http://lao-hu.ru A Russian in China Mon, 10 May 2010 10:14:51 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Yesterday I tried to buy some new clothes and shoes in Shanghai. Well, cheap China is no more. Crowds of foreigners spoiled this country, once so inexpensive. In the old times, sellers would run after you, offering lower and lower prices and begging you to buy. But thousands of foreign tourists started ... http://lao-hu.ru/2010/05/10/cheap-china-is-no-more/ Unlike in the West, getting sun-tanned for a Chinese woman is a real tragedy. For comparison, it's as if you suddenly got pimples all over your face. Imagine what a shame it is. Everyone would think that you're sun-tanned because you're from a village and work in the field. And ... http://lao-hu.ru/2010/05/01/duck-and-cover/ A couple of unrelated photos made today. The first one is the door of the fire exit of a building in Shanghai. "Door is escaped with one's life in the fire fighting" gets an award for the worst Chinese-English translation ever! The second is a Chinese brand of household stuff. Its tender ... http://lao-hu.ru/2010/04/16/funny-chinese-translation/ After today's explosions on the Moscow Subway, new calls may follow for security checks at Russian subway and railway stations. Those who call for this usually give an example of China, where security checks are ubiquitous - you have to X-ray your bags before you enter any station. However, such a ... http://lao-hu.ru/2010/03/29/moscow-blasts-and-subway-security-checks/ Now I'm shocked: the main page of Renmin Ribao newspaper, the official voice of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, has this to say: Street snaps of sexy ladies in Russia Well, the Chinese boys and girls do indeed think that Russian girls are amazingly beautiful, unlike some other ... http://lao-hu.ru/2010/02/24/street-snaps-of-sexy-beauties-in-russia/ I've posted a small guide on the Russian version of my blog on how to configure the Russian keyboard layout when you are at internet cafes in China. Since this information is probably useless for those reading me in English, I'll just share some of my impressions about internet cafes. Internet ... http://lao-hu.ru/2010/01/24/wangba-in-china/ When you arrive to a new city, the first thing you are pressed to do is to visit all the stupid standard sights, before you start doing something really interesting. These standard sights in Beijing include the Tiananmen Square, Forbidden Palace and Mao's Mausoleum. It's no use to tell about them again ... http://lao-hu.ru/2010/01/19/idiot-tourists-first-steps/ One of the striking differences in everyday life of Beijing is what they use instead of doors now, when temperatures are far below zero. I noticed two types of these ad hoc doors: 1) Thick heavy blankets made of rough cloth, with a window. Looks very barbaric and unaesthetic, but you'd be ... http://lao-hu.ru/2010/01/09/doors-in-beijing/ I'm living in the slums. Or the historical area. Depends on your attitude. Most of Beijing's downtown is composed of hutongs - very narrow winding streets with one- or two-storey houses. Unlike most other cities, the business district stands not in the middle of the city but a little bit aside. The hutongs ... http://lao-hu.ru/2010/01/04/the-place-where-i-live/ One of the most important and striking differences of Beijing (and probably other Chinese cities, too) compared to Russian cities is that when you are walking late at night in dark narrow alleys (underground crossings / avenues / whatever), and some girl walks in front of you, she's not looking ... http://lao-hu.ru/2010/01/04/its-safer-here/ I love flying. I have to explain it every time when people ask me why I didn't take the direct flight to Beijing. What I tried to do is to find a balance between the time spent in the air and the cost. I wanted to fly for as long as possible, ... http://lao-hu.ru/2010/01/02/the-flight-from-russia-to-beijing/ Well, I'm in China now. The first ten days of my life here have just passed. I hardly went out these days, and mainly I was just working, eating, sleeping and talking to others. Now I finally have a chance to have a rest and start writing here. Those who are living ... http://lao-hu.ru/2010/01/02/well-im-in-china-now/ Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russians have been troubled by a very delicate problem: how the hell should we address each other now? The universal word "comrade" used everywhere from the military to friendly talks is now obsolete and you wouldn't call someone a comrade other than as a ... http://lao-hu.ru/2009/10/24/hey-there-fgs/ Foreigners are often scared upon hearing that there are thousands of Chinese characters that have to be learned. Indeed, a comprehensive 2004 dictionary contains 106230 characters! That's right, over a hundred thousand. But do you have to remember all of them? The answer is absolutely no! In fact, if you know only 100 ... http://lao-hu.ru/2009/10/18/how-many-is-too-many/ I have just invented the best way to start learning Chinese the Russian way. That is, of course, by trying some Chinese wine first. This wine, called Huang Ji (yellow wine), is made of rice in Hangzhou, China. I've been in this place in 2007 and that's one of the few ... http://lao-hu.ru/2009/10/12/the-best-way-to-start-learning-chinese/