Shanghai wheather
Pudong Airport
A total of 31.9 million passengers passed through the airport in 2009, making the airport the 3rd busiest in mainland China and 23rd in the world.
Yesterday, I increased the 2010 figure by one 😉
Pics of new art work at the airport:
Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Pudong_International_Airport
Survive in Shanghai – ein paar schnelle Tipps für First Timers
Da ich öfters gefragt werde: hier ein paar Tipps für den “Shanghai-Frischling”:
Allzu viel muss man gar nicht beachten. Shanghai ist eine internationale Großstadt, es gibt nichts, was es nicht gibt. Aber: die Leute sprechen fast nie Englisch, auch wo man es erwarten würde, können die Menschen Dich oft nicht verstehn. Niemals ungeduldig werden oder gar rummeckern, bringt nichts, ganz im Gegenteil.
Adresse
Die Adresse, wo man hin will vorher vergrößert, also gut lesbar mit chinesischen Schriftzeichen ausdrucken und dem Taxifahrer vor die Nase halten. Ihn gut beobachten, ob er kapiert, wo Du hinwillst, sonst fährt er Dich spazieren und irgendwohin, wo er meint, wo Du vielleicht hin solltest. Ansonsten deutsch-/englischsprachigen Chinesen (z.B. im Hotel) anrufen und dem Taxifahrer mit dem sprechen lassen. Taxifahren ist sehr sehr billig und es gibt Taxameter (sollte natürlich an sein, ist aber sehr selten, dass da einer tricksen will). Im Taxi gibt man KEIN Trinkgeld (auch sonst nicht, auch nicht in Restaurants).
Ankunft Pudong
Der SH-Airport ist sehr weit draußen, die Fahrt dauert 1-1,5 Stunden (Nachtrag März 2010: die Straßenarbeiten für die Expo sind jetzt abgeschlossen, geht also etwas schneller). Kostet aber nie mehr als 200 RMB (24 Euro). Das China-Büro oder Freund in Shanghai soll Abholdienst anrufen, das ist billiger (ca. 140-160 RMB).
Man kann ein Stück mit dem Transrapid fahren, bringt aber zeitlich nicht viel. Es ist aber durchaus interessant, mit 400km ein paar Minuten durch Pudong zu sprinten.
Geld
Für Privatpersonen, die nach China reisen, besteht eine Ein- und Ausfuhrbeschränkung von maximal 20 000 Yuan (rund 2500 Euro). Am Flughafen bereits bei der Gepäckstation – also INNERHALB der Arrival-Area – kann man Geld wechseln.
Visum
Rechtzeitig in Deutschland das Visum beantragen. Touristenvisum ist das schnellste für einen kurzen Aufenthalt, für Geschäftsvisum wird Einladung und Stempel benötigt aus China. Ein Visum mit mehreren Einreisen und/oder für längeren Aufenthalt ist schwierig zu bekommen. Mal klappt’s, mal nicht. Muss jedenfalls sehr gut begründet werden. Mindestens 14 Tage vorher beantragen.
Reiseführer
Einen Reiseführer kaufen, wo die Adressen der Sehenswürdigkeiten in Chinesisch drinstehen oder noch einfacher: dem Taxifahrer das Bild zeigen, wo man hinwill. Ein Ausflug zum Bund (Waitan) ist ein Muss. In Pudong, – also auf der anderen Seite – sollte man das neue Financial Center (den “Flaschenöffner”) besichtigen. Nett ist das Xintiandi 新天地 -Zentrum, man kann shoppen, Essen und zum Paulaner 😉 Ist aber etwas teurer und touristisch, aber ok für Kurzaufenthalt. Dort kann man hervorragend Essen im T8 (teuer).
Essen
Essen (auch Chinesisches) ist völlig unbedenklich. Hunde, Katzen etc. sind Spezialitäten und werden einem nicht untergeschoben wie manche meinen, das diese “Spezialitäten” eher teuer sind. Gehört auch nicht zum Speiseplan der Shanghaier. Spezialität in Shanghai sind Xiao long bao, so eine Art Dim Sum, das solltest Du unbedingt probieren. In Shanghai wird nicht scharf gegessen. Es gibt übrigens nicht “den Chinesen” sondern Restaurants, die jeweils regionale Spezialitäten anbieten. (Bei uns gibt es auch nicht “den Europäer”, sondern Italiener, Franzosen, Spanier etc. und auch da gibt es jeweils noch große lokale Unterschiede in den Küchen…).
Bei den Garküchen an der Straße kann man ohne Bedenken sehr gut und billig essen.
Viel Spaß und einen schönen Aufenthalt in Shanghai!
Links
Kulturschock-woran-europaeer-in-china-verzweifeln
So manipuliert China seine Währung
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The Desktop of a “Great Firewall Climber”
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2010/04/image-the-desktop-of-a-great-firewall-climber/
see also: https://guiworld.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/great-firewall-of-china/
Chinese New Year
恭喜发财 Gong xi fa cai – Happy New Year!
2010 is the Year of the Tiger,
which is also known by its formal name of Geng Yin.
First Day of the Year of the Tiger falls on 2/14/2010
You are a Tiger if are you born in 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986
Tigers are courageous, brave, competitive.
Tiger celebs: Marilyn Monroe, Karl Marx, Stephen Chow
Get on with: Horse (1954, 1966, 1978, 1990), Dog (1946, 1958, 1970, 1982)
Links
www.chinesisches-horoskop.de/tiger
www.chinapage.com/newyear.html
guiworld.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/09-03-29-year-of-the-ox
MFG Innovationcast
Mensch mit Maschine – Prof. Astrid Beck über Mensch-Computer-Interaktion und Usability
Internetnutzer haben hohe Ansprüche an Webseiten: sie müssen gut bedienbar, interaktiv und visuell ansprechend sein. Denn hochwertige Inhalte im World Wide Web fesseln niemanden, wenn die Usability, also die Benutzungsfreundlichkeit ausbleibt.
I am talking about Usability, new interfaces, websites in China… (in German).
China Boosts ‘Great Firewall’
From Radio Free Asia: China has successfully undermined key software used by its netizens to climb over the “Great Firewall,” a sophisticated system of government-backed blocks and filters designed to limit what people can view online.
“Right now, basically, the network is not stable because of the blocking. It started probably Sept. 1,” said Bill Xia Fregate, CEO of Dynamic Internet Technology, which created Freegate to circumvent government blocking.
Links
More tools
GPass/GTunnel /Ultra Surf/FirePheonix
It is time to say zai jien!
Dear Friends, I have to go, but I will be back….
“If there is a single way that my understanding has changed … or at least become fuller and more complicated, it is appreciating in a new way how big, varied, contradictory, sprawling, and impossible to describe in any simple terms ‘China’ is…”
James Fallows, The Atlantic’s foreign correspondent, Talk Shanghai August 2009
This guy put into words what I am thinking…
Well, ok, there are a couple of things I would never fully understand. I am still annoyed when it comes to
… spitting and body noises, pushing the close button first in the elevator, taxi driver stops in the middle of nowhere and admits that he don’t know where to go, people rush to get in, when you are still getting out … (either: … of a restaurant, of an elevator, of a taxi, …), people don’t say hello in the elevator, the enormous noise in typical Chinese restaurants…
This things might be funny, not so funny are topics like air-pollution and human rights… people got fined or even tortured for asking why so many village members have cancer (in a polluted area) or get the death-sentence for corruption. And unwanted female babies got thrown into the river…
Unfortunately, these awful things are preferably seen and reported in the West, a phenomenon known as “China bashing”. Of course there is no excuse for mistreating or killing people. In no country in the world! Sadly enough, I’ve heard it more than once that Chinese excuse deeds like that with similiar occurences in the U.S.
But there is another side aswell…
People are surprising friendly to Westerners. They try to make your life as nice as possible especially fellow co-workers or new friends you sure going to find here very quickly rush to your side to offer help and assistance. Chinese are good humored, funny, they love to laugh and sing (not only karaoke but in the open as well…).
Chinese are curious and mostly optimistic. Life in Shanghai is intense and fast pacing. There is always something to do… a new exhibition, a party, a new restaurant. Speaking of which: if you like to go out you will find a myriad of restaurants, bars, clubs that suit your taste (and age group). If you love food and wine and going out, this is the place to be. I’ve been in dozens of places and there are still a lot I would like to try. And when you still feel a bit hungry after a long night there is always a street BBQ around the corner with delicious meat skewers for those in need. Friends call you in the middle of the night asking you which place you headed at. Or you meet them anyway in one of those many favourite places you visit a couple of almost every night. Taxi driving is very cheap, massage and beauty parlors are all over the place, strolling around the neighbourhoods is a delight… You can get a lot of nice hand-craftet stuff which is enormously cheap like clothes or glasses or for example.
Westerners I met here told me, that they don’t want to stay for ever, but after a while in Shanghai they got hooked and don’t want to leave either… because the question is: where to go next??? There are not that many cities in the world so intrigiung and captivating as Shanghai…
Design for the Disadvantaged D4D
Design for the Disadvantaged D4D was recently launched in Shanghai, a project to help those most in need by taking the collective knowledge and skills of designers.
Who are the Disadvantaged? No, these are not (only) disabled people but all those which don’t belong to the world’s fortunate 10% … Of the world’s total population of 6.5 billion, 5.8 billion people, or 90%, have little or no access to most of the products and services many of us take for granted; in fact, nearly half do not have regular access to food, clean water, electricity or shelter. Other problems are illiteracy, homelessness, lack of education.
Universal design aims for supporting those people in need.
Universal design is a relatively new paradigm that emerged from “barrier-free” or “accessible design” and “assistive technology.” Universal design strives to be a broad-spectrum solution that produces buildings, products and environments that are usable and effective for everyone, not just people with disabilities. Moreover, it recognizes the importance of how things look. For example, while built up handles are a way to make utensils more usable for people with gripping limitations, some companies introduced larger, easy to grip and attractive handles as feature of mass produced utensils. They appeal to a wide range of consumers.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Principles of Universal Design
Source: The Center for Universal Design
Design for the Disadvantaged D4D in Shanghai was conceived by Douglas Wang from AutoDesk, to bring together the design community to create tools, services, and objects of everyday life to help those around us most in need, financially and physically disabled local Chinese. D4D has gone from idea to organization in just under two months, and has brought on lead designers and executives from Frog, Microsoft, AutoDesk, and others.
The design profession has much more to offer our society than just basic aesthetics, functions and usability. Design can solve problems creatively and effectively, raise social awareness, improve the quality of life, and promote social interaction.
Project’s goal: support street vendors
Project’s goal will be to develop tools, services, products for street vendors in Shanghai. Though for example thousands of people enjoy their noudle soups and BBQ skewers from street vendors each night or others get cheap watches or DVDs from peddlers, street vendors are a disadvantaged group. In recent years conflicts between street vendors and the police forces chengguans have frequently went out of control, with officers and vendors both resorting to violence.
The development process
The project’s development process follows the approach of User Centered Design.
Student works opportunities
To my students at Hochschule Esslingen: contact me for oppurtunities (thesis work, internships) to take part in this project.
Links
I can not sleep, to loud…. to windy outside
Temperature: 79°F / 26°C | Humidity: 94% | Pressure: 29.44in / 997hPa | Conditions: Rain Showers | Wind Direction: ENE | Wind Speed: 13mph / 22km/h | Updated: 2:00 AM CST
Morakot at Hangzhou, one hour from Shanghai
Taifun season…
Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) — Typhoon Morakot smashed into Taiwan, causing at least one death and disrupting power supplies while dumping more than 1,000 millimeters (39.4 inches) of rain. China evacuated 20,000 people in the southeastern province of Fujian, about 180 kilometers (112 miles) from Taiwan.
It is really windy here since Friday night. Monsoon season brings a lot of wind and heavy rain falls. But rigth now its sunny again… Morakot, which means emerald in Thai, doesn’t come to Shanghai though, forecast changed.
Links
GUIworld's Weblog by Astrid Beck 