Beautiful imagery created by Beijing illustrator Zeeko

I had just returned from a vacation in the U.S. and had been oblivious to the social media firestorm (on Sina Weibo) that followed the July 23rd tragedy. I was catching up, asking what element of this story had caused it to go viral, and seemly take on a political dimension. Was it the loss of life? The failure of the heralded new transit system? The government’s response to the tragedy? Or the human drama of a child miraculously pulled from the wreckage alive?

I began to see how the threads of this story intersected, and how, carried by the rising tide of social media, it had ensnared the public consciousness. Each of my friends at the bar related stories of impassioned discussions they had witnessed among their Chinese friends and colleagues about the issue. The public interest around the story was not surprising to me, but the degree of public outrage – and the unusually pointedness of the criticism – generated by it somehow was.

What made this event so different from other human tragedies in recent years (like mine disasters) which presented seemingly similar questions of economic development versus safety?

As one of my friends pointed out, part of the answer is symbolism. The high speed rail system was a prominent symbol of a safe, modern, high-tech China, that the government carefully portrayed in promotional rhetoric. This tragedy dealt a severe blow to that image. Recent subversive art using the iconography of the train system (like this street graffiti piece, shown below) shows how former symbols of progress have been recontextualized within the public backlash.

Street graffiti depicting the doomed Wenzhou bullet train, photographed in Shanghai

The Wenzhou crash fractured an idyllic image of China’s future in which many citizens were emotionally invested. Through the cracks in this bright dream, broader public anxiety and frustration has begun to vent, like hot gas once trapped below tectonic plates.

When a story goes viral, it enters a feedback loop, in which media coverage begets public attention which begets additional media. Eventually this cycle wanes, as the media half-life of the story is reached, and public attention cannot be sustained by the diminishing emotional fuel. In the case of the tragic July 23rd crash, this process could take quite some time. It feels like this event has penetrated China’s public consciousness in an uncommon way.

A custom t-shirt design related to the Wenzhou crash which has been in heavy circulation on Weibo

This is a personal essay about the author’s experience learning of the Wenzhou tragedy second-hand. If you haven’t read about the Wenzhou train crash and would like more details, check these links out:

• Wikipedia: Wenzhou Train Collision
• BBC: Bullet Trains Collide

as well as opinion and analysis here:

• And on the Seventh Day News Rested by Sascha on The Hypermodern
• China’s High-Speed Politics on the NYT
• The Wenzhou Crash and the Future of Weibo
• Chinese Newspaper’s Defiant Commentary on Train Collision on the WSJ

This turned out to be a great thing because blogs that I already like were carefully selecting articles that I probably hadn’t read before, being that they were published months or even years ago. I thought an internal link roundup like this would be a great thing to do and Chengdu Living was nominated shortly thereafter by Far West China, a great Xinjiang blog authored by Josh, and then by Steve of You’re Not From Around Here, Are You?

Without further ado, let’s get into the seven links:

Chengdu Living’s Most Beautiful

Interview with Gas, Chengdu’s Most Prolific Graffiti Artist

Years ago I first started seeing the “Gas” tag appearing around Chengdu. Unlike the other tags around town, which were mediocre at best, whoever this Gas character was, he had real style. I wondered who he was and where he was from. And as the tag became more prolific, the desire to discover who the person behind it became greater. After asking around I finally found another graffiti artist who knew him and would introduce me. Since then we’ve become good friends and I love seeing Gas’ artwork around Chengdu. It’s not hard to find considering it’s showing up at official Nike events, cool bars like The Lazy Pug, and much more. Just feast your eyes on his “Chengdu” pieces.

Chengdu Living’s Most Popular

Anti-Japan Demonstration Ignites Chengdu

Picture this: one day I’m walking around minding my own business and I get a call from Sascha who tells me that an anti-Japanese protest is happening in Chengdu. At the time I was at an electronics store signing the contract for an iPhone 4 on China Telecom not far from Chunxi Lu, the shopping district where the demonstration was to take place. With no time to return home to grab proper photo equipment, I tear the plastic off my new phone and put it to good use… taking photos of people burning Japanese flags, smashing windows, and causing absolute mayhem in Chengdu’s most popular commercial district. This post was linked to by dozens of blogs and websites including the well-respected China blog Danwei, the LA Times, and many more.

After affixing the flag, a protester's "thumbs up" emerges and the crowd erupts with cheers

Honorable mention: Chengdu Living Has Been Harmonized

Chengdu Living’s Most Controversial

Attempting to Talk Your Way Out of a Visa Fine

Published on January 1, 2010, this was the original featured post on Chengdu Living. Written by Eli and documenting his experience trying to evade a P.S.B. fine in Chengdu, it drew dozens of comments about P.S.B. rules and regulations, the morality of skirting the rules, and grown men crying. The post itself is fantastically well written and Eli engages each of his detractors one by one in the comments below. If this post was designed for controversy, it was a smashing success.

Chengdu Living’s Most Helpful

The Chengdu Living Forum 

This isn’t a post at all, but without question, the Chengdu Living forum (accessible from chengduforum.com) has become the most helpful single resource on the site. Every week new members sign up and are participating in what is a growing body of varied and up-to-date information on everything Chengdu. Authoring blog posts and interacting with friends and readers is fantastic but the forum really brings a new level of interaction. And I can’t go without mentioning how helpful the forum has been for me personally and other long-term Chengdu residents.

Honorable mention: The Giving Birth in Chengdu Post Series. A year and a half ago Sascha begun a storied journey into fatherhood that has taught him countless lessons. In that time he’s published an ten-part post series breaking down an incredible amount of useful information about giving birth and raising children in China.

Chengdu Living’s Surprise Success

Greed & Corruption: the USA Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo

This was Elias‘ first post published on Chengdu Living, and man, did it get read and commented on by a lot of people. This first-hand account of a Student Ambassador at the Shanghai Expo detailed the greed and corruption that led to the Pavilion receiving condemnation from all sides. The comments field on this post alone alone erupted into heated debate over the moral and legal implications of the US Expo’s conduct. I had little foreknowledge of the Expo and didn’t comprehend the implications that publishing such a detailed insider account would have.

Honorable mention: Enduring the China Blues. Since “China Blues” has been published, I’ve heard the term casually used in conversation at least a dozen times. It just fits.

Chengdu Living’s Under Appreciated

The Most Potent Fertilizer on Earth

The “Jin ke la” post on Chengdu Living has to be the funniest one we’ve ever published. A Chinese fertilizer company produced a series of videos promoting a product called “Jin ke la” and decided to turn the ridiculous up to eleven by associating it with U.S. Presidents and global agricultural revolutions to name a few. From the post:

Honorable mentions: Enjoy Some of the World’s Greatest Teas in Sichuan, China’s Soul Search

Chengdu Living’s Proudest

The Ace of Diamonds: Surviving the Earthquake

Aside from being among the most life-threatening and eye-opening experiences of my life, I love reading this story. I’ll never forget returning from Qing Cheng Shan a day after the earthquake – it took me that long to climb down the mountain and hitch a ride to Chengdu – and telling this story to a circle of close friends. As I shared each vivid detail from my very recent memory, Sascha sat across from me silently writing. Furiously writing. I paid no attention but a day later this story, based on my account, was written. I originally intended to write it myself but Sascha has a way with storytelling, and once I read it I felt immense satisfaction.

Honorable mentions: Chengdu Living Has Been Harmonized, The Murky Evolution of the Chinese Education System

Conclusion

That about wraps up this post on Highlighting 7 Links. Here go my nominations:

• Ryan at LostLaowai
• Mike Weed at CQScene
• Richard at Notes from Xian
• Sasha at Shanghai Novice
• Seeing Red in China

Currently we’re in the midst of another massive QQ-style internet takeover. This time it’s Sina’s Weibo micro-blogging service (think Twitter) that’s swallowing up millions of users. After hearing about it for weeks on end I registered an account and downloaded the Weibo app on my iPhone. After several months of exploring the system, interacting with old friends and making new ones, I barely even bother to get on QQ anymore since virtually everyone has already made the switch.

Here’s how and why you should get on Sina Weibo to begin interacting with friends in your neighborhood and across China.

The Weibo.com post interface alongside the logged-in user stats

How Does Weibo Work?

From the beginning (almost two years ago) Weibo has been described by nearly everyone as the Chinese Twitter clone. This does a serviceable job of describing how Weibo works: at it’s heart it’s a chronological timeline of less-than-140 character posts authored by people you follow. Simple enough.

Since its inception though, Weibo has added several features distinguishing itself from Twitter and becoming something of a Facebook-Twitter mashup. Since both of these juggernaut social networks are inaccessible to users in this country, this unison makes a lot of sense since Facebook and Twitter have already gone through the trouble of spending years figuring out how social networks like this should work.

Quick Facts About Weibo

• You follow people, have followers, and save favorites. Very similar to Twiter.
• Photo sharing is easy since Weibo automatically hosts images for you. Upload them from your phone or computer and they automatically appear directly inside the timeline. Like Facebook.
• In addition to pictures, you can also upload audio and video. These also appear in the timeline and play instantly just like on Facebook.
• There’s already over 150 million registered Weibo accounts and the user base will soon eclipse Twitter. Adding tens of millions of new users per month.
• Just like Twitter, Sina has verified accounts, indicated by a “V” insignia, for celebrities. Or anyone with a pinch of guanxi with Sina.

Why Weibo is Worth Your Time: Making Connections

New & old friends on Weibo

Being connected to your friends is a wonderful thing. Facebook or Twitter on their own don’t hold much appeal to me and I don’t think my case is very extraordinary. It’s the connections that are valuable. Weibo offers the exact same thing: a connection to all of your contacts in China.

If your friends in China are like mine (mostly people in their 20′s and 30′s), there’s a good chance that they’re all on Weibo and cruise their own timelines from their office computer or smart phone. And once you’re connected to them, you’ll stumble upon others with similar interests.

For instance, one of the first people that I followed on Weibo was Gas, Chengdu graffiti artist and friend. A few weeks ago he traveled to Changsha to participate in the biggest annual graffiti event in China. During his extended weekend in Changsha he posted dozens of photos of artwork all around the city and through those posts I got connected with artists I hadn’t even heard of before. The same thing has happened in many of the other social circles that I’m in be it technology, photography, or music.

In short, Weibo is a great way to connect with people who have similar interests in China. Or just connect to Tom Cruise or Bill Gates who have recently joined Weibo and accrued hundreds of thousands of followers in a matter of days.

Another Benefit: Improving Your Chinese

It goes without being said that since Weibo is mostly dominated by Chinese people who don’t speak English, almost no one is using English at all. This is either a huge problem, if you can’t read any characters at all, or will really catapult your written interaction in Chinese.

Like many of you, I’ve been (informally) studying Chinese as long as I’ve been in China, experimenting with different tools and tricks along the way. I’ve already gone on about Studying Chinese with an iPhone or iPod Touch and Weibo is really an extension of that.

J-Dilla (US hip hop producer) tribute on Weibo, courtesy of Zhenkai, Chengdu local B-Boy

I cannot understand everything on Weibo upon first glance (not by a long shot) so here’s what I do: tap and hold to copy something I want to translate to the clipboard. Then pop over to Pleco (the best Chinese-English dictionary app) and paste the contents into the pasteboard reader. Any words or characters that I don’t understand and are likely to be used within the next 6 months get added to my flashcards. Using this technique alone I’ve added 500+ new flashcards to Pleco that I’ve stumbled on in Weibo. Since I don’t have much time to sit down and read Chinese books for hours at a time, collecting and recording these bite-sized pieces of vocabulary works great for me.

Registration & Weibo Clients

After you head over to the Weibo site to register your account, you’ll receive some suggestions on who to follow. If you aren’t interested in following Mainland pop stars and celebrities, I suggest you find at least a single friend who’s on Weibo so you can get connected with people you actually know. If you get connected to a few people that you know from the beginning, you’re likely to stumble upon more people that you know or are interested in. I’ve found a handful of local artists, musicians and photographers who I’ve met (so to speak) through Weibo.

Once you’ve got that covered, you have just to select whether you’ll be accessing Weibo from a computer or a mobile device. Here are your options:

Web interface

The traditional method of accessing Weibo is through their website at Weibo.com. The interface looks virtually identical to what Twitter.com looked like before it’s redesign about 6 months ago. It’s a 2-column chronological listing of posts by people you’re following. You can hover over usernames to see information on their account like where they’re located, who their following and so forth.

iPhone & iPod Touch

Although there’s an official Weibo client (developed by Sina) which does the job perfectly well, there’s a superior third party alternative called Weico (App Store link / official site). It has virtually all of the same functions as the official client but is better designed and includes several different themes which you can toggle in the app settings. I’m using the Graphite thing which works well and looks great (pictured at right).

Android

Similar to the situation on iOS, there’s an official Sina client as well as Weico. The Weico app on Android is still in beta but is available for free download just as on iPhone and iPod Touch. I haven’t used either of these apps (I don’t have an Android phone) but expect them to be virtually identical to their iPhone counterparts in function and design.

Personally I much prefer accessing Weibo from my iPhone since it perfectly fills idle moments throughout the day: waiting in line, taking a taxi from here to there, etc. If you have a smartphone with 3G access (either an iPhone or Android device), reading and posting on Weibo will be especially quick and convenient for you.

Join Tom Cruise & Bill Gates on Weibo

Since going through the paces of registering an account on Weibo and locating friends, I barely even bother with QQ anymore. Although I was never a fan of QQ to begin with, it was the connections it provided – to virtually everyone in China – that were really valuable. Since Sina’s Weibo network has been spreading like wildfire over the previous year, I can retain all of the same connections on a service that’s much less intrusive.

If you haven’t already, it might be worth your time to check it out and see what it can offer you. If you do, send me a message and say hello!

I truly believe that with motivation and the tools listed below you can learn Chinese as fast as anyone paying to study in university. And you won’t have to pay a dime for it since the sites listed below are all free.

Without further ado, let’s get straight into the five must-see websites to advance your Chinese:

Site #1: Nciku

Nciku (pronounced “en-tse-koo”) is a free online dictionary that supports English and Chinese. I’ve been personally using Nciku for years and it has been my go-to online dictionary for as long as I’ve known about it. Although there are a ton of sites that offer similar functionality, Nciku stands above the competition with awesome features like:

• Example sentences which show you how your new vocabulary is used correctly in practical sentences
• Handwriting recognition which works even with incorrect stroke order
• Q&A section where your specific Chinese questions are answered by the community
• Vocabulary lists which allow you to create your own list based on words you look up, or browse others’ lists

Every Chinese learner should have an online Chinese-English dictionary bookmarked, and for me Nciku is simply the best.

My Favorite Nciku Resources

Nciku Vocab Lists

Nciku’s Free “Chengdu Snacks” iPhone app

Nciku Blog

Site #2: Pinyin.info

When you’re just getting started, learning Mandarin is intimidating. Regional dialects are confusing, characters are complex and daunting, and correct tonality will seem impossible at first.

It’s absolutely essential that you build a solid foundation by fully understanding pinyin, the romanization of the Chinese language. Some learners choose to get started studying characters from the beginning, but I’ve found that this can in fact hurt your progress if you don’t master pinyin. The best site to do this, unquestionably, is Pinyin.info.

My Favorite Pinyin.info Resources

Basic Rules of Hanyu Pinyin

Where to Place Tone Marks in Pinyin

Pinyin News Blog

Site #3: Chinese Hacks

I stumbled upon this blog several months ago and great content like “Retro Video Games in Chinese” have kept me coming back. The site is authored by a foreigner in Taiwan who’s been self publishing tips and tricks on learning Chinese for nearly a year. Much of the content featured on Chinese Hacks is topical and includes a vocabulary list for learning related words in context.

My Favorite Posts on Chinese Hacks

Retro Video Games in Chinese

Resume Keywords in Chinese

DVR Your Way to Better Chinese

Site #4: HSK Flashcards

The HSK (Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì) is China’s “national standardized test to assess the Chinese language proficiency of non-native speakers”. It’s also a giant collection of characters and words you should aim to understand, whether you choose to take the actual HSK examination or not.

While Nciku has a vocabulary list section on their website with various HSK lists, this site is dedicated solely to the task. HSK Flashcards features HSK vocabulary at various levels and includes both simplified and traditional characters and a fantastic interface. For learning HSK vocabulary, it’s tough to best HSK Flashcards.

My Favorite HSK Flashcards Resources

Download HSK Lists for other software or printing

Browse HSK Flashcards

Site #5: Sinosplice

Sinosplice is a site authored by John Pasden, Shangha-based linguist and the Academic Director of ChinesePod. It’s part personal blog and part language aid, but considering the heavyweight credentials that John carries (a decade in China speaking Chinese, a masters in applied linguistics, etc) you’ll do well to check out Sinosplice.

My Favorite Resources on Sinosplice

The Five Stages to Learning Chinese

Chinese Pronunciation

The Process of Learning Tones

Conclusion

Of the dozens of websites devoted to learning Chinese, these are five which have helped me along. I’d love to hear what you think on the topic though: what sites are most beneficial to you as you advance your Chinese?

And, since 2006 he’s been the co-author of China Law Blog, one of the best China blogs in the blogosphere.

So when Eli invited me to attend his lecture in Chengdu hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce, it was a no brainer. The topic alone was intriguing and something I knew little about: China’s 12th Five Year Plan.

Lecture at the Chengdu Sofitel

I hadn’t attended a lecture like this before so I wasn’t sure what the atmosphere or presentation would be like. Here’s how it went down:

• The event was hosted in the Sofitel Chengdu, one of the most luxurious hotels in the city
• Tickets cost 180 yuan and included a buffet dinner in the hotel
• About 25-30 people attended the lecture
• Apparently I under dressed; most people were there in suits
• The talk itself was fantastic. The line between Chinese culture and state institutions is a fascinating interplay and Steve is at the center of it. His fluency in written Chinese helps when he burns through hundreds of pages of government documents to understand the system.

Read the Transcript for Free

During the lecture most people in the room were taking notes. However you won’t need to do that (or pay the 180 yuan cover charge) to get the same information since it was posted on China Law Blog in it’s entirety. It’s absolutely worth the read if you’re interested in learning about where China is headed and why. Check that out here before you read the interview with Steve Dickinson below.

Interview with Steve Dickinson

Chengdu Living: Who are you?

Steven: My name is Steven Dickinson, I’m partner at Harris & Moure, resident in Qingdao, China.

Chengdu Living: We know you as one of the authors of China Law Blog, tell us a little about that. When did that get started?

Steven: Well, it has an interesting start. Dan Harris and I (the other author of China Law Blog) have known each other since 1986, we both practiced law together in a big Seattle law firm. He went one way and I went another and in the early 2000′s we decided to get back together to try to do a program in China. It was Dan’s idea, not mine, to use a blog as our primary vehicle for creating our identity in China.

My idea was, I’ve been working in Asia since 1984, and consistently the law is misunderstood and misreported. Not just in China. Japan, Korea, Taiwan, it’s all misreported. And so I agreed that I would do that with Dan under the agreement that I would be able to write about what’s really going on in Chinese law.

The real impetus for the blog and what kept it pushing forward was Dan Harris, not me, because Dan blogs every single day. I blog less often because I tend to do quite detailed pieces and he does more topical, you know, current information kind of things.

With that agreement, that we would use the blog to talk about what China’s really about in terms of the legal system, that’s been our focus with the blog.

Chengdu Living: How long has China Law Blog been published for?

Steven: We started in 2006, and we’ve been going continuously since then.

Chengdu Living: Since 2006 what has been the greatest benefit or surprise of the blog?

Steven: Well, the benefit has been, Harris & Moure is a very small operation. I mean, it’s a boutique international law firm and without the blog, Harris & Moure would be meaningless. No one would care about us. But because of the blog, we now have a stature in the world of law and business that we would never have without the blog, so the blog has been very valuable to us. That’s number one.

Number two, we’ve met many interesting and pleasant people through the blog and that’s been a big benefit for us also.

Chengdu Living: Was the blog created with a business motivation or was that an ancillary effect?

Steven: There was a business motivation, but in 2006 blogs were pretty new. We had no notion of what blogs would become or how blogging would become integrated into the business world, so we’ve kind of developed with the blogosphere together.

We were kind of a leader in certain elements of the blogosphere but again that was Dan Harris, doing the leadership.

Chengdu Living: It’s interesting that China Law Blog is a category and yet it has such a broad appeal in the China blogosphere. Was it intended to be for a wide audience or were you thinking it would be for people in the industry and legal trade?

Steven: In terms of what we were thinking and what happened, that’s interesting. In the United States, China Law Blog has been voted several times as the best blog in the legal area, period. Nothing to do with China. And the reason is that most legal blogs are frankly, without any personality and quite boring. Where our blog has our two personalities and we let the personalities show through. Most lawyers don’t allow that and so most law blogs have never succeeded for that reason. And it’s still that way, there has not been any improvement in the law world on the blog side. But we’ve enjoyed it, it’s been fun for us.

Chengdu Living: Among readers and clients what are some of the greatest misconceptions that people have about China or China Law?

Steven: There’s a couple. The first is that, we’re Americans and much of our readership is from the US, Canada, and England. And much of what’s strange about Chinese law is because it’s civil law, not common law. So a lot of what we have to explain is that Chinese law is based on a completely different legal tradition. And that’s the area that I enjoy working with, because it’s been my area of research and interest for a long time.

The other, of course, is that most foreigners believe that China doesn’t have any law, period. And so a lot of what we’re doing is just making clear to people where the law is in China and how it affects their daily life and the fact that there really is law here and it needs to be used effectively and creatively. So most of our readership is completely blank. That’s why they enjoy what we write so much, because they’re coming at it from complete blank.

The other group we have are people who think we’re full of nonsense and are critical of what we say. And they’re fun to deal with, too. Because there’s two groups like that:

• There’s the Chinese people who think that what we say about China is based on the fact that we don’t understand China. Everything I write is based on Chinese sources, so that’s a funny comment, I believe.
• Then there’s the other group where we’re not China cheerleaders or detractors, we’re kind of in the middle. And the China cheerleaders don’t like what we write.

Chengdu Living: You do a great job of staying neutral.

Steven: Yeah, that’s our goal. To be as neutral as we can while still being true to our real beliefs.

Dan and I are politically very far apart but we both like and are willing to accept foreign countries and foreign cultures. And we don’t expect them to be clones of our own culture and that’s what gets us through a lot of these things. To have a genuine, not just respect for, but a genuine affection for foreign cultures, and we both have that feeling about China.

Chengdu Living: Thanks for answering our questions.

What do you think?

Have you heard of China Law Blog before? How do you feel about China’s 12th five year plan? If you have an opinion, leave it below.

Chengdu Living suddenly became inaccessible from within China on Thursday March 10th.  Hoping for the best, we held on for a day until we were able to confirm that indeed, after 14 months of being online, we are now officially blocked — otherwise known as being “Harmonized” (被和谐了) to use the local terminology.

Update: Chengdu Living is currently accessible from Chengdu without a proxy. It’s evidently blocked in other locations in China so the block might be intermittent or based on region. As always, we recommend using a VPN so won’t have to concern yourself with this at all. See below for our free VPN giveaway.

How Did This Happen?

The short answer is that we don’t know.

Although “the rules” of publishing a blog about life in China don’t exist, we knew from the beginning that being blocked was a possibility. Over the years we’ve developed a deep love and respect for Chengdu and we feel satisfied that Chengdu Living reflects that, but there’s another side to this. We didn’t want the content to be too far removed from the social and political realities of Chengdu. It’s a delicate balance to maintain and in this situation you will get no warnings: you go straight from business as usual to being blocked with no explanation.

Foreigners who’ve spent considerable time in China know how the pleasures and trials of living here are complex. As with anywhere else, there’s good and bad. We wrestle with the hardships and frustrations of China like everyone else, but our ideal has been to cultivate a platform which celebrates the positive aspects of life here. Those which excite us, which we talk about amongst ourselves, and we want to share with everyone.

In short, the block is a surprise to us and we aren’t clear for what reason we were blocked. However, our current best guess is that it has something to do with a story we published several weeks ago about the effect of China’s burgeoning middle class on recent political unrest in Egypt.

The Great Firewall

The Golden Shield Project (nicknamed The Great Firewall) is the censorship and surveillance project operated by the Ministry of Public Security in China. Since 1998, the Golden Shield Project has been protecting Chinese from:

• Pornography
• Anti-social opinions and activities
• Ideas, organizations and opinions which are a threat to national security
• Ideas, organizations and opinions which undermine the government’s policies on religion or are seen as subversive

Basically if your site contains reference to REDACTED REDACTED, REDACTED Movement in China, or REDACTED Square, then you run the risk of being harmonized. It’s estimated that there are tens of thousands of civil servants propping up “The Shield”, presumably by searching for sites including certain keywords. For this reason, many dissenting Chinese choose not to share or discuss their opinion on sensitive topics at all.

The political and ideological root of the Firewall carries an ironic and almost poetic twist, though. Deng Xiaoping, the real revolutionary hero of China and shining star of Sichuan legacy, said in the early 1980′s:

“If you open the window for fresh air, you have to expect some flies to blow in.”

The idea is that economic reform and market economy (fresh air) were essential to China’s growth, but would simultaneously introduce unsavory elements (flies) which had to be eliminated.

The Technical Details of Our Blockage

Immediately after suspecting we were being blocked we contacted some friends who helped us investigate the details of the block (thanks, you know who you are). It turns out that this was a DNS Poison attack which confuses the servers which translate ChengduLiving.com into an IP address, sending you to the wrong destination. This results in a page not found error. The website is exactly where it should be, but you’re being intentionally directed to the wrong place. Because this type of attack is linked to our domain name, there isn’t much we can do but hope that it gets unblocked.

In the last day we’ve talked to some more people and have some leads on a solution. It might be possible to overcome the block, but there’s no way to be sure. When we have more information, we’ll share it.

Update: Chengdu Living has been unblocked, at least in some locations. We aren’t sure how long the site will remain accessible without a VPN.

We Recommend You Do Not Use Your Chinese ISP’s DNS Servers

Since China’s major internet service providers are all state-owned, pushing a DNS Poison attack through the thousands of DNS servers across the country is very possible. However, you can avoid using their DNS servers complete and easily by using OpenDNS or Google Public DNS.

Whether you’re using a Windows or Mac computer, switching to another DNS server is easy. For me, I opened System Preferences, clicked Network, then Advanced, and entered 8.8.8.8 into the DNS tab. Here’s an image to illustrate:

Using Google Public DNS takes 30 seconds to setup on a Windows or Mac computer

Three Reasons to Continue Despite the Block

We’ll continue to publish content on Chengdu Living and build the audience as we’ve been doing. Here’s why:

• According to our website analytics, an enormous percentage of readers are located overseas or are accessing the site through a VPN from China. Our Facebook and Twitter accounts alone, with thousands of fans and followers on each, demonstrate the size of this audience.
• We have an obligation to continue the work that we started. Every meaningful accomplishment is achieved after overcoming obstacles like this and it’ll add to our experience.
• We don’t know how to stop. Chengdu Living is an extension of our lives. We’re writers, bloggers, and otherwise creative types who want to contribute the lessons and adventures that we’re privileged to experience. Engaging local culture, language, and society and sharing it with others is a fulfilling pursuit.

Freedur VPN Giveaway

We’ve long been advocates of using a VPN because such an enormous portion of the internet remains inaccessible to surfers in China without one. If the internet is anything more to you than a conduit for email, we believe it to be essential since more and more of our lives move online every day. With that in mind, we have 25 Freedur VPN accounts (3-month duration) to give away so you can get started now if you aren’t already on a VPN. All you have to do is leave a comment below and we’ll select 25 commenters at random to receive free accounts.

Note: Freedur has been generous enough to offer dozens of free accounts to Chengdu Living readers and contributors and we personally use this VPN provider although we think any VPN that works is great. If you have an alternate VPN that works well for you, feel free to post the details below for anyone else who’s interested. If you’re a VPN provider and you’d like to promote your service by allowing us to donate some accounts to readers in China, contact us.

When I first came to China, that meant routinely strolling to the corner store to buy international phone cards.  After taking off the plastic wrapper and revealing the code by scratching with my fingernail, I’d call a long number, enter the code, and then the number I wanted to dial.

Aside from costing a lot (I paid 100 yuan per card, which sometimes lasted me a week), this method of calling overseas is really a hassle. It takes a long time to initiate the call and you frequently get dropped calls, frustrating everyone involved.

Fortunately there’s a much better way. I’ve been using it recently to contact friends and family in the United States from China for free.

VOIP: How It’s So Cheap

Over the last 6 years there’s been a major shakeup in the telecommunications industry as international calling has been getting swallowed up by the internet. Voice over IP has gone mainstream and the costs of overseas calls are plummeting to ridiculous lows (and in this case, free).

How is this possible? It’s due to a technology called Least Cost Routing. What this does is send your voice over the internet, for free – to a destination nearby the number you’re calling and then converts it to an analog call. Effectively making a call from any internet-connected device in the world a local call.

Google Voice and Gmail Integration

A Voice keypad in Gmail

This summer Google integrated Voice into Gmail, allowing anyone with a Google account to make calls from within their email inbox. Instead of having to register an account and download software like Skype, you could make a call immediately using an account you already have. It took VOIP technology and Google Voice, which was something that few people understood or used, and brought it to prime time with Gmail as a delivery platform. edit: and today, they’ve renewed their commitment to it.

I was excited to see this unveiled since I use a lot of Google products and think they’re pretty great. I’m happy to report that this is no exception: it’s a cinch to use and call quality is fantastic – more clear than an ordinary call, provided your internet connection is adequate.

Here’s how to make calls for free to friends or family overseas for dirt cheap. Or free, depending on where your friends and family are located.

Calling The US for Free With Gmail

Voice integrated into Gmail offers super low prices to begin with. To give you an example, calling China from the United States costs $0.02 per minute – but in this case, we’re most interested in free. The reason this works is because Google offers domestic calls (within the United States) for free. All you have to do is appear to be in the US and you’ll be granted just that.

Here’s what required to make this work:

Requirements

• An internet connected computer
• Gmail account
• A headset or earbuds with microphone, ideally
• Working VPN or proxy connection

It’s a safe to say that the vast majority of people reading this meet the first two requirements already. If you don’t own a headset, you can pick one up and any computer shop in China and look kind of like you’re landing planes as you speak into a protruding plastic microphone attached to headphones. I use the standard Apple earbuds which came with my iPhone for this purpose – they have a microphone build in and are light and easy.

The VPN is bound to be the biggest stumbling block but everyday there are more and better options available. We’ve been using Freedur for the last year to access everything on the internet and it’s been great. But to be clear, in order for this to be free, you need to be accessing Gmail through a proxy or VPN with at least one server in the US.

Step by Step

1. Fire up your proxy. If you’re using Freedur, this means installing the software and hitting the giant “On” button.Otherwise, you’ll want to go to System Preferences > Network (on Mac) and Start > Control Panel > Networks on Windows. From there you can set up a VPN connection by entering the username, password and server address. Your VPN provider will arm you with this information.
2. Load Gmail and notice the Call window seated at the bottom right corner.
   

   Click call phone

   If it’s not there, click “Call phone” in your list of Gmail chat contact in the left column. If it doesn’t automatically detect your settings (it did on my Mac), go into Gmail settings > Chat and select your microphone and speakers or headphones from the drop down list.

3. Enter the number you want to reach and click call. The call connects and everything is seamless. I haven’t had it go any other way yet.If you aren’t going through a VPN or you’re calling another country, the cost of the call will be deducted from the pocket change that they grant you for free to begin with. If you decide you want to add more, that’s easy too.

Now go give your mother a call!

Why is this a big deal? The iPad has been selling at a furious pace around the world and its official release in China means one thing is certain: you’re about to see these devices all over the place in China’s major cities.

And here’s what I think: when Chinese people get iPads in their hands (like I have) they’re not going to just like them – it’s going to spark a shift in the computing habits of casual and power computer users across China.

iPad Sparks Consumer Revolution

Days after the iPad was announced, I authored a post on Chengdu Living musing about Using the iPad to Study Chinese. Since the iPhone and iPad touch already make the best platform in the computing world for language learning, it follows that the iPad has the potential to improve the experience with its faster processor and generously large display. But don’t think that this is limited to language learners, because the iPad is proving itself to be a revolutionary device that’s changing the entire mobile landscape.

Two days ago Best Buy’s CEO said that the iPad is cannibalizing up to 50% of laptop sales. And while that may be an overstatement, the writing is on the wall: the entire laptop industry is in serious trouble because of the consumer revolution sparked by this single device.

Chinese Consumers Reaction

Put simple, Chinese people love the iPad. I’ve been using one since it was launched in the US and everywhere I bring it, it catches the attention of people nearby. The first month that I took it out to coffee shops and friends houses it became routine for people to want to get their photo taken with it, and this phenomenon wasn’t even restricted to Chinese people.

So while a successful official launch for the iPad in China was easy to predict, no one was sure what the rate of adoption would be. Turns out, the iPad is a much more anticipated device than the iPhone was. On opening day in Beijing there was a crowd of hundreds with the most enthusiastic fans having waited for over 50 hours.

AppleInsider was at the iPad release in Beijing and collected quotes and pictures:

I came straight here from work on Tuesday to be first in line,” bookstore owner David Han told AppleInsider. “I could have bought an imported gray-market or pirated iPad, but I waited to buy the iPad directly from an Apple Retail Store.” Grinning happily, Han produced a wad of cash and fanned it for the media. “I won’t use a credit card! I’m proud to pay with Renminbi” Han said, admonishing his compatriots to do the same. Amid cheers from Apple retail employees and the crowd, Han later emerged with an iPad in each hand.

The first purchaser proudly wore a "iBuy iPad No 1" t-shirt

Youtube Clip of the Release Day

Note: If you’re in Mainland China, you won’t be able to view the Youtube clip embedded below without a proxy. We at Chengdu Living use and recommend Freedur VPN:

A Final Question:

What do you think about the iPad in China? Will it be able to maintain the speed it’s gathered over the last few months or will time and new competitors slow it down?

Note: This content has run its course and winners have been announced below! The “chengduliving” coupon code still saved you 10% on Freedur, though.

About Freedur’s 50% Discount

Although we’re in the midst of a proliferation of VPN services, more than a few of these services have turned out to be sketchy or difficult to configure – or both, which makes Freedur that much more attractive. After installing a small program (available on Windows and Mac OSX) you’re able to access everything the internet has to offer. It’s really that simple.

And now is the best time to sign up since Freedur has reduced their prices by 50% on all subscriptions, whether you want to sign up for a year or just try it out for a month. Plus, use the code “chengduliving” at checkout and save an additional 10%! Can’t beat that.

Freedur’s Official Press Release

In the past year, we have received amazing support from customers and partners. As a result, we are now in the position to buy servers in bulk and greatly reduce our cost across the board. We would like to say a big THANK YOU by extending our cost reduction to our customers: All Freedur VPN packages are now 50% off of its original price!
We are grateful for the love and we hope to continue earning your support. Here are the old and new prices:

Old prices:

1 month: $19.95
3 month: $49.95
6 month: $79.95
1 year: $119.95

New prices:

1 month: $9.95
3 month: $24.95
6 month: $39.95
1 year: $59.95

Please take advantage of this amazing offer and tell your friends!  Freedur is committed to being the best option for your VPN needs.

How to Win a Free Annual Subscription

To participate in the drawing, all you have to do is one of the following:

1. Subscribe to our RSS feed or

2. Join our Facebook Fan Page or

3. Join the Mailing List

Then, leave a comment on this post and you’re all set. If you’re already a Facebook fan or subscribed to the RSS feed, no problem: leave a comment and you’ll be included in the drawing.

Winners will be selected at random and mailed login information for your year-long account.

Good luck!

Freedur VPN Giveaway Winners

1. John

2. Joel

3. Samantha

4. Adam

5. Jacob

6. Angela

7. kkorange

8. Maree

9. Chrystal

10. Dave

Congratulations to all of the winners! Account information will be e-mailed to the addresses that you left along with your comments.

To everyone else, Freedur was nice enough to offer us a great consollation prize: a free one month trial of Freedur. If you like the service and want to continue using it, you can still save 10% because it came from Chengdu Living.

Thanks for participating!

If you’re already using Freedur or have any questions about how the service works, drop us a note in the comment field below.

Freedur has been getting exposure from a number of websites since its introduction last year

Of all the VPN’s that we’ve tried (there have been quite a few!) we find Freedur to be the best solution because it works seamlessly on every platform. Turn it on, and whether you’re on a Windows or Mac computer, Freedur just works. Access Facebook, Youtube and all the sites that you’ve been missing out on.

So when Freedur dramatically raised their prices a few weeks ago, a lot of people contacted us with the question: “Why have the prices raised and how can I get Freedur for cheaper?

How to Save 50% on Freedur

Sign up for Freedur and enter the coupon code “chengduliving” at checkout and you’ll save 50% off the normal price of $119.95 per year (dropping the price from 2 yuan to about 1 yuan per day). If you have questions about how Freedur or VPNs work, read the Chengdu Living guide to unrestricted internet (one of our series posts) or leave a comment below.

Are you using a VPN or have questions about Freedur?