Hanging Out to Dry

Today as I left my friend's place in Changchunjie, south-west of the city, I saw a clothing line strung between trees along the sidewalk.

People had left their washing to dry, which is a common sight near hutongs.

But then I spotted this giant fish, also left hanging to dry out too.

Hope the owner is keeping any eye on it otherwise he/she may not see it again...

Turkish Delight

Last month a new restaurant opened in the Sanlitun area, near the Tuanjiehu subway station.

It has the strange name of Turkish Mum, but the owner explained it was better to be straightforward about the kind of food and also show that it's home-cooking but in a restaurant.

The decor is reminiscent of the previous French dining establishment, with European-style mouldings on the ceilings and a kind of living room area off to the side complete with faux fireplace.

I've now been to the restaurant twice and thoroughly enjoy the dishes here which my friend says is quite authentic as he loves Turkish food.

The hummus is a smooth texture that's slightly runny, while the tabouleh is refreshing and light with the dash of lemon juice to tart up the finely diced parsley and bulger wheat.

Another good starter especially on a cold winter's day is the lentil soup, the lentils blended smooth in an almost creamy soup.

Some mains to enjoy are the lamb stew with okra, skewers of lamb, cod and beef patties, and the black cod poached in parchment paper. It's baked with fennel leaves, tomatoes, lemon and onions. Pity the cod is frozen, but otherwise delicious.

The desserts are pretty good -- and in thoughtful portions. The baklava isn't too sweet, but served in a small piece, and the pumpkin pie too is a small slice for those with a tiny bit of room left. The milk pudding isn't too sweet either, but would be better mixed with some vanilla in it.

The prices are pretty good too, just too bad there isn't enough buzz around this place to bring more diners in.

Or maybe I should keep this my own dining secret in Sanlitun.

Turkish Mum
Gongti bei lu 3-3
Sanlitun
8532-3979

Celebrating the Past Year

Just before people rush home for the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year, companies hold their year-end parties.

These aren't just wine and dine fests, but can also be an opportunity for employers to openly praise their staff, and for employees to show off their hidden talents.

Today after lunch my colleagues and I filed into a large but stuffy conference room, where for the next three-and-a-half hours we discovered much more about each other and our bosses.

First our president gave a 45-minute speech, outlining our achievements and plans for this year. The power point presentation seemed to go on forever, outlining things point by point.

And then he finally said "Happy Niu (Ox) Year," and we all clapped enthusiastically.

Then various departments put on skits -- and many of them chose news-related themes.

A few poked fun at the powered milk commercials, but many seemed to like recreating the scene of the guy throwing his shoes at President George W. Bush.

One couple showed off their sexy salsa dance moves, while one introverted young man who started working with us about half a year ago broke his silence with an energetic taijiquan routine.

The best was a young woman who emulated the character of President Hu Jintao, talking with the same kind of language and mannerisms that were hilarious, from his hand clapping to his one-liners and she did it all with a straight face even though we were all rolling in our seats.

Lucky draws were also made periodically and I scored a small suitcase along with four others. The next batch of winners got electric slow cookers, and then three lucky winners got domestic-made mobile phones.

Awards were also handed out.

And yours truly was recognized as one of 12 outstanding employees for 2008.

We each got a certificate and a bonus of 3,000RMB ($438.73).

But it wasn't management who chose us, but our peers who nominated us. And apparently more than one person had put my name forward, the first foreigner in the company to receive the award.

It was such a wonderful validation to be recognized in this way, and made me feel like I have, finally, made some difference in my workplace and with my colleagues.

I haven't just come to Beijing to witness the changes before and after the Olympics; I have also come here to help others.

And I have become a better person for it.

Belt Tightening with Chinese Characteristics

In these tough economic times, Queen Elizabeth II has asked her family members to be frugal and not fritter away public coffers on outlandish displays of wealth.

And Chinese President Hu Jintao has echoed the same mandate to officials of all levels.

"Under the current situation, maintaining [the practice of] hard work and frugality makes practical sense," he said in a keynote speech at a plenary session of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) top anti-corruption body earlier this week.

"Officials must see the facts and tell the truth. They must do practical work and produce actual results."

That's a subtle sign for officials to stop the wining and dining, jetsetting around the world, driving expensive cars, embezzling money, gambling public coffers and actually doing some work -- which in this case means serving the people.

He said "the interests of the people" should be the officials' top priority which seems quite obvious, but there's no harm done in emphasizing it again.

And already some provincial and municipal governments have complied by cutting their operational costs this year.

A newspaper reports the Guangdong provincial government has promised a "zero increase" in the purchase of cars, conferences, and receptions, as well as officials' overseas inspection tours.

However, "zero increase" can be interpreted as no increase -- spending the same budget amount as last year.

So Guangdong residents may see new government cars on the roads -- just not more.

How is that being frugal?

Virtual Popularity

President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao not only have FaceBook pages with thousands of friends, but also an Internet portal dedicated to them and other top officials from the national down to local levels.

Called the PRC Officials' Fan Circle, it already has pages focused on the top leaders of three provinces, six cities, and even Hong Kong.

Thirty-three-year-old Yang Yunhe calls himself the first creator of a politician fan site in China.

The site covers the party secretaries of Zhejiang, Shaanxi and Guangdong provinces, as well as Hong Kong's Chief Executive Donald Tsang.

Fans can leave admiring comments for the leaders, and even gives them opportunities to upload pictures they've snapped of China's top leadership and post stories.

An article on the fan site gave Hu 98 for a recent speech he gave, but suggested he should smile more.

But despite the Internet being a platform for top officials to engage with the people, none of the featured leaders on the site have responded to their fan mail.

Nevertheless, considering some use the Internet to expose officials' abuse of power or corrupt activities, knowing that there are millions of fans out there supporting the leadership couldn't hurt either.

Getting Punked in China

Joe Keithley is known as Canada's godfather of punk. In 1978 he was one of the founders of D.O.A. and the punk band has been cited as an influence to such groups as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day and Rancid. D.O.A. has toured with The Clash, The Dead Kennedys, and Nirvana.

The Vancouverite was drawn to punk as a teenager and was hooked ever since, using it as a form of expression and rebellion.

But he's isn't just about writing angry lyrics and kicking up a ruckus -- he's also an activist on the political stage. In 1996 and 2001 he ran in the British Columbia provincial elections for the Green Party, a group mainly focused on environmental issues.

And this week Keithley and his group are celebrating 30 years of D.O.A. with a tour of China.

Their trip started on January 9 with a show at Mao Live House in Beijing, followed by Wuhan, Shanghai and tonight they're back in Beijing with one more show at D-22.

I had a quick chat with Keithley on the phone earlier this evening just before he grabbed some dinner ahead of his last gig in the Chinese capital.

He was quite pleased with the China tour and likens it to his tour in Poland in 1984.

"When there's a lack of political freedom, artists -- writers, painters, musicians, poets, sculptors -- will find a way around it to express themselves in another way.

Punk is gaining popularity in China and the handful of bands I've seen have dedicated fans, both Chinese and expats, punching fists in the air and nodding their heads. They're thrilled to find the right musical outlet for their feelings.

Keithley is excited seeing the hardcore fans come out despite the language barrier and envisions China as a way to expand his already global fan base.

"You can watch as many specials as you want, read as many articles on China as you want, but that doesn't replace actually coming here and seeing what it's really like," he says.

"I've been blown away by people's mobility," Keithley notes, "though I haven't met poor people as we've been in mostly urban centres... but people seem generally happy."

During the trip he's collected CDs from various Chinese bands and may help some of them get their music out to the west with his Sudden Death Records company.

Keithley hopes to come back to China again in about a year-and-a-half, and perhaps be welcomed by bigger audiences, eager for a taste of genuine punk rock from Canada.

The Great Migration

Thousands of people have already started making their way back home less than a month before Chinese New Year or Spring Festival begins on January 26.

And for those who are trying to plan getting home, it's become a logistical nightmare for the Ministry of Railways.

It expects a record 188 million people to travel by train, 8 percent more than last year.

On Saturday 4.5 million boarded trains, and around 4.7 million yesterday.

However the ministry surprisingly admits that it didn't expect so many people to travel so early.

Were rail officials sleeping on the job when it was reported that thousands of factories around the coastal areas went bust and hundreds of thousands of migrant workers came home early?

There are also those who are still employed, but because there isn't much work now, they get to have an extra long holiday. It doesn't sound like it's going to be a festive homecoming for them, with uncertainty over their next pay cheque.

Does this demonstrate officials' inability to sympathize or react quickly to situations and help people get to where they want to go?

Also related to the Spring Festival rush are the train tickets themselves.

Today at lunch my colleagues were discussing their inability to secure train tickets to get home.

One who lives in a town near Shanghai in Jiangsu Province, said the tickets were supposedly available for sale, but when she tried to get them, they were gone. She's not sure what "gone" means, if the tickets really aren't available for sale yet, or they have all been sold.

Others were discussing days, times and strategies to get tickets at certain locations around the city.

The problem is, train tickets can only be bought by physically standing in line. The majority of the people who ride the train are of a lower income bracket and thus the concept of buying a ticket online is unreal. Also China doesn't have the infrastructure to support online sales of tickets since it's still a cash-oriented society.

However this only opens up possibilities for schemers to print fake tickets or buy hordes of tickets through rail clerks they know and try to scalp them.

The country has to find another way of selling train tickets and also logistically catering to everyone's needs.

After all, doesn't the ministry, and all other government departments serve the people?