the Chinese giant will react face to this. It's important to know that the Californian engine own 30% of the market against 60% for the Chinese one Baidu.com.

I imagine that the government will not change of position, China is not ready yet. However it's certainly a first step to a long and hard transition.

source: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-approach-to-china.html

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The biggest screen of Asia

Presently, the biggest screen of Asia so of China is in Beijing. The size of it is 250*30m and is situate at "The place" the new shopping place of Beijing. You can see many animations like submarine or space scenes. 

Caution, the screen shutdown at 10pm and sound animations stop at 9:30pm.

Sources: site officiel JO 2008

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The first Freeze in Tianjin

Freeze,

I'm very fond of this event . It's very simple, a group of people meet in a place at an accurate time and stop moving during 5 minutes. After I have participate to the one of Toulouse and Paris I thought: "Why not do one in Tianjin?". With help of Stéphane and Shen Si we have done it, just have a look on the result: 

The Freeze happenned in two times. First we have done it on the bridge which cross the Nanjing road, and then on the Binjiang Avenue ("Golden street"). If you want to participate to a next Freeze in Tianjin, let's join the Facebook's group.

There is no play words with "The and", the video was made by a chinese guy who doesn't speak english.

A trip of 10 days - Lijiang

Even if we plane to go Dali first and then Lijiang(丽江), we decide then to do Lijiang first and finnaly canceled Dali. We chose this because of transport logistic, because we understand that stay just 2 days in a city is just too short and tiring and because all person we met who have done the both cities said that they preferred Lijiang.

So let's go on 17th Tuesday about 10:00 am(with the plane company "Lucky air" what an ironic name!). When we arrived we can feel that the temperature is warmer than on Kunming, great! The way in bus allow us to discover many beautiful mountain landscape.

Lijiang is like Dali(大理), city which is cut in two parts; one part is the old town which is the touristic but charming side, the other part is the new city without personality, at least for Lijiang. So the taxi driver bring us to the entry of the town and stop there because not allowed to enter.

The old town is composed of many little street where there are many shop which sell tea, jewel and many kind of food like the local speciality, the Yak. After a long visit to find our guest house, we have a tea-orange break into this. This famous guest house, Mama Naxi's Guest House is very popular for foreign people. A warm and family place where it's easy to communicate with everybody. Food is good and cheaper, beds and bathroom are clean and Mama is a real show. She is like a theater character in a performance, she can speak a little of english, enough for understand. She have help of young people who made cook, company pets are here for watch (even when they are sleeping or asking food). Anyway, a guest house that you must try, moreover Mama can book ticket and can bring with car in the new city for 2 Yuans, very cozy.

The district is really organise for tourism which is I think the main source of money. You must pay about 80 Yuans to contribute to the Lijiang environment from you want to visit a touristic place. A good joke when we see the very expensive prize of tickets for temple, toll, cable car and so on. However it's true that the place is clean if we compare to the rest of China, so we can be happy with this... This tax allow you to enter in temple and park for free like the Dark Dragon park with is a pleasant place, you should visit this at the end of the day (close at 7pm). I can contribue to the Dongba culture which have a pictogram write still used, with engrave a little draw in a stone.

We also visit the Yak plain where there isn't any Yak but may be just shit of them...However the landscape were very beautiful. We were a little disappointed about this visit because it only take half a day and it's expensive. You have to take a private transport to go to a touristic center where you take a new bus to go on the mountain where you take a cable car and then take a ticket for the plane, so almost 300 Yuans just to see a mountain landscape.

During the night the old town change in a burning atmosphere with many noise and light, street became animated and in particular the street of Chine bar and club. Understand by "Chine"; hight leve music, hotess who try to rent you a table for 400 Yuans(depend of negotiate)... You should try this just to feel the atmosphere and Chinese people who become crazy... I advice to just stay few moment in this place and then go walk in the silent old town part where you can admire the show of light water and old building. Then, drink a Yak milk which is like a occidental sugar yogourt. If you are hungry you can go to the Susan's Naxi local restaurant where you can taste Yak meat with menthol with a soap cheese plate, delicious! Try the Yunan tea, my favourite one is the black.

Finally this trip also allow us to meet Alice, Nicolas, Melissa, Elvin and other, thank to everybody for their good mood. We certainly come back there to do Tiger Leaping gorge, walk in the old town and why not meet the famous Ho doctor, but it's another adventure...