Banned In China - Deactivating My Facebook Account

The Great Firewall Of China. I used to think that was a clever and funny way of describing the internet censorship in China. But since coming to Beijing in August 2012, I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to enjoy the kind of internet freedom which is taken for granted back in the U.K.

This includes time taken to research a trustworthy method of connecting to foreign websites, attempting to purchase software when many of the websites selling it are blocked, and the time spent trying to use the software while the connection often fails.

When I first arrived in China, I found free software for my computer. This allowed me an intermittent connection to blocked and restricted websites such as Facebook. But the connection speed was far too unreliable to stream videos on Youtube.

After talking to colleagues, I decided to purchase a Virtual Private Network which can add security to the internet connection and also re-routes the internet connection through a foreign server, allowing access to banned websites and offering me a faster speed to watch videos. However, even a VPN cannot ensure a good connection. Earlier this year, my paid subscription to a VPN provider stopped working and could not grant me access to restricted webpages. This was highly frustrating as I keep in touch with many friends and family through Facebook and this blog.

As my subscription for the VPN came up for renewal, I decided that I would not pay for a service I could not depend on; instead I would rely solely on free VPN software I had downloaded to my phone. Although this would not always work efficiently, it did usually allow me enough time to communicate with friends and family. This is one of the reasons I have not updated my blog in such a long time. Using my phone to make blog posts can be rather laborious, particularly when the aforementioned free VPN software fails.

Recently, I heard from friends that VPNs are working more consistently again. This of course can change if there is a sudden government crackdown on internet activity. But for now, I have made the decision to renew my VPN subscription, which offers me a less stressful internet experience. With that being said, last Sunday I chose to deactivate my Facebook account, and here is why:

I have read online articles explaining the theory that using mobile phones or digital devices before sleeping, can affect our sleeping patterns and quality of sleep. While feeling stressed with events at work, I thought that I could experiment with cutting down on my phone usage before bedtime. When I thought more carefully about this, I realised I did generally use my phone just before I slept, to check Facebook and other apps.

I also read similar articles which detailed that social media can affect our moods. Viewing Facebook is like seeing the “best bits” of people’s lives and it can result in making unfair comparisons with one's own life. While I did not feel like I was making such negative judgements about myself, I did realise that I could drastically cut down on the time I spent trying to connect to Facebook and browsing on social media. Living abroad can definitely give me the feeling of being “out of the loop” but I definitely thought that I could benefit from cutting out the temptation of using Facebook for a while. Instead of looking for gossip fodder, I could read more books, study Chinese or sleep that little bit earlier.

So how did the week go? On the first day of deactivating my account, my thumbs did automatically click on the Facebook app to check if it was someone’s birthday, or if there was some interesting news or rant that had been posted. But it was surprising how quickly I stopped wanting to check. I usually use Facebook Messenger to speak with my friends and family so I did notice that absence. However I was observing that I slept much earlier in the evening than before. Moreover, whether or not it was my mind playing tricks on me, I’m not quite sure, but it appeared that I was having a deeper sleep each night.

During the week, I did of course use other forms of social media such as the Chinese juggernaut Wechat (see my previous post on the joys of Wechat here), so I hadn’t completely cut out communication with others. But now that I will be reactivating my Facebook account, I will try to be more aware of how I am spending my free time. Internet freedom may not be something I can relish while living in China, but I can choose to accept it (be that reluctantly). What if my VPN doesn’t connect? I don’t have to get annoyed and keep trying until the early hours of the morning. I can rest and see if it works the next day. After all, most things are better after a good night’s sleep, right? 

Phnom Penh Pals

Today was a bitterly cold day in Beijing, with temperatures of -17°C and a cruel wind-chill factor of -27°C. In fact, it was so cold today, the condensation on the inside of my windows turned to thick ice. Brrrr!

These plummeting temperatures are the coldest I have ever experienced in Beijing and it has resulted in me swaddling myself in a blanket and thinking back to warmer times.

Last year, towards the end of September, I travelled to Phnom Penh in Cambodia to see Kate and Becky. It was a great holiday because I had missed them so much since they had left Beijing. Plus I was able to spend the holiday with Omar, Lyra and Warner who had also arranged to visit. It felt wonderful to have the gang back together again.

I first visited Cambodia in 2006, so I was lucky enough to have already seen Angkor Wat, Siem Reap and places around the capital city. Cambodia is a friendly and welcoming country with so much history and culture to experience. I would definitely recommend a visit to the Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Museum Of Genocidal Crimes. It is a harrowing and disturbing experience, yet extremely educational and worthwhile in understanding the history of the country. Since I had visited both these locations in 2006, I did not feel the need to see them again this time.

I don’t have access to many photographs from my first visit to Cambodia, as most of them are stored at home in Wales. But I do have a photograph taken at Angkor Wat, one of a tuk-tuk driver and another of a child at an orphanage in which my friend Kendell and I visited. 

Angkor Wat 2006

Tuk-Tuk driver near the backpacker area.

I also have a lasting memory of the phrase “powms oi na?” (Excuse my crude anglicised spelling of the Khmer language) which translates to “who farted?” In 2006, I decided that this would be a crucial phrase to add to my arsenal in as many languages as possible; so I asked my Angkor Wat guide to teach it to me in Khmer.

My visit in 2015 was very different to my my trip in 2006. I was no longer a backpacker (now I travel with a suitcase!) and this time focused more on relaxing and catching up with close friends. Not long after we arrived, I decided to give everyone a small gift from China – a plant sprout hair clip. At the time, these were inexplicably popular with both children and adults in Mainland China. The clips came in many varieties and you could frequently see both men and women walking around with flowers and shoots sprouting from their heads. So once I had given everyone their very own sprout, it was only fitting that we took a selfie.

Sporting sprouts - note that Lyra is absent in this photo due to being asleep.

During our stay in Phnom Penh, Becky and Kate booked us places on a cookery course. Cambodian food boasts some delicious dishes, including my favourite – amok. We made this along with some other dishes on the course. It was a fun yet exhausting day (tiring due to the heat and my general laziness).

Cooking up a storm!

While on the course, I was overjoyed that I had correctly remembered the Khmer phrase that I had learned almost ten years ago. Our teacher happily confirmed that it did indeed mean “who farted?” although I think any bad smells were actually coming from my poor attempt at recreating Cambodian food.

Kate and Becky also took us on an evening river cruise. I was super pleased with myself for capturing the moment of a lightning strike by chance on my old phone. During late September/early October there were frequent thunderstorms but this did not hinder our holiday, as they were generally short downpours. The views of the sunset were spectacular and the silhouettes of the temples and buildings were stunning.

Cruisin' and boozin'

Although we were on holiday, Kate and Becky were working during the day, so Warner and I decided to visit Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre. After a rather long tuk-tuk drive we arrived at the centre. There were so many animals there and we were happy to see that they appeared to be well cared for and lived in good conditions.

Getting snap-happy at the sanctuary

Monkeying around at the sanctuary

The whole experience was wonderful and it’s so nice to think back to that time last year. Kate and Becky were the best hostesses and I cannot wait to see them again soon. I still miss their presence in Beijing, but it's great to have such good friends in Cambodia as it gives me the excuse to visit them again in such beautiful surroundings.

Memories of the hot climate and fun times are definitely keeping me warm on this chilly January evening!

How Wechat Changed My Life

Wechat is a hugely popular messaging application in China. Not long after moving to Beijing in 2012, I discovered that many people use this app to communicate. According to its developer, Tencent, as of August 2015, there are over 600 million active users. Wechat, or Weixin (微信-micro message) provides features associated with similar messaging and social media platforms. You can send multimedia messages to other users and also post text, photographs and links on your “moments” for your contacts to view and comment on.

For the longest time, I used Wechat for the sole purpose of sending messages and sharing information with my friends. After some time, I heard whispers and rumours that there were more exciting Wechat features. But just like my feelings in relation to leprechauns and politicians, I wasn’t yet ready to discover more about these unknown entities. How was I to know that there was so much untapped potential in my mobile app, just waiting to be utilised…

…Things had to change. A couple of months ago I decided to bravely take the plunge and get a Chinese bank account. Previously, I only had a card with a Chinese branch of an international bank, which restricted me in terms of paying for things online. However, with a genuine Chinese bankcard, the world (or in this case, China) is my oyster.

Once I had become the proud owner of my very own Chinese bankcard, I swiftly linked it with my Wechat account. Yes – I could now explore those unchartered territories that I’d feared for far too long. I could embrace the majestic wonder of WECHAT WALLET. With this option at my disposal, I felt like after three years of living in the Middle Kingdom, I would finally be a truly accepted and functional member of society. All the cool kids were using Wechat Wallet. Now, all the cool kids and a Welsh foreigner could. It was as if I had been welcomed into a club of elite social media users. I believed I now qualified as a “real person” by my perhaps misguided perception of Chinese standards.

Wechat Wallet allows users to send money to other contacts. This is perfect if you owe a friend some money or need to share the bill for a meal and don’t have enough cash. Some shops and supermarkets now allow you to pay for goods using Wechat, with just a quick scan of a QR Code.

The biggest convenience that I have discovered is online shopping. Can’t find what you want at the local supermarket or mall? Not wanting to venture outside during a smoggy day? Then you can order almost anything online and have it delivered straight to your door or workplace. This can all be paid for using Wechat Wallet.

My most recent purchases include a laser egg that measures air pollution, a hotpot cooker for the cold winter months and a Chinese set of ‘The Walking Dead’ comics (行尸走肉) in the hope that they will inspire me to keep studying Chinese characters. These treats have certainly cheered me up when the pm2.5 pollution levels have reached over 600 outside.

Buying things from the comfort of my home while avoiding crowds and toxic smog is still a novelty for me. Has Wechat changed my life? Well perhaps the title of this post is a tad dramatic. But it has made buying things a lot easier. Now I’ll just have to work on my self-restraint. I wonder if I can buy a guidebook on how to do that…

Please note that Wechat is not sponsoring me for this blog post (although if you are reading this Tencent, I am happy to receive some kind of payment or praise).

Tianjin

What do I know about Tianjin? Until recently, my knowledge of the city was quite limited. I was aware that it is a short train journey from Beijing and that it’s located near to the coast. Tianjin is now synonymous with the tragic explosions in August 2015, which killed and wounded hundreds of people. Typing ‘Tianjin’ into a search engine shows that currently, three of the top ten Tianjin-related searches are about the catastrophic blast.

I had a fleeting visit to Tianjin in 2013, when my flight from Inner Mongolia to Beijing was diverted due to bad weather. I was taken to a pretty swanky hotel for a few hours sleep but did not have enough time to see the city before I caught the connecting flight to the capital.

On 3rd September, there was a national holiday to mark the 70th anniversary of victory over Japan. Jensen and I decided to take this opportunity to visit Beijing’s neighbouring metropolis. I was surprised by how quickly the high-speed took us to our destination. In fact, it took us longer to get to the Beijing railway station than it did for us to get from Beijing to Tianjin. In just thirty minutes we were in a different city.

The national holiday resulted in pristine clear skies and fresh air. It ensured that we could enjoy the interesting scenery of our new surroundings. I was impressed by the European-style buildings. The colonial architecture is a popular tourist attraction in Tianjin.

While roaming the city, Jensen and I were able to sample some delicious food, including the famous Tianjin jianbing. These savoury crepes are different to the ones I have eaten in Beijing, as they include extra fillings such as youtiao (a deep fried dough stick). We tried a jianbing from a street vendor and later visited a famous jianbing seller who attracts queues of hungry customers. Jensen and I both agreed that the jianbing from the street vendor was actually more delicious. We also ate lamb noodle soup and 烧饼夹牛肉, a flaky pastry filled with beef and egg. 

In the evening, we walked around the streets and stopped to take some photographs near the river and Tianjin Eye. Being so close to the sea, Jensen was keen to try some fresh seafood so we stopped off at a restaurant and gorged on prawns, clams, fish and vegetables.

Tianjin was a nice break from Beijing. I didn’t realise that two months later I would be seeing a completely different, luxurious side to the city...

Jensen’s friend, Lisa, was organising a José Carreras music concert and invited us to stay at the Tianjin Shangri-La and attend the show on the 15th November. The weekend itself was a huge contrast to our previous trip to Tianjin – this time the air pollution levels were extremely high.

But the smog was not too much of a concern - we were far too busy enjoying the hospitality in the Club Lounge, which allowed us to snack continuously throughout our stay and remain hydrated with a plethora of beverages. We only ventured out to visit a nearby Hai Di Lao hot pot restaurant in the evening.

Before the concert, Jensen and I were able to meet José and had our photographs taken with him. During the performance, I was surprised by how powerful his singing voice is. It was a fantastic way to spend a smoggy weekend and I appreciate Lisa’s kindness and generosity.

What do I know about Tianjin now? It is a city that is trying its best to move on from a dreadful catastrophe. It has enough attractions and interesting locations that make it a perfect weekend getaway and I am sure there is plenty more to enjoy on future trips.

Mike's Chomping Cheesy Chinese Chow Challenge #9 – Sweet Potato

Disclaimer: That is a sweet potato and not a Christmas poo...

The temperatures are plummeting and the Beijing skyline is full of feathery white snowflakes. The city may be transforming into a winter wonderland, but of course that will not stop me from continuing my cheesy Chinese chow challenge.

At this time of year, you would be foolish not to seize the opportunity of scoffing a baked sweet potato. There are a number street vendors selling these winter warmers all around Beijing. If you see someone standing next to a metal drum, then it’s likely they are baking a batch of sweet potatoes! Once you choose the potato you desire, the seller will weigh it and tell you the cost - but don't worry, you can buy a spud the size of your face and it will still be a pretty cheap snack.

Many happy customers can be seen gnawing on a freshly baked potato straight out of the serving bag. I decided to give my sweet potato a cheesy challenge upgrade. After I selected the most scrumptious-looking spud, I took it back to my apartment. I then sliced it open and added baked beans with grated cheese on top.

I was instantly transported back home to the UK, with memories of jacket potatoes, bonfire nights and cosy autumnal evenings flooding back in a delightful nostalgic daydream.

The baked beans and melting cheese were the perfect companions to the fluffy, warm potato. This is a seasonal treat that cannot be limited to just once a year. I feel confident that a cheesy baked bean sweet potato will be a regular item on my winter menu.