Aug 30, 2012

China Welcomes Kevin Garnett

Thursday, August 30, 2012
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Just saw a story/press release about NBA superstar Kevin Garnett coming to China. No, not permanently - he isn't leaving the Boston and the Celtics for the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association). Instead, its just a short visit sponsored by one of his sponsors, Chinese sportswear company Anta which is headquartered in Fujian Province (my current home). Garnett blew off Addias (his former shoe sponsor) for Anta in 2010 and I assume that decision had at least as much to do with money as it did with shoe quality or preferences.


 
Kevin Garnett in Chinese Anta commercial with English subtitles

Surprisingly, one of the four cities Garnett is supposed to make a stop at is Zhengzhou, where I worked for a year before moving to my current home in Xiamen. Zhengzhou certainly isn't a well-known city to foreigners (or even to many Chinese) and isn't one of the nicest cities in China to spend time in - its a dirty, gloomy city, overpopulated city (like many in China) although I found the people to be very nice and it does have some interesting ancient history going back to the Shang Dynasty. Anyway basketball is huge in China so I'm sure KG will have no problem drawing humongous Chinese-sized crowds in Zhengzhou and any other cities he appears in.
Me in one of the scenic parts of Zhengzhou



Aug 20, 2012

Shanghai in the 1930s v. Today

Monday, August 20, 2012
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A view of part of modern Shanghai's skyline on a hazy day
"While the rest of the world faded into black and white during the Great Depression, Shanghai in the 1930s was a glittering metropolis of 3 million people studded with cabarets, nightclubs and legendary bordellos . . . Legend has it that Christian missionaries in the city would shake their heads and muse, 'If God allowed Shanghai to endure, he owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology.'"

This quote is from Once Upon a Time in Shanghai which I saw after finding a link in a short article Shanghai in the '30s and Now: My Father's City. Once Upon a Time in Shanghai has a slideshow of black and white photographs of Shanghai in the 1930s. At the time, Shanghai was one of the most populous and cosmopolitan cities in the world. Things changed considerably after the Japanese invasion and the domestic chaos that followed culminating in the Cultural Revolution. However, today's Shanghai has a lot in common with its 1930s ancestor. Shanghai is again one of the most modern cities in the world with it ever-expanding skyline of skyscrapers. Shanghai also probably has one of the largest populations of any city in the world - estimated at over 20 million. I guess this just reflects the truth in the old saying that "the more things change, the more they remain the same."

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  • Author: David Moser

Aug 19, 2012

Chinglish Sign #1

Sunday, August 19, 2012
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One of the many things I like to take photos of in China are signs translated into English or, more accurately, mistranslated into English. Chinese mistranslated into English is sometimes referred to as Chinglish. Sometimes these are the result of a poor translator, other times the Chinese just doesn't translate into English, and I can't help suspecting that sometimes people do this just to be funny (though I may be assuming more intelligence or sense of humor than warranted). Whatever the reason, I often find these signs quite amusing so I thought I'd start sharing.

Here's my first example:


 This photo was taken at Lamma Island, small scenic island which is part of Hong Kong. At first, I was onfused because although they cook just about anything in China, butterflies don't seem to have much meat on them. Upon entering, I found that the place was just a little garden which included some butterflies, but no butterflies being barbecued as far as I could tell. Why do they call it this - Who knows? Its just one of the many mysteries of China. 

 I'll try to post some more amusing Chinglish signs in future.

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