Guangzhou Seafood Centre

Hi all, i went to the Guangzhou seafood centre at Huang Sha District.

Just hop on to any taxi and tell the driver, Huang Sha Seafood Centre!

There, you can select your own seafood, lobster, fish, salmon, oysters, etc.. and you bring them to the restaurants nearby to ask them to cook for you.

Cheap and fresh!

That night, we spent in total about RMB500 for a table of 7 of us..

Weather in GZ seems to be turning cooler these few days.. wear thicker clothes.. take care!

how to increase viewership?1

hi there... i realise that after a few months of starting this blog..
the readership is still very low...

Perhaps, the content here is not relevant for you..
Please help to give comments on how and what I should do to increase the readership..

thanks!!

Mobile telecommunication service provider in China

Hi folks, let us talk on the mobile telecommunication providers in China. Currently, there are 2 telecom provider here. ChinaMobile (中国移动） - which is using GSM network and is the bigger player, the smaller player is ChinaUnicom （中国联通）- which has either GSM or CDMA for you to choose. According to ChinaUnicom, using CDMA network is supposing healthier as the radiation is relatively lower than GSM.

China Mobile:-

ChinaUnicom:-

For most of us, I will encourage you to take up ChinaMobile instead of ChinaUnicom because they are bigger and they have more services. For example, I know I will not be able to roam ChinaUnicom CDMA when I am back in Singapore as Singapore only uses GSM. I understand that most countries, except Japan and Korea uses GSM and not CDMA.

As for pricing, they are both somewhat similar. Under ChinaMobile, there are a few plans which they offer. Most Chinese local uses 神州行where incoming call is free (within the region, not whole China, ie, if you buy your card in Shanghai, incoming call when you are in Shanghai is free, but when you are in Guangzhou, it is chargeable). You can easier get a 神州行 sim card in newspaper stands, bookstores etc:Anybody can buy and you need not produce identity, cost you RMB100 (RMB20 for SIM card, RMB80 talk time). Whenever the value is low, just walk into any stores to buy a RMB50 or RMB100 top up card. Note this is all pre-paid, when you use up all the value in your card, your line will be automatically cut off.

Nevertheless, I will not encourage expats to take up the above plan, because the above plan does not offer international auto roaming. That is, if I use it, i cannot apply auto roaming and when I am out of China, I will not be reachable. Therefore I will encourage you to take up another plan call 全球通 - Go Tone, where you can apply auto roaming.

This plan has to be applied at the service counter at ChinaMobile, and you will need your passport to apply.

For more information, you can log on to their website at:-
http://www.chinamobile.com/en/
http://www.chinaunicom.com./

Take care!

Hong Kong Trip

Hi folks! I hope you had an excellent weekend!

One thing good in Guangzhou is that it is just next to Macau and Hong Kong. Last Friday, I went over to Hong Kong for some work and the train to Hong Kong from Guangzhou is only less than 2 hours and cost HKD190.00 (one way).

If you are working in Guangzhou, I will encourage you to go over to Hong Kong or/and Macau for shopping or sight seeing.

The normal train ticket in China is in pink but the train tickets to Hong Kong look like this:-

The train station will look like this:-

Please note that, depending on your nationality, you may need a visa to enter Hong Kong.

I am glad to be a Singaporean, which does not need one to enter.. heh..

Everyday, there are 12 trips to and fro Guangzhou and Hong Kong (Kowloon). The train starts at Guangzhou East Train station (note that there are 2 train stations in Guangzhou, one is Guangzhou East, another Guangzhou Train station) The frequency and timings of the trian are as below. You may want to click to see a bigger picture.

Depending on which train you take, some trains will stop at DongGuang and/or Shenzhen station.

If you have big items or luggage, you may want to check in, but the train station will charge you for that. The charges is as below:-

This is how the train look like:-

As you can see the train is not very crowded. Therefore, you need not buy the train tickets in advance. You will only need to be there about 45mins to 1 hour earlier to buy the tickets and go through the customs.

However, this may not be true during peak seasons like the Chinese New Year or Holiday seasons where there are many travellers, and you will need to buy your tickets a few days in advance to secure a seat.

When you arrive in Hong Kong, the train stops just beside the MTR (hong kong subway) station. From there you can take the MTR which take you to almost anywhere in Hong Kong. This is the MTR station you will see:-
Alternatively, you may take a taxi which of course will be more costly. The starting fee for the taxi in Hong Kong is HKD16.00. A 10-15mins taxi ride will cost you about HKD50-60.
Or the bus is another good option:-

Have a great week!

Real KungFu - The chinese fast food restaurant

Hi people...

There are a lot of international fast food brands in China like McDonald and KFC. But, you may be surprise to see a chinese fast food chain in China called Real Kung Fu.

Being headquartered in Guangzhou, they have the most number of chains here. I see them everywhere in Guangzhou, and there is one Real KungFu at the basement of my office building.

Their logo: Bruce Lee. Maybe you will fight as good as him if you eat more? heh..

Being Chinese fast food, they serve most of their set meals with rice and soup unlike others with coke and burger or chicken. They market their food as something healthy as they are mostly steam and boiled. Unlike Mcd or KFC where it is mostly deep fried which most people deem it as unhealthy.

I do see them in Shanghai but not as many outlets as it is in Guangzhou.

The set meal cost between RMB20-25, normally come with rice, meat, veggie and soup. For more of their company info http://www.zkungfu.com/

I had Real KungFu a few times.. and I feel that it is quite Okay.. but i still think i cant fight that well.. Mmm..maybe i should eat more.. heh

Give it a try and let me know if it taste good? Take good care!

Beggars in China

Hi all.. it was a typhoon weekend in Guangzhou..

But, this morning, it was bright and sunny again! Such eccentric weather!

Let's talk about one common sight in Guangzhou or other cities in China.

- Beggars

There are professional beggars all around China:-Being professional, they all look very pitiful and they beg in all areas, hoping that you may drop a dollar or two for them.

They are everywhere in town areas, subway, underground bridges etc.

I guess this is not unique in China, even developed places do have beggars around.

I do remember seeing some beggars in Australia, where they place a cardboard that says," please spare me some penny"

It really depend on you if you want to give. When I first came to China, I give a few coins whenever I see a beggar, because I felt that they look really pitiful.

But after spending some time here, I kind of feel numb when I see them.

I heard stories from the locals like they earn a few thousands dollars a month doing nothing but begging. This is highly possible, if 40-50 kind-hearted person in a crowded street give 2-3 dollars everyday, this work out to be a few thousands a month. 2000-3000rmb/month is the normal salary a local graduate earns.

Therefore, nowadays, I seldom give them any coins.

But, whenever Im eating outside, and I have some leftover food, I will packet them and give it to the beggars.

What do you think? What will you do?

Please leave some comments...

Have a great week!!

Shanghai Trip

Hi all! I hope you had enjoyed your 1 week of holiday in China. I spent the last 2 weeks in Shanghai for both work and leisure. How did you spend yours?

I have worked in Shanghai for a year before and traveled to Shanghai quite often for business and work and therefore know Shanghai quite well too.

The impression I have on Shanghai is People, More People and A LOT of People!

Shanghai Nanjing Road:-

Shanghai Shopping centre:-

Everywhere in Shanghai is filled with people!

But, of course, I must say Shanghai is usually the first city in China most expats consider. Reasons are very simple, Shanghai is the heart of China's economy, you got all the big brands who have their China headquarter in Shanghai, like Dell, MircoSoft etc. Therefore, naturally, you have a big pool of expats in Shanghai.

What amaze me most during this trip is:- Rollar Skating!

One local brought me to a roller skating rink in Shanghai which I took some pictures:-

The wooden rink, rollar skating make me a little nostalgia.. i thought it only appears in some HongKong movies in the 1980s, or some retro movies.. heh..

Take good care!

Not so refined behaviour..

Hi folks..

It is going to be China National day on 1st Oct, which is also known as the golden week for the Chinese.

Most of the companies rest 1 whole week during 1st Oct, this year the week is from 29th Sept to 5th Oct. Most expats take this time to go back home, and most locals will travel and go for holidays. The average locals will travel within China, while the slightly richer ones will go overseas for holidays.

One of the thing you have to accept in China when you are here is their "not so refined" behaviour. It was a culture shock for me when I see people lying around to sleep, spitting, talking loudly on the train... these are behaviors you have to learn to accept.

China, being such a big country, have a lot of rural areas where the people are not so cultured. Everyday, a lot of people from the rural areas come to big cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing to find work, look for job, relatives etc. Therefore, when they arrive here, they bring along a lot of their habits.

Sleeping/lying around:-

Spitting:-

I know many of you will feel "Yucks!" I couldnt accept it initially too...

But after some time.. you will get used to it..

Have fun during your golden week!

Bad/Improper English

Hi friends! Let's talk a little on the standard of English in China.
Being China, most Chinese only know Chinese or Pu Tong Hua, and they speak and understand very little English.
Therefore, you see improper English everywhere in China, including Guangzhou of course.
When the Chinese attend school, English is actually a subject but not a language to them.
All their lessons are conducted in Chinese.
Unless you go to high end restuarant/pubs, dont expect too much good English around here.

Below are some pictures I took around my areas, Im sure there are much much more...

Let me share a joke on this...

One English tourist went to a shop in China to buy a digital camera. But, since the camera is really cheap, he is afraid that it may spoil easily and there is no guaranty on quality. He went to the shopkeeper to ask for assurance. The Chinese shopkeeper pointed at a sign outside his shop that says, " Guaranty No Spoil". So, the English man bought the camera, but after a few tries, it broke down. He went back to the shopkeeper, and the shopkeeper told him,"hello, China read from right to left"

Heehee..

Take care!!

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Hi all, this Sunday is the Mid Autumn festival, 15th Aug on the lunar calendar.

Since it falls on a Sunday, the officials here have delcared the following Monday as a public holiday. It is a celebration of togetherness.

This is the day where the Chinese believe that the moon is the roundest of the year.

So, on that evening, remember to look up to the sky to see the moon!

The Chinese celebrate the day by eating mooncakes, and children like to bring laterns around.

The decoration at the place where I am staying:-

The story goes about the festival came from the legend of Hou Yi and Chang E.

There are a few versions of the story but the main outline is that Hou Yi, a cruel king found the elixir of life. Chang E, his wife did not want him to be immortal as she did not want the people to suffer. Therefore, she took the elixir and flew to the moon. There are also some versions about Hou Yi who before becoming a king was an archer who shot down 9 out of 10 suns.

Therefore, there are some people who told me that it was the American who first went to the moon and planted the American flag there.

Nah.. that's not true.. because, the Chinese Chang E was there way before him! Heh..

I will be in Shanghai the whole of next week... Happy Mid-Autumn Festival and enjoy your long weekend!

Yuan Xiang Coffee

Hi folks! It's quite hot in Guangzhou now... but sometimes it get better when there are rains. Drink more water yah..

For Singaporeans and Malaysians... Good News!!

I found our local food in Guangzhou.

The coffee shop is called Yuan Xiang which is located at Citic Plaza (back street)

I think they have another 2nd outlet at Tian He district

I got to know the boss who is a Singaporean during the National day dinner..

And I went to his coffee shop a few times to try different types of food.. like Curry Chicken, Chicken rice, Nasi Lemak, Laksa, Kaya toast.

The teh tarik is not bad.

Overall, I guess it is not 100% close.. but at least 60-70% there.. It should be the closest you can get here..

A set meal cost about RMB20-25

Take care!

Networking in Guangzhou

Hi friends, I hope your weekend was great. I had a busy weekend.

Being a Singaporean, I joined the GZ Singapore Club which held a Singapore National Day dinner last Saturday at Westin. At the dinner, I met a lot of Singaporeans who are working here in Guangzhou. FYI - Singapore National Day is on 9th Aug, but Im not sure why did they only have the dinner until end Aug, probably because of the Olympics...


The dinner was great, manage to meet up with a lot Singaporeans, exchange a lot of namecards.
We are even thinking of organising a weekly soccer game soon.

The only negative thing was the host, who is the chairman of the club was obviously drunk towards the end of the dinner and was talking some nonsense... made a fool of himself.. heh..






















Therefore, if you are an expat, I will strongly suggest you to get into such clubs and associations where you find your fellow country people. You will click with one another instantly.
Most expats, when they first arrived are real lonely people - I have been through it myself. Unless you come with your family.. if not, you are really going to be real lonely, having dinner alone, shopping alone.. etc...

If you are from Singapore, you can join GZ Singapore Club: www.gzsingclub.com/
and/or SingCham: http://www.singcham.com.cn/

I'm sure if you are of other nationalities.. there will be other clubs.. Example:- my Swiss boss is the president of SwissCham..

Have fun and take care!

China Personal Income Tax

Hi all, let's talk about the personal Income tax in China for expats like us.

Comparing to Singapore, it is really high!!

The first RMB4800 is non-taxable and there are 9 levels in China income tax:-

Level Monthly Income Tax Rate % Deduction

1) RMB500 or less

Tax Rate 5%

Deduction 0

2) RMB501 to 2000

Tax Rate 10%

Deduction RMB25

3) RMB2001 to 5000

Tax Rate 15%

Deduction RMB125

4) RMB5001 to 20000

Tax Rate 20%

Deduction RMB375

5) RMB20001 to 40000

Tax Rate 25%

Deduction RMB1375

6) RMB40001 to 60000

Tax Rate 30%

Deduction RMB3375

7) RMB60001 to 80000

Tax Rate 35%

Deduction RMB6375

8) RMB80001 to 100000

Tax Rate 40%

Deduction RMB10375

9) RMB100001 above Tax

Rate 45%

Deduction RMB15375

so for example, if my income is RMB18000/month

That is level 4
Tax Rate 20%
Deduction RMB375

This is how i will calculate my taxes:-

RMB18000 - RMB4800 = RMB13200 x 20% = 2640 - 375 = RMB2265

Take for another person income is RMB 65000/month
That is level 7

Tax Rate 35%
Deduction RMB6375

This is how his taxes will be:-

RMB65000 - RMB4800 = RMB60200 x 35% = RMB21070 - 6375 = RMB14695

The above information is correct at the time of publishing

More information can be found at http://de2.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/bilateralvisits/200603/20060301721962.html?

The Chinese government has made it easier to calculate your taxes with the below site, just key in your monthly income:-

http://www.xm-l-tax.gov.cn/taxcalculator/psntaxcalc_e.do

Taxes are so high!!

That's all!!

Guangzhou Church

Hi there! How is your weekend coming along?

It is typhoon weekend for me in Guangzhou.
Fortunately, there was only some rain and strong winds here.
Guangzhou is not too much affected, unlike HongKong and other parts of south China.



I just came back from Guangzhou International Christian Fellowship (GICF), a church for expatriates near my home. About 15 mins walk.


Chinese locals are not allowed to enter the church. Please do not be mistaken that we are discriminating the Chinese nationals, but this is required by the law of China.
Freedom of worship is limited in the communist state. One of the church leader was questioned by the local authories when some Chinese locals sneaked into the church.
If the church is caught on the same offence again, their license may be revoked.
I believe this is the same everywhere in China, at least it was the same when I was in Shanghai.

The chinese has their own church which the services are conducted in chinese. I have been to one in Shanghai, very traditonal type.

Therefore, in order to indentify yourself as a foreigner, especially if you are an Asian (yellow skin) like me, please bring along a photo identity card or passport to enter.
To find out more, GICF website:-
http://www.gicf.net/



GICF meets at Star Hotel (next to Guangzhou East Railway Station), 3rd floor, every Sunday from 10am - 11.30am.
Every Sunday, there are about 300-400 adults worship there.
There is Sunday school for children as well, i understand that GICF has about 100++ children every Sunday.
Come join us if you are interested.


The map (Click to enlarge):-












Some pictures of the church:-

Cheap DVD!!

Hey folks!

One of the things that is real cheap here are the DVDs! And for most of us who doesnt have much activities after work, the cheapest form of entertainment will be watching DVDs.

They only cost RMB5 per disc.

Below is one typical store at the road side:-

Remember it is only RMB5 per disc, anything more than that is expensive.

They have hollywood films, HK, Taiwan movies, drama.

Some may even have artistic films, but I think that cost RMB8-10 per disc (hehh..)

Do buy at the store nearest to you, so that in the event that the disc doesnt work, you can go back to the owner to change another disc.

Always emphasis that you want DVD version if you want clear and good disc.

There are some DVDs that they called super clear version "超清晰" those are the ones they record from the cinema. Those are generally very new movies that are still screening.

If you want to watch movies that are still screening, and is unwilling to pay for cinema tickets, those super clear version will be a good alternatives.

By the way, watching cinema movies in China is an expensive entertainment.

Full price of the 1 ticket cost RMB80! They normally have discount during weekday, probably cost about RMB40-60/ticket. This is real expensive! But the cinemas are always very crowded!

That shows how rich the chineses are!

For me, it is DVDs! Look like it is another DVD weekend for me...

take care!!

Cost of Living

Hi all, I hope your week was wonderful!

Let's discuss a little on the cost of living in Guangzhou.
Comparing Guangzhou (GZ) and Shanghai (SH) where I previously worked.
Guangzhou has definitely a lower cost of living.
For example:-

Taxi in GZ: Starting fee RMB7, Taxi in SH: Starting fee RMB11
Addidas Tee(imitation) in GZ: RMB35, similar Addidas Tee in SH: RMB50

However, there are some things that should be the same across the whole China.
Like:-
Mac Value meal: RMB20-25
Starbucks Cappuccino (small): RMB25
A can of Coke: RMB3

There are a few costs to note while you are working here:-

Accomodation cost: RMB3000-5000 (a decent place with facilities)
Mobile Cost: RMB100-200(normal local usage). Calling overseas is not expensive also. For me, I use a cheap idd call 12593 to call back Singapore at only RMB0.39/min
Bus trip: RMB2-4
Metro/Subway/MRT trip: RMB2-11
Lunch box: RMB5-10
A bowl of noodles: RMB5-10
A meal at an average restaurant: RMB50-100

Have a great weekend!

Citic Plaza - Tallest Building in Guangzhou

One of the most famous building in Guangzhou is the Citic Plaza, the tallest building in Guangzhou.

According to wikipedia, it is 80 floors and has a height of 391 m (1,283 ft) which includes two tall antenna-like spires on the top.

Currently, it ranks as the 4th tallest building in China, seventh in Asia, and eighth worldwide.

If you are around Tianhe district, you will never miss it.

Just beside the 80th floor tower, there is a 5 floors shopping centre. This is the place where the office workers from Citic plaza shop.

I personally like the Chinese restaurant, East Ocean Chinese Restaurant at the 3rd floor. Food is above average, price is quite reasonable with good service and ambience. And the toilets are very posh! An eagle head tap.. heheh..

I often have their Dim Sum with some friends during weekends. About RMB150 for 2 pax.

One Nokia road show at the shopping centre:-

Have a great week!!

Metro/Subway In Guangzhou

Being one of the most developed city in China, Guangzhou has it own subway (We call it MRT in Singapore, or some called it Metro).

It covers the whole Guangzhou city, and it is a good way to get around.

The sign for Guangzhou Metro:-

Typically, an entrance to the station look like this:-

You may see the map of the stations both Chinese and English (click on it for bigger pictures):-

Of course you need to buy a ticket in order to travel in the Metro.

The ticket is in a form of a blue chip and cost between RMB2 - 11, depending on the distance of your journey. The ticketing machine look like this:-

Not to worry, the instructions are both in English and Chinese.

If you intend to stay in Guangzhou for an extended period of time, you may want to consider buying a stored value card, which the local call Yang Cheng Tong. This can be used not only at Metro but also taxis and buses. This will be convenient as you need not look for coins/smaller notes to buy tickets.

For more information on Yang Cheng Tong card:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Cheng_Tong

The card will look like this:-

As apply to most cities, avoid peak hours travel like 8-9am or 5-6pm where the metro will be very packed like this:-

Note that the last trian is about 11.30pm. Some pictures of the Metro:-

More information can be found on Guangzhou Metro Official Site:- http://www.gzmtr.com/en/

Take care and have fun!

Let me know what are the things you are interested in and I will blog it in my next entry..