View Larger Map

One annoyance about the form on the Consulate website is that it’s not fillable. You can’t type in the PDF fields and print it out. So, if you want a fillable Q-2007, you can download it here: China Visa Application Form: Q-2007.pdf.

Were these tycoons consciously courting Asian babes? Do any of them qualify for the unnerving “yellow fever” or “rice king” moniker? It’s unsavory to think so. But after two or three failed attempts at domestic bliss with women of like background and age, these heavy hitters sought out something different. Something they had likely fetishized.

Like almost all classic racism, the author exhibits her own prejudices prima facie. I’ll attempt to list them here:

• Women are objects to “have” or “collect”
• Asian women are exclusively objects of fetishism
• Asian women are a “more valuable” commodity than American women

We can attribute most of the tastelessness to the author’s own perception of what it’s like to be an Asian woman in America. It seems that the men she’s dated have reinforced the “omnipresent and often entertaining” sexual stereotyping of Asian women:

Sure, I’m petite and was in fact born in Shanghai, but — to the shock of more than one guy I’ve gone out with — I’d rather down an icy beer and burger than nurse bubble tea and eat dumplings while massaging his back with my toes.

The point of globalism and the 21st century is that our generation is a new fresh generation. We have internet, we’ve seen people of all races and cultural backgrounds. Many of us have attended college and learned about far away places that a mere hundred years ago would have been a page in the encyclopedia, and impossible to travel to. We can throw off stereotype and challenge it, discarding labels like “Asian Trophy Wife”. An interracial couple is just two people in love.

I agree with Latoya Peterson at Jezebel, who writes that “the article is a scattershot bunch of ideas, culminating in nothing.” See also Asian Women Aren’t Just Fetish Objects and 8 Asians take.

Update: Check out the comments on the original article, some are really quite amazing:

Dear Editor: I applaud you for publishing ads with Asian models and running an article highlighting the attributes of Asian cosmetics and culture in an attempt to balance out the derogatory assertions and stereotypes made in “Trophy Wives”. Maybe next time, you can have an African writer address the topic of Educated African Americans with the header “Uncle Toms”. I’m sure your talented staff will find a way to rationalize it, and pass it off as not so bad.

Why? Why go through all the trouble of going to Japan, learning a very difficult language, and hooking up with an Asian girl? Why not just marry Mary Anne from the back hills? Because some people just like something different is why. Most people may love their iPods, but there are a few renegades who love their Zunes.

Marie Claire, This article is not edgy, it is not bold, and most importantly, it is not based on facts. This article is a racist tirade aimed at inter-racial relationships and loaded with ignorance. How could you publish this? What kind of editor would let this article enter the pages of your magazine? I’ve noticed there are many “high powered men” that have brunette wives, does that mean that men have a “fetish” for brunettes?

Is this all we can expect from a supposedly urbane NYC-dwelling educated woman? Ying, you’ve revealed too much of your personal identity issues here. This piece sounds like it came from your diary. Editors, this is the kind of drivel you publish under “Sex and Relationship Advice”? If these things were said in real-life conversation, it would induce silent stares and ridicule amongst the uncomfortable parties.

Every weekend, thousands of looky-loos pour into the massive showroom to use the displays. Some hop into bed, slide under the covers and sneak a nap; others bring cameras and pose with the decor. Families while away the afternoon in the store for no other reason than to enjoy the air conditioning.

Purchasing anything at Yi Jia, as the store is called here, can seem like an afterthought. “It’s the only big store in Beijing where a security guard doesn’t stop you from taking a picture,” said Jing Bo, 30, who was looking for promising backdrops for a photograph of his girlfriend.

In the IKEA at the West Edmonton Mall in Canada I fondly recall a ball playpen where children could be left unattended (well supervised by IKEA personnel) until their parents returned from shopping. In China, IKEA itself is the playground.

“I’m totally for the rules. It’s uncomfortable to get dirty text messages from male friends and even more gross when they are from strangers. But I’ll take them as jokes and reply if they are from my female friends.”

Members of the communist party in Shenze country in Hebei have been diligent in stamping out ‘inappropriate’ text messages:

“Obscene information not only harms the people’s soul but harms the people’s morality as well,” it quoted the party rule as saying. Since July 10, Shenze party officials have held 480 meetings to discuss the harmful effects of obscene messages.

In the United States of America, sexual harassment via text message (or any other method) is already illegal, because it’s harassment. So, a law specific to the deliver of the harassment is not necessary. However, if in China text message spam is growing problem (as say MSN spam is here), then something like this would be useful in shutting down mass spam enterprises.

Beijing’s second official Apple store will be built on Qianmen Street, just blocks away from Tianamen Square. It will open this fall.

As you can see, it’s very pain. There was another wallet identical in every way, except the bottom right corner read “Gucci” instead of Prada. Nice way of differentiating the products! Mass production for the win…

However, this wallet is quite large. It can hold 9 cards, plus 1 ID, and pockets for miscellanies. There are two billfold sections for holding dollars / receipts / etc. Anyway, for $3.66, I think it’s a fair deal!

This is approximately the location; there’s a huge, wide walkway for people–no cars, lined with stores. If you haven’t been to Nanjing Lu, you haven’t been in Shanghai too long.

View Larger Map

You should expect to pay 100-300 RMB for bags, depending on quality & size. Some bags are cheap fakes, other higher quality fakes are indistinguishable from the real thing, because they’re made as an extra run in the factories making the real things, and sold on the side. For example, we bought this high-quality knockoff LV bag for 300 RMB:

I’m not sure which LV bag it’s most similar too–the Claudia Monogramme Multicolor seems close–but for $45 we received a bag that would cost upwards of $2,000 on 5th Avenue in NYC. I also bought two watches, in the 150 RMB range (probably too much):

Some other suggestions I’ve seen to find counterfeit goods in Shanghai include (but not limited to):

• Science & Technology Museum underground shops
• Qipu Lu
• HengShan Lu
• Xiang Yang Market (now closed)

Currently in Shanghai, I’m downloading a torrent with 500 seeds and another 500 peers on uTorrent. Most of these came from decentralized systems (DHT, Peer Exchange) and not from a tracker:

Name			Seeds	Peers	Downloaded
[DHT]			198	170	0
[Peer Exchange]		523	587	0
mightynova (timed out)	6	7	30

The speed is also nothing to write home about, at 10 KB/s, about 120x slower than my 1.1MB/s I get on Verizon FIOS back in NYC:

According to Speakeasy’s speed test, the connection here gets 123 KB/s down, so it’s not that I’m hitting the cap, yet! If you’ve got hints, let me know.

The first store was opened in 1998 in Shanghai. There are now more than 200 restaurants in China, even some in Mongolia and Uyghur regions!

I will be traveling to Xi’An (西安) China soon, and I wanted to quickly come up with a list of things to do while I’m there. Here’s some of the main attractions you might want to see if you ever have a chance to visit! If you think I’m missing anything, leave a comment!

These life-size statues of men and horses were buried 2,200 years ago by emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Now, a museum has been built over top of the excavation pits, and tourists can come to see the army themselves. The best way to get to the museum is to take bus 306; it is open daily from 8am to 6pm, and admission is 90 RMB.

View Larger Map

The beautiful scenery of Huaqing Chi also contains hot spring water, at 43 degrees C. According to the english 华清池 page (as it’s an official tourist landmark), it’s famous for the romantic tale of emperor Xuan Zong and lady Yang Yuhuan, where they swore undying love to each other. In current times, Huaqing Chi operates more as a museum rather than a hot springs. To get there, you can also take the same bus line No.306.

View Larger Map

If you’re in 西安, you will see the city wall, which extends around the whole of the inner city. The wall itself is 14km long, and you can rent bicycles or golf carts to drive along it. The best place to start is the South Gate.

View Larger Map

At the center of the city is the Bell Tower, the central landmark in Xi’an. The tower has gone through several rebuildings, and now longer houses a bell:

The tower was originally built in 1348, toward the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and was moved to the present site in 1552, during the Ming Dynasty. It was rebuilt and enlarged during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

View Larger Map

Located at Ci’en Temple, this pagoda was built by Emperor Gaozong（Li Zhi) in 652AD. It’s a major Buddhist site, and has survived several wars and earthquakes. You can take buses 41 or 610 to arrive.

View Larger Map

The great mosque is 6,000 square meters, and divided into four courtyards. It is open to visitors, however non-Muslim visitors are not allowed to enter the main prayer hall. Nearby is Muslim street, an area where all shops and restaurants in the street are operated by Muslims.

View Larger Map

Perhaps the site I am most interested in seeing, the Forest of Steles (steles are stone tablets inscribed with ancient writing) is a museum containing originals of the Analects of Confucius, Tang Dynasty poets, and others.

View Larger Map

One block NE of the Steles museum is this ancient Buddhist temple.

View Larger Map