This really is the way that people in Shenzhen look at China too - at least that’s the impression that lingers.

Click through to see how Beijingers look at China or how many Shanghainese really look at the rest of their country.

Just click on the map to find out.

You can also find out how people from Shanghai see the rest of China.

This is just a tad non-pc, so don’t get too angry.

(note: For some reason, Hangzhou and Shanghai are stuck together - I can’t fix this, nor the repeated buttons.  Again, thanks go to John, Micah, 3cents, and my girlfriend.)

Just click on the map to find out.

You can also click here to find out how Beijingers see China, or Hong Kong people.  This is all in good fun, no matter how not pc it is.

Thanks go to John, Micah, 3cents, and my girlfriend.

If you say this video is a terrible simplification of things that ignores many important factors, you’re right. But watch it anyway and let me know what you think =)

With China’s stock market imploding, the question becomes: is Chinese art next?

You see, Chinese art has increased in price eight times over the past seven years - as this excerpt from this week’s print edition of Modern Weekly shows:

Challenging the Art Capitals

The interest in Chinese art helped China to pass France for third place in worldwide sales of art.   Although China’s share of worldwide auction sales is only 7.3%, far behind New York with 43% and London with 30%, it might not take long for China to challenge these first-class art centers.   Chinese art make up 15 of the 35 artworks worldwide worth seven figures or more.   And the past seven years, the price of Chinese art has gone up eight times.

It seems that Chinese art is headed for a fall — check out this short presentation for more, and add your thoughts below.

It sure as heck isn’t China’s government.

Economic growth and prosperity stands on the shoulders of countless people making self interested choices that will benefit themselves without initiating violence against others or their property.

Savings is Fueling China’s Growth

What is the choice that really drives significant growth? Savings. For what are savings, if not the choice to consume (destroy or degrade) later, and not today?

Saving is the only way to fuel economic growth and capital formation, and is done by individuals, not by government.

In China, people save a lot. And that fuels enormous growth. That along with putting to good use all of the knowledge available in today’s world.

But without the first (savings), the second (implementation of already developed knowledge, such as technology) would not be possible. There just wouldn’t be the resources to do so.

What Government is Good For

The only thing the government can do to help economic growth, besides getting out of the way, is protect the life and property of others. Anything else that it does is harmful, generally to the overall economic health of a country, specifically to those who are sacrificed for the ‘benefit’ of others.

It was only through China’s government doing less harm that growth was made possible. It is true that whenever governments do too much harm, it is not possible to save much of anything or create much of value. See China’s past for examples.

But it does not follow that government choice is the driver of growth and prosperity. That’s like saying that bully in the schoolyard helped you grow and develop as a person because he decided to steal from you or beat you up a little less every year.

No, economic growth is fueled by the choices of individuals, separate from government.

That brings us back to the fat guy on the donkey. It’s a crass metaphor, but you could say the fat guy is anyone that chooses to save, and the donkey the workers who put those savings to good work. Thrift and industry, in the traditional sense.

Where’s the government in this picture? Exactly - nowhere to be seen.

The way that people pass the New Year in China differs from province to province, and town to town, but the warm feeling inside must be about the same.

Anyway, here are some that made my Chinese New Year a little more special than usual:

What Made My Chinese New Year

1. Asked my girlfriend to marry me in Hai’nan, and asked the parents in her hometown. By far the best part of the holiday (everything else doesn’t come close).
2. Saw the baby who pooped on the floor and the dog that ate it.
3. Ate a really big, really fresh chicken leg to kick off the New Year’s eve feast, as usual.
4. Set off the most bad ass fireworks in Grandma’s farm area (in many farms in China, families live next to or close to each other and work different pieces of the nearby land)
5. Watched a far better than usual Craptacular. They seemed to have kicked out many of the older hosts and skits in favor of more popular stars.
6. Posed with more family than ever before for the big New Year’s / New Year’s Eve shot.
7. Communicated better with family than ever before, and felt more at home.
8. Slept and ate much more than usual. Laziness and glutiny, in moderation, soothe the soul.

How about you? What made your Chinese New Year a good one?

In case no one has told you yet, Chinese New Year (the first day of the lunar calendar) is on February 6th this year. The night before is as important as the day of, and most people in China will get off at the latest on February 4th to give them a day to get home.

Stay Warm…

with the tips linked above from Lost Laowai.

Be Careful

If you do any traveling this holiday season, be careful. Chinese New Year is a time that everyone wants to be home, and a small portion of people are willing to do anything to make sure they do make it home.

Also, don’t fight the crowd if you want to stay in one piece.

My Life Lately

It’s been a crazy few weeks on this end, with cold showers, leaking water, long days & nights filled with quality problems from our customers, involving plenty of running around between Shanghai and surrounding cities. But it’s over now - I’m taking off a week early to go to sunny Hainan and then off to the girlfriend’s hometown in Guangdong.

And You?

What about you: What are you doing for Chinese New Year?

If you guessed shortages and/or reductions of quality of goods, you’re right on the money. For some goods, I wouldn’t give a damn. But food? In China? Not a good idea. Nonetheless, this is the route the Chinese government has decided to go. From today’s Wall Street Journal:

Under temporary measures announced yesterday, large producers of some food products — including dairy, pork, mutton and eggs — now must seek government approval before increasing prices. Wholesalers and retailers don’t have to seek permission to raise prices, but must notify the government when the gains cross certain thresholds.

Separately, the central bank announced a measure intended to reduce bank lending as part of its continuing monetary tightening, which also is aimed partly at combating inflation.

Funny how central banks and government sometimes try to have it both ways: Even though government (through a central bank) ultimately has full control over inflation of the money supply, they still want to be able to say which prices go up and which don’t.

Why It’s a Bad Idea To Control Food Prices in China

1. Any price ceiling below the natural market price will cause shortages and other distortions in the market (for example, there’s a possibility of hoarding by producers of non-perishable food items that expect the government to allow the price to return to its natural level)
2. China already has its fair share of food quality problems without encouraging wholesale producers to cut corners by limiting the maximum price they can charge. It scares me to think that price ceilings are being added to corrupt / lax regulation.
3. Food producers will also suffer unnecessarily, along with consumers for the other two reasons above.

Okay, okay - China is far from the only country to attempt such price controls. And I’m not really that worried about these regulations - after all, living in China forces you to be careful about anything that you eat.

How about you, though?  Does this worry you?

YouTube vs. Blogs

A choice between access to my favorite three blogs and YouTube would be a difficult decision (but in the end I’d go with the blogs b/c of their greater amount of information). So it’s no wonder that cutting off access to YouTube, something that has happened before and may happen again soon in a China near you, pisses me off. What about you?

Note: There is a poll within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

YouTube in China: A Lifeline

YouTube is not just a form of entertainment, or even freedom (the freedom to communicate with many others and see the ideas of others in video, free speech at its finest) - it’s a lifeline back home.

It’s a way of experiencing all of the changes taking place w/o having to be there. A way to keep strongly in tune with the times. And it’s great.

Don’t take away YouTube, China, or you might have a revolt on your hands.