Requests for City Info

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Raoul F. Duke

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Requests for City Info
« on: June 18, 2007, 06:11:19 AM »
If you have a question about a specific city and don't see a thread about it, please ask here and we'll see what we can do. Ya might just get a new thread going! agagagagag
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

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The Clan

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Re: Requests for City Info
« Reply #1 on: June 26, 2007, 11:59:24 AM »
So I have been refused by rethought Shuangyashan and am seeking an appointment in many places. One lesser known or visited is Zhenjiang. I saw that Eagle went there and took some amazing phots. Any info. on the city? Spendy place to live?
GO BIG - OR GO HOME!!

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Raoul F. Duke

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Mianyang in Sichuan?
« Reply #2 on: July 05, 2007, 04:41:56 PM »
Help guys....has anyone been to Mianyang in Sichuan?
Please contact Jollyjunklass if you have info?
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

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Schnerby

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Re: Requests for City Info
« Reply #3 on: April 11, 2008, 08:49:56 PM »
Anyone got an opinion on Henan province?
All I can hear is it is agricultural

Re: Requests for City Info
« Reply #4 on: April 11, 2008, 11:23:30 PM »
I was in Nanyang for a while--small, small town in a big, big province.  At a college.

From this I got:

Henan folk are genuinely pleasant people.
The food is crap.  Bland.  Noodles to the left; more noodles to the right.
There's a lot of dust.

Brief visits suggest Zhengzhou is great.  A gigantic modernised throwback.  a)  It's big.  b) it's chock full of tree-lined old style streets , and c) and it's fast being overlain by lots of plain sweeping highways.  Word has it, the city itself is fast becoming ever more featureless too.  Catch it while you can.

That's about it.  I stayed in the small town for six months.  Didn't get out much.

Overall: a tad bucolic.
when ur a roamin', do as the settled do o_0

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Lotus Eater

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Re: Requests for City Info
« Reply #5 on: April 12, 2008, 12:39:08 AM »
Zhengzhou has a good museum, if you like museums.  The city centre is modern, seen as a financial centre.  Locals complain about the emphasis on money.  There are some good bars reasonably accessible.

It's a nice day trip over to Kaifeng - a very interesting city, especially for it's connection to Chinese Jewry. Kaifeng has a great night market beside the lake.

Further north is pretty coal oriented - Puyang and Hebi are small, but have a couple of nice river/lake activities.

Further south along the border is good climbing and mountain park stuff.

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Raoul F. Duke

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Re: Requests for City Info
« Reply #6 on: April 14, 2008, 09:09:46 AM »
I've had several real-time friends who had come from stints in Zhengzhou. None had much kindly to say about it; some were desperately glad to be out of it. Not the worst city in China- far from it!- but not near the top, either.
Parts of Henan seem OK to visit...there is indeed a lot of significant history that can be seen there. However, so many people have learned that richness in historical sites DO NOT necessarily indicate an interesting city or a tolerable quality of life.
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

Re: Requests for City Info
« Reply #7 on: August 03, 2008, 12:32:05 AM »
Lin'an, Zhejiang. Anyone ever been there? It's not covered much in my guide books.
"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." Oscar Wilde.

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Re: Requests for City Info
« Reply #8 on: August 13, 2008, 09:31:58 AM »
So I'm moving to Haerbin in two weeks... I've read up on it but if anyone has any insider info on places to go/not go feel free to share?
it matters not what road you take, but what you become on the journey

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Raoul F. Duke

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Re: Requests for City Info
« Reply #9 on: August 13, 2008, 01:55:49 PM »
Lin'an: Not covered much because there's not all that much to cover. Factories in town; some pretty country outside of town.

Harbin: We've had a number of Harbinoids on the Saloon. Can anyone jump in here?
I've visited and liked it. The international fame of its genuinely amazing Ice Festival should say much about the weather there....cold, cold, cold...but nice in the summer. Winters are a little grimy due to the mountains of dirty, low-quality soft coal they burn there. But it seems a nice, busy little city and has a decent expat scene. Strong Russian influence remains there. One drawback: it's rather remote, and you'll have a LONG way to travel to see other interesting cities.
"Vicodin and dumplings...it's a great combination!" (Anthony Bourdain, in Harbin)

"Here in China we aren't just teaching...
we're building the corrupt, incompetent, baijiu-swilling buttheads of tomorrow!" (Raoul F. Duke)

Re: Requests for City Info
« Reply #10 on: August 13, 2008, 04:22:30 PM »
Hey Boston, You're in for some fun. Harbin is beautiful this time of year. I lived there (or thereabouts) for a bout a year and really enjoyed it.

Some cool places:

Hamamas Kofi Haus: Hamamas is run by a Papua New Guinean guy called Ronnie and his Chinese wife. It's a small, casual & very popular coffee shop. Big-assed mugs of brewed coffee 12RMB & half-priced refills. Decent cappucino, latte and milkshakes. Great hamburgers, sandwiches (on real bread) and subs. The have a smoked chicken and salad sub that's worth a plane ticket to Harbin. There's also a desert-bar to die for. The staff speak good English, it's no smoking inside and there's a great selection of English books to keep you entertained. It's a pretty good place to meet the local laowai contingent and some friendly locals, too. Say Hi! to Ronnie (you'll know him when you see him) and tell him Aussie Dave sent you. He'll smile and tell you you're welcome and charge you extra!

It's located right near Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT HaGongDa 哈工大) and the computer market (jianghua guangchang 教化广场)

The address is 2/104 Mu Gong Jie (木工街2号104室) Phone number: 0451-88581660

Most of the cabs know MuGongJie - call the shop from the cab and get them to tell the driver if you have trouble.

The computer market is also a great place for anything electrical. (jianghua guangchang 教化广场)

Harbin has a great central walking street - Zhongyang dajie (中央大街) in the downtown daoli district. The south end has the Holiday Inn Hotel with a great sports bar and the best western brekky in town (not the cheapest). The north end has the Songhua River and a Walmart. Lots of good shopping in between.

At the river end is Zhong Xia Video & Audio shop (9 Zhongyi St - just near the intersection with Zhongyang dajie) Zhong Xia is the owner, speaks good English and has the best selection of DVD's in town. If she hasn't got it she'll get it. Phone 139 4517 0327 Chinese address: 道里区中医街9号

Lone Traveller probably has the best info on the nightlife...
You have to care for it to matter.
http://www.haerbinger.com - All About Harbin

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George

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Re: Requests for City Info
« Reply #11 on: August 13, 2008, 04:25:46 PM »
Quote
Hamamas Kofi Haus
"Hamamas" means "Happy" in New Guinea Pidgin. Dunno how a bloke from New Guinea could survive in Harbin!!
The higher they fly, the fewer!    http://neilson.aminus3.com/

Chongqing
« Reply #12 on: August 21, 2008, 04:47:26 AM »
So, has anybody worked here before? What's it like?

I have no idea why I keep getting pulled towards living in this city, but it feels right! I can't find much online about other peoples' experiences though, and that's kinda worrying at the moment.

And if you've been there, would you recommend any particular Schools/Locations to work/live in? What should I avoid? Are there any Chongqing-specific weird things I should be aware of?


Re: Chongqing
« Reply #13 on: August 21, 2008, 04:57:39 AM »
Chongqing is now apparently the most populous city in the world.   Seems everyone displaced by the Three Gorges Dam project moved there, so it's grown dramatically, the poster child for Urban Sprawl and pollution.

Sounds exciting, doesn't it?  Must be a scene there.  I have to admit I'm curious as Hell about the place.
And there is no liar like the indignant man... -Nietszche

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task. -William James

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Lotus Eater

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Re: Chongqing
« Reply #14 on: August 21, 2008, 05:31:52 AM »
The girls in Chongqing have a reputation for being more beautiful than girls anywhere else in China.  Why? Because their skins are so white.  Why? Because the pollution is so bad they never see the sun.

Chongqing has had some incredibly BAD factory explosions, leaks from chemical factories etc.  They seem to have to evacuate parts of the city every year or so. When they measure the acidity of rain, it has reached the same level as the vinegar you use.

Have fun there.
« Last Edit: August 21, 2008, 05:47:24 AM by Lotus Eater »