Need a burial urn?

It's been a while since I posted anything here - I guess I am actually getting used to all the weird and wonderful things that make up daily living in Shanghai but I couldn't pass this up.

Seems the Shanghai Funeral & Internment Association has indicated the city's funeral parlours and cemetaries have at least 10,000 burial urns containing someone's ashes that no one has claimed or visits.

The reason for this glut of ashes and urns is that according to Chinese tradition the best time to bury someone is on the winter solstice so you are out of luck if you die from December 24 onwards (they allow two or three days for the burial to take place). Your family has to wait a year to bury your remains and thus the problem!!!

There is a fee of 100 Yuan ($15.70)per year to hold the ashes till burial time which many people can't afford or they pay the fee and then simply forget about burying their relatives during the next winter solstice.

So if your looking for a nice Chinese burial urn, you might be able to pick one up at a great price at the local funeral parlour - you have to deal with the ashes and the ghosts that might be upset.

You really have to wonder???

I am sure you might have heard this already but the latest craziness here comes from northwest China's Gansu Province where least 18 pre-school children were killed when an overloaded kindergarten minibus collided head-on with a truck. The bus driver and a teacher also died in the crash. Another 44 children were injured, 12 of them seriously.

Terrible does not describe the accident, but what is just so crazy is the school bus was a mini van built to carry nine passengers but 62 children were crammed inside.

A preliminary investigation found that the bus had been driving fast on the wrong side of the road (what else is new) on a street shrouded in heavy fog when the accident happened. The collision with the truck occurred at around 9:15am in Zhengning County of Qingyang City.

The minibus was taking the children to a kindergarten after picking them up from remote farmlands. Five people, including bus driver Yang Haijun and four children, died at the scene. The teacher and 14 children died later either on their way to hospital or while they were being treated for their injuries. Of the 44 children who survived, 12 sustained severe injuries with two of them in a critical condition.

"This accident says a lot about the problems with the local government's role of monitoring school safety," said Liu Shanying, a public administration expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

To me it says that no matter how advanced and comopolitan the urban cities of China may be, there majority of the rural population has a long way to go to catch up. My guess is someone on the school board or in fact the whole school board will be executed for this but that won't solve the problem. The Chinese are extremely resourceful, especially the poor but this action was clearly irresponsible and crazy.

Fresh air anyone

Monday was a nasty day here in Shanghai. As the Shanghai Daily news called it, "foggy weather" grounded more than 70 flights when visibility dropped to less than 400 meters. Fog my eye -

inhalable particulates as they call pollution here rose more than seven times the normal rate on Sunday and Monday.

The "fog" is the result of particles adhering to water molecules in the air when there is high humidity - all the better to see the nasty little bits of sulphur and other noxious chemicals that I'm inhaling most days though to be honest I have not noticed any real change in my breathing or lung capacity since we've been here.

My guess is if you were born here in the last ten years and stay here, your lungs will definitely be impacted by what's happening here. For those of us lucky to have been born in North America we should be very thankful for the clean air we get to breathe every day and do all we can to insure it stays that way.

Who wants to play poker?

The police in Baoshan District busted one of the largest illegal card games in China where gamblers dropped hundreds of thousands of Yuan on a daily basis. Got to give the organizer's credit - the games were played in the middle of a dense forest and moved to new locations every day or even moved between games to evade detection.

Seems the organizers would start their first card game at 5:00 to 8:00 PM and then take the players to a local resturant for dinner while other gang members moved the game to a diiferent part of the forest where they tapped into the electricity supply for lights etc. The gamblers were provided with free shuttle service to and from the games. Pots ranged up to 600,000 Yuan or approx $95,000 (US). And if you were losing you could always get an advance from the house, with interest calculated daily.

71 people were detained in the raid near the holiday resort of Zhangshu Village. So much for having a good time on vacation.

Throwing the baby out with the bath water

We should never complain about healthcare in Canada. This from the Shanghai Daily News. Seems in Guangdong Province some medical folks got themselves into a little hot water when they pronounced a premature baby dead and put it in a plastic bag in the washroom for attendants to take away with the trash. When the baby's uncle and aunt requested to see the body, they discovered the baby was alive. The baby was rushed to the neonatal care unit while the parents were videotaping everything (I wonder why???). Doctors report the baby is doing fine.

I don't mean to come down hard on China - the people and the country have accomplished so much in such a short time but you really wonder if maybe the folks here need to sit back, take a deep breath, and relax for an hour or two every day to enjoy life.

It's all in the spin

We are back in Shanghai and as usual it's the newspapers that always amaze me. Take the "accident" yesterday that killed eight people and injured over 200. If it's true, it's a horrible accident. If it's something else it took a pretty creative guy to come up with this story.

Seems two trucks loaded with 70 metric tons of explosives blew up in front of a motor vehicle testing station. The explanation according to the Guizhou police was they were parked illegally and one truck caught fire causing the blast. Now far be it from me to be a skeptic but in any other country an explosion that goes off made of 70 tons of dynamite carried in two trucks that destroys a government building might be construed as a terrorist attack of some sort. Not the case here of course because as we all know there is no dissent in China.

The people responsible for the blast, the drivers and execs from the trucking company have been detained according to the newspaper while the investigation continues.

But all is not lost - the city government has allocated 5 million yuan or $787,000 (US) for those in need of medical treatment and relocation. That's China for you.

P.S ignore the date it's really Nov 3. I'm still at novice at all this

The Chinese still have a way to go!!

Several weeks ago, Theresa spotted this great sticker. I think if there was ever an opportunity for me to go into business, it would be as a cultural translator and help the folks understand you can't use Google translate for everything.

Consider this your laugh for the day.

What's on the menu tonight

If it's Zhejuang Province in China it's not dog.

Seems a 600 year old festival of slaughtering and serving up mouth watering BBQ'd dogs has been cancelled after outrage and protests from tens of thousands of animal activists forced the community to rethink their annual three day festival scheduled for Oct 18.

In past years, the Shanghai Daily news reports 5,000 to 10,000 dogs would be butchered on the streets and served to the people living in Hutou, a village near Jinhua City. This year a campaign to boycott the festival was started by animal rights activists online and after their message went viral, authorities stepped in to halt the festival, described as "Doomsday For Dogs".

It's a small step, and quite frankly in our time so far in Shanghai we have yet to pass by a butcher store selling dog (not that we would know what it looks like) so here's a high five for the people who managed to stop this grusome tradition.

Wanted: Female Babies

The World Bank"2012 World Development Report just released this week shows that nearly four million women are "missing" from the world's population - this the result of aborted female fetuses, female babies killed at birth and generally poor healthcare.

Leading the pack is China at one million missing females. World Bank researchers found that China should have 1.2 million more baby girls than were actually born in 2008. Put another way the birth rate in China is alarmingly distorted at 118 boys per 100 girls.

So what does all this mean? Economist predict that a new generation in China will struggle to marry and have families because quite simply there won't be enough women for men to marry. The implications of this will cascade through every aspect of life in China

The Chinese government has recognized the problem and among other measures now makes it illegal for ultrasound technicians to tell parents the sex of their baby.

Just thought you'd like to know..

Looking out my back door

Although October is fast approaching, it would be hard to tell from the way it looks out of our sliding doors. Enjoying a morning tea with clear blue unpolluted air, green grass and my daily copy of The Globe And Mail in our backyard is a real treat. It's been now almost two weeks since I've been home and though I miss the hustle and bussle of Shanghai, there is no place like home. Lots of catching up getting done, poker played and friends visited. Still lots of people to see and new restaurants to try and with the High Holidays coming up lots of great home cooking to eat.

Toronto can't compete with Shanghai when it comes to just plain weird stuff though I'm sure it all goes on here as well but living at Bayview and the Sunnybrook ravine is not quite in the center of cultural action in this city so for now at least you will have to put up with some pretty boring blog postings.

Time flies when you are having fun

It is hard to believe but it has been over 9 months since Theresa started her new job as Regional President, Asia Emerging Markets for Pfizer.

In that time we've sold our condo in Montreal, sold our Toronto condo, bought and moved into a new condo in Toronto and as well, moved into a new apartment in Shanghai. That's a mouthful to say the least.

We have travelled all around Shanghai getting to know the city, had some great dinners at world class restaurants and visited Hong Kong, Beijing, and Singapore. In the months ahead we plan to spend some vacation time in Thailand and look forward to exploring more of Asia and China.

I am flying back to Toronto today and will be joined by Theresa later in the month to celebrate the High Holidays and Thanksgiving in Toronto with our kids, family and friends.

While packing I sadly realized at least in Toronto the summer is pretty much over though here today it is sunny and 80 (well smoggy and 80). When we return to Shanghai in October fall will also have arrived here which will be a pleasant change from the sweltering summer heat but nothing like Toronto - I'm told fall is one of the best times in the city with clear blue skies and temperatures in the low 70's.

As is always the case with China there will continue to be strange and bizarre news which I will continue to report in the months ahead so keep checking the blog and let us know when we can get your guest room ready.

Our very clean weekend in Singapore

What everyone says about Singapore is correct. It's one big clean and massive shopping experience from Cartier and Tiffany stores as common as your neighbourhood Seven Eleven to Indian and Chinese parts of the city state where you would swear you have been transported to markets in India or China. The people we met were kind and very very polite. And I guess as long as you follow the many rules, "Sir your tea will be brewed in one minute and a half, kindly wait to pour it", all goes well.


Although I have not been to that many casinos, the casino at the five billion dollar Marina Bay Sands shopping complex and hotel was mind boggling. Theresa played some slots and donated a few dollars to the Singapore Government - an unlikely event since she usually is a winner.

We did all the tourist stuff including the hop on/off bus tour and even the $30.00 per person ride on the Singapore Flyer (big enclosed ferris wheel. And it wouldn't have been a true Singapore experience if we didn't do a little shopping and have a Singapore Sling cocktail (way too sweet).

Food was excellent and I would recommend the Clifford at the Fullerton Bay Hotel. The three or maybe even four story high ceiling of this restaurant provides an ambiance of real luxury and beauty and the food as well was as good as we have eaten anywhere.

All in all we had a great time. If you are looking to park a few million dollars somewhere, Singapore is the place to put it. No inheritance tax, no capital gains tax, no with holding taxes etc. It is a millionaires mecca and I guess that's why the Louis Vuittons of this world have set up shop there.

Our Weekend in Beijing

Vice President Joe Biden wasn't the only important person in Beijing this past weekend. The Firestone family, Matt, Sasha, Theresa and yours truly travelled to Beijing this past weekend to take in the sights and sounds of China's capital and surrounding country (The Great Wall of China).

Other than having our reservations at the St Regis cancelled at the last minute because Chinese security wanted the whole hotel empty except for VP Biden and his entourage, we had a great time. Our stay at the Westin in a pretty swank suite (No one cancels a confirmed reservation that I have and gets off lightly) was great but be forewarned if you are visiting Beijing. Traffic is like nothing you have ever experienced. It is possible we spent more time in our minivan than we did touring. And nothing in Beijing is in walking distance to anywhere. You have to drive.

That said we did all the tourist stuff from the Forbidden city and Tienanmen Square (where our guide said it is rumoured there is a soldier, police man or secret service person every ten meters)to the Great wall of China and everything in between including having a Peking Duck dinner and watching undercover police arrest and take away a man dressed as Donald Duck at the Bird's Nest Stadium - go figure what that was all about.

The Great wall is indeed amazing and well deserves to be classified as one of the seven wonders of the modern world and something you have to see if you visit Asia. The toboggan ride down from the Great Wall was almost as exhilarating as the view at the top of the wall.

Finally how could I not comment on the night food market - as the old Campbell Soup commercial says hmmmmm hmmmm good!! We were tempted but just could not get the nerve up to go for it. The picture in this post says it all..... we had a great time in Beijing.

Two great stories to get your weekend started

First off, we'd like you to think of us when you go out to eat this weekend - all is not gourmet food here. Seems that a popular fried dumpling restaurant cook was seen scratching his feet while wrapping dumplings yesterday.

Now the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration is investigating the Shengji Yipin Fried Dumpling fast-food chain that operates more than 20 restaurants in Shanghai.

A consumer complained that when he was having supper at the chain's SML Center branch on Xujiahui Road on Tuesday evening, he looked into the kitchen and saw a cook take off one of his shoes and socks and scratch his feet right beside the raw dumplings.

The consumer wanted apologies from the staff. Instead, several restaurant employees started a fight with him.

The restaurant staff claimed the foot-scratching "was no big deal" and said he could only "receive apologies in his dreams."

Officials with the Shanghai FDA said the restaurant is closed until it improves its sanitation, and may receive further punishment after an investigation.

The cook and other staff finally apologized to the consumer yesterday and gave him a refund. You can be sure that restaurant is on our "no-go" list.

The second story is for all those guys who think it might be safe to fool around. Here in China, the ladies take it seriously. A woman in central China's Hunan Province was jailed for 11 years on Wednesday for castrating her husband while he slept.

The woman pled guilty to intentional injury at a court in Zhuzhou City in the province, reported Xiaoxiang Morning Herald yesterday.

She suspected her husband was having affairs as he didn't want to have sex with her. The court said it had shown leniency at the request of the woman's husband and daughter. When on May 23 her husband turned down an offer of sex, the woman said she suspected he was cheating on her and decided to "deprive him of his sexual functioning."

After giving her husband sleeping pills and seeing he was asleep, she tied him to the bed and began cutting off his testicles. During this, her husband awoke and begged her to stop, promising never to stray again.

But his wife finished the job, and then proceeded to call her brother-in-law, telling him to "stitch the wound."

The next day she turned herself in.

Talk about chutzpah

Piracy in China has been moved up a notch according to an Associated Press story that reports some budding entrepreneurs in the city of Kunming have opened fake Apple stores.

An American who lives in Kunming in southern Yunnan province said today that she and her husband stumbled on three shops masquerading as bona fide Apple stores in the city a few days ago.

She took photos and posted them on her blog that show staff in blue T-shirts with the Apple logo chatting to customers in a white-walled shop with minimalist decor and signs advertising the iPad 2.

These three stores are not among the authorized resellers listed on Apple Inc.'s website.

The 27-year-old blogger, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the set-up of the stores was so convincing that the employees themselves seemed to believe they worked for Apple.

"It looked like an Apple store. It had the classic Apple store winding staircase and weird upstairs sitting area. The employees were even wearing those blue T-shirts with the chunky Apple name tags around their necks," she wrote on her blog.

"But some things were just not right: the stairs were poorly made. The walls hadn't been painted properly. Apple never writes 'Apple Store' on its signs — it just puts up the glowing, iconic fruit."

A worker at the fake Apple store on Zhengyi Road in Kunming, where most of the photos were taken told The Associated Press that they are an "Apple store" before hanging up.

And we thought the best they could do was fake great Louis Vuitton bags. I learn something new every day.

How many people on the moped?

It is not surprising this doesn't happen every day and maybe it does and never makes it into the paper but yesterday a woman and her infant baby were killed and three others were injured when the electric moped the five rode was hit by a truck at a busy intersection. That's right - five people on an electric moped.

The woman's husband, their daughter and nephew were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment and are now in stable condition.

The woman, 28, and the 11-month-old infant she held in her arms, died on the scene after the truck knocked down their moped and ran over them, witnesses said. According to the woman's husband, surnamed Mu, the family was taking the baby to a nearby hospital to have a vaccine and they were stopping their moped at a red light when the fully loaded construction vehicle hit them.

What is most amazing here is that five people on a moped is not a rare occurance - you see it all the time and marvel at the way they all can even fit on to it.

Which brings me to the rule of the road - pedestrians have no rights whatsoever here in Shanghai. Vehicles rule, even mopeds. If you are crossing on a green light, that means nothing to cars turning right or left. If you are in their way, watch out - or more likely lights out!! You don't play chicken with these guys either. They are on a mission to get somewhere and nothing stands between them and their destination. Buses included. Two days ago Theresa and I saw a bus round a corner on a red light going at least 70KM an hour. If anybody had been crossing they were toast.

So there you have it. My upbeat post for today.

Only in China you say - pity!!

Had my first chance today to see how in some instances business gets done in China.

We are bringing back to Toronto some chrome shelving next week (we don't need it in Shanghai) and since it requires professional packing we decided to see if China Post could help us out.

Henry our trusted driver and I walked into the local China Post office which I might add was packed with people mailing letters and parcels. After a quick chat and the exchange of two packs of cigarettes (one for the clerk, one for his boss) our racks were packed bundled and given back to me with a smile.

It isn't necessarily right but boy it sure works when everyone is on the same wave length. No postal strikes here in China and the two gentleman we dealt with were as happy as can be. Next time I visit a Canada Post office in Toronto I just might bring a pack or two of Rothmans and see where it gets me.

You too can earn $6.00 a day

While busy catching up on some e-mail I hear a tap on my window and what do you know - it's window washing time here in Shanghai. What's really quite funny about this is the guys start at the top of our building - 40 stories up, with I assume clean water and given the technology of their transportation, there is only one way to go and that's down. By the time they get to me on the 21st floor I can only guess what the water is like that they are using to clean our windows. I guess that's why window cleaning is done four times a year. These guys work a solid 12 hour day and make about $6.00 CDN. That's 50 cents an hour - if window washing could be sent offshore I wonder how many building owners would opt for that option. Pretty much puts in perspective why everything else is being outsourced to Asia.

A needle in a haystack

Well not quite a haystack but rather my shoulder. Today I experienced acupuncture for the first time. I have a rotator cuff injury/frozen shoulder that is being treated with traditional Chinese medicine and some good old western anti inflammatory medicine. The sensation of the acupuncture needles was interesting. Kind of like a mosquito bite but not exactly. I will keep you updated on how it's going. In the meantime today was quite a nice day in Shanghai till about 5:00 PM when the smog rolled in. Almost like a sandstorm - you could see it coming and then whammo - what was visible from a distance simply disappeared. You gotta wonder what's to become of all this.

Here's one way to get rid of those pesky real estate agents

We are back in Shanghai and thought you might enjoy this.

Although potentially serious, luckily no one was hurt. Yesterday a man yelled "there is a bomb on the train," and sent Metro Line 2 passengers scrambling in panic. Today he was detained by police in neighboring Jiangsu Province and has been charged with fabricating terrorist information.

Police said the man surnamed Zheng had a fierce dispute with his real estate broker while riding the train around noon yesterday. To get rid of the broker, Zheng suddenly shouted "there is a bomb on the train" and pointed at the broker as the bomb carrier.

Zheng then ran from the rear of the eight-carriage train to the front, alarming other passengers as he ran. More than 50 panicked passengers followed him.

In the stampede, many passengers fell to the floor and were trampled on by others. Some suffered bruises in their hands and legs. Cell phones, transportation cards and handbags were seen scattered on the ground. When the train stopped the people fled the cars while others unaware of what happened got on and picked up and kept the handbags etc that the fleeing passengers left behind. The train pulled out of the station before anyone could tell the driver what happened and was not stopped till several stops later. What can I say - this is China!!

Oh Canada

I know it's disappointing but there will be no more posts for three weeks as we head back to Toronto for all kinds of wonderful family functions.

Sasha's graduation from Western, my niece Alana's wedding, my sister Elaine's 70th birthday, and best of all my Mom's 93rd birthday - all happening in the next three weeks.

Expect to see new posts from Shanghai begining July 5.

Zhou Zhuang - Hmmm Hmmm Good

Theresa, our friend Lynn Harris from Montreal (our first official stay-over visitor) and yours truly with the able guidance of our new driver Henry, hit the road this past Sunday and travelled to Zhou Zhuang - one of China's famous "water villages", about an hour and a half from Shanghai.

Its simple, well-preserved architecture dates back more than 900 years with the majority of homes built in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now though now in certain parts of the town, the whole place could resemble one large junkaria.

The locals lead an exciting lifestyle living on the waterways and carrying out their everyday activities from playing cards to washing clothes to shopping for their favorite food which just happens to be the upper portion of a pig's foot stewed in brown goopy sauce over a slow burning fire until it is tender and the meat falls off the bone. As you can she from the picture above you just want to grab one out of the store front window, shoo off the flies and enjoy.

Suffice to say we took a pass and did not partake in this local delicacy though Theresa and Lynn did enjoy a cuppa white tea in quite a fashionable tea-house/hotel with probably the fanciest washrooms in the entire village and where we stumbled upon one of the most unique art/sculptures we have ever seen. After a feeble attempt to bargain - bargaining here as anywhere I guess only works if you are prepared to walk away and in this case we really wanted the sculptures so we bought them. To see them, you'll just have to come visit us or if you are a Facebook friend, you can see them in my Zhou Zhuang photo album.

We headed back to Shanghai in the afternoon with empty grumbling stomachs and our treasures of the day.

Do I feel safe or what

Just read in the paper today that Shanghai plans to double the number of surveillance cameras in public places in the next five years to help improve police investigation, local authorities revealed yesterday.

The city will install about 50,000 more surveillance cameras over the next five years, mainly in squares, parks, underground spaces and also along roads - like they need more???? That will make over 100,000 CCTV cameras in the city. If I sneeze it will be caught on some camera somewhere.

The Shanghai Public Security Bureau said the large number of cameras will boost police investigation of criminal cases and help track suspects and hmmmm, I wonder who else? Maybe they will be used to catch all the guys and gals who hork on the street. It was illegal during expo but that was then - it's a whole different story now. Same for the guys who walk around in their PJ's. That too was against the law but seems I see more people every day shopping and going about their daily activities in their pajamas. Pretty weird.

Is it going to be cheap? The annual investment on the closed-circuit television is somewhere between 77 and 140 million dollars (US) by the time they are all installed. The city's docks, airports and railway stations will be fully covered by CCTV and probably our apartment complex if not already.

Though the large-scale installation of cameras is ostensibly for safety purposes, the newspaper quoted citizens who were worried about their privacy and freedom. I personally think this is one of the best understatements I've ever read since being here.

Chutzpah and other stuff

Where to begin? Let's start with poor Liu Xiaojing. She was sentenced to seven years in prison for poisoning her ex lover by putting mercury in his Sprite drink. Not nice you say. Well just three weeks ago, the courts upheld a one-year prison sentence against Ma Sai, her ex lover and the victim in the Sprite poisoning. Talk about Chutzpah, he was convicted of damaging Sprite's reputation after fabricating a story blaming the popular soft drink for his being poisoned with mercury. Ma, 22, learned Liu had intentionally put the toxic chemical into his drink but he collaborated with Liu to keep the poisoning secret and blamed the beverage company for the poisoning, even though he knew it was not responsible. Isn't love wonderful?

Finally to close out the week I think after reading this you'll understand why we will probably lose weight during our adventure here. It's all about understanding what you can and cannot eat. In this case ham which neither of us eat but is indicative of what's happening here. Seems a five-star hotel claimed it found old packaging material in ham it was using.

China Yurun Food Group Ltd said a rare malfunction in its mechanized packaging process was to blame for the incident in which plastic film and metal buckles were found in the ham purchased by the hotel in Hefei City, capital of east China's Anhui Province. The company said it had suspended a flawed assembly line of its subsidiary, Ma'anshan Yurun Food Co Ltd, which produced the ham, and started a recall of products of the same batch.

The hotel chef thinks otherwise and some food industry analysts agree that the material had been used previously and mixed with the ham before the new batch was packaged. They accuse the company of unwrapping expired ham, mixing it with fresh meat and relabeling it as new. A food industry insider supported the chef, saying the company might have failed to remove the used packaging before throwing old ham into the mixer.

The story again triggered concerns over China's food quality, and especially its meat industry. In March, a banned additive was found in frozen meat from a subsidiary of the Shuanghui Group, a major rival of Yurun Food. Clenbuterol, a chemical that can boost lean meat, was found in products from the Jiyuan Shuanghui Food Co Ltd in Henan Province.

So there you have it. We just might become vegetarians.

Swim anyone?

Went exploring the South Bund neighbourhood across the river from our apartment with a few Guy Tai buddies and came across "Cool Docks", the old docklands of Shanghai that are now being redeveloped including the building of an artificial sandy beach next to the sparkling blue Huangpu River (it's really dark brown) where people can pay 20 Yuan ($3.00) for access to the sand and sun loungers - a little strange to say the least. Our apartment can be seen in the far left of the photo just behind the second last unbrella.

The entire area is undergoing a massive redevelopment with restaurants, bars, night clubs and boutique hotels starting to pop up. One of the hotels "The Waterhouse" is pretty unique. You should check out the website to see how a dilapitated warehouse can be converted into a swank 19 room hotel, restaurant and roof-top bar. This place is cool.

One of the casualties of this redevelopment is the disappearance of some of the poorest (yet still quite vibrant) neighbourhoods I have seen. If you close your eyes, you might not be sure just what year it is - people cooking and washing their clothes in the streets and vendors selling everything from silk to nuts and everything in between, all in a very close tight space. This is the Shanghai that I think we all imagine when we think of China - in a few years it will all be gone, replaced by 30 story apartment complexes the government is building to house the growing population in Shanghai. I have heard some estimates they expect the population of greater Shanghai to reach 80,000,000 by 2050. Theresa and I will be long gone (figuratively speaking of course) by then :)

What's not for dinner tonight

Today was not a good day for food in Shanghai according to the Shanghai Daily newspaper.

First we have the discovery that a parasite that can cause epilepsy and lead to paralysis has been found in batches of (what we all love to eat here) eels imported from Indonesia and the Philippines. The government tested 26 samples of eels and 14 contained the parasite gnathostoma spinigerum. To make matters worse of course imported eels are prefered to the homegrown version because it's been known for a long time that the home grown eels are injected with birth control medication to stimulate their growth.

On the next page of the newspaper it was noted three food company executives were arrested yesterday because their company had been recycling expired steamed buns by adding chemical additives and coloring to make them appear fresh. So much for eating steamed buns off the street.

Finally I leave you with the problem of bursting watermelons which actually was covered today by the New York Daily News. Seems a group of 20 farmers in Jiangsu Province used a growth accelerator for the first time during a period of heavy rains. That caused hundreds of melons to pop like balloons, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The chemical is legal in the US. It's just possible no one told these farmers exactly how to use it.

Anyways, Theresa and I are looking forward to dinner tonight. Steaks from Australia and salad from an organic grower just outside Shanghai - no chemicals, growth hormones or any weird stuff - we hope :)

Hong Kong whirlwind weekend away

We just returned from a great weekend in Hong Kong and although the weather threatened rain and thunder showers every day (I gather not much different than Canada) we were pretty lucky and although we carried umbrellas, other than a few sprinkles and me worrying about which way to look when we crossed the street, we survived.

What a beautiful city - something I did not expect. It reminded us both of Vancouver - water, great vistas and although no mountains lots of very high hills with an unbelievable number of high rises clustered together where ever there was space to build and then some. The city continues to expand dredging the harbour for more land.

We ate at some great restaurants - Aqua offered a spectacular view of the city and nightly laser light show and Indochine 1929 was a laid back Vietnamese restaurant with excellent food.

We tried to see as many sites as we could, from the Giant Budda on Lantau Island and the accompanying 20 minute cable to the top of Ngong ping plate where it sits to the Chi Lin Nunnery in the center of the city and everything in between including the "ladies market" where we found some great bargains and the quaint Stanley Market, another bargain hunters paradise. We walked Hollywod Road with its multiple antique shops selling everything from $20,000 Ming dynasty jade statues to basic schlock - quite a contrast.

Overall we had a wonderful time and I suggest everyone should take in a few days visiting Hong Kong when they come to Asia.

Diamonds or rust

While walking the back streets of Shanghai last Sunday, Theresa and I came across this woman. What caught our eye was not the fact she was doing laundry in the street but that she was wearing what looked liked some really nice pearls around her neck. This is a country of contrasts and this lady kinda sums it all up. What we also loved were the pink rubber gloves - I guess she has to make sure her hands stay soft and smooth while doing the laundry. The wash basin was also kinda neat - a bathroom sink/vanity hooked up to an outside faucet. Now there is something you don't see everyday - very creative use of material and space.

Best sign of the day award

Went exploring with a few friends to Dishui Lake today, a man-made massive perfectly circular lake about an hour from Shanghai where a housing/business complex for 700,000 people is being built near the Shanghai container port - a facility that is processing 80,000 containers a day (hard to believe) making it the largest container port in the world. While walking near the lake which is quite deep, we passed this sign. Thought you'd enjoy.

The Jews of Shanghai - an amazing story

Today we took a 4.5 hour tour/lecture on the history of Jews in Shanghai given by Dvir Bar-Gal, an Israeli journalist who has lived here for the last ten years. It was a facinating voyage into the past and a story that very few know about. Anyone visiting Shanghai should take this tour. We walked through what remains of the Jewish district & ghetto and toured the one remaining synagogue/museum open to the public and learned a great deal about the great wealth that was amassed by many of the Jewish traders as far back as early 1900. It was a full half day in sweltering 90 degree heat but we really enjoyed it.

For you construction buffs

I am now back in Shanghai and start my mandarin lessons on Monday. Send your best wishes to my tutor, he will need it. Theresa and I plan to explore The Bund this weekend and then do some "Mother's day" stuff on Sunday. Temp outside today is 27 and blue sky (sort of).

This picture will give you a sense of construction in Shanghai. What you are looking at is what will be the tallest building in China - some 120 stories I believe. It's across the road from our apartment and the model of what it will look like is the picture I use for this blog.

The construction goes on seven days a week, 24 hours a day with the workers sleeping in dorms on site (the temp three story trailers with the red roofs at the bottom of the picture. I will post pictures as the building rises. As hard as it is to believe they expect the building to be finished in 2013.

How`s this for a brilliant crime stopping technique

Seems the Chengdu police won't stop deflating tires

Officers at a police station in Chengdu, Sichuan province, have been deflating the tires of more than 100 motor vehicles every night lately to combat rampant car theft.

The practice has led to occasional objections from local residents and disputes between car owners and officers. Even so, Zhang Xiaochuan, chief officer at the Jitou police station in Wuhou district, said police will not abandon it because they have no better solution.

What's more important than the occasional annoyances, he said, is the fact that the campaign has proved effective in thwarting car thieves, who used to steal dozens of automobiles a year in the township.

To prevent car theft, especially of cars parked in unattended areas, the police station employed eight police officers and about 80 resident patrol members. That staff worked every day to deflate tires from midnight to 6 am.

Two officers then have the task of inflating the tires free of charge, starting at 7:30 am every day.

A notice was left on each car, telling the owner how to get in touch with the two officers and request that the tires be re-inflated. Sound like a good idea to me - might want to start it on some residential streets in Forest Hill to see how it goes over.

Take that you smokers - next time life in jail

A man was detained for three days for smoking in a Metro station, the first person in Shanghai to be held for violating tough new no-smoking laws, city police said yesterday.

The man, surnamed Chen, was found smoking near a ventilation shaft along Line 3 on March 23, police said.

A cleaner first detected Chen smoking on Line 3's Hongkou Football Stadium Station, an elevated station, about 2:15pm, police said.

Police arrived shortly after and Chen threw the cigarette butt on the ground.

Chen, 49, was taken to a police station for questioning. He told police he knew that smoking is banned in Metro stations and on subway trains.

Smoking has been prohibited in public places since the city enacted the ban in March 2010. During the past 12 months, 12 public venues and five individuals were punished for breaking the smoking ban. They were fined a combined 25,400 yuan (US$3,878).

However, many smokers still ignore the ban.

And you thought virgin eggs were weird

From the Shanghai Daily News today - A Shanghai resident found the pork she bought was giving off a "blue fluorescence" at night. Food safety experts said the blue light may have been caused by a photobacterium that contaminated the pork. They added that the pork would not harm people's health if it was well cooked. And not to be confused with glowing pork but today the Walt Disney Co and its Chinese partner held a ground-breaking ceremony this morning for its Shanghai Disneyland theme park, the first on China's mainland. The Shanghai Disney Resort will be located on a 963 acre (3.9 square kilometer) site in Pudong, Shanghai, with additional room to expand in the future, the statement said. At opening, the resort will include Shanghai Disneyland, two themed hotels, a large retail, dining and entertainment venue, recreational facilities, a lake and associated parking and transportation hubs, it added. So there you have it - Porky Pig comes to Shanghai - glowing red, white and let's not forget blue.

Who'd of Thunk

Bob Dylan will make his debut in China tomorrow, starting with a sell-out concert in Beijing followed by a gig in Shanghai on Friday which of course I will miss because I am in Toronto - what a drag.

It may be that Dylan has some way to go to win mass popularity in China, though. When the Xinmin Evening News, one of Shanghai's most-read newspapers, wrote a story previewing his concert, they used a picture of Willie Nelson - pretty funny.

"In China, maybe many people have heard of Dylan, but not many really know who he is," said Zhang Xiaozhou, a Beijing music critic. I'll bet the concert in Shanghai will be packed with expats of every age.

Dylan, whose first attempt to come to China last year was reportedly vetoed by the culture ministry, is being brought in by concert promotion giants Live Nation

Dylan, who turns 70 in May, will play his first mainland show at the Workers' Gymnasium of Beijing, followed by another at Shanghai Grand Stage on April the 8th.

The deed is done

The move is complete. Our Montreal condo is but a shell of it's previous past. The place looks as good today as it did when we first saw it in November 2009 and we are sad to leave it behind. Many great dinners were shared with friends and family and it truly was one of the more unique places we have ever lived in. It will be hard to top but our new apartment in Shanghai has it's own unique features (japanese toilet with a heated toilet seat and other accessories) as well as some pretty breath taking views of Shanghai and the Bund and 3300 square feet of living space so no complaints from anybody. It is a beautiful space and will be made even more beautiful with the addition of our art, photos, books and plants.

Turning 65 isn't all that bad!

This past week I turned 65 and was lucky enough to have two celebrations of that milestone event. First Toronto which I've already blogged about and this past weekend I got the honour to share a surprise party with my dear friend Don Cohen who is still a baby at 60. The big surprise for me was Matthew flew in From Halifax and Sasha and Eck flew in from Toronto with my brother Marty and his wife Marilyn training it from Toronto (something they will never do again) - complete and unexpected surprise for me and one that I was not counting on at all. We dined at the Maison de Gouveneur though to be honest we were all alittle hungry at the end of the night - not your basic jewish caterer!!! My dearest and most heartfelt thanks go out to Marla Gold, Terry Yanofsky, my special wife Theresa and Sasha who worked very hard to make this all happen. I very much appreciated it. It was a wonderful night. And a special thank you to Marty & Marilyn for enduring the bus ride back to Toronto - a truly adventurous weekend.

The Move has started

It may all sound great and glorious but when it comes down to moving from one home with alot of memories and a great view of Montreal and the Lachine Canal to a new home in an unknown land, it gets very difficult. The time has come and the packers have arrived. We are organizing an air shipment to Shanghai, a sea shipment to Shanghai, a land shipment to our condo in Toronto and a further land Shipment to a storage facility in Toronto. The chances of my favorite shirt winding up in storage instead of Shanghai is frightening. The packers are fast and if I dawdle my sweaters will wind up in Toronto instead of Shanghai. In three days we leave Montreal, lock, stock and barrel. Au revoir la belle province!!!

Am now legal

No more keeping my head bowed and looking away as I pass the twelve year old kid taking movies ticket at Cineplex.

I am now Kosher - a genuine senior citizen and on the dole from Canada's Old Age Pension.

Celebrated my sixty-fifth with family at Origin voted number one by Toronto Life Magazine and it deserves every accolade it gets. A wonderful time was had by all and to top it off I walked away with great gifts from everyone in the family. The only thing that could have made this night better was to Matthew who I really miss, as well as have my sister Elaine and brother in law Gary there but school, schedules and holidays just would not cooperate to make this happen.

And finally I would be remiss if I did not thank the special women in my life for making this happen - my mom for giving birth to me and raising me to become the fine upstanding young man I am - To my daughter Sasha, the person who makes me the proudest dad and who I miss dearly when we are away and finally Theresa, the rock and love of my life and who puts up with all my craziness on a daily basis.

Real Estate Brokers Beware

Though we are in North America I couldn't resist sharing this great story that just might foretell what's in store for the hot real estate market in Toronto. This from the Shanghai Daily News today.

Desperate gangs of real estate brokers are fighting rivals on the streets over customers, as tough housing policies hit the market.

Changning District prosecutors said yesterday that they handled two cases where five brokers from real estate companies were detained for "gang fights" in downtown areas. In one case, 19-year-old broker Xu Qing lost his customer to another real estate company next door to his agency.

Angry that all his efforts had been in vain, Xu went to the rival company's office demanding an explanation but was punched by a broker. In a fury, Xu gathered 30 people to "seek vengeance" against his rivals and launched an attack on the brokers who "stole" his customer. The rival brokers armed themselves with chairs, brooms and anything else at hand to keep their attackers at bay until police arrived.

A week later, two different real estate companies fought it out in downtown Zhongshan Park area, in another customer dispute.One broker arrived at the fracas too late as police were already there. But as he left he was ambushed by four rivals and beaten up.

A senior broker surnamed Ye working in the Zhongshan Park area said brokers are now more likely to get into punch-ups with rivals because business has become tougher as fewer people are considering purchasing apartments these days.

Heading home or wherever that is....

Yesterday we went to the Pearl Market - saw a beautiful string of black pearls listed at 36,000 RMB or $5625 (US). When Theresa walked away saying that was too much the price came down to 7800 RMB or $1218 CDN. We still walked but you get the idea - nothing is as it seems.

This morning we walked five minutes from our apartment to a grocery store in the IFC mall where we found beef from Australia, Milk from the UK, Pork from Canada, and wine from all over the world. Going to be pressed to feel like we are living anywhere other than the Western hemisphere.

We are heading back to Toronto in a few hours and then on to Montreal to pack up the condo and say good bye to Montreal.

Now it's on to Shanghai - a whole new experience that we'll share with you on this wonderful ride we call our lives.

Though I'm not back in Shanghai till May, Theresa returns Apr 3. Hopefully she'll pick up the postings till I return.

P.S. Did i mention we ordered in a bottle of wine with take out dinner and it was here in 15 minutes - cost of the diner $15.00 cost of the winr $15.00 - and no tipping.

What's the world coming too

It's Friday and my dreams of scoring some Nike or Converse sneakers today have been rudely quashed. More than 2,000 pairs of counterfeit athletic shoes were confiscated at a garment market yesterday on Qipu Road. The shoes I wanted sold for about $4.00 per pair. I mean how nasty is that. Now I have to go looking for another fake market.

Tomorrow though is no more fakes. We do some serious shopping exploration with Francine Martin, a professional shopper and head of East of the Sun which will be fun and hopefully informative and time saving for when our friends and relatives come to visit and want to do some real shopping in Asia.

That's it for this Friday morning - tonight it's dinner with our new neighbours Chris & Susan at Mi Thai, a great restaurant in the French Concession and we head back to Canada for our final packing and moving on Sunday. We say au revoir to Montreal on March 30. We will miss the city and our condo but hopefully the bonds we've made with friends will stay strong and solid during the next few years.

Where do I start - went to a Poetry Reading at M on the Bund last night followed by dinner at Nougatine at Jean George. Thought I would be bored but it was great. Woke up to another sunny and warm day in Shanghai. Went to the electronics mall where everything from iPads to $100 Dell computers (fakes I assume) were available. Lunch was at Element fresh. So far this has been a pretty North American day except for the perfectly packaged and displayed $100.00 Dell Computers. Home made stir fry veggies, noddles and chicken (hopefully anti-biotic free) for dinner and a quiet night watching the boats pass by on the Huangpu River.

My Goodness - Walmart Selling Expired Duck Meat

Whats one to think - Walmart has apologized for selling expired duck meat in a store in Chongqing Municipality. The Yangjiaping store in Jiulongpo District was caught by a local market regulator selling smoked tea ducks using duck meat that had passed the expiry dates.

The Chongqing Administration for Industry and Commerce said the local Wal-Mart sold expired ducks after frying them. In a statement to the municipal consumer's association, Wal-Mart said it will pay anyone who bought the ducks 10 times the amount they paid between February 5 and 28.

And to think I was planning to make Theresa a meal of smoked tea ducks with pig's knuckles bought at the local Walmart . Guess I'll have to rethink. :)

Home Sweet Home

We moved into our permanent Shanghai digs today - will still be a long time before our container arrives from Montreal but given we are living in a hotel/apartment complex, life is not too difficult. Between the room service breakfast menu and the house keeping service six days a week, we will be just fine.

Having our first home cooked meal in Shanghai tonight - salmon filets, mashed potatoes, stir fried veggies, australian wine and brownies for dessert.

Having some issues understanding the remote controls for the TV and the DVD player - all Chinese to me :). Somehow I've muted the sound and just can't figure out how to get it back - ahh, the challenges of living in Asia.

Virgin Eggs

This blog will contain news, views and fun stuff that crosses our path as we begin our adventure in Shanghai. Today we want to share with you an article from the Shanghai Daily News.

Custom of 'virgin eggs' not to everyone's taste

AS spring sets in, a strange smell permeates the air in Dongyang City, Zhejiang Province, as locals begin to eat the seasonal "virgin egg."

"Virgin eggs" are actually eggs boiled in the urine of virgin boys. Most outsiders are appalled at the idea, but the eggs are selling well on every street corner of Dongyang. Costing 1.5 yuan (US$0.22) each, vendors often sell out, Qianjiang Evening News reported.

Although bizarre to some, the custom is part of the city's intangible cultural - Dongyang people say the eggs have the taste of spring.

In recent weeks, schoolboys in Dongyang City were instructed to urinate into plastic barrels placed outside their classrooms, which are then collected by nearby residents. Local teachers accepted the practice and even reminded the boys not to use the barrels if they are sick.

"It's so delicious that I can eat 10 eggs a day," said a woman, surnamed Liu, who moved to Dongyang several years ago and developed a taste for "virgin eggs."

"I had never eaten them before I came here, but now I am addicted," she said

However, not all Dongyang people are interested in them. One local resident, surnamed Li, said he had never tasted "virgin eggs." "I can't stand the smell. It's awful."

In the eyes of many Dongyang people, "virgin eggs" are the perfect tonic for spring. Egg vendors will tell you that they help prevent springtime drowsiness and heatstroke in the summer.

Doctors' opinions on eating the eggs vary a great deal.

Wu Yunhua at Dongyang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine told the newspaper that urine contains a kind of crystal that can "diminish the internal heat of the human body" and stop bleeding.

But Huang Jian, the chief urology physician of Jinhua Central Hospital, contested that there is nothing good for people's health to be found in the urine. "After all, it is waste from the body," he said.