I mentioned a couple of times my gym I have been using in the past years, Powerhouse Gym, in Capital Group Building (next to Swissôtel). The large gym with the hundreds of workout machines and treadmills was quite an experience but I was not that happy with the quality of services. Though so-called part of an American chain, it looked like the US guys stayed home. English speaking staff, none, and most were often clueless when any question was asked. The personal trainers looked ok. Sauna (dry and hot) were a disaster, the air was often horrible and temperature control was a joke. Ever been running at 28C, hot dry air in the middle of winter? Maintenance of equipment close to zero, unless something really broke down. I never saw anybody from the management checking the gym. Bad sign.
Then they moved around April to another building, “behind Poly Plaza”.
As I had been fighting bronchitis thanks to the horrendous Beijing pollution, I did not go to the gym for quite a while. Indeed, running in Beijing is bad for your health – just two days ago API was at 500 with the WHO limit being 50. Gesundheit!
Two days ago I discovered the “new” Powerhouse Gym, after a long search. It’s hidden in a building next to Dongzhimen bridge. What a disaster. Tiny, run down, chaotic, 80% of the equipment gone. Looks worse than a bad local gym. I think I saw 5 people. All windows open as the aircon does not seem to work. All the traffic pollution coming in from the 2nd ring road and Dongzhimen Wai Road. All you need to get your lungs and your nerves busted.
Guess there goes Powerhouse gym, most probably financially busted. Pay a visit to California Fitness and see what they do in terms of management.
I still have to decide where to go now… But I will forget about the 3 months remaining I had actually paid for and the 6 months they promised to give free to “compensate” for the move. I could as well run along the 2nd ring road.
Beijing hates bikes and bikers
Since I am back in Beijing from Shanghai (December 1999), I am bike-less. My maid took over my run-down bike and it was promptly stolen. She learned her lesson, bought an even uglier one and painted it in an super-ugly white color. No more problems.
Anyway, how could I use one without having it promptly stolen, or being run over by a car, and without having parking lots in any of the places I usually go? Forget about biking lanes too, they don’t exist anymore (they are mostly for parking cars or worse). Cars are king.
Looooong time ago all hotels and buildings had bike parking lots with old ladies taking good care of them.
Of course some foreigners do pedal here but they don’t go to the Peninsula Hotel, Kerry Center, Hilton etc.
See here the e-mail I got from my friend Charles Rycroft on 23/11/2007 when he gave up to have a drink with me in the Centro Bar (Kerry Center), one of those networking events.
Of course, if you ride a bike you’re not good enough for Centro. Get lost, cheapskate, buy a BMW.
Charles:
Talk about the Kerry Centre not being bike-friendly– their bike-park is three levels down beneath street level and at the opposite end of the complex from the Centro Bar.
On arrival, I vainly attempted to lock my bike to various street-level lamp-posts/gates/fences in the immediate vicinity, but each time I was ordered down to the third tier of Hell by security goblins…
Not squash-bag-friendly either, as you witnessed, while my regular bag happened that night to be holding my expensive camera and most precious documents for myself and all the family. Not the best night therefore to sling the whole lot under a chair or table in a crowded bar… which you will agree was sound judgment although very poor planning although I DID at least get the dress-code right!
Tie and even grown-up shoes!
So many really good reasons therefore to give up on “the Networking” and make it back to the good old bike-n-bag friendly Kempinski, leading to your good self being the only person I “met” that evening, not counting the goblins of course.
A rat in the IHT kitchen
Someone must read the “Letters to the Editor of the IHT”.
A couple of months ago I read an article in the International Herald Tribune about Chinese food outside of China. I wrote a letter, it was never published but one week later I saw the same article in China Daily – without the doubtful black chicken comment. See here the letter, speaks for itself:
RE: Article: 12 February – “A rat in the kitchen” (by Fred Ferretti)
Interesting and correct view on the fake Chinese food in the USA, for us “Chinese” mostly pretty awful. But I disagree that black chickens are never eaten. True, the soup is the focus but I can assure Fred, local Chinese here do eat the chicken too. It is regularly prepared at home and Chinese family members and friends only throw the bones. True, sometimes in the lavish banquets too much food is served so it happens guests just stick to the soup.
Submitted by Gilbert Van Kerckhove (a Rat in Beijing since 1980)
Last note: sometimes we even eat the bones when they are soft as the meat.
August 2008: Party time
The auspicious date (I suggest to move it to 13 August) keeps Matthew Crabbe (Access Asia Weekly) very busy. He is another sarcastic fellow writing caustic newsletters. He discovered the worldwide enthusiasm of clueless journalists to talk about a party. Not THE Party (CP, remember?) of course. Follows well less than 50% of his findings:
Access Asia Weekly, Matthew Crabbe wrote:
As ‘coming out party’ is the cliché of 2008, we’ll be tackling those lazy members of the China hack pack who resort to using it. The rules are that using the phrase ironically or to criticise those who do use it doesn’t count – we’re just looking for the lazy, stupid and thick who cut and paste the cliché.
First up is a classic from The Economist. In their annual publication ‘The World in…’, Simon Long, their Asia Editor, made the point that ‘coming out party’ was a cliché on page 13. Then, on page 110, we are told that the main event in Asia in 2008 will be ‘China’s coming out party’!!!
• ‘NBC: 2008 Summer Olympics Coming Out Party For HD’ – Phillip Swann, TVPredictions.com
• ‘Organizers of the Beijing Olympics have left nothing to chance for China’s coming-out party this year’ – Reuters
• ‘Much of the pre-Olympics preparation involves convincing the Chinese that the CBC aims at fair coverage of the Games, widely seen as a coming-out party for the Asian juggernaut’ – Pip Bulbeck and Scott Roxborough, Reuters
• ‘The Olympics will be the coming-out party for a resurgent China’ – Patrick Collinson, Guardian
• ‘The Beijing 2008 Olympics (August 8-24) will be the biggest international coming-out party that China has ever seen’ – Screen Daily
• ‘The 2008 Olympics will serve as China’s official coming out party’ – Newsweek Special Edition
• ‘China plans to use the August 8-24 Olympics as its coming out party’ – AFP
• ‘China is treating its Olympics as a gala coming-out party for the nation’ – Canada.com
• ‘This year’s Beijing Olympics, widely seen as a coming-out party’ – New Zealand Herald
• “In many ways the games are China’s coming out party to the world,” said a rep for Olympic sponsor Bank of America.” – Adweek
• “Since much of the world sees the Beijing Olympics as China’s coming-out party, Chinese quality control officials have to assure that the party enjoys safe food.” – People’s Daily
• “With organisers leaving nothing to chance for China’s coming-out party this year ahead of the opening ceremony on August 8.” – China Economic Net
• “…next summer for China’s coming-out party. The Olympic symbol and theme “One World, One Dream” is omnipresent.” – History News Network
• “The Chinese government sees the Beijing 2008 Olympics as China’s coming out party” – Internet News.com
• “The Olympics is billed as the international coming-out party of the world’s most populous country and its dynamic economy” – Philippines Inquirer
• “Opera and fireworks to open Beijing’s coming-out party” – AFP
• “Organizers of the Beijing Olympics have left nothing to chance for China’s coming-out party” – Washington Post
• ‘Still, China is treating its Olympics as a gala coming-out party for the nation.’ – Canada.com
• ‘Around $40 billion are being pumped into new roads, railways, an airport terminal and other projects to upgrade the city and present a modern image of Beijing to the world for the Games, viewed as modern China’s coming out party.’ – Moscow News
• ‘The 2008 Olympic Games are often described as China’s coming-out party, but to many it’s more of a comeback, albeit one that has taken nearly 1,300 years’ – New Statesman
• ‘The Chinese sporting community is pointing to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing as a coming-out party for the nation’s athletic prowess.’ CNN.com
• ‘Beijing has pulled out all the stops in preparing for what it views as a major coming-out party, spending billions of dollars on venues, new subway lines’ – Guardian
• ‘The Beijing Olympics this summer were supposed to be China’s coming-out party…’ New York Times;
• ‘… last year and he described the Beijing Olympics as China’s coming out party…’ People’s Daily;
• ‘China’s $10-B coming-out party this August’ – Belinda Olivares-Cunanan, Philippine Daily Inquirer;
• ‘The 2008 Summer Olympics is going to be China’s coming out party…’ – PC World;
• ‘It will be a coming out party of mammoth proportions for China, with Beijing debuting as the belle of the ball.’ – The Hindu (extra marks for the bell of the ball reference);
• ‘China’s coming out party’ – Mary Hennock, BBC News.
• ‘The decision by the Oscar-winning director comes at an awkward time for China, which is hoping the Olympics will serve as its coming-out party on the world…’ – BusinessWeek (‘coming out on the world’ sounds a bit messy!)
• ‘But whether Beijing’s big coming-out party will be spoiled by the city’s notoriously foul air is still a question.’ – BusinessWeek (again and in the same issue! Oh dear)
• ‘…the Summer Games as China’s coming-out party.’ – Rick Maese, Baltimore Sun
Now that’s enough. Matthew can fill a book with it.
I am back – China’s unlucky numbers
The vicious blog is back, with new features, WordPress updated and (hopefully) bug free.
The year 2008 started with a somber mood (see earlier entries…). Beijing a visionary, I knew it. It continues not that good for me – struggling with decades of Beijing pollution stuck in my lungs and the usual Beijing burnout (in part caused by some people from Brussels – they don’t read blogs, so no problem).
Now the Chinese gossip columns agree with me. Eight is NOT a lucky number. Dish Chinese traditions. I actually suggest 13 to be the real lucky number.
Indeed, according to local analysis, the snow catastrophe in South China started on 25/1 (25 Jan). That makes 8. And Tibet became a sad news story on 14/3 (14 March). That makes 8. And the Sichuan earthquake was on 12/5 (12 May). That makes 8. Worse, that day was 88 countdown to the Olympics. What’s next? Maybe 11/6 or 2/6 or 20/6?
Never mind anyway, according to the Chinese authorities, this is all superstition. They don’t believe in all that crap (this is why the Games start at 8 min past 8 on the 8th of the 8th month in 2008, but that is all the fault of the IOC and Dr. Jacques Rogge).