Today in China

Here in Beijing, pedestrian and bicycles are free to break the traffic rules at no cost… but not for long. In order to decrease the number of traffic accidents in Beijing, the authorities decided to make a 40 days rectification of non-motor traffic, starting… tomorrow! The crackdown will focus on:

• Non-motor vehicles breaching traffic lights, carrying passengers, or going the opposite direction to traffic;
• Pedestrians not crossing at zebra crossings or going against traffic lights. People distributing advertising leaflets or begging on the road;
• Motor vehicles with no proper plates;
• Illegal taxis, agricultural vehicles going into forbidden areas;
• Non-motor vehicles that install engines;
• Motor vehicles that have been illegally repaired or restored.

Links
Beijing Week-end

In Belgium we use to say that drinking a beer is equivalent to eating two slices of bread. Guo Youcai, from the province of Henan, put this in practice and only drank beer for ten years! He not only does not want to eat other food but he simply cannot. Once, his wife tried and the poor man fainted. He is now nearly 80 and still very healthy!
So, Mr. Guo, is it Qingdao or Yanjing?

Source
Oriental Morning Post

As I told you before, Beer Mania is the new belgian bar in Beijing, located near SanLiTun. Well, it seems that there has been an explosion caused by gas leak just nearby, on Sunday afternoon. The picture is not clear enough to be 100% sure but building and the parking lot really seems like Beer Mania surroundings.

I’ll try to get more information about this. I hope there is not too much damage for Marc’s pub.
Update
Okay, JayJay and me checked it out… I had a Westmaele Triple and JayJay (gonzesse!) had a Kried… So, the explosion took place in the office just above the Beer Mania but the bar is still open and the damage are not important… not a single beer bottle got broken! So, we will probably meet there on Thursday, Friday and Sturday! Long live the Beer Mania, Marc and his charming wife! Have a good night!

Links
Previous post on Belgian Bars and Restaurants in Beijing
News in China Daily

The center of Macao city, under Portuguese administration from mid 16th century until 1999 when it came back to Chinese Sovereignty, has been added to the list of the World Heritages of UNESCO.
The main criteria for this new addition is based on the fact that the center of Macao shows the meeting of two totally different civilizations, one of the longest-lasting encounters between China and the West, based on lively international trade. Amongst other historical sites, you have the oldest lighthouse in China, the ruins of St Paul Church, the A Ma Temple, some remaining City Walls, etc.

Links
Macao as published in the UNESCO World Heritages list
Thanks go to Google for another top quality satellite view
Macao Heritages Guide

Aiai, a 26 years old Chimpanzee, began to smoke in 1989 after her first husband died. After the death of her second husband and one of her children in 1997, she started to smoke more heavily, becoming a real addict.

The authorities of the Qinling Zoo in Xi’an announced 2 days ago that they are planning to help her to stop. One of the first measure will be to find her a new mate!
Links
News Photo China Daily

China started to equip his major trains with wireless networks. The Railway Comprehensive Information Service System will enable passenger to get access to video broadcasting, traveling information, news, net games and online chatting.
The first train to be equipped with this TraiNet is the one from Beijing to Zhenjiang in the province of Jiangsu. After this, the system will be installed on 72 ‘Z’ and ‘T’ trains.
That’s another sign of the infrastructure improvements in China before the Olympic Games in 2008.

Links
News in China Daily

Today is launched the “Half Price Tuesday Movies” in some 168 cinemas accross China. Some cinemas already started before and saw an increase in audiences on Tuesday evenings. With cinema tickets ranging from 40RMB (4EUR) to 100RMB (10EUR) in Beijing, this is a good move!

A while ago, I switched from Google Desktop Search to Microsoft Desktop Search for this latter has a better Operating System integration - You bet!
Yesterday, I installed the new release of Google Desktop and… WoW! The guys at Google did an amazing job on this update!

(more…)

I added a new feature on the website. If you want to say something not related to the posts on this website, you may use the new shoutbox! The shoutbox is available from the sidebar on the right of the page. Just input your message and wait for other visitors to answer.

Thierry and Michael are two friends I met in Beijing a few years ago. Now, they are located in Xiamen, in the province of Fujian. They settled down and have a really nice Guest House over there. Just check the pictures!

The Guest House is located on the quiet Gulangyu Island. We spent last Christmas there with a few friends. It was really nice to escape the coldness of Beijing for a few days in the South!

Links
The Guest House Website
Some pictures