Taxi in New York City

Posted on January 12, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

The yellow taxi in New York is clean and in good condition. The film Taxi Driver seemed misleading to me, because before that, I though the taxis in New York City is as dirty as they described.

newyork-yellow.taxi.jpg

It seems Ford is the mainstream of car model. In Shanghai, almost all taxis are Volkswagen Santana. We took taxi from the United Nations to the Empire State Building. If we had bought 7 day metro pass and understood how the bus M42 works, we may save some money.

Flying and Flying…

Posted on January 11, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

From Dec 6 of the last year till now, the mileage numbers in many airlines increased a lot: ANA, United, China Eastern and Air China…. As I didn’t disclose, on the first working day of 2005, I went to Beijing and stayed there till Jan 7. I am packing my package for my flight to Cheng Du tomorrow and hopefully I can get back this Friday or Saturday.

I don’t like business travel. On the flight from Beijing to Shanghai, I stared outside the window – I always ask for window seat from my first airplane experience in 1995.

My First Air Travel Experience

It is interesting to recall the excitement when I took the China Southern Airlines for the first time, from Zhengzhou, Henan Province to Shanghai. China Southern Airlines rewarded three free tickets to the top 3 student in the entrance exam in Henan Province (out of half million examinees). (Update: To be accurate, they sponsored free tickets for top students for Peking Univ., Tsinghua Univ, SJTU and Fudan.) I was lucky to get one. Wendy also got one. Gan Quan, who became a good friend of mine in university was the third person. :D I’d like to take the chance, after 9 years, to thank China Southern Airlines for their generous sponsorship.

Vote Me as Bloggies Best Asian Blog

Posted on January 10, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

Like to read this blog?
Followed this blog for some time?
Happen to have 1 minute of free time now?

Why not help to vote Wangjianshuo’s blog as Bloggies Best Asian Blogs? Thanks Carroll for her first vote.

screen-best.asian.blog.jpg

Image in courtesy of bloggies.com

The nomination closes by Jan 20, which is about one week away. Every vote is appreciated.

What’s Wangjianshuo’s Blog

Started in September 2002, the only author, Jian Shuo Wang, with the contribution of thousands of commenters, kept writing one article everyday. In the previous 852 days, 868 articles were published. Seven thousands of high quality comments formed interesting and in-depth discussions on Shanghai, China and the world. Topics like Maglev, Pudong airport, raising of house price, cars in Shanghai, and normal Shanghainese’s life were addressed in this blog.

No wonder why it was selected as Top 10 Best Blogs in China in 2003 and concluded as Most Impressive Blogs in 2004. It was mentioned by famous media from New York Times, to MSNBC, from BusinessWeek to Telegraph, from Salon.com to China Radio International, from That’s Shanghai to MarketPlace and Pacific Time…

The site enjoys 1 million page views per month and 160,000 unique visitors every single month. Jian Shuo Wang is trying his best to keep the blog as personal as possible and record the development of the city in his own point-of-view.

How to Vote?

Visit Bloggies 2005 homepage and scroll down to Best Asian Blogs section. Enter the name of this blog Wangjianshuo’s Blog and URL https://home.wangjianshuo.com in the form. Thank you and wish you have a wonderful 2005!

M.I.T and Harvard

Posted on January 10, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

This is exactly the M.I.T spirit in my imagination. M.I.T is so different from Harvard and very similiar with SJTU (Shanghai Jiaotong University). I also like the magazine of MIT – The Tech. This campus magazine has 20 pages per issue and shares point-of-view from politics to campus happenings. Impressive!

boston-widener.library.jpg

Harvard is a place full of stories. The most interesting story I heard in America was about the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library. A senior of Harvard majoring history told me about the story during the Harvard Guide Tour.

Harry Elkins Widener graduated from Harvard graduated from Harvard. He went to Europe for four years. When he went back to New York with all the books he collected in Europe, his ship, the Tantanic sunk in Altantic. Harry’s mother was so sad that she donated all she had to Harvard and wanted to build a Harry memorial library. Besides naming the library after his son, she asked three rules to be written into the contract:

There should be a reading room at the west wing of the building that is strictly replica of Harry’s reading room at home. Harvard needs to provide daily cleaning service for the room. This rule was kept till now (from 1914).
No bricks of this library shall be removed or replaced to keep the integrity of the memorial. To keep this rule, Harvard needs to use the window as entrance when an extension to the building was constructed
Believing unable to swim was one of the reason for his son’s death, the month requires all Harvard university graduate to proof he/she can swim at least 100 meters to get his/her diploma. This rule was abonderned about enforcing 10 years.

It was said that the month also donated to make Harvard serve icecream at all dining room from morning since 1914 because his son complained a lot that there was no icecream in Harvard.

This story helped me to understand the rational behind so many public donated libraries, parks, statues, schools, art works, and charities. The respect to the donator’s will is an important factor to encourage the donation. I am thinking of Smiling Library project, where I acted as part time consultant. If small portion of money was spent to honor those who donate the books, it will encourage more people to donate – to name the a library in a remote province after the biggest donator, or at least at the donator understand where his/her books go, and get some feedback from those who benefit from the donation, they are all very good way to keep the wheel running.

MagLev May Extend to Hangzhou

Posted on January 9, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

According to the recent news report, the Maglev may extend to Hangzhou via Shanghai Expo 2010 site. The two cities with 2 hour train’s ride now may be reduced to 27 minute’s of Maglev’s ride.

The Maglev train is about 4 km away from my current home. If it extends, it will goes along the Long Yang road. There is no obvious direct compact to my life yet. Maybe the only one is, when I drive across the Long Yang Road to work everyday, I may frequently see the fast train flying on the track everyday. Although Maglev has been in operation for more than one year, I am still very excited when I see a Maglev train “flys” away when I drive on the A20 express way to Pudong Airport (or back). It is with proud to introduce the 430 KM/H peek speed to friends coming to my city.

I spent some time to report on Maglev. Among positive comments, there is negative one like this: Maglev – A Failure?. Anyway, at the time when it seems the decision of to extend it to Hangzhou was made, my best wishes to the new Maglev project and hope it will bring more economical miracle to Hangzhou, Shanghai and towns along the line.

See also:

Pudong Airport Maglev in Depth
– 9-Aug-2003
PVG: Closer Look at MagLev
– 5-Nov-2003
Experiencing Maglev Shanghai
– 20-Apr-2004
Inside Pudong Airport Maglev Train
– 12-Oct-2004
Maglev – A Failure?
– 19-Apr-2004
Maglev at Long Yang Station
– 24-Apr-2004
Maglev at Shanghai Pudong Airport
– 29-Oct-2003
Maglev Operates in Shanghai
– 14-Jan-2003
Maglev Schedule
– 24-Aug-2004
PVG: Has Maglev Started Operation?
– 2-Oct-2003
PVG: Location of Maglev Station
– 21-Oct-2003
PVG: Maglev Started Carry Passengers
– 10-Oct-2003
PVG: One Million Passengers for MagLev
– 7-Jul-2004
Tickets for Maglev Tour
– 19-Jan-2003

Congratulations to Zong Rui’s Wedding

Posted on January 9, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

Zong Rui is my university room mate. We lived in the same dorm for two years. After that, Rui went to Tokyo for his career there.

I got his SMS when I was in New York (yes, I could still receive my SMS with my China Mobile cellphone). He told me he was going to hold his wedding ceremony in Marriot (Hong Qiao) Hotel. It was a big surprise for me. Wendy and I went to the ceremony and were very appy for him. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Zong! My best wishes to you two!

Phantom of Opera Shanghai Schedule

Posted on January 8, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

Phantom of Opera comes to Shanghai Grand Theatre. Here is the schedule.

January:

It will be on stage from 8th to 30th, everyday except Monday. There are two shows on Sat and Sun (13:30 and 19:15). There is only one show on weekdays (19:15).

February:

Everyday except 8, 15, 21, 24, 28.

Information source: tickets.com.cn.

Call 800-820-1585 for ticket. Ticket price ranges from 100 RMB to 2000 RMB.

P.S. The reason I started to post theatre information on this blog is, after my U.S. trip, I was so attracted by theaters. Also, I found for visitors, it not as easy as local people to find ticket information, especially on the rating of the theatre. In Shanghai, we know Shanghai Grand Theatre is among the best venue for performance art and musical in Shanghai. New comers may not know it yet… I am planning to see Phantom of Opera in Shanghai again. The price (the lowest one) is still far cheaper than the one we bought at Broadway in New York City (the half price was still 54 USD while the full price is 100 USD)

Update January 9, 2004

I called Shanghai Grand Theatre. The sad news is, the 100 RMB ticket has been all sold out. The lowest price for Jan is 260 RMB. It seems the ticket is very hot. There are only three tickets left for today’s show (500, 500, and 260 RMB) when I asked this noon.

New Press Report on my Blog

Posted on January 7, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

Some kind readers and friends sent me email or commented to let me my blog was mentioned on some media these days. I am certainly happy to know that. I don’t want to show off about the media exposure especially where I was just mentioned. I admit whenever someone posted me “Hey, visit this news site, your site is there!” I feel a little bit anxious. I don’t want anything to sensive repeated to bigger audience. :D

December 19, 2004 / New York Times

Your blog or mine by JEFFREY ROSEN

…”Mu Zimei has released the name of the men who has ever slept with,” wrote a Shanghai blogger named Wangjianshuo. “This is bad. I believe a blog can reveal whatever you want to show about yourself, but not others.” In response to criticism from the blogosphere, Mu Zimei deleted the explicit discussions of her sexual encounters when Sina.com began to serialize her work in November….

Thanks for Richard for notifying me and blogging about it.

January 4, 2005 / blogchina.com

Blog in China: Review of 2004 and forecast for 2005 by Kang Guo Ping

Top 20 Most Impressive Blogs in 2004

8. Wangjianshuo’s blog https://home.wangjianshuo.com The best English blog in China. The author’s open mind is good. Because his serious recording, it gained wide recognition among bloggers.

January 6, 2005 / KQED Pacific Time

A Chinese Blogger in America (Part 1) hosted by Nguyen Qui Duc

It was broadcasted on KQED Public Radio at 6:30 PM on January 4, 2004. It will be aired on many public radio stations in California, Hawaii, Illinos, Iowa, New York, Washington and Hong Kong.

Thanks Nina and Amy to make it happen.

Grassroot Art in Seattle

Posted on January 6, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

This is the part a series travelogue after my U.S. trip at the end of 2004.

Neither The Phantom of Opera in Broadway, nor The Lion King in Paramount Theater, even the Nutcracker in the Lincoln Center surprised me as much as the grassroots art I saw in Seattle. Of cause they are wonderful shows, but my expectation are as high. What I didn’t expect is, at the dirtiest and hard-to-find old abandoned building, there are some artists playing drama tirelessly, and the standard is as high.

The Reason

One night at Seattle, I decide to go to theater. I checked website and found any interesting show. Although the name seems too sexy, the introduction on their website indicates they are serious artist.

I hesitated quite some time before I entered the building. The condition is miserable. It seems to be an abandoned building nobody live in. It is near the viaduct so it is very noisy at night. Later, I discovered at different floors in this building lived photographers, play writers, and painters. The theater was on the second floor.

This is the stage. They are very professional lighting and audio system, although there are no many seats for audience. 10 persons attended the show that night, and I heard it was among the most crowded show. It is amazing that the performed seriously every night for audience that may be as little as 2 or 3 persons!

seattle-stage-live.girls.jpg

Photo in courtesy of Live Girls Theater. Taken inside the room with permission from the theater owner

The Play

Two actors and two actresses performed the one-act play three times according to the three writer’s scripts with the same characters. It was more like an experiment and very interesting. I admit it is a big challenge for my English listening comprehension. I didn’t catch all the details but some scene repeated in my mind the days after.

Secret Gallery

Another great discovery was the secret gallery beside the backstage of the theater (well, they called it theater, which is so different than my previous concept of a theater). The painters or the photographers are normal people who claimed themselves to be artists. It is very inspiring that art is not something we can only find in MoMA or Louver. An big empty room like this works great for displaying personal pictures. They put price tag to the art work so people interested may buy it. It seems more like donation than a deal for these no-so-well-known artists.

The following pictures were taken inside the gallery (with permission).

Art is Everywhere

This is the strongest feeling I had everyday. Imagine a city that has both proven-successful art and grassroots art equally prosperous. At the same night, while Lion King performs in splendid and historical Paramount Theater and well-known painters have their work displayed in SAM (Seattle Art Museum), shows like the Live Girls and painting like those displayed in the gallery also exists. This is quite impressive for me. In Shanghai, I seldom visit any place related to art. This trip changed me a lot. I know there are also lots of art activities in Shanghai. I just didn’t spend time to discover it.

Later, when I visited Chicago and New York, the feeling of art got stronger and stronger. More and more painting like graffiti (thanks Amy), street singers, metro players, but the shock they brought to me didn’t go beyond the experience in Seattle.

Bandwidth Crisis – Part Two

Posted on January 6, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

This is the second time I claimed the bandwidth crisis (the last one). This time, it is more urgent and more severe.

The Data

The problem to be a successful blog related to high traffic is the bandwidth issue. Here is the data:

screen-site.traffic-2004.png

Data source: ipowerweb.com traffice report

The data indicates this site is serving 16,1797 visitors in December 2004, and transfered 51.53 gigabyte of data the same month. There is a huge jump in the number in the first 6 days of 2005. 17G of data has been transmitted till now. I got the warning from ISP that the bandwith for this month will run out in the middle of this month.

The Solution

URL redirect is my solution to this problem. Since Tim Berners Lee educated us that Cool URIs Never changes. I strongly believe a good website citizen needs to keep the URL of the published content unchanged. So I won’t consider move any part of the existing content on my website to another location.

I used the URL Rewrite Engine in my host computer. It works this way:

The URL for the picture has been “hard coded” in each of the blog entry. For example, this picture https://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/2002/11/11/tokyo-islands-in.the.sea.jpg in this entry: https://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20021111_flying_over_the_pacific.htm seems to resides on the server home.wangjianshuo.com. Actually, it is not. I used the following rewrite rule:

RewriteEngine on

RewriteRule (archives/200[1234]/.*\.jpg) http://blog.wangjianshuo.com/$1 [R]

RewriteRule (photo/.*.jpg$) http://bbs.wangjianshuo.com/$1 [NC,R]

This rule indicates, whenever a client request a file that resides in archives/2001, archives/2002, archives/2003, archives/2004 folders with a .jpg extension, the server tell it not to bother to ask it from my server https://home.wangjianshuo.com; get it from blog.wangjianshuo.com, a server without any bandwidth limit instead. So I keep the content of each entry unchanged. Meanwhile, I kept a replica of the archive folder on the new server. I can change this location at any time. For /photo, it is the same.

I hope this is helpful for others who face the same situation. (Congratulations if you also worry about this issue).

Donation?

Eric offered to donate to help me overcome this problem. I appreciate it but it is not neccessary. It is far more expensive to add bandwidth to the existing package than buying a completely new one. I have choosen the URL Redirect solution. The Google advertisement on my site has covered all the hosting cost already.

Things to Prepare for Visiting U.S.

Posted on January 5, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

For people to visit U.S. from China, I guess the following items are necessary to survive. I am trying to keep this list as short as possible and only list the most important stuff. I will ignore obvious things like cloth and passport… This list applies to those who travel from U.S. or Europe to China as well since the difference is in two directions.

Travel Plug Converter

Not only the voltage differs between China (220 Volt) and U.S.(110 Volt). So do the shapes of the outlets. Most electronics we carry outside the country were designed to tolerate wide range of electric voltage, such as laptop (at least my Dell laptop) and mobile phone/digital camera recharge, but the shape of the plugs and the outlet may not be compatible. This is the model I brought with me to U.S.

Image credit: Planet3000

The plug of my laptop is for use in China only with the shape of this:

\ /

Although I don’t need a voltage converter, I still need this otherwise my plug cannot connect with the outlet. This is also the first time in my last four U.S. visit that I prepared this in advance. In the first three trips, I always need to spend 1 or 2 days looking for this small, cheap but important stuff.

People in U.S. traveling to China may also consider this issue.

Calling Card or Mobile Phone

It is critical to have a calling card or mobile phone with you when traveling in U.S. To use the coin to call back home is just too expensive and inconvenient.

I brought my mobile with me and it worked very well. The Dopod 515 with me. It is a tri-band mobile. China is using band 900/1800 MHz while U.S. is using 1900 MHz. After I arrived in U.S., I changed the setting to 1900 MHz (note: it will not change automatically) and then I was using wireless service provided by local providers. I have experienced Cingular, AT&T and T-Mobile during my stay. I didn’t use the phone though, but to some device with you that you can turn to during emergency gave me a sense of security in foreign land.

Be sure to call 1860 to open international roaming service first. It is free.

English Translation of Driver’s License

Although not required, it is much more convenient to have an English copy of your Chinese driver’s license if you plan to drive. I translated it myself and print it out with a normal printer. It helped because there is no English on the license.

Credit Card

This needs special note that not all cards issued in China can be used online or aboard, even it has a Visa or Master logo. My China Merchant Bank International Credit Card worked great. Now the good thing is, I can pay with credit card with USD and deposit Chinese Yuan to keep the balance. I didn’t exchange US dollars for this trip. Before, when USD was hot, people always take the chance to exchange as much U.S. dollars as possible (2000 USD limit) because it is the only chance to exchange U.S dollars by Chinese Yuan.

More…

If possible, instant noodle may be a good choice just in case. I regret that I didn’t bring some when there is nothing to eat at deep nights. We have rushed from the White House area in Washington, D.C. to China town (via metro) and bought instant noodle in 24-hour CVS there and brought it back to hotel at around 12:00 in mid-night. All restaurants were closed, according to the hotel receiption. We didn’t expect this and assumed restaurants open till deep night.

Is there more stuff people needs to go to US? Please suggest.

Life in New York is Tough for Me

Posted on January 5, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

The life in New York is tough for me. For a visitor who earns money in China (with RMB) and spend USD in New York, it is not easy. Everything seems expensive – very expensive. To get a place to settle down and to have enough food is challenge. I experienced the tough life a new comer to that city. Although I have the option to enjoy luxious trip, but I want to experience the real life of New York so we decided to cut budget as much as possible to see how much we have to spend in that city.

Shanghai is More Expensive than New York

According to a survey by CNN, if the living cost in the city of New York is a starting point with an index of 100, Shanghai is 136. I have all kinds of evidence to show you it is not true. My guess for Shanghai index should be around 20 if New York is 100.

Food is Expensive

In New York, typical dishes are among 4 – 10 USD and we spend about 20 USD very meal in Chinese restaurant. Even in McDonald’s, I have to spend 10 – 14 USD per meal. What does it mean? It is 100 – 160 RMB. This is much more expensive than the most expensive everyday meal in Shanghai. In Shanghai, 50 RMB per person in a meal is rated as good meal already and 100 RMB per person means very expensive (and often good) meal.

In McDonald’s, a No 1 Meal Suite (a big Mac, fried potato and Pepsi) cost 5.99 USD in New York while in Shanghai, it costs only 19 RMB (a little bit more than 2 USD). Additional, the price in New York does not include tax while all price in China is final with everything included. Some times the tip I pay is more than a meal I pay in China.

Transportation

I won’t complain about Shanghai Metro or Bus again. Bus or Subway in New York costs 2 USD, while in Shanghai, bus costs 1 – 2 RMB (0.12 – 0.24 USD) and typical Metro ride costs 3 – 4 RMB (0.36 – 0.48 USD).

Hotel

We stayed in hotels in Washington, D.C and Boston, but not in New York. We stayed in friends and relative’s house in Flushing and New Rochelle. The cheapest hotel (reasonable) I found is Hayden Hotel which costs 99 USD plus tax. I searched Shanghai Hotel in Expedia and found the hotels in Shanghai seem more expensive. Maybe the reason is, the hotels in Shanghai are always full so they don’t offer discount.

Gifts

I am not willing to buy gifts in New York, especially those clothes made in China. They are much more expensive than those in China. I bought 4 T-Shirt with “I Love New York” logo at 12 USD. They are the only gift we bought.

I am the Poor in New York

I am the poor in New York. I faced the challenges I never met in Shanghai – how to take buses to save money? Where is the cheapest restaurant? Where should we stay tomorrow?

Subways in New York

Posted on January 4, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

I admire the great achievements New Yorkers created in New York. After I studied New York History at http://www.nycsubway.org/, I learnt that the majority of the New York Subway system was completed between 1904 and 1918. With this background information, the current subway seems so advanced and clean. The lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, A, B, C, D, E, S, N, Q, R, W, V, L connects the suburbs and Manhattan and make it so convenient.

The rails.

The tunnels.

The train.

The signs (color, font, Exit..) are great. It makes the navigation very clear. I was so amused when I found the sign plate was collected by MoMA as Modern Art. Along with the MTA sign, iMac was also along the exhibition.

Resources:

Skyscrapers in New York

Posted on January 3, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

Shanghai is still in the stage when people tend to relate the word “modern” to “skyscrapers”. I am the same. When I am in Shanghai, I dream of visiting mountains in West China; while when I set foot to America, the most exciting city for me is still New York – for the skyscrapers.

newyork-streets-cold.without.sun.jpg

newyork-park.ave.jpg

Is the Real Estate Cooling Down?

Posted on January 3, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

I posted Hard to Buy a House in Shanghai in August, 2003. One year and a quarter past. When we enter the new year of 2005, does the situation change? Is the real estate price cooling Down? The answer is definitely no.

My friends went to see a newly opened property near my apartment in Pudong (namely, Hai Shang International Garden). Their price is pretty good – 9000 RMB per sq. meter. They just opened and people rush there. There are so many people waiting to buy the houses that the development company made the following rules:

The right to buy the house is based on lucky-draw.
All buyers needs to register with their National ID and hand in 20,000 RMB first to be entiled to the lucky-draw.
The winning rate will be one out of 50. That means, only one person out of 50 candidates will be granted the right to buy their houses.
If you want to make sure you can buy one apartment, show them 1 million RMB in cash.
The 20,000 RMB will be returned to those failed in the bid.

Sounds crazy?

7 Days and 7 Nights to Buy House

At the other property near the Centuary Park (about 20 minutes walk from my apartment), they just opened to public. People waited outside (in freezing air and experienced snow) for 7 days. They stand, eat, and sleep in the line. The price for the apartment is 16,000 RMB per sq. meter (or 2000 USD per sq. meter). This is based on the description of my friends living in that area.

Sounds crazy?

Shanghai’s Real Estate Price is Still Rising

Despite of all kinds of negative information on the Shanghai real estate market, the price of the apartments kept rising in 2004 and entered the fast raising period. It is astonishing, strange, and confusing!

Heavy Snow in Shanghai

Posted on January 1, 2005 by Jian Shuo Wang

It is very rare that Shanghai snowed so heavily this year – for the first time in the last 10 years. We entered the new year of 2005 in white.

It was icy on the road inside the residential area while the public roads are completely clear of snow already. People obviously don’t have any experience to deal with ice and snow. Traffic accidents happen everywhere. My Goudaner was completely covered by snow. The snow on the rear window, which is the deepest, reaches to 3 cm already. Both the rear and the front window were covered by snow and ice. It is not possible to remove it by hand since the ice has been very sticky to the glass. To avoid break the glass, I have to warm up the car very carefully and increase the temperature from inside. About 20 minutes later, the snow and ice began to melt so I can clear a small hole on the front. 10 minutes later, the whole front window is clear so I can start to drive. It is funny.

Happy New Year

The old Chinese saying is: “Snow indicate a fruitful new year.” I hope it will be. My heart goes out to the victoms of Tsunami in South East Asia. China (at least Shanghai, or my home) is not affected. Happy New Year to everyone!

I am in Shanghai

Posted on December 30, 2004 by Jian Shuo Wang

Finally, I returned to my home in Shanghai. The excitement and expection for a long journey I have when I started in Dec 6 lasted for two weeks and gradually turned into homesick day by day afterward and became tireness mixed with excitement at last. I am happy to return to the starting point of the journey (which is also the ending point), companied with great stories, sweet memories and interesting pictures.

It is 7:39 PM in Shanghai while the time in my clock in the digital camera and also in my brain is still 6:39 AM in New York. There is a huge jump in time again. I may need to go to bed immediately after 2 hours flight from New York to Chicago and 14 hours from Chicago to Shanghai – I suspect 14 hours are approaching the longest journey on this planet. I believe when I wake up tomorrow morning, the jet lag should disappear and I can start to writing something in details about the journey.

There are something more important than to go to bed. I have to give my big “Thank You” to the following persons who made my trip possible.

My brother Jian Zhao and Jian Sheng who helped me to plan the trip and contacted their friends;
Robet in Seattle to arrange the meetup
Eric and James who gave me a ride from Redmond to Seattle
Irfan and Andy who picked me up in Chicago and hosted me;
Mr. Gong and Guo Hua who helped me on the first part of my stay in New York
Ngai’s family who hosted me in New York City

Cold New York

Posted on December 28, 2004 by Jian Shuo Wang

I am packing my luggage and will leave U.S. tomorrow at the LaGuadia Airport in New York. New York is super cold for me these days, but peopel say the winter of New York hasn’t really arrived yet. New York is around 40 degree in latitude while Shanghai is around 31 degrees.

It snowed the day before yesterday and the snow started to melt yesterday. It was around 29 °F (I started to use F after I came to U.S.). It is freezing everywhere.

New York Pictures

Posted on December 27, 2004 by Jian Shuo Wang

Some random picked photos in New York city.

Christmas Eve in New York City

Posted on December 25, 2004 by Jian Shuo Wang

What I did today:

Amtrak from New Rochelle to Grand Central. The running time was exactly 35 minutes.
From Grand Central to World Trade Center Site. The new Freedom Tower is under construction already.
Visited Wall Street. I didn’t expect the most important street in financial world is so short. Due to the Christmas day, I didn’t see a single person on the street with suite and tie. Actually, I didn’t see many people there at all.
Heading south, I reached the Hudson River but didn’t take ferry to the Statue of Liberty.
Took Metro Line 5 and reached 86 st. Station. Then visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The most important exhibition there happened to be China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 AD. Many of the selections were found in Luoyang, my hometown.
Finally, we took M1 to the New York Public Liberty and
Went along the 42nd st. to Times Square.
Then went along the 50th st. to Rockefeller Center. The huge Christmas tree is there and there are “people mountains and people seas”.
We went to the Chinatown via Metro 6 (Canel st.) and had a wonderful dinner.
Went back to Grand Central and took Amtrak back to New Rochelle. It ran for 31 minutes.

Wangjianshuo's Blog

Events (in Shanghai) that affect my life (and others')