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Cheers to everyone who has shared. I feel like I’ve tried a million different apps, websites, methods etc. but very few of them really stick in the sense that going back to them day after to day is something that I actually look forward to, rather than being something that I have to force myself to do.
Having said that the no. 1 resource I have used (as a beginner) that has been great, in terms of both “stickiness” and actually teaching me something is Michel Thomas, which is an audio program, kind of like Pimsleur but way better. Put it this way, I studied Chinese at university in Taiwan for six months and still had no idea of the tones. Nailed it in about 30 minutes of Michel Thomas. It probably depends very much on your own individual learning style but for me this is far and away the best, at least for conversation/listening comprehension (no reading or writing).
I’m kind of going on about it because my guess is for some reason it’s not as well known as stuff like Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur and some of the other methods, but I think it really should be.
And to echo a previous poster, if you’re creative and willing to do a little digging then you might be able to get your hands on it at something less than full price.
Here’s a couple of links to nearby organic farms. I haven’t personally checked them out yet but my gf’s colleague is buddies with the Anlong people and he says it’s legit.
I think I’ve also been to the Sunyuki or Sunshine one mentioned above. Well, it was some Taiwan-affiliated organic farm in Xinjin, which is a satellite city about an hour southwest of Chengdu. Forget the name though.
I buy avocados at my local Carrefour (Tongzilin) or at the Treat supermarket at Raffles mall (Sichuan Gymnasium metro stop). They are pretty seasonal here though. At this time of year they’re a bit harder to find or sometimes so hard it’s not even worth it.
If you end up finding anything amazing, would be great if you could share!
Hey Rick, well, I guess you must be more mechanical-minded than me because there’s no way I could put together a working robot with a few hundred bucks and a couple of wire coat-hangers, not to mention the solar-powered car, functional prosthetics, home-made helicopters or the farmer dude who made his own mini-cannons to warn off persistent developers. That last one’s definitely my favorite. I can’t even think about him without laughing out loud 🙂
A few of them did look pretty crap though, I’ll give you that. I wouldn’t be getting in any of the “submarines” and it’s a fair bet that one or two of the “flying machines” will never get off the ground.
he carry on weight thing can be a headache though if you end up buying stuff to bring back, seems they’re strict on that one..
If you end up buying stuff while you’re away, you can change your luggage limit on the Air Asia website anytime (I think its something like up to 4 hours before the flight, but you can check). Pre-book a bigger allowance before you get to the airport to avoid paying even more once you are there and have no choice (other than to wear stuff or put it in carryon).
I flew Chengdu to Okayama (Japan) last year with a stopover in Shanghai. China Airlines or Air China, I think. Because of late takeoff in Chengdu, we ended up missing our connecting flight and had to spend a night in a dodgy hotel in the middle of nowhere, Shanghai. Got to see a bit of the city though, which was nice, but since we only had a few days in Japan it cut our holiday time by about 20%.
Have also flown Chengdu-Melbourne via KL on Air Asia without any hassles, but in a couple of weeks will be trying the new Sichuan Airlines Chengdu-to-Melbourne direct. Will try and remember to report back, especially if anything amazing/terrible happens. Can say now that the price was good, though. Actually a bit cheaper than my last trip to Melbourne with Air Asia.
Yeah, it’s looked pretty crowded when I’ve been by in the evenings/afternoons. I’ve got a flexible schedule, so I usually go in the morning when there’s hardly anyone there. As a foreigner, you’ll probably get a few stares sometimes but hopefully not the kind of attention you were getting in Shenzhen.
I can say that even in the evenings there seems to be a pretty good ratio of girls to guys so if you do get a crowd of admirers, at least it might not be all men(?).
I think one month is usually 800-something RMB, but they gave it to me for 580 for some reason. Opening promo? Or maybe they just took one look at my body and felt sorry for me : P
One year is 2880 and two years is 3980. You can also rent a permanent locker for a year but I have no idea how much that is. Daily lockers are free.
And I found the website. Not super helpful, but someone had fun making it:
You might end up not too far from the Galleria shopping mall (called “Kaidan Plaza” on Google maps), which has a couple of decent restaurants, and the Auchan shopping mall, which has more (fast-food-type) restaurants plus a huge supermarket.
Right near all that is another mall called Suning Plaza, which is a bit of a ghost mall, but has a huge new gym on the 6th floor called Ching Fitness. I can’t find any links, sorry. But it’s got heaps of weights and heaps of machines, plus separate rooms for aerobics, spin and yoga classes. It’s even got its own wifi-equipped cafe. Haven’t seen any other foreigners there and they don’t speak much English but they’re friendly enough. (Just don’t get it confused with the kiddie play center “My Gym” on the 3rd floor.) It’s probably a bit expensive by local standards but I’m pretty sure it would check all your boxes and more.
Good luck!
Quote:On a constructive note, thanks Melina for posting information about the chiropractor that you found.No worries. Didn’t expect it to cause such a controversy tho ; )
Quote:Hi, will you please give a brief description about how was the therapy? do they fix purely by hand or with some machine? and costs?Basically, my girlfriend’s treatment went as follows. Before we even went, the doctor emailed her a couple of super detailed questionnaires asking about her medical history and current state of health, including what she eats and how much she sleeps and all that kind of thing.
Then in the first session, she took a really detailed oral history and asked lots of questions about the current pain and any past pain/treatments.
The actual treatment was mostly gentle manipulation on the table and a few stretches to do at home. There was also a little bit of gentle stretching using some kind of mechanical table and some block work, where the doc put blocks under her hips or whatever and just let her lie there for a bit.
I don’t know what it’s called, but she also used that weird-ass hand-held machine that delivers very concentrated, very localized pressure in the form of discrete taps.
But if you have any concerns about any particular type of treatment, just talk to her about it. I’m sure she would listen to you and find an alternative rather than going ahead and doing something you’re not comfortable with.
Of course, there is always some kind of very minimal risk with this kind of treatment, which is why you have to sign a waiver before you start. But like I said before, I would totally recommend Dr. Karen if you’re in pain. My girlfriend only had about five treatments and she is now totally fine after suffering through it for years.
For the cost, last I heard it was 450 RMB for the initial consultation and 300 for follow-ups. If you need a receipt so you can charge it to a foreign insurance provider, then its a couple of hundred more.
Long overdue follow-up, but for anyone else who’s interested, Dr. Karen Rosel of Tianfu Wellness turned out to be awesome. She’s very friendly and professional, takes a really thorough holistic approach and, most importantly, appears to have effected a total cure of my gf’s longstanding lower back pain. Highly recommended.
Maybe it would be worth compiling a list of good local Chinese-speaking agents, since it sounds like some of you guys know who they are. We went through quite a few in the Tongzilin area–just walking in off the street–and the places they showed us around the 3000 price range were invariably crap (not that the one English-speaking agent did any better). So I’m guessing it’s all about who you know. Sounds like Graeme is sorted but might be helpful for others…?
If by “nice” you mean a functional, well-designed bathroom and kitchen, consistent hot water and good water pressure in the shower, heaters/air-con that don’t constantly breakdown, decent appliances, clean and well-maintained elevators, etc. (basically anything that would be considered “standard” at home), you might want to go for what’s known in Chengdu, as far as I can tell, as “five-star luxury.”
There’s a nice compound about a five-minute walk from Ikea called Emerald that has fully furnished one-bedrooms for around 4000 to 5500, to give you an idea of prices. But they don’t have two-bedrooms, only one- and then three- or four-bedrooms, as far as I know.
Regarding the whole “running out of the building” thing, see, this is how ugly rumors get started.
No one (meaning me) said anything about running off hysterically at the first shudder, especially if all you have to worry about is a couple of pictures dropping off the wall. All I said was if the building you’re in feels unsafe, (ie, it’s about to collapse on your head) then sure, get out if you can. I mean, why wouldn’t you? On the other hand, if you are lucky enough to find yourself in structurally sound building, then duck and cover till your heart’s content. (As million of American school kids found out in the 1950s, it’s also a surefire defense again nuclear bombs, so suck on that, North Korea.)
I don’t know about anyone else but I have actually left a building via the stairs during a bone-shatteringly big earthquake (twice, actually) and if push came to shove, I would do it again. Sure, it’s not super fun being knocked about in a stairwell, but it’s infinitely preferable, I’d wager, to being crushed by even a few floors’ worth of fridges, sofas, washing machines and flat screen TVs. (One tip: try not to do it with anyone who has a tendency to fear-induced knee-buckling – it tends to slow you down.)
Obviously, do not try this if you are elderly, infirm or a small child.
Anyway, I’m sorry, if anyone has gotten the wrong idea but I suspect that most people who have been following this thread did not actually misunderstand my original comment, if that’s even what all the later chatter has sprung from.
@Rick, thanks for posting that map. It actually helps a lot. I think most of my concern re earthquakes and Chinese building standards can be traced to this one image:
http://www.videogoneviral.com/galleries/this-happen-only-in-china.html
I went past my old apartment before and was actually surprised it didn’t look like that.
On a more productive note, it looks like my girlfriend’s colleagues will be going out to Yaan tomorrow and the next day. I’m thinking it would be good to load them up with supplies, if anyone has stuff to donate.
Not sure about the logistics though because they would be leaving from Xinjing, which is SW of Chengdu and would mean adding two hours to the trip if they were to come back to Chengdu first.
If anyone has any information about what’s specifically being asked for or any idea about how to solicit or collect donations or how to get them to Xinjing, I’d be happy to hear them.
I know it’s all pretty short notice and they might not even be able to get through anyway, but I think it’s worth a shot.
That’s good to know, @Rick.
Actually, I felt pretty safe in the building I’m in now. All we did was open the front door just to ensure we wouldn’t get trapped in case it got worse and the door frame buckled or whatever.
Seems like people in Lushan have not fared so well though, already 57 reported casualties from collapsing buildings etc. I guess that’s more rural, so the buildings would probably be older and/or crappier? I just hope the numbers don’t get too much worse.
Just as a general point, I think it’s also worth remembering that the Richter scale is a logarithmic one or whatever its called, meaning a 7.0 earthquake is 10 times worse than a 6.0, and an 8.0 is 100 times worse than a 6.0. So one more point on the scale is quite an increase in terms of seismic energy.
I’m not sure how safe I’d feel if there was an 8.0 with the epicenter in Chengdu, even in a brand new building. Let’s hope we never have to find out.
Quote:Doug Copp’s emailed advice on earthquake survival tactics entitled ‘Triangle of Life’ is disputed by search-and-rescue experts from the American Red Cross and elsewhere.I don’t want to get involve in a long-drawn out discussion on this, since I never heard of this “Triangle of Life” thing before today, but in the interests of sharing information, here is what the American Red Cross (apparently) actually said about it (unless this is a fake):
“The Red Cross is not saying that identifying potential voids is wrong or inappropriate. What we are saying is that ‘Drop, Cover, and Hold On!’ is NOT wrong — in the United States. The American Red Cross, being a U.S.-based organization, does not extend its recommendations to apply in other countries. What works here may not work elsewhere, so there is no dispute that the “void identification method” or the “Triangle of Life” may indeed be the best thing to teach in other countries where the risk of building collapse, even in moderate earthquakes, is great.”
http://www2.bpaonline.org/Emergencyprep/arc-on-doug-copp.html
I guess now all we have to do is work out whether the “the risk of building collapse, even in moderate earthquakes, is great” or not…
Quote:That photo from Yaan is fake apparently. So I’ve been told, think the Sichuan government disclaimed it.I wouldn’t necessarily trust the govt, but my father-in-law also says the photos circulating are old photos from Taiwan, not Yaan.
(Father-in-law is a Taiwanese architect specializing in post-disaster reconstruction, so I’m inclined to believe him, but make it of it what you will.)
This is gonna give me away as someone who is off the scale when it comes to being overly cautious (mentally scarred by experience), but in the few months we lived on the 30th floor of the dogdy apartment building, I would regularly take the stairs to see how long it would take and also just to get a feel for the terrain while conditions were good, just in case they were ever not so good.
It was pretty terrible. Apart from it being way too dark, the (concrete) stairs in the stairwell were actually slippery(?!) and there was inevitably garbage and construction crap lying around. Basically, it would have been an absolute nightmare to try and evacuate that building during or even after an earthquake, fire, or any other disaster.
Scary part is I get the feeling that our building (appropriately called “Rong Mansion”!) was nothing exceptional in Chengdu in that regard. It’s almost like they want you to die.
Quote:By the time the full force hits you will probably be in a stairwell which is the most dangerous place to be.Hopefully you would get out before then. In my experience, it takes quite a long time for them to really get going. If you’re not on a ridiculously high floor and you’re thinking fast, you most likely would have more than enough time to get outside before the full force hits…
But I guess when it comes down to it everyone is going to do what feels safest to them in the moment. Some will run and some will freeze and some will calmly go about their business as if nothing is happening. I’ll take my chances in the open any day (watching out for falling debris goes without saying)…
Don’t get me wrong though, I think the “stay inside” advice is probably fine if you’re in the US or Japan, like I said. I just don’t trust the buildings here at all.
I found a Chinese govt site, if anyone is interested: the site of the “China Seismograph Network Data Management Center.” They are reporting it as a magnitude 7.0 though:
