User profile: bilingualexpat

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Gift shopping in Kunming for a local

@tiger

But the Chinese love the gambling aspect of drawing large raffle prizes at swanky 5-star hotel X'mas feasts, exorbitant entry fees notwithstanding. Thrill of winning holiday getaway villa packages, gift idea on its own merit.

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To piggyback off @dolphin's DIY gift idea for last-minute shoppers...

the annex across the street from NanYa (南亚) Shopping Mall's Starbucks features a bunch of DIY handicraft shops: from woodcrafting, leather satchel-making (w/ guidance from leathersmiths), jewelry assembling, to putty molding and oil/acrylic painting.

Encapsulating the Yuletide spirit sometimes entails the aggregate moments of joy. More than handing someone a gift card.

So with her company or without (for surprise), put on your craftsman's apron and get busy:

i.imgur.com/0navxOW.jpg

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Name: 玩物造志(南亚NEWMALL)
Map: www.amap.com/place/B0FFHG1JO0

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Also, HuffPo recently featured an inspirational, categorized gift-giving guide:

www.huffpost.com/[...]

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Gift shopping in Kunming for a local

A worthy gift would be to learn her native tongue... to traverse online with help of your Chinese friends/staffs to find her novel items nonexistent in Kunming.

You often take her out shopping around town. So whatever you buy in this city she has already seen, which dampens the element of surprise.

Taking the time and effort to learn simple Chinese online lingo would not only impress her, but serves a beneficial learning curve for yourself. A long-term investment to further improve relationship with your child in the 5G+ future. Especially if you intend to stay in China for the long haul. The Chinese internet isn't going anywhere in the decades to come.

You gotta start sometime, why not now?

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@Jan: "... arranging the delivery while preserving an element of surprise would be difficult."

Shipping and package retrievals have been significantly upgraded in the last two years. I'm sure you've already seen the green “Hive Boxes” (aka “feng chao” / 丰巢) placed outside or inside commercial & residential buildings.

All package delivery companies, even EMS, will use Hive Boxes upon customer request. Couriers will store your parcel in one of the container slots and send you a text password combination to open at your own convenience.

Retrievals are free for first 24 hours. If you collect your package within 24-hour time period and the Hive Box screen displays 1 rmb, it is just a misleading donation plea. Just skip (跳过) the message as the payment isn’t mandatory until after 24-hours. 1 rmb fee per day afterwards.

I’ve seen people open Hive Box by entering passwords after 30 days. The person was required to transfer 29 rmb via barcode to open. Convenient for those who’ve been out of town and needed long-term storage.

For maximum privacy. Don’t leave your frequently used mobile number for shipping contact info when making online purchases. This would cut down on annoying call solicitations and spam texts. Leave your seldom-used, secondary SIM card. Just follow Hive Box official account on Wechat. Register by verifying with said secondary number. When packages arrive, Hive Box passwords will be sent via WeChat message in lieu of text messages or calls from courier to your regular mobile phone. Granted you may need to answer their call if Hive Box is full.

To say nothing of convenience, the Hive Box not only maintains privacy and anonymity of recipient, but safety. Especially if recipient is a home alone, underaged female.

If Hive Box is absent in your vicinity, or if particular packages are too big for the Hive Box, there are plenty of package collection services around town. They are called “代收,” which may come in the form of mom & pop shops that charge 1 rmb a day to store your packages. Download Alibaba’s Cainiao (菜鸟) app to find these designated collection centers nearest you.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Tensions in the horizon?

Shadows much too often bury the light. The world needs to be inspired than to fear.

Here's a picture of former Yunnan Governor/current CPC Secretary of Yunnan Chen Hao shaking hands and awarding our very own American cardiologist & professor Dr. Detrano the Yunnan Friendship Award for bridging the two countries through altruism:

news.uci.edu/[...]

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Amid "tensions," wishing tonight's Have a Heart fundraiser event much success! May spotlight be cast on these compassionate volunteers & givers.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Help traffic tickets

Friendly discretion, it is illegal in China to solicit to sell or buy traffic points. So best to go about discreetly if such path is taken.

Slightly off-topic...

Here's a website run by Ministry of Finance showing in real time the centralized data of nearly 1.5 million EVs on the road:

show.evsmc.org:6064/#/national

Government mandates that EV manufacturers transfer over all collected customer data, which include current vehicle location and battery charging period & performance. May be an effective tool in monitoring emissions in combating pollution, among other things which may raise a few eyebrows.

Btw, in a few years all buses on the road in Kunming will be switched to electric. Shenzhen's zero-emission e-buses have already paved the way.

On that note, remember that bus lanes near bus stops are also marked with those continuous, white thick lines that are not to be crossed. Cameras are not far. Don't accumulate to 15 tickets this year. lol

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Help traffic tickets

Since i'm waiting for 12/12 TMall midnight purchase, allow me to assist you.

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Yes, there's an app to pay for the fines. Granted some traffic violations you can't merely pay off online, but in person at the bureau.

Types of violations notwithstanding, you only get 12 points limit for the year. You'd have to retake the driving exam if all 12 points are deducted to zero.

Fortunately, you can get your friends to allot you their driving points. Keep in mind they only have max 12 points as well. Since you've been deducted quite heavily, you'd probably need to find several friends. I believe maximum three drivers (total 36 points) can transfer their points to you. Total of 48 points including your own. So you still have a chance to keep your license in worst case scenario.

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Fruits as well, for example 3 dragon fruits for 10 rmb at the fruit vendors in Shilin Street. Market prices in Chenggong obviously take into account low student budgets.

I forgot to include those delicious calamari/squids in my aforementioned 28 yuan buffets.

Yesterday was my first time scouting Chenggong District. @Cahzriel is right, air quality is much better here than in inner city, Spaciously desolate, local businesses should be relieved college students will be returning en masse around March 4th through the 10th.

Absent in forum discussions, and not specifically mentioned by Jared Foxhall nor by Patrick Scally/Benjamin Campbell in the other Chenggong article, is Shilin Street Barbecue City, Shilin Street (仕林街) is a landmark of eateries stretching an entire block of nearly half a kilometer.

Highly recommended are the 28 yuan per person spicy Chongqing-flavored DIY stir fry buffets near the south end of Shilin Street (bordering JingMing S. Road). All-you-can-eat shrimps, clams, fish (for pescatarians like myself), marinated meats, and large selections of veggies cooked on a giant pan at your table for only 28rmb is nonexistent in KM city center.

Listed by @Philou, Shilin Street is ~600 meters southeast of KRT station YiKang South Rd. (谊康南路) C Exit, or ~600 meters northeast of University Town (大学城) KRT station B Exit:

www.gokunming.com/en/listings/item/33831/shilin_street

Just a heads up, passengers on the KRT train en route to Kunming South Railway Station may have to get off and switch at Chunrong Jie (春融街) for the university town stations. This juncture may be confusing for first-timers.

Great news! Hong Kong just voted to ban all ivory sales. HK was a major ivory trading hub and a loophole black market for Chinese Mainland buyers.

Persistent anti-ivory campaigns will hopefully diminish ivory demands among Chinese elites, thereby reducing elephant poaching around the world, particularly in Africa. It's estimated ~30,000 elephants are killed by poachers every year.

Shark fin demands/appetite in China supposedly dropped 70% over the years as a result of similar public education from celebrities on social media.

These gentle giants are one one my favorite animals in the world. Too bad I didn't come across any wild elephant migrations during my Xixhuangbanna visit. I wouldn't mind if they bumped round our vehicles like toy cars for a close up encounter.

Btw, props to Kunming's Yuantong Shan Zoo for improving the elephant/lion/bear captivity areas. The skywalk overhead view is an nice addition for visitors. The playful baby elephant was adorable and a must-see.

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