I Love to Invite Friends to my Home

Posted on September 17, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

Sunday, I was happy to invite friends to my home in Pudnog for dinner. It was great experience to have my friends around the shining dining room. It is also a good incentive for me to clean up the rooms and garden, to prepare for the home visit.

Shanghai is too large, and my home is just too far. It is not very convenient for people to be there – especially for my friends in Puxi and my friends who don’t have a car.

After one day of housework, I’d say, I love my home so much. No where in the world is as good as home. No where. I confirm that.

I setup the Sun umbrella in the garden, and lay out my sun chairs. It is a nice setting even for a bar, or restaurant, but there is not so many people visiting. I feel excited when people came and can enjoy my “garden bar” in the garden. The mosquito is a problem though. I am thinking of the anti-mosquito lights to kill them – the light with blue bulb and high-voltage lines around the bulb. The best decision I made was to have a power outlet in the garden, so make the installation of the anti-mosquito equiptment possible.

The glasses I bought from IKEA on Friday were fully levarged. I like the IKEA glass designed by IKEA – I saw the glasses in Qingdao (where IKEA don’t have a store).

Image in courtesy of IKEA

We also enjoyed good wine brought by Chen, with our SVALKA wine glasses.

Image in courtesy of IKEA

Life is beautiful, isn’t it?

The Banquet (Ye Yan) by Zhang Ziyi

Posted on September 16, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

Went to see The Banquet by Zhang Ziyi. The movie was directed by Feng Xiaogang…

It was 35 RMB at 10:20 PM at the Cinema of Grand Brand Mall.

I don’t have too many comments for this movie. It is not as interesting as other Feng Xiaogao movies, but it is not as bad as Wuji…

From the logical analysis perspective, I feel although the director changed, the style is not too much different from the previous several movies, like House of Flying Daggers, or Wuji. The team (the photographer, creative designers, music, and act designer) are the same as other Chinese movies. Now, the scene is good, but the story is not as strong. It takes time for the staging and story to catch up, and it will be really a great movie.

screen-the.banquet.jpg

Image in courtesy of The Banquet

Zhang Liangying (one of the winner of the Super Girl) performed very well in the ending song. It is one of the highlights for the movie.

Went to IKEA Again

Posted on September 15, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

I was an IKEA, especially when I just graduated and went to work. A major part of my first few months salary went to IKEA… For example, this was the picture in 2002. As recent as in 2004, I still did Bulk Purchase from IKEA.

Wendy and I went to IKEA again. Maybe, I didn’t visit IKEA in the last one year or so. I am no longer an IKEA fan. Now, most furniture in my home is NOT from IKEA, and my favorite color changed from white, to light yellow, and to brown.

Today, I really didn’t find anything to buy in IKEA’s large store. I know I am no long IKEA’s target customer.

What a circle – in 1998, I could only afford to buy some glasses, and candles in IKEA. Then I bought beds, bookshelf, carpet, TV cabinet – almost everything. In the end, almost 10 years since my first purchase in IKEA, it turned out I only want to buy small stuff like glasses or candles from IKEA. What a circle!

In the 10 years, IKEA started from a small shopping mall to a mega-store. Now IKEA is big, and always crowded with customers.

Look at current IKEA in Shanghai:

“Not Happy New Year”

Posted on September 14, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

I can never over-state the importance of the display name of an Instant Messenger (IM) in the current age. People change their MSN Messenger or QQ display name on daily basis, if not on hourly basis. By looking at the display name of my friends on MSN Messenger, I have some brief knowledge about

Whether they are happy?
What they are focusing on?
How they need help – it is a personal ad platform that people ask for referrer for a job, or ask for a job, or business
Contact information. Many people always include all their contact information.
Whether they moved
Joke of the day…

My Experiment

Since I started blog, I tend to do something in “long term”. This time, I did an experiment of how important the MSN Display Name is.

My experiment was, keep the display name unchanged for half an year!

In Jan 1, 2006, I changed my display name to

Jian Shuo Wang – Happy New Year

After that, I didn’t change it. I got incredibly many people complaint to me that I should not be that lazy to keep the display name out of date. In June, I changed the display name to

Jian Shuo Wang – Not Happy New Year

Jian Shuo Wang’s display name on Sept 14, 2006

I will keep this version until the new year of 2007.

If you ask me what is special in 2006? My answer is, I didn’t change my MSN display name for the whole year (or only once). This is at least something very special for me in 2006.

People’s Reaction

During the conversation with my friend, I discovered that if you have an out-of-date display name, people will think:

You are lazy.
You are extremely busy
You don’t use MSN Messenger often
Something wrong with the MSN Messenger system

Of cause none of the above is the real reason. I am just testing people’s reaction to it and have some idea about how important it is to change MSN display name frequently (and the impact of not changing it).

The experiment has run for too long – 267 days since starting, and still have about 100 days to finish. How crazy. When someone start to plan for project that last for months, or years, does it mean he/she is growing old?

Dishuihu (Dishui Lake) Pictures

Posted on September 13, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

Shanghai is a city without high mountains. Sheshan is maybe the only hill Shanghai has. Shanghai has a river – Huangpu River, but Huangpu is not that interesting – you cannot sail or swim in it. Shanghai is near sea, but there is no beach. People like hiking may have to climb stairs of buildings. People like sailing may only be able to watch cargo boats in the river. People like sea cannot even touch the river of the sea due to the muddy shores.

It seems the only interesting natural places in Shanghai are lakes. Recently, the Dishui Lake (Dishuihu) opened to public. It is at the end of A2 (near the sea), and is nice. We went there in May. I just saw the pictures and post it here.

Photograph by Jian Shuo Wang. © Jian Shuo Wang, 2006

Volunteer for Beijing Olympics

Posted on September 12, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

Want to be a volunteer for Beijing Olympics in 2008? Recently, the recruiting started.

The recruiting of Beijing Olympics Volunteer starts from Aug 28, 2006 to end of March, 2008.

Stage 1: Beijing Volunteers

From August 28, 2006, the program opens to applicants in Beijing (and Beijing only).

Stage 2: China Volunteers

From Dec, 2006, people from outside Beijing can submit their application.

Stage 3: Overseas Volunteers

By March 2007, people from outside China (including in other countries) can apply for volunteering in Olympics 2008.

The Program

Travel, hotel are not provided. Only working meal is available for volunteers (makes sense, isn’t it?)

If you have any questions, just call Olympics Volunteer hotline

+86-10-12308

According to news, 100k college students has applied for the position after three days of recruiting. 50,000 to 100,000 volunteers are needed for the game.

If you want to participant, just call the number and ask more questions about the program. However, my guess is, to be admitted to the program is not easy.

For more information:

Olympic Jobs – Beijing 2008

Beijing Olympic Volunteer Program launched (photos attached)

Olympic volunteer recruitment begins

Beijing Olympic volunteers get call-up

Four Years of Blogging

Posted on September 11, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

Today marks the end of the forth year of blogging at Wangjianshuo’s Blog. 4 years ago, in Sept 11, 2002, I setup MovableType and wrote my first entry MovableType Successfully Installed on Windows XP on the old desktop computer in my home. No one expected that it is the start of a four-year-long blogging journey. Of cause, every year when I look back and wrote a note about the anniversary of this blog, I am not unaware of the fact that Sept 11 is a special day. The 911 event 5 years ago took away many people’s lives, and inevitably changed the world. I write with my respect to everyone involved in the trategy.

The Meaning of 911 and a Blog

When I first heard about blog on the Internet, the world of blog is always related with the 911 event. It was said, the blog was there for a long time, but the 911 event is the trigger of its popularity. When people were hit by tragedy like 911, they turned not as interested as business, money or fame. More and more people understood the meaning of live, and turn into themselves to discover a new person in themselves. They used blog to record their changed lives, and thinking… I believe the spirit of self-awareness continued on this blog. Every live is a miracle. Treat it well, and record it well.

Snap Shot of Wangjianshuo’s Blog

About this Site

Created: Sept 11, 2002

Entries: 1396

Page views/month: 2 million

Comments: 17061

Location: Shanghai, China

Time: Shanghai Time

Author: Jian Shuo Wang

Chivas’ Mermaid by Sarah Khider

Posted on September 10, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

Like many others, I am a big fan of Sarah Khider’s song – Mermaid for commercial from Chivas.

Because of the song, the Chivas’ commercial became my best TV commercial. Every time when the commercial shows, I just stop switching channels until I complete listening to the 30 seconds commercial.

The Chivas Regal’s commercial is shown frequently. There is big ad in the People’s Square Station of Metro Line #1 and #2. I don’t drink wine, or whisky. I just love the song and the lifestyle Chivas painted.

How about other countries? Does Chivas use the same song as commercial in other countries, or just China?

P.S. This is maybe the first time I ever posted lyrics, or song in my blog…

CHIVAS ” ALASKA ”

Chorus:

We could be together

Everyday together

We could sit forever

As loving waves spill over

Verse:

The moon is fully risen

And shines over the sea

As you glide in my vision

The time is standing still

Don’t shy away too long

This is a boundless dream

Come close to me my reason

I’ll take you in my wings

Chorus:

We could be together

Everyday Forever

We belong together

Further seas and over

Verse:

In the garden of the sea

I see you looking over

With my wistful melody

You leap into the water

It is no breaths sighing

This is the mermaid song

The singing of my sisters

The sea has drown for long

Brick Road in the Garden

Posted on September 9, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

To spend few hours to do labor work brought my great happiness. Today, I made a brick road in my garden by myself.

The Area

The 1.1m x 3.0m corner at the inner most of the garden was full of wild grass. I didn’t have the right time to cut the grass, so they grew wildly. I felt embarrassing at the very beginning – I know to left grass like that is very bad thing for neighbors, but recently, I found the grass of my neighbor is even worse. :-)

So this weekend, I decided to use bricks to cover the area, and leave some space for flowers in the future.

The Bricks

I found when you do it by yourself, it is much cheaper. This is what I did.

We drove to Hengda 恒大 Stone Market.

All kinds of stones were sold there in the warehouse way.

We bought 36 piece of 200mm x 400mm x 10mm bricks. They are heavy! It took me quite some time to move it to the back of the car and to the garden – two piece at a time. We calculated again and again how heavy it is to ensure our car is OK with the stones at the end. The conclusion is, the 100kg stone is not heavier than three persons sitting in the back. So we were on the road.

Removed the Grass and Lay on the Bricks

We removed the grass, and laid on the bricks. We didn’t have time to pave the ground yet. Will do it later.

It looks not so good so far. I hope when we paved the soil and lay the bricks again, and put some grass seeds, decoration stones in the spaces, it will look better – I hope so, at least.

Vanke is a Good Real Estate Company

Posted on September 8, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

Just get back from my good friends new apartment at Vanke Holiday. It is another good residential area by Vanke.

I am a big Vanke fan. Our first apartment was in Vanke, and I spent great time there, before I moved to Pudong.

Vanke is the No. 1 brand in the real estate industry. It has the largest revenue number, and good at build vast area of residential buildings and turn suburb into new towns.

The Expertise of Doing Business

Sometimes I wondered why companies with huge amount of capital didn’t invest in the booming real estate industry. For example, Microsoft and eBay, and Yahoo! may get better gain in China by investing in real estate if they did it in 2000.

It turned out the idea is naive, since recently, I understand every company has its unique expertise. If you gave 100 million dollars to Vanke and ask Vanke to build a new town, they can spend the money more effective, with lower cost and higher price than other companies can. It is the same to invest 100 million dollars to Microsoft, and they can do better job than Vanke in software industry, and eBay on eCommerce… That is the reason every company focus on their own field, instead of going into too many industry. Many big companies in China entered too much (they call it diversity in business). Some succeeded, but more companies failed to do that. In a more efficient market, the concentration of expertise will be even more clear, so the smart decision is to stick in one industry, and deliver really good result.

The World is Not Created by Genius – Part II

Posted on September 7, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

Continuing the discussion of “The World is Not Created by Genius“, I wrote a Chinese blog and created a simple AJAX application to facilitate this game on the Internet. If you haven’t read about the previous article, it is also good. You can play the game first.

The Game

Gather a group of people (I have done it for you. Currently, at least 200 persons have entered their numbers already)
Each person write down a number between 0 – 100
Calculate the average of all these numbers
The one who guessed closest to 2/3 of the average number wins

Now you are one of the participant. Please think carefully, and choose a number that seems most promising for you to win the game.

OK. Your guess has been recorded.

Here is the guess result of the latest 30 paticipants. Check out your position in the game. For explaination of the game, check out my previous article The World is Not Created by Genius.

Loading..

P.S. AJAX make it very easy to create collaborative application like this, and embed it into a HTML page.

P.S. 2. Please pass the game on to invite more people to participate in the game. The more people involved, the more interesting the final result will be.

Need to Go to Beijing Some Time

Posted on September 6, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

I haven’t been to Beijing for quite some time. I need to get to Beijing sometime soon. The IT, especially Internet, center is in Beijing. The media center is in Beijing. To run Internet business, it is wired that we don’t visit Beijing often. I also have a lot of friends (web 2.0 friends) in Beijing that we haven’t chatted for a long time. I feels the winter of Internet is not far. The momentum changes slightly since May and now it is obviously that people are not so excited about new ideas. No evidence, just some feeling about the industry.

Decathlon Store Locations in Shanghai

Posted on September 4, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

There are 5 Decathlon Stores in Shanghai. I got their store card in the Jinqiao Store the other day. They have locations for all their 5 stores. Here are the locations:

Decathlon, Huamu Store
by Jian Shuo Wang to decathlon
Decathlon, Changning Store
by Jian Shuo Wang to decathlon
Decathlon, Jinqiao Store
by Jian Shuo Wang to decathlon
Decathlon, Xinzhuang Store (Approximate)
by Jian Shuo Wang to decathlon
Decathlon, Putuo Store
by Jian Shuo Wang to decathlon

Decathlon, Huamu Store

Decathlon, Changning Store

Decathlon, Jinqiao Store

Decathlon, Xinzhuang Store (Approximate)

Decathlon, Putuo Store

Enjoy sports then!

24K Hotel Offers Booking for 2010

Posted on September 2, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

24K Chain Hotel offers booking for 2010 rooms today. They promised the price for their rooms remain the same if guests book the room today.

During the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, it is expected that 70 million people (4 times more than Shanghai’s current population) will visit he city, and hotel price must go up quickly.

The 24K Chain Hotel’s policy for booking is 30% payment upon reversation, and full payment three month before the check-in date.

About the Hotel

24K Hotel is another budget hotel in Shanghai. The other I have introduced are: Jinjiang Inn, Motel168, and Rujia.

The 24K Chain Hotel at People’s Square is a pretty good one. I have arranged some friends to stay in this hotel, and their feedbacks were very positive. The price is between 268 – 368 RMB per night.

Will the Reservation Work?

I don’t think anyone can make travel plan (especially exact date) four years in advance. However, to keep the price flat during the 2010 hotel rush hours is somewhat attractive.

Many international hotels like Shangri-la, Hilton is expanding their facilities in Shanghai to get ready for the boom of guest in 2010. Will it be easy to find some place to stay? I doubt it.

Weekend! Weekend!

Posted on September 2, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

It is weekend, again.

Gave me one day, to relax…

Who is Chinabounder

Posted on August 31, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

From today, a new name appeared in my search engine referrer log: ChinaBounder. This seems to be a hot term on the Internet today. I didn’t take close look at what the blog is about. Very briefly, I know this is a misbehaved British person in Shanghai, and made people angry by showing off his sex experience with Shanghai girls. A professor in China called for a “Hunt for ChinaBounder” and the goal of the mission is to find out this guy and get him out of China.

Recently, how foreigners should behave in China is a raising issue. During my conversation with people coming to Shanghai from other countries, I found many of them are very nice, wise, smart, and respectful, but I did meet some guys who behaves really bad in the “new land” (in their term). ChinaBounder is an English teacher in Shanghai. The debate put the role of “Foreigners as a English Teacher in China” into the center of the controversy. I don’t want to comment specifically on the ChinaBounder’s issue before I really have time to read about it. But I believe it is a very meaningful subject to explorer later.

Related resources:

The Hunt for Chinabounder | Sinosplice: Life in China

Chinese Internet users hunt author of

ChinaBounder left two comments on my blog, and that is the reason I know people are searching for this keywords these days.

7 Tips to Travel to China This Quarter

Posted on August 30, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

My friend MT is visiting Shanghai by the end of Sept. He is very excited about it. It is his first trip to China! He asked what is my suggestion for him to prepare the trip. I do have some tips.

Tip #1: Avoid Travel from Oct 1 to Oct 7.

October 1 to October 7 is the national holiday in China. It is also called Golden Week, because the continous 7 day holiday and good weather bring millions of people to scenaric places, hotels, also trains, airlines, and buses. In short, it is crowded everywhere. People visiting China typically don’t have the constraint of travel only in the 7 days, so avoid it. Also, if possible, avoid the two days before and after the holiday.

Tip #2: Visiting Shanghai? Strongly Suggest to Visit Beijing

For many business travellers to Shanghai, I would suggest to take a weekend to visit Beijing. Shanghai is the largest commercial city in China, but it is not a typical city that represent China. If you want to claim you’ve really been to China, plan a short trip to Beijing, and visit the Forbidden city, visit the Great Wall, and visit some Royal Gardens in Beijing. Even you don’t go to these famous places, to experience the wide streets and the narrow Hutong is a good idea. Just FYI, Beijing is 1400 KM north of Shanghai, and takes 1 and half hours to fly there. Full price ticket is 1130 RMB, and you typically can get ticket at 20% off price. (8 RMB = 1 USD)

Tip #3: Take Taxi!

Don’t bother to look at the transportation options unless you are really travelling with small budget. My point is, taxi is not as expensive as people think. From Pudong Airport to downtown is about 100 – 150 RMB (12 – 20 USD). There are much cheaper options like airport bus (18 RMB), but compared to the 100-150 USD taxi fare from SFO to Silicon Valley, it is not too high. To travel inside the city, taxi is also a handy choice, unless you want to experience Metro. (Disclaimer: I gave tips according to real situations. In this case, it is my friend Martin. You may find it not suitable for you).

Tip #4: Places to See?

Top places in Shanghai you should go are

The Bund. Leave it as the last place you go. Bund is much more beautiful and interesting at night (after 7:00 PM when the lights are lit).
Yu Garden. I don’t really enjoy Yu Garden, but my friends who visit China for the first time always enjoy themselves so much in the Yu Garden.
Cruise on the Huang Pu River. It worth the time and money to have a cruise on the Huang Pu River, especially at night. Typical cruise is about 1 hour.
Xuhui District. Spend an afternoon in the small roads in the Xuhui Area – near Hengshan Road, or Hua Shan Road, and relax yourself.

Tip #5: Learn Some Chinese

Although it is not absolutely necessary to know Chinese to visit Shanghai, if you know some very simple Chinese words, it will make you look better and more friendly to local people, so make your trip more enjoyable. My friends who visited China did survive very well without any knowledge of Chinese. I tried to teach them at least these terms:

Xie Xie – Thank you
Zai Jian – Bye Bye
Ni Hao – Hello

Tip #6: Bring the Right Power Adapter

The electricity in Shanghai is 220 V. You may have 110 V adapter. Most laptop, shaver, and mobile have adapter that works from 100 V to 230 V. It won’t be a problem, but the plug specification does present a problem. For example, the plug that works in U.S. typically don’t work in China. Bring a converter that works for China before your trip. I faced the challenge many times when I visit U.S.

Tip #7: Relax and Enjoy the Difference

There are many difference between cities in China and the western cities. You may find the traffic rule different (at least the way people follow the rules), the language is different, and many aspects of everyday life are different. Don’t worry. Just relax. It is not necessary to always figure out which way is right and which way is wrong. Just relax, and enjoy the difference. It is just because of the difference that you travel, isn’t it?

Bonus Tip #8: There is no Direct Flight from Taipei to Shanghai

This is obvious for many people, or useless tip for most people, but it does helped. Keep in mind, don’t expect to fly from Taipei to Shanghai directly after your visit to Taipei. You need to transit at Hong Kong, and it takes up to 5 hours to get to Shanghai. Plan according to it.

Happy travel, and share what you see in Shanghai with the community here.

Update August 31, 2006

Additional tips from my readers.

Tip #9: Ask a friend to buy you a prepaid mobile phone card from China Mobile/China Unicom. Bring your own GSM tri-band mobile phone (you may have to have it “unlocked” before you come), and pop the SIM chip into your phone. I find it incredibly important to have a mobile phone so you can schedule meetings, make dinner plans, etc. Everything is last-minute and fast-paced in China, you want to be reachable on your trip. (Also, if you have a Blackberry, I have found GPRS Blackberry support GREAT in China, just sign up for an international plan before you leave).

Tip #10: Ask a friend to buy a IP Phone Card. International calls are very expensive in China. It seems like IP Phone Card is the cheapest way to go. (Maybe WJS has some more tips).

Tip #11: Bring ATM cards, ideally on multiple networks. My main US bank account is on STAR/PLUS network but not on MAESTRO/CIRRUS network. I was stuck at the Hangzhou airport once with no cash and a useless ATM card…lucky I could get cash advance from my MasterCard! In my experience, Bank of China is on MAESTRO (the symbol that looks like MasterCard). Maybe someone can survey the big ATM networks and tell us travellers which ATM networks are most useful…

Tip #12: Carry more cash than you are used to. In the US, I carry very little cash because I use credit cards all the time. In China, everyone carries a ton of cash and there is a good reason for it. So get a money belt, don’t let yourself be pickpocketed, but also don’t run out of money because you assume that ATMs are everywhere and credit cards are accepted everywhere. (from elliott5)

Tip #13: Check whether the toilet paper is avialable before sit down onto a toilet. It will be very imbarrasing calling for help with your pants down. (from xge)

Why I Keep Losing Stuff

Posted on August 29, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

I kept losing stuff. It is wired.

One week ago, I even lost a shoe. I got onto the back seat of my car. Wendy drove the car to Xujiahui. When I left the car, I just couldn’t find one of my shoe. Till now, I have no idea about where my shoe went.

In Qingdao, I lost my glasses. I didn’t wear contact lens this time, and wore my normal glasses. The tide was strong. After one strong tide, I felt strange, and realized I didn’t have my glasses any more. It is not easy to find a glass in the sea. I gave up in 10 seconds.

I also lost some stuff, like t-shirts, grooves. That is the only explanation for why I have less and less t-shirts. I even didn’t realize when I lost them.

How strange. Is everyone the same, or just me too stupid? It is annoying.

More Pictures from Qingdao

Posted on August 28, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

A picture is better than a thousand words. Here are more pictures from Qingdao.

Rujia Qingdao, Fuzhou Road

Posted on August 25, 2006 by Jian Shuo Wang

These are pictures of Rujia (Home Inn), the cheap business hotel chain in Qingao. The pictures are the Fuzhou Road hotel in Qingdao.

Rujia is one of the best cheap hotel inns in China. It provide free wireless network and cheap by clean rooms to stay. Their locations are not the best in every city, but reasonablely good. It is a hotel I turst. So recommend it to everyone – the price for a standard room is between 200 RMB to 300 RMB.