I found this on bbs.chinadaily.com.cn, dated 18 December 2014. It lists the 10 bad behaviors of Chinese drivers. Amusing as I guess there must be at least 100, the list is endless. Anyway, interesting view:
Editor’s note: MichaelM, our blogger from the US, sums up the most common, chaotic driving practices of Chinese drivers.
1. They will exceed the speed limit so long as there is no traffic camera in sight.
2. They will pass you like crazy on the shoulder of the road.
3. They will cut you off with mere inches to spare.
4. They will honk at you repeatedly with “seemingly” no patience at all.
5. They quickly use the lane of oncoming traffic to bypass numerous stopped cars or going slow in a traffic jam. Oncoming traffic just makes room for them, as if it is normal.
6. They will use the sidewalk if it’s convenient for them to get ahead of you.
7. They will pull out in front of you no matter the situation and expect you to stop.
8. They will cut in on you in traffic and expect you to submit and allow them to do it.
9. They do have laws very similar to ours in the West, but, they are totally disregarded. They mean nothing because there is no one to enforce them except for the traffic cameras, which are few and far between.
10. Pedestrians can be seen nearly everywhere walking in the middle of the road, with seemingly no concern for their own safety or the fact that they are holding up traffic. The drivers will honk at them and simply go around them as if nothing is wrong.
So, Michael, go back to the street and add the other 90!
Not to be surprised, Beijing traffic remains a mess, traffic police is nowhere to be seen and is totally useless. And makes pollution worse.
Letting Steam Off
University College Dublin Michael Smurfit School in Beijing
This Friday 13 March I talked to a group of fifty executive MBAs; students have an average of 34 years old and 10 years of work experience. The tour is organized by Legacy Ventures, UK.
They have been coming since a few years,
Topic was “A(nother) view on China and 2015: China at the crossroads”
Venue: Hotel New Otani Chang Fu Gong Beijing
Our partner Nicolas Ruble of prodygia.com made a video of the 90 minutes seminar and I am curious to see the result…
See: http://prodygia.com/experts/gilbert-vankerckhove/profile
And the seminars go and on: Holland in Beijing
Normally twice per year I receive a group from Holland, mostly in Duge Boutique Hotel (Nanluoguxiang). The MBA students are either from Rijksuniversiteit Groningen or the Executive MBA Sports Management (Wagner Sports).
The themes are general introduction about China (people, business and more) and a look back at the 2008 Olympics, with an update of the sport industry in China today (in English).
See the pictures of the sessions of 17 November 2013 and 24 March 2014.
Always a small group but with a lively Q&A (in Dutch)
Beijing Cough Page: updated
Following added to the page:
What is in the polluted air?
A study in 2013 by researchers of Tsinghua University identified more than 1,300 microbes in the atmosphere over Beijing. Although most of them may pose no direct threat to human health, the number still makes for alarming reading. The components of the pollution differ from city to city. In Xi’an most of it is related to coal consumption while Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have more complex sources, due to the growing number of vehicles. Particulate matters due to the burning of oil are more hazardous than those formed by the burning of coal. It is estimated there are some 200 to 300 chemicals in the PM2.5. The most hazardous are organic compounds containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a group of compounds thought to be carcinogenic. The most dangerous particles are the PM1 and Shanghai has more of those than Beijing, a reason for visibility on smog days to be worse in Shanghai; I thought it was due to higher humidity. [source: China Daily]
Gilbert’s letter in China Daily
China Daily edited a bit my post but the result is pretty close:
2 September 2013 – Frustration with smoking ban
By Gilbert Van Kerckhove (China Daily)
Comment on “Health inspectors express frustration with smoking ban” (China Daily, Aug 23)
In the article, health inspectors express frustration with the smoking ban in public places such as restaurants and hotels. If you are a smoker, you can simply ask for an ashtray in a restaurant or hotel. The smoking ban is not yet strictly enforced in facilities managed by Chinese staff.
So if you are a non-smoker and want to avoid secondhand smoke, you have to look for a facility managed by foreigners.
If you have any doubts about this, just visit any restaurant or pub in Sanlitun, an area full of bars and restaurants in Beijing. You won’t find a single smoker in Morel’s Restaurant. But you would be free to smoke in a couple of other well-known bars and restaurants.
The key to banning smoking is imposing the directive with sue seriousness.
Gilbert Van Kerckhove, via e-mail
See:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2013-09/02/content_16936709.htm