Saturday, January 8, 2005

Beijing's Silk Market closed Beijing's famous Silk Market (Xiushui market) has been torn down by bulldozers this week. The Silk Market was Beijing's 3rd most famous tourist destination (after the Great Wall and the Forbidden City), because of the cheap and often fake goods that could be bought there. According to the Shanghai Daily the place had 100,000 visitors per day. Although I did not go there often (many other places had the same goods at lower prices, because tourists did not know about them), I feel it's a pity. It was a real Beijing institution, and a nice place to watch foreigners being ripped off (while they were thinking they made a good deal). Apparantly the market will be relocated to a building close by that has not been finished yet. Let's wait and see, the same was said about the Sanlitun market (a similar market that was closed down in 2001). So where to go now for Burberry and Lacoste shirts for less than 5 EUR or Rolexes for less than 10 EUR? In Beijing Hongqiao market (East gate of Temple of Heaven) is a good choice, especially if you also want to buy some cheap but good quality pearls. In Shanghai the Xiangyang market (on Huaihai Lu, close to metro Shanxi Nan Lu) is still the best choice. For the best quality products go to one of the many underground warehouses that can be found all around the area (just follow one of the people that will approach you). 2:21:59 PM    comment []

To watch or not to watch TV In China I don't watch much TV. I normally turn my TV screen on while running in the gym, but because I listen to my iPod at the same time I don't really pay attention to what's going on. At night I often watch half an hour of a movie on DVD before falling asleep, or an episode of an American TV show (right now I am in season 3 of Will & Grace, after having watched during the past years most or all seasons of Friends, Seinfeld, CSI, 24, Spin City, Sex & the City, Ally Mc Beal and Frasier). But watching TV with the sole purpose of watching something does not happen often. I feel it's a waste of time, and there is not much on anyway (OK, I never look into a TV guide, so maybe there is something on the 50+ channels I have). Adam Curry had a link to an interesting experiment a professor gave his students about watching TV. It shows how important TV is for many people, how it distorts their view of the world and how it wastes a lot of people's time. 2:03:50 PM    comment []