365 China Photo: One-A-Day

We drove back into London for more shopping and went to the Westfield Stratford City. It’s one of the biggest shopping centres in Europe and right next door to the London Olympic Stadium. I was more interested in the view than the shopping, as it’s probably the closest you can get to see the Olympic park. There has been a lot of negative press about the Olympic sculpture so it was good to see it for myself. It looks like a half finished fairground helter skelter and I must admit that I wasn’t that impressed considering it cost £20 million. However, maybe close up the 115-metre structure looks better. It is supposed to have great views from its observation tower but not that good on a rainy, grey day like today.

Canthy loves Leamington Spa, as to her it is such an English Town. It’s officially called Royal Leamington Spa having been given the royal prefix by Queen Victoria in the nineteenth century. Her statue stands outside the town hall and many of the houses date from that period. Canthy especially likes the white Victorian townhouses, which remind her of the houses in London’s Belgravia. My brother told me that they often film in this area and the latest Upstairs Downstairs TV series was filmed on this street as it looks like London. We are looking to buy a house in the UK but London is out of the question. I am sure these London look-a-like townhouse would be a lot cheaper, but most of them have already been converted into flats and offices just like in London.

One of the reasons we wanted to spend time with my brother and his family is so Tanya can get to know her cousins. She enjoyed seeing them at Christmas and likes hanging around with them. With a second child coming soon we want Tanya to be able to play and share with her new sibling. Canthy is a single child and still finds the idea of having a second child very strange. She has no concept of what it is like to have a brother or sister, which is quite sad. But when she sees Tanya playing, bathing and sleeping together with her cousins she gets it. It’s too late to change Canthy’s childhood, but she wants Tanya to have all the fun and benefits of not being an only child in China.

We drove up to Leamington Spa to visit my brother and his family. Whenever we stay over we often end up ordering a takeaway for dinner, which is an easy and simple option. The variety of takeaway food is good in this area, especially the Indian and Chinese. We ordered Chinese food, which is nothing like real Chinese food that you get in China. The dishes have been westernised for an English palette and many are deep-fried. Despite this Canthy thought it didn’t taste too bad which is lucky as we ordered enough for a banquet. Even the takeaway asked if we were having a big party. I just told them my wife is pregnant so she wanted to order everything on the menu.

My parents keep chickens and every morning my mum goes to collect the freshly laid eggs. Today she took Tanya and gave her a little basket filled with bread to feed them. As soon as my mum let them out of the henhouse they rushed over to Tanya who was a little scared. They started pecking at her feet and hands trying to get the food. My mum said Tanya looked like a little gypsy girl in her bright pink headscarf. But I told her I don’t know many gypsies who wear (their mother’s) Hemès scarfs. We only collected three eggs but Tanya was quite excited by the whole experience so I think my mum will take her again tomorrow.

It has been raining everyday since we arrived, but surprisingly today the sun came out and it didn’t rain. We decided to make the most of the fine weather and go walking in the nearby Hatfield Forest. The forest is over a 1000 years old and use to be a royal hunting ground for the kings of England. In those times it was only for royalty and the common people were banned from entering the forest. The weather could not have been better and the English countryside is a great place to explore in the summer. So we spent the afternoon walking around and taking in the sights and sounds of nature. Canthy said it was one of the most relaxing days she had spent in a long time and as far as you can get from the hustle and bustle of living in Beijing.

We went back to Knightsbridge for more shopping, as Canthy told me one day is never enough. She loves the houses in this area as it reminds her of her favourite TV shows, Downton Abbey and Upstairs Downstairs. The shows portray what life was like in England for the upper classes over a hundred years ago. In those times, these six story houses would be looked after by a host of servants. As these white stucco houses in this part of Belgravia are some of the most expensive in London. Nowadays not many people can afford a whole house, so many have been converted into separate apartments often owned by companies and embassies. In this area all Canthy can afford is a pair of designer shoes, as houses in this street cost more than £40 million each. Apparently Roman Abramovitch, the Russian billionaire and the Chairman of Chelsea football club lives here. And his house is values at £150 million!

We spent the day shopping in London and around Kensington and Knightsbridge. It’s the most expensive part of the London where you find all the high-end fashion brands and department stores like Harrods and Harvey Nichols. Even the supermarkets here are posh like this branch of Waitrose. Which has the royal coat of arms for the Queen and Prince Philip at its entrance. This royal warrant signifies that the store supplies its products to the Queen so is a mark of quality and prestige. Although you would never see the Queen doing her own shopping in Waitrose, but if it’s good enough for her it’s good enough for my mum to shop at her local Waitrose in Bishops Stortford.

Canthy always plans to do a lot of shopping in the UK, as the prices are so much cheaper than in China. Also we can get part of the VAT (20%) back as we are non-residence, which makes it even better value. We changed up money before we came as the exchange rate of Chinese RMB to British pounds was better and they gave us new fifty pound notes. The new note (top) doesn’t look too different from the old version (bottom) except the design is a bit smarter. It is still a very conservative and traditional design approach, but it fits in with the existing design of the other denomination banknotes.  They came out at the end of last year but many people including myself hadn’t seen them until now. One big difference is they have more modern anti counterfeiting features incorporated into the printing. However, interestingly the way people in shops test whether they are fake is to rub them and see if the ink comes off. Not really high tech but it seems to work.

It rained again on and off all day but we didn’t want it to spoil our day. So when the rain stopped we would go outside to play and get some fresh air. I took Tanya on a walkabout in the fields across from my parents’ house. The farmers grow a number of different crops including wheat and rapeseed, which has this bright yellow flower. It gives the countryside a lovely colour as it blankets the fields in gold. Tanya looked quite lost, as it’s the first time she’s been surrounded by so much nature and some of the plants were bigger than her.

The rain was back and it’s predicted to have a months worth of rain fall in the next two days. Canthy has already got use to it and I explained that this is normal weather for April in England, which is even called April Showers. As we couldn’t go out sightseeing we went food shopping which is one of Canthy’s obsessions in the UK. The food quality and variety in British supermarkets is mind blowing for her, as she grew up in China when the country was not so developed. In those times you didn’t have supermarkets like you do today, but even now they are poor comparisons to what we have in the UK. Our local supermarket is Waitrose, which is small compared to most of the out-of-town superstores but the quality is better. She especially likes the delicatessen counters, with the fresh meats, cheese and savoury delights. I tend to take it all for granted as I grew up with supermarkets since I was young. For an English person it is hard to understand the vast difference supermarkets in China and the UK. So I guess it would be like comparing a Lidl Supermarket with the Harrods Food store. Luckily Waitrose is cheaper than Harrods although they are both suppliers to the Queen of England so it cant be all that bad.

• We flew to London this morning for a few weeks holiday. It was torrential rain and grey skies on the way to the airport so we were glad to be leaving Beijing. The only problem is we checked the weather forecast online and London is even wetter and colder than Beijing. We decided to fly British Airways again, but economy class this time to keep costs down, as we only went back to the UK at Christmas. Canthy wasn’t bothered but I was worried about the lack of legroom, as I haven’t flown long-haul economy in over ten years. Luckily we manage to block the first row as we had a young baby, so the legroom and space was a lot better than I had expected. By the time we arrived at my parents the sun was out in the fields outside their house. It felt great to smell the fresh air of the countryside and hear the sounds of birds in the trees. Unfortunately the weather wont last as it predicted to rain all week, but it doesn’t matter to us, as its just good to be back in England for a while.

My local office Starbucks on Jinbao Street reopened today after weeks of being closed for renovation. It’s downstairs from Canthy’s office at Jinbao Tower, where I also use to work. We use to go there everyday when I was working, but now hardly ever. However, it has a special place in our lives, as it’s the place that Canthy and I first met. The place was even more packed with the usual rush-hour office workers getting their coffee and breakfasts. The refit is a vast improvement as the space had become more open and brighter. The layout and seating is more user friendly for intimate meetings or larger groups to gather. And the furniture is warmer and softer giving it a more comfortable and homely feel. Sadly the only problem is the product – as the coffee and cakes tasted just a bland and boring as before. So although the environment looks good the product still needs renovating.

We are taking a family trip back to London next week, so Canthy and I needed to pick up some last minute presents. One of the favorite places to shop for these is Ya Shou market in Sanlitun. It’s the must go place for any tourists as you can pick up lots of Chinese souvenirs and cheap DVDs, clothing, shoes and other leather goods. Most of the products falls into the “grey area” of questionable heritage and are fake. We picked up a stack of DVDs of the latest movies for 10 yuan each (GB £1) and Canthy got some Croc sandals as her pregnancy is making her feet swell up, so she cant wear any of her normal designer shoes. I know you shouldn’t buy fakes and for the most part we never do, as Canthy wouldn’t be seen dead with fake anything. But for throwaway fashion, presents and DVDs which are a fraction of the real cost its hard to resist.

I had to go to a meeting today, which was done through a video conference call. When the technology first came out in the late 1990s it was a bit crude. But it saved costs on travel and it was a convenient if fuzzy solution. Nowadays the technology is so advanced that the three panel high-resolution screens make people appear life size, like they are sitting across from you at the table. The meeting lasted two hours and I was so engaged I forget that it was a video conference. So when it ended I almost got up to shake the hands of the other participants. But then I realised they were not across the table, but actually thousands of miles away in another city.

We reached another major milestone in Canthy’s pregnancy, which are the blood tests, which screen for downs syndrome and other chromosome related birth abnormalities. We don’t get the results back for a few weeks but fingers crossed everything will be OK. I was amazed that when they took her blood she was calm and relaxed. In previous times she always ended up in tears and screaming, as she has a phobia about needles and blood. The nurse was so good that Canthy didn’t feel a thing and carried on talking as normal. I think second time around she is more relaxed about the whole pregnancy procedure, which is making her feel more relaxed and in control, which is a very good thing.

Canthy is approaching the 12^th week of her pregnancy at the end of the first trimester. It’s an important milestone and the first real ultrasound where they can check the baby’s physical growth and hear its heartbeat. We always find the check-ups slightly worrying (well me in particular) but it all went very well. Canthy was most concerned that the baby had all its fingers and toes. So she made the doctor point them out and count them all twice. The baby was lying on its back (similar to the position Tanya was in for her scan) as often the baby will be face down. This time the baby even had its feet in the air, (which you can see on the black and white printout) so Canthy thought it might be a boy as he looked like he was kicking a football. First scans are always amazing, especially when you see it on the screen move its arms and legs. What’s even more incredible is that it’s only 10cm tall so its hard to imagines a little person that small growing inside Canthy’s belly.

We went for lunch today to the Hilton Wangfujing. I learned that the Hilton is one of the London Olympic sponsors and they had on display Team China’s Olympic Tracksuit. The design was quite conventional using red and yellow and not that outstanding. However, the interesting design element was the Mao style collar on the tracksuit top. The collar gets its name from Chairman Mao as he used to wear these Chinese style jackets with a curved collar. It’s a nice detail and Chinese touch to the outfit, which otherwise it looks quite standard. Unlike the British outfits designed by Stella McCartney, (Canthy’s favourite designer at the moment) which do look special and unique.

Over the past few weeks I’ve noticed more of these “Beijing Spirit” posters, adverts and billboards being put up around the city. I guess it must be a local government initial to promote Beijing and foster a community spirit. The last time I remember this happening was during the Olympic games in 2008. This latest campaign has all the hallmarks of the old fashion propaganda slogans from the 1950s. It’s a pity it doesn’t create a more international feel and look more creative and attractive, as they appear to be sticking it up at every empty space they can find.

I bought Tanya a little tricycle, then a micro scooter but now she has already moved on to wanting a car! She’s not even two years old and she stole (actually borrowed) one of the other kids toys cars. It’s a simple one pedal push to go forward so it was easy to drive, but she didn’t understand how to steer it. It’s only a toy but it can go quite fast, so Canthy was running after her trying to slow her down and stop her crashing. Tanya didn’t care and seemed to love the speed and at one point almost ran her over. I don’t think we will be buying her one just yet, but hope she get better before asking to borrow daddy’s car when she 18.

I came down with a sudden attack of the flu. I woke up in the middle of the night sweeting with chills and fever, but Canthy told me to go back to sleep as sympathetic as ever J However by the morning she realised I was really ill with a temperature of over 39C! My body ached so much I couldn’t even get out of bed and felt like I was 100 years old. All I could do was stay in bed and rest so I was lucky it was a Sunday and I had Canthy to look after me. I was actually a pretty good patience, as like most men we can be overdramatic when we get ill. So Nurse Canthy’s prescription was to give me lots of drugs to make me sleepy so I slept the whole day through. Well they do say all you can do is drink lots of fluids and stay in bed so I guess that’ll work.

Door-to-door selling was banned in China for many years, as the government thought it might be a way to spread propaganda. Consequently people took to the streets, which is why you often see all kinds of stuff sold by the roadside. Around our complex we get these men selling plants of the back of their tricyles. We have bought from them many times as the quality is good and the prices are reasonable. They use the tricycles like a shop window to entice you in, as they can then order you any type and size of plant you want. Canthy is looking for some more plants, as she wants to makes some more feng shui changes to our home. It involves placing plants, water features and an aquarium with fish in different parts of our apartment. But first we need to figure out where everything needs to go and how much space we have after we move things around at home to make way for the new baby.

Canthy and I often joke that our ayi is more like Tanya’s real mother, as she probably spends more time with her than both of us put together. It’s an unavoidable situation for us, but we try and balance as best we can. The only time it really hurts is when Tanya doesn’t want us and prefers to be our ayi. This always upsets Canthy but it’s probably just a phase she is going through. Finding a good ayi is a big problem and the most talked about topic among the mothers. Most of them complain that they are not qualified, cant be trusted and generally not very good. Some of Canthy’s friends have been through five or six ayi’s and are still not happy. I keep reminding Canthy that we are lucky, as we have found a really good ayi, even though she can be difficult at times. But the most important thing for me, is she loves Tanya like her own daughter and protects her like she is her baby at all times.

Canthy and I went to lunch today at the China World Hotel. It’s only a 15 minute walk to Guo Mao from our apartment, so it’s a nice way to walk off an over indulgent lunch. China World Hotel was the first International five star hotel to open in Beijing in the 1980s. It’s been renovated a few years ago but still has the grandest lobby of any hotel in Beijing. The huge red pillars are reminiscent of the ones at the palace in Tiananmen Square. The colour scheme of red and gold give the hotel a very opulent and Chinese character, which makes for a grand experience.

Tanya goes swimming several times a week with our ayi. The best time is after 9am in the morning when the pool is empty. Otherwise in the early mornings, lunchtimes and evenings the pool is too crowded with adults, which makes the water too choppy for Tanya to play it. We bought her inflatable rubber armbands and a life vest, which she wears. Unfortunately they are both a little too big for her, but she stays afloat and above water which is the important thing. Once she gets a bit older we will start giving her proper swimming lessons, but for now she just enjoys bobbing up and down in the water.

We live near the one of the diplomatic areas in Beijing, so we drive by the embassy’s everyday. They all have green suited Chinese soldiers on 24 hour guard duty outside the compounds. It’s quite common to see the changing of the guards as they march up and down the street, stopping traffic as they cross the road in perfect military formation. I noticed recently that the British embassy has added a QR code poster on the wall next to the gate. I assume if you scan the poster with your mobile phone it direct you to the Embassy website or other UK website. Next time I’ll have to stop and try it and see where it takes me.

Canthy came back from her business trip and got dropped off at the office so I went to pick her up. It’s only a 5 km trip but can take 15 to 20 minutes if the traffic is normal. In the evenings it can be 30 minutes or more as the rush hour traffic around CBD is heavier. Despite having a car with a top speed of 225 km/h (140 mph) I rarely get about 50 km/h as the traffic is bumper to bumper most of the way there, I know people complain the traffic is bad in Beijing, but I don’t think it is any worse than any big modern city. At least the roads are bigger in Beijing compared to London, which was never designed for cars and the heavy commuter traffic.

Most people can tell that Tanya is a mixed race baby, just from looking at her face and features. As he doesn’t look totally Chinese and she doesn’t look fully western. However, in her eating habits she is definitely Chinese as she loves eating bones. Her favourite is pork spare ribs, which she will strip the meat off down to the bare bone. Canthy, like most Chinese people, also loves eating food of the bone, whether is meat, chicken or fish. It’s something most western people like myself can’t do, as I prefer my meat and fish to be filleted before I eat it. A typical Chinese style lunch for Tanya will be some kind of meat, a green vegetable, Chinese bread and a soup. We have found a great way for her to drink soup using a straw, which is a lot less messier than giving her a spoon.

Canthy was away on business this weekend, so I had Tanya sleep with me in the big bed. She normally goes to sleep around nine in the evening and then doesn’t wake up till seven in the morning. This morning she woke up extra early so I played with her in bed for a while. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to teach Tanya about Saturday morning lie-ins, as once she is awake she wants to get up and play. Sometimes I wish I had her energy, as she never seems to get tired.

Our Ayi started potty training Tanya around 15 months, which is quite early compared to what parents normally do in the west. She taught Tanya to say “niao niao” (pee pee) every time she wants to go to the toilet. We use to just hold her in a squat position over the toilet, but now we use a baby toilet seat that we bought the other day from Mothercare. This makes potty training much easier and Tanya loves sitting on it and holding the handles. Infact she likes it so much, she often says “niao niao” – just so she can sit on her new toy seat.

I bought Tanya a Micro-scooter last year for her first birthday, though she was too young to use it. It’s recommended for 3 years and above, but many of Tanya friends already use theirs. The plan was to let her use it at home for a few days, so she could get her balance and confidence. After an hour she seemed to get the hang of it and could go in straight line, but would bump into the walls, as she didn’t know how to turn. She seems to love it, but I do want to buy her a helmet for extra safety, once she starts to use in on the streets.