Great wall!

We visited the great wall... truly awesome! Will provide better post later using pics from camera but wanted to share some pictures from my phone.

Capital of Minhang

We live (and work) in the shanghai district of Minhang. In the states this would be a suburb,  but in China it is part of the city.

While riding my bike I passed the government office building for the district and took a quick picture.

Ho Ho Ho !!!

Santa makes an appearance at our compounds Xmas party!

What color tree would you like?

A Xmas market near tu yuan gardens.

Package!

Before leaving the states I packed some books,  pictures,  coffee mugs,  etc...  These items were basically stuff I kept at my desk and I shipped to my new desk in shanghai.

Originally there were two boxes.  I went to the loading dock,  filled out some customs papers and dropped them off. 

When I got to shanghai FedEx contacted me with some additional customs paperwork.  Since it was in all Chinese I asked the office manager to help.  Then I made my first mistake. When she asked what was in the package I told her "personal items from my desk",  she declared the package as personal instead of business. Customs chose to open the box and found an item they believed was business related a. D refused to release it.  This started a cycle between FedEx suggesting things to me,  I would ask someone to help... it would be incomplete and we would repeat the cycle.

We are in a small office in a suburb of shanghai that doesn't ship a lot materials. I eventually got a lawyer from GEs China corporate headquarters to help. It took him 2 weeks to file all the paperwork and get the box released.

When I look at the FedEx tracking log it shows 2 days from GR to shanghai, 3 months in customs, 7 days to deliver.... with 2 separate attempts.

Delivery took so long because I shipped about 15 textbooks and estimated the replacement value at around 700 dollars.... which led to a 150 dollar tariff... which I paid in cash to avoid further delays. The reimbursement has been approved but I have yet to be paid.... beurocracy at its finest!

BTW.... somewhere along the way someone took the two boxes I packed and combined them into a single box. They also managed to break my toy helicopter!

A Mall is a mall is a mall

People are often surprised when I mention how many western stores can be found in shanghai. I was walking through a mall and saw a sign that I thought would help demonstrate.

FYI... this also my first attempt to post from my phone.

Not so secret santa

Today the Paying Customer came home from school and apologetically announced that he forgot to tell me that tomorrow they are having secret santa at school and he has to buy his teacher a 30 rmb (less than $5) gift. This after I had spent the day shopping with a friend in the fake markets! Thankfully, the Paying Customer is the creative sort, and he already had a few ideas in mind. We rode our bikes up to the closest Meijer-type store, the RT Mart, and spent about 30 minutes shopping for something he liked. He spent 29.4 rmb and this is what he chose.  I think she will like it, don't you? 

Okay, I'm getting a Facebook account, happy?

Well, technically (maybe) a YouTube account as well, but can't say for sure yet. I hope you're satisfied, 'cause if I recall correctly, people have suggested that I get an FB. I thought about it and decided to (finally) give it a go. Friend me (please????) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

November camping

Just like in the states the boy scouts go camping on a monthly basis. This month troop 12 hooked up with troop 88. We found a place out in the countryside that offered archery, laser-tag, kayaking, hiking and an empty field to setup camp.

Several of the scouts started scouting in other countries and have joined our troop. We have one boy from Australia and another from the united kingdom. Scouting in these countries is very similar, but they do have their own books, ranks and merit badges.

The Australian scout brought his handbook and it was very interesting. We were working on totin chits and he dove right in with the rest of us. To give him credit under the australian system we had to make a few judgement calls about rules like "know your local knife safety regulations" and "your local firecodes". You'll notice the US handbooks don't emphasis knowledge of the local laws for knife safety. Perhaps they should?? We had some fun deciding if local meant, china, the US or Australia.

While it rained most of the day, the Puxi troop managed to sweep the Pudong troop 3-0. For those of you new to Shanghai Puxi means "west of the Pu river" and Pudong mean

s "east of the pu river". The word "xi" means west, "dong" means east and "pu" is an abbreviation commonly used for the the Huangpu river.

There was a climbing wall, but lets just say it didn't pass our safety inspection. There were also no helmets, ropes or other safety gear anywhere we could see

The course itself was quite elaborate, with bunkers, walls, trees and other assorted obstacles.

Go-Kart YAY =^)

Hi!HIhihihihihihihihi hihihihihihihihihihihihihihhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-

iiiiiiiii! Me and The Paying Customer and

Papadumpling went to a public go-kart place this Wednesday. Note to self: If I get a family fun cente

r business, MOVE THAT THING OVER TH

ERE!!!!!!!That's all I can say.

(a couple pics added by pappadumpling)

fyi.....lets just say the Karts go a wee bit faster in china than they do in the states (pd)

House of cards

A vacant home with a private dumping ground. I mean yard.

I don't believe everything I hear, but early in our stay someone told me that the real estate vacancy rates in some parts of China have reached over 50%. I have no idea where this person got her information or if it is even remotely accurate. However, I have noticed quite a few empty buildings in the area, especially in our compound. Real estate in China, as I understand it (and I admit I know very little) is different from what we are used to. For one thing, when a new construction is purchased, only the outside walls and roughed in plumbing are included. The buyer finishes the walls, adds cabinets, sinks, flooring, etc. In addition, you don't purchase the land, you only purchase the building, so you have few rights should the planners decide to re-purpose the land on which your home sits. The reason I bring this up is that our lovely compound (and it is lovely!) has several streets of such unfinished homes. From the outside, they look almost the same as the finished houses, but they are unfinished on the inside. The management of the compound has put these unfinished house to use and they now serve as storage for furniture that isn't being used, work areas for the gardeners, break areas and other things. Many of them don't even have doors that close properly, allowing stray cats to find their way inside. It was pretty surprising to me to see these buildings being used this way, knowing what the rent is on our place! It leads me to believe that there are no renters for these properties if the management can afford to leave them vacant and use them in a way that they can not be quickly converted to living spaces. The street we live on is about 80% occupied, and seems typical for our compound. But I think that maybe 15% of what has been built is unfinished 8 years later. And yet construction continues all around town? Very curious.

Sandbags or cement? Garages on one of the unoccupied streets

One of the furniture warehouses

Low quality construction, but the inhabited areas are well maintained

Employee locker room in back, vehicle parking in front.

Back on track

We're terribly sorry about the lack of posts recently, but mom (a.k.a. mommadumpling) is coming back today from the wedding, so we should be able to do something on the blog when she's back.

See ya!! =D =P =D

Camping!

Pappa dumpling here. About three weeks ago The-works/Paying-customer & myself hooked up with the local boyscouts and went camping! That is Boyscouts of America btw, don't confuse them with the the Young Pioneers or the Shanghai Scouts.

Interest in scouting in Shanghai is surging, about 5-6 years ago there was only one troop (troop 12), as Shanghai grew/expanded another troop was started in Pudong (troop 969) to better support people on the east side of the city. This year a 3rd troop (troop 88) was founded in pudong as the troop 969 split. Overall its amazing how quickly things grow, develop & change in Shanghai.

Two weeks ago we went on the 6th (7th?) annual Richard Horak bike & hike. Richard was an active scouter in Shanghai for many years and organized the first bike & hike. At one point he moved back to the states, only visiting Shanghai occasionally. His love of this event caused him to make sure his trips always coincided with the event so that he could attend. He passed away several years ago and troop 12 continues this event in his honor.

For this campout our amazing activities coordinator (12 year shanghai resident from california, former scoutmaster, former asst-SM & overall incredible scouter) showed us around some of the rural parts of Shanghai province. We camped in a field located at the Meadowbrook Equestrian center. The owner is a former UK scout and a very active supporter of scouting, hosting campouts from many of the Shanghai packs & troops throughout the year.

We started by riding to the Huzhu Pagoda. A 900 year old structure located west of Shanghai about 20-30 miles. This 20-meter tower leans more than the tower of Pisa and is located near the top of one of the tallest "mountains" in Shanghai province. Its older than the one in Pisa and leans a wee bit futher, but isn't as tall. Its located in a beautiful national park that made for a nice break from the days riding. It started leaning after some people started digging under it looking for buried treasure (pirates!).

After that we headed over to the tallest mountain in Shanghai. In the village of She Shan there is an old Catholic Bassilica, one retired

observatory and one active observatory. At 328ft Sheshan mountain is tallest point in Shanghai province and we climbed up and enjoyed the views of the surrounding countryside.

While in She Shan we also enjoyed an authentic chinese-style lunch. One of the parents was bilingual and ordered a very tasty collection of dishes. Including peanuts (with chopsticks!), chicken soup served with an entire chicken in the bowl (cut into pieces and served on the bone), rice, eggplant, tofu, bokchoy, fish and some other stuff. We washed it down with pepsi & orange-juice (mix together for best flavor) The boys did well & tried many of the dishes and voiced no complaints about the dishes they didn't like or weren't comfortable tasting. I was very proud of them!

We finished the day by riding back to the campsite for hotdogs & a campfire. By the end of the day we had ridden over 20km and everyone slept very well. Evan was in charge of building campfire and Owen helped prepare the dinner. One advantage of a smaller troop is that everyone gets an opportunity to pitch-in and help out (we had 7 scouts and 5 adults)

One of the other scouts traveled by train all the way from Nanjing to join us on our campout. He is part of the "lone scout" program were he & his dad work through badges/advancement without the full support of a troop. He's about an hour way, close enough for campouts, but to far for weekly meetings.

Owen's favorite part was sleeping in the tent. Evan liked biking. I enjoyed the fresh country air at the horse farm we camped at. Evan and Owen also taught the boys some of the camp songs they learned at gerber last summer.

The other expats

I have meet some fascinating people in Shanghai, and most of them have come to Shanghai because they are married to someone who is now working here. Most of these are women following their husbands, but in the case of the other 2 Americans I have meet in the compound, they are husbands following their wives' careers. In Chinese, a wife is called a tai tai (pronounced tie tie) and our neighbor jokingly calls her non-employed husband a guy tai.  I have meet lots of people coming to Shanghai to work in engineering or management, which I surmise is fairly typical. Some of the familiar companies that employ our neighbors are Siemens, Disney, Ikea and Unilever. 

The spouses that trail are often quite accomplished in their own right who for one reason or another are not working in Shanghai. I  have met an ivy league graduate, a medical doctor, 2 college professors, 2 nurses, and an MBA who married right out of college and is now eager to get some good work experience.These are the people I spend my days with, shopping for groceries, having coffee, exploring Shanghai. It's nice to spend time with such educated people learning about their cultures as well as the Chinese culture all around us. Maybe we'll start a book club. 

Before we moved here, I worried that we would be older than everyone else, as so many people I had talked to told me they lived abroad before their kids started school. But I have found expat families of every age. Some are new here like me, and others have been abroad for a long time. Some have moved around all of their lives. Many of the families are multinational, with spouses from different countries, and speaking several languages in the home. Yesterday I helped my French friend with child care so she could attend to a dental emergency. She and her husband are from France. Her children, ages 3 and 7 speak French and Chinese, as they have lived in China for the past 5 years. We had fun playing with matchbox cars and pokemon figures despite our language barrier. I have met people from Germany, Thailand, China, Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, France, Sweden, Australia, Korea, Japan, Spain, Great Britain and Brazil. Most of them speak English very well, and I am grateful for that.

Pimp my ride!

Pappadumpling here. We've been pretty busy the last few weeks and its finally time to catch up with some past-due posts. This picture was taken two weeks ago when I stopped at Decathlon to purchase some camping supplies for the next boyscout campout.

I really, really, really needed a basket on my bike. There are many shops close to our house and a bike is better than a car to get those little day-to-day items. My collapsible bicycle didn't have a basket, so I've been borrowing from the rest of the Shanghai Dumpling Gang (tm). But as you recall I'm tall, incredibly tall by Chinese standards and my bike isn't big enough, it is much more comfortable than any of the others.

The color really makes it easy for me to find my bike parked in the massive bike-racks outside the stores so while it was the only color choice available, it turns out to be a big win-win.

Next....panniers! Momma's sister "Vintagegal" has been a city-cycler in DC for many years and swears by the "Ortlieb back-roller classics" that she purchased about 10 years ago. I'm still sorting out the best way to get my hands on a pair, but increased carrying capacity is definitely the next step! Vintagegal had some other interesting recomendations.

Name that fruit!

I've had the pleasure of trying two new fruits in as many weeks. The first was intentional. I saw this large citrus fruit at the grocery store and decided to give it a try. I think it is called a pomelo. It is larger than a grapefruit with a much thicker skin which is difficult to peel. The fruit was not nearly as juicy as grapefruit (maybe I just got an old one?) but the flavor was much less bitter. I would have loved this fruit if it had just been juicy, but didn't care for the dry texture. I might try another one just to see if it too is so dry.

The second new fruit we tried was accidental. I bought a melon I thought was a cantaloupe, but was in for a surprise when I cut it open:

Green flesh! So, off to the trusty internet I went to see what sort of melon we were about to eat. My best guess is that this is a galia melon, which is considered a cross between a honeydew and a cantaloupe. I would say that was a fair description of this delicious melon. I'll buy this one again!

To Ayi or not to Ayi?

I had heard before our move that it was common for families coming to live in Shanghai to hire a Chinese women, referred to as an ayi (pronounced i.e.) to help with household chores. Possibly even local families hire them, I really don't know. There is quite a lot of flexibility in what might be required of an ayi. Some are used to help with shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry and/or child care, and they may be hired as live in help or on a part time basis. We hadn't really discussed hiring an ayi because those are my jobs and I feel no need to give them up! In fact, doing the same old things here in China that I did in the States provides a certain amount of comfort for me. However, I will admit to feeling a little bit of social pressure to hire an ayi from the other Western women in the complex. Yesterday as I was walking the dog, 2 women stopped me and told my dog how lucky she is to be walked by her owner all of the time, rather than by the ayi. I admitted to them that I hadn't hired an ayi yet. Yet? Where did that come from? I am perfectly happy to cook and clean for my family and do the shopping and even walk the dog several times (most days, anyway!). These woman looked at me like I had a third eye! Aren't you overwhelmed at how difficult daily life can be? Yes, sometimes. Isn't the house too big to keep clean? No, not really. Nobody mentioned that these ladies need to make a living . . . wouldn't that be a better reason to pay them paltry sums to handle our dirty laundry?

Taken to the cleaners . . . at the hairdressers!

Ok, I'll start by saying I wasn't really taken to the cleaners, and that I was a willing participant in the events I am about to relate, lest the title mislead you! It's just that things had a funny way of turning out a whole lot differently than I had planned.

I will start at the beginning. Last week I took The Paying Customer to a hair salon next door to one of the local grocery stores that we have passed frequently. There are always employees hanging out at the door trying to drum up some business. Sometimes all of the employees go outside together and exercise or do a line dance together. They are all dressed in matching clothing and all of them are beautifully groomed. I decided that this would be a perfect place to try. With my Chinese phrase book in hand I pointed out the phrases for "I need a haircut" "Not too short" and "Scissors only, please" and we managed to get a decent haircut  with shampoo that fit all of those requests for 15 rmb, or roughly $2.35! 

Yesterday I spoke to a French friend who told me she also goes to this same salon. So today I decided to try it myself. Now, I wanted the full salon experience, so I readily agreed to the 55 rmb (that would be $8.65) treatment which included tea, shampoo, conditioner, cut and style and my favorite part, a scalp and shoulder massage! That tiny lady had some serious strength in her hands and she really worked some knots out of me! After she was done, I was moved to the stylist's chair. I used my smart phone to communicate that I was seriously overdue for a haircut and was hoping for something stylish but easy to maintain. The stylist then disappeared to search for pictures and 10 minutes later, he came back with 2 photos. One was super short, but very cute and the other longer and curly. Now, those who haven't seen me recently may not be aware of how curly my hair has become. It is no longer straight, especially in the Shanghai humidity. I looked at both photos and pointed at the curly one, with a questioning look. He nodded and suggested we try it. After he cut my hair, he rolled out the curler cart. Ok, does this mean a perm or just a set? I've learned to negotiate as you go, so we set a price ($688 rmb for everything about $101) and he got to work teaching another stylist as he went. It was quite the spectacle, with 2-4 stylists hovering nearby the entire time. They kept asking me if I had Chinese friends, no doubt hoping my new hair style would bring in all kinds of business? Jhonny (not a typo) gave me his card just in case his plan works. But really, I'll go back to him. Another of his clients came in and as she was leaving, she stopped to talk to me. She told me that the staff all thought I was Spanish because of my blue eyes. Hah! Who'da thunk it?

Minhang, the next great place to live!

The city of Shanghai into several administrative districts and the one we live in is called Minhang. Like all of Shanghai, it is growing and changing at an incredible rate. Here is a list of some of the things I love about our particular corner of Minhang:

1. Our commutes are quite short by Shanghai standards. Papa can get to work in less than 45 minutes and the kids get to school in about 20 minutes. I can easily ride the 2-3 miles to the school on my bike, too.

2. The Minhang Park is right across the street. This is a beautiful and popular park with gardens, sculptures, playgrounds, sport fields, bike and boat rentals, food vendors and more. It would be a perfect park if only they would allow us to walk the dog or ride our own bikes in there. Still pretty nice, though! (By the way, this is where we spent our last vacation day together.)

3. We don't feel like we are living in a bubble. Although we live in a compound with (mostly) other expats, we shop and dine and interact daily with the Chinese people who live and work around us. It feels like a nice compromise, with a balance of comfort and newness.

4. Minhang had the first bike share program in Shanghai. We want Auntie Veggie Dumpling to know that we see those orange bikes everyday out on the roads.

Golden Week

This week is a Golden Week, which are common vacation periods observed twice a year in China. This one is associated with National Day, a celebration of China, which is conveniently observed on Papa Dumpling's birthday. The other Golden Week is observed over the Chinese New Year, either in late January or early February. Originally we hoped to travel to Beijing this week to see the Great Wall and other sites, but were unable to arrange for a pet sitter. The dumpling children and I are happy to take things slowly (and maybe still feel a little burned out on traveling) but Papa Dumpling has had a major case of ants in his pants. He is compelled to get out and see as many sites as he can and is complaining that he has to drag us out of the house. Even at our slow pace, we have discovered a street of pet suppliers, revisited the flower market, seen the Chinese fireworks, watched the Shanghai acrobatic circus and visited one of the nearby water towns. Papa Dumpling also took his bike out and explored the neighborhood more closely,and picked up a few bulky grocery items for me. We only have one more day with Papa before he heads back to work (his office is open this weekend) so I guess we better make it count! I wonder what he's got planned?

Anyone wanna play sushi cat and sushi cat 2 and 3???

Link to sushi cat

http://armorgames.com/play/5379/sushi-cat

Link to sushi cat 2

http://armorgames.com/play/10471/sushi-cat-2

Sure hope it works in the states for you!

...Okay, I promised, I'll add in the third game as I said I would.

Link to sushi cat 3

http://armorgames.com/play/6301/sushi-cat-the-honeymoon

At the Wet Market

Today I took my first trip to the Wet Market. For those of you who do not know, this is a food market where raw ingredients of many varieties can be purchased. I didn't have the courage to take pictures, so if you want visual aids, you'll have to check google images.  I had heard from one Texan living in Shanghai that she became a vegetarian after her first and only visit to a wet market.  I was preparing myself mentally for what I might see. I figured that my frequent trips to the local supermarket were a good warm-up. I've already seen rows of chicken feet and even visited the space where the butcher works in one of our local grocery stores. This is pretty big for "Little Miss I Like My Meat Packaged." Even so, I almost 'chickened' out at the last minute. Thankfully, the shuttle dropped me off near the front of the market, where grains and oils were being sold. Nothing stomach churning there. After buying some sunflower oil., I headed toward the back of the market. It was easy for me to walk past the small pools of fish flopping around, as I wouldn't consider any of these creatures as a potential meal. Harder was going past the poultry coops. Many of the vendors where showing me big beautiful birds, no doubt thinking it would make a lovely dinner for my family. I saw a variety of tofu and eggs and many things I didn't recognize. Finally, I made my way to the produce area, where I had fun miming with one of the vendors. She kept showing me her best produce, but the first 3 things she showed me were not foods I recognized, and therefore did not know how to prepare. She ended up selling me some green peppers and also some chestnuts that I hope to roast. 

All is not as it appears

In one of his posts, Papa Dumpling wisely stated that in China, it is often best to just go with the flow. I couldn't agree more. Another Chinese 'truism' we are learning is that all is not as it appears. We have heard this said countless times by others and now I will give share from my personal  experience. I have a habit of carrying peppermint flavored tic tacs in my purse. I ran out weeks ago, and have been considering a replacement mint since I haven't seen tic tacs on any of the store shelves. I finally decided to try these instead. Seems like a safe bet, who doesn't like Wrigley's Doublemint?

Yum?

Turns out, we don't like the Chinese idea of doublemint!  These may APPEAR familiar, but they are not. These things are HORRID! They taste slightly like mint, but more like flowers and soap. I suppose the flower on the label may have been a hint. The Paying Customer and The Works want to save them to share with any guests we might get. Aren't they thoughtful?

Lowes!?

Last weekend I went riding around the neighborhood and finally discovered where the contractors in Shanghai go to get their building materials. The area I found was a huge triangular section of streets, about 3-4 blocks wide and 6-7 blocks long. You can see it here, just click on the satellite image and look for the blue roofs (I cannot seem to link to the satellite version, click on the map of the world in the upper right hand corner)

The whole approach was very much based on the bazaar-style approach. Each of the shops appeared to be owner-operated and specialized in something different. The number of cars/trucks/bikes/scooters made me wonder how anyone ever actually manages to get what they need.

I've got a pretty good track record that for every 2 hours working on a project I need to make one 30 minute trip to the hardware store. I believe any projects in Shanghai will completely invert that ratio to every 2 hours spent getting my materials will allow me to make 30 minutes of progress.

Need some wire?

I was glad to see that Kohler found a place to market their goods, I'm sure the people back in Sheboygan will be reassured that the Kohler brand actually is very noticeable. I've been to alot of shops, restaurant and hotels with their stuff.

Need a new hot water heater??

Of course what I should have really taken pictures of were all the bikes with large wagons attached (tricycles actually), loading/transporting all the different items. The one that stuck in my memory was carrying two very large valve assembly's, easily large enough to double as fire hydrants.

Vroom vroom

So we went out and purchased new bikes to get around. Given all the stories I have heard of bikes being stolen we kept it simple and went to the local carrefour (think k-mart/meijers) and purchased some inexpensive ($50-$90) bikes so we could get around.

This one is actually The Paying Customer's bike, his came with a basket & I was on a mission. I had stuff to buy and needed a way to carry it all home. Charcoal, steaks & beer!! Loaded up and headed back. The place we are renting came with a grill...good. But, the chinese are very environmentally conscious and lighter fluid appears to be very hard to find. I find this very odd given their passion for fireworks. I ended up using these small "lighter brickets" one small box came with 4 of them. They light easily enough, but take 5-10 minutes to heat up and turn gray, no flames, they just slowly heat up....then you wait for them to heat up all the "normal" brickets....took over an hour to get the grill going. Definitely need to track down some "boy scout fire water"....perhaps I'll stop by the local painting supply store and get some of uncle deans favorite camping gear :-)

This is my ride! It has several unique characteristics. First and foremost it was the only bike I could find that was close enough to my size. While the average height of the Chinese is increasing as each generation gains better access western style methods for growing food, the bicycle industry hasn't responded yet.

This is actually an american made bike purchased in china! Its almost big enough, has a rack and it folds up small enough to fit into the trunk of a taxi. Overall not a bad gig. Next step is to find a basket I can mount on the front and maybe dig up same panniers.

On the rack you can see the brand-new giant-branded bike pump I purchased ($7.50), The Works' bike had a flat and required some repair work, and some tools...and some time. Found the local sporting good store (decathlon.com.cn), overall a decent place to get bike, camping & ping-pong gear.

The Flower Market

Inside the market, just one of many corridors. 

Outside vending area

This week, I took it to compound's shuttle service to one of Shanghia's flower markets, and I hope to return soon with more spending money and a bigger shopping bag! The market houses various vendors peddling indoor and outdoor plants, cut flowers, seeds, potting soil, vases, kitchen ware, knick-knacks as well as pet birds and fish. It was great fun to explore the shops, but I barely scratched the surface because I had quickly spent my money and filled my shopping bag. As I am still learning the ropes with shopping, I was unsure if this was a place to bargain or not, so I just paid the asking price, which I later learned was a mistake. However, I still feel as if I got a great deal, as I came home with 7 sizable plants and 2 matching glazed pots for about $25.

One of 2 matching planters on our porch.

The gnome finally gets a bit of  privacy.

Hong Kong!

Ok, because I was unable to obtain all of necessary documentation before we moved to China I was "forced" to make a trip to Hong Kong! This was necessary so that I could leave the country & visit the Chinese consulate, obtain a Z-visa & re-enter the country. Since HK is now part of China I don't really understand how/why this works, but as with all things in China its best to simply go with the flow.

I find the entire Visa process facinating. They ask for a pile of forms, check to make sure they are all filled in then put a big sticker in your passport. Since they will turn these things around in as little as 4 hours (chicago) or 24 hours (HK) I suspect its just some form of test....or simply a mysterious ritual that I wasn't meant to understand.

The Z visa is very fascinating since it required a health check, a work authorization and an official invitation letter from the Chinese government (that had to be requested by GE) Now that I have it I am allowed to enter china once (done!) and work for 30 days. I am now also allowed to apply for a work permit and a residency permit that will allow our entire family to stay for one year....when we get to do it all again! :-) Hmmm, 30 day process to apply for a Z visa, followed by a 30 day process to finish..pretty fishy....moon cycles?

Honestly after reading a bit of Chinese history I believe it dates back to when "barbarians" visiting china were expected to go through an elaborate series of ceremonies and gift exchanges before getting down to business. Modern china has simply streamlined the process.

We had a good time in HK, between my two visits to the Consulate we managed to visit HK Disney, tour a museum, walk about town and do wee bit of shopping.

When the British claimed HK after the opium war it looked like a vicious defeat for China. HK then spent 100 years developing into one of the most famous cities in the world....that now belongs to china. Perhaps the Chinese found an interesting way to turn defeat into victory?