Forums > Living in Kunming > "Lying" in China, An Opinion Don't immediately count on the fulfillment of huge promises - Chinese people don't. But I'm familiar with the syndrome that, once something has been discussed and roughly planned, there tends to be a feeling that the job is already about half done. Had a Cantonese friend once who said: You know, sometimes I wish we were more like the Japanese".
This amazed me, hadn't heard it before from a Chinese person - I go "Wha...??")
"We Chinese make a lot of plans, but the Japanese actually DO them."
I had a huge laugh. Point is, however, that this tendency is not quite what might be called 'lying'.
Can't see the problem with 30-40 kuai - did these guys lie to you?
Your final example sounds like maybe some kind of con, yes, but I don't see the 'lying and cheating' you refer to. sure she didn't really just want to borrow some money? Anyway, glad you're not a sucker.
Amazing how most of us seem to get along with all the horror you portray.
Forums > Living in Kunming > Life in Kunming Much of your description of 'the Chinese' makes them sound a lot like Americans.
Perhaps some Chinese talk about how 'they' colonized Japan, but I think a lot more simply say that the Japanese took on Chinese culture - this idea is usually associated with the Tang Dynasty, and many Japanese are very conscious of the fact of cultural influence/borrowing during that period.
The blue dot does not necessarily refer to Mongolian ancestry, but to the more-closely related ancestry of many Chinese and many Mongolians - it relates to relative commonalities of gene-pool, not just to people classified as, or who culturall 'belong' to, Mongols. I have a friend whose father is Taiwanese, mother is Japanese, who had it as an infant.
Mongols and other nomads responsible for most migration - well, yeah, nomads migrate, by definition - e.g., Arab beduin. Note the number of Europeans who migrated to North America.
Forums > Living in Kunming > English Dentist Is 'English-speaking' what you want, or an English person, or someone trained in England, what?
Forums > Living in Kunming > Life in Kunming Ah, the 'blood' thing - I'm afraid my mother thought it was important too (I'm not Chinese, and neither was my mother).
A common folk theory.
Exploring history: Jianshui through the ages
发布者Jim's article is, as usual, excellent, but although he mentions renovations, perhaps he has left off a few that are really quite extensive. For example, there is a tourist street in Jianshui that has all the 'traditional' curved Han-style shop roofs you might like to see, but they were all built since the first time I went there some 10 years ago. More recently, the old South Gate has been built from scratch - wasn't there 10 years ago either.
The significance of the Confucian temple should not be missed - the conquerors of Yunnan were Mongols, with Central Asian troops, many Muslim. The fact that a Muslim ruler built such a large structure in this far-away province is a good example of the nature of the rulers: they were big supporters, not only of Islamic learning, but of Confucianism and Buddhism as well. And by the Ming Dynasty, if not before, the fact that this was the second largest Confucian temple in China, after the one in Qufu, the Kong (Confucius) family home in Shandong, is a clear statement of the attitude of the dynasty towards this frontier, Han-minority province, which had been very much independent, and under non-Han rulers, before the Mongols: This place is Ours now, and b'god we're here to stay!
And then note the role played by Lin'an (Jianshui) during the massive 'Panthay Rebellion' against the Qing (Man, or Manchu rulers), led by Muslims but with numerous Yi and Han followers, which went on for 18 bloody years in the 19th century...
Yunnan's history is unique, and it's fascinating.
$17 billion Chongqing-Kunming railway nears completion
发布者Train is as fast and more comfortable, I mean.
$17 billion Chongqing-Kunming railway nears completion
发布者Doesn't it cost more in terms of the planet? And not necessarily cheaper in personal cash terms either. More comfortable too, and not faster to Chongqing - 3 hours, the article says - how much time would you spend getting to the airport, boarding the damn thing, then sitting scrunched up, getting baggage, etc.?
$17 billion Chongqing-Kunming railway nears completion
发布者Seems to me this is a better idea than a lot of airports and air traffic.
Spring City's tallest skyscraper nears completion
发布者Good question, nnoble. My not-too-informed knee-jerk reaction would be to say no, but I'd be happy to consider any opinion that came with reasons.
Also the question: 'Does Kunming need this building...' makes me think of another one: who, precisely, is this 'Kunming' who either needs or doesn't need?