Play the Game of Life
Ryan Petersen's Blog

This guy in Guangzhou apparently couldn't afford the aerobics class going on inside the building. So he did what any of us would do: he took off his shirt and followed the class through the window. I don't think he could see the instructors legs however, as that part of his routine appears largely improvised.

Google Video playback may not work for viewers in China (like myself). If you are not in China and have trouble viewing this video here, use this link.

Labels: china, my favorite posts, video

 

 

 

Labels: china, photos

This weekend I was invited by an adventurous group of Chinese students to go camping and rock climbing on San Shan Dao, a small island in Tai Hu (a lake near Suzhou--satelite image here). Relatively difficult to reach (a train/bus/boat combo is required), the island is a terrific throwback to China's past. One or two little guest houses encompass the tourist economy, and though there were plenty of Chinese tourists, during the weekend I was there I did not see any foreigners. If you can figure out how to get there on your own, I highly recommend it, but I actually didn't pay enough attention to help guide you there.

A few things struck me as particularly noteworthy about our camping trip:

1.) The first night, we played some wild games around a huge bonfire with the general goal of embarrassing all participants to the fullest. For my part, I taught the Chinese to sing "Hello My Name is Joe, and I work in a button factory." Needless to say, this was one of the highlights of my time in China thus far.

2) After sleeping in tents in our abandoned rock quarry, we went to a guest house for breakfast were the entire group sang karaoke for the better part of the morning.

3.) Nobody besides myself ever separated from the group for more than 30 seconds.

4.) Whenever I felt the urge to walk away from the group to investigate something that caught my eye, I was quickly called back to the group by at least 10 different people.

5.) Our group did not bother to visit what I felt to be the most interesting parts of the island, instead just followed the other larger tourist groups to the designated "famous" landmark spots.

6.) We posed for a group photo every 50-100 meters or every 5 minutes, whichever came first.

7.) Our rock climbing instructor did not provide us with any safety equipment or instructions. In America serious climbers are always very adamant about never stepping on the ropes, as the tiny particles of dirt can eventually wear down the fibers and compromise the material's strength. Our instructor regularly stepped all over the ropes.

8.) Chinese campers are the friendliest people you will ever meet.

Labels: china

 

 

 

 

Labels: china, hong kong, photos

 

 

 

 

Labels: china, hong kong, photos

 

 

Labels: china, hong kong, photos

 

Labels: architecture, china, photos, sky scrapers

I just returned from my first visit to a toilet factory in Foshan, China. The experience was enlightening, to say the least. Here is how a toilet is made:

1.) A large pile of dirt (presumably it is some kind of special dirt, but to me it just looked like the regular brown stuff I used to roll around in as a kid) is delivered to the factory.

2.) This dirt is poured into giant below-ground mixing vats, where it is liquified using a complex process involving the rare and dangerous chemical bihydrogen monoxide. The liquid is stirred until it reaches a nice consistency. Think about making brownies and you have the general idea, only its a bit more liquid than brownie batter. If you are ask nicely the factory manager may let you lick the spoon.

3.) Giant pumps are used to pipe the batter up to the third floor of the factory where it is poured into molds in the exact shape desired.

4.) The liquid is baked for 8 hours (I told you it was like making brownies) and then the molds are removed.

5.) At this point you have a brown toilet with very rough edges, but properly shaped in the familiar form we all know and love.

6.) A small army of laborers is put to work filing and sanding the toilets until they are smooth all the way around.

7.) The brown toilets are painted with two layers of white paint, then a lacquer coating and, in some cases, a high tech chemical layer that insantly sheds any "liquid" which may get on the toilet during its life.

8.) Then its "hey, hey, hey, bombs away!"

Labels: china