When you ask for TWO and get EIGHT

Once, when my mother was visiting me in Beijing together with my mother-in-law, we went shopping. We always went shopping of course, but once we went shopping for tea. It was their last day of their stay in Beijing and the demand for different kind of green teas and jasmine teas in pretty little gift boxes was high. I was the tour guide and had to translate - but could not handle both mothers at the same time. So my mother, not shy, went ahead and ordered two more red boxes of a nice Dragon Well green tea. And to make sure the Chinese sales girl understood her right, she made the gesture with her two fingers - the Western way :

The Chinese sales girl got very excited and asked her collegue for help and they packed tea in boxes, and boxes and boxes ... meanwhile I turned around and saw my confused mother trying to stop the girls and behind the counter I saw happy busy working sales girls.

I understood right away, what had happened, when I heard my mother saying : No, TWO, TWO !

The Western gesture for TWO is the Chinese gesture for EIGHT !

You must know the following :
Chinese use one hand, five fingers only, to count to 10. And especially when shopping in the grocery markets they use their fingers.

And counting to ten the Chinese way goes like this:

Chinese figure gestures

Chinese characters for 1 to 10 and pinyin writing

Below alternative gestures for 10 :

So, my Mum had ordered EIGHT boxes of tea, thinking she had asked for only TWO. Well, she did ask for two, in her English - but with the Western gesture for two which is the Chinese gesture for eight.

What you want to know about Sexy Beijing's Sexy Christmas

In this Sexy Beijing video from December 2006 Su Fei tries to find out about the Christmas spirit that seems to invade China's capital every year. What do Chinese people think about Christmas? What do they know about Christian customs and what do they know about Jewish Hanukkah?

Although China is a communist country and Christmas is an official working day, Beijing is decorated with Christmas trees and full of Santa Clauses like any other capital in the world these days. Flower markets in Chaoyang district have been selling natural Christmas trees and Advent wreath with four candles. The sales person often not knowing the meaning are smart enough to know the foreigners' demand. Christmas seems like a fun holiday - as it should be - and as Chinese people do like most Western things they also "copy" Christmas - at least the decorative and fun part like getting together and exchanging gifts.

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 HAPPY Holiday to all of you !

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Boutique Hotel in Sanlitun : The Opposite House

The newly created Swire Hotels group, owned by Hong Kong-based Swire Properties, opened its first hotel "The Opposite House" in Beijing in summer 2008.

lobby of the Opposite House

exterior of the Opposite House in Sanlitun, Beijing

The hotel with its green glass exterior and minimalistic interior offers 99 suites starting at 1850 CNY per night (minimum stay 2 nights).

all rooms feature wooden floors and are very bright

the bathrooms feature bath tube and double sinks made of oak wood

the only traditional Chinese accessory is a wooden chest used as coffee table or storage

 

a room (studio 95) with a balcony

Designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, the hotel is part of Swire's first integrated commercial project in China, a giant new shopping, lifestyle and dining development, called The Village, at Sanlitun in Beijing.  So if you wonder why all the old houses had to vanish, for what and why all these glass cubes look alike, then you know: it is all part of an integrated project by this Hong-Kong based company.

from right to left : the (South) Village, addidas store, Yashow market

If you have been in Sanlitun lately and have any dining or shopping experience in the Opposite House's neighbourhood, let me know what you think.

map and contact, click to enlarge

photo source: the opposite house

Beijing City Guide by Design*Sponge

Maybe you already know design*sponge, a daily website dedicated to home and product design run by writer Grace Bonney. This extremely successful blog also has a growing collection of city guides, that are compiled with the help of readers. Design*Sponge city guide to Beijing is quiet a complete list of things to do & see in this fast changing city.

Like many others which are planning a trip to Beijing the authors of this city guide came across my blog. They liked the "great beijing home/decor shopping list from beijing notebook" and included a link to this blog.
Thanks for the mention !

I can recommend to check out this new online city guide as it is compiled just recently, in August 2009 and includes all the new stuff - and the old stuff that has not vanished.

This Saturday in Beijing : Urban Carpets by Instant Hutong

click on flyer (including map) to enlarge

Stefano Avesani from instant hutong send me an email to post about their event on this Saturday in Beijing. Thanks, I love to announce it here on my blog.  -   If I would still be in Beijing I would definately go. I love the atmosphere of the neighbourhood in hutongs, the small aleys in old Beijing ! And the photos of the previous exhibitions of Urban Carpets look so interesting.

Here the details :

URBAN CARPET 8x5 · 都市地毯8x5

四 4th one day-only exhibition

2009年10月25日, 11am – 6pm

NEIGHBOURHOOD COURTYARD - 社区庭院
no.17 Cao Chang Tou Tiao, Xian Yu Kou Di Qu, Chong Wen District

北京市崇文区鲜鱼口地区草厂头条17号

完美地体现了源于近几年北京郊区在不知所措地迅速变化中的矛盾。房地产政策的目的是鲜鱼口社区原住民的再次回归。对城市的传统性的描述都不适合鲜鱼口,当前是特别有趣的城乡结合。城镇的空间和自然的空间,农村的习惯和现代设备的结合，细微地体现于北京的都市中心。

Xian Yu Kou district perfectly embodies the contradictions stemming from the rapid transformations which overwhelmed Beijing neighbourhoods in the past few years. The target of real estate policies has been partially abandoned and the spaces have recently been re-occupied by the former inhabitants. None of the traditional city descriptions can suit Xian Yu Kou, which is, nowadays, a surprising and totally fascinating combination of city and countryside, urban spaces and natural ones, rural habits blended in with contemporary facilities. This micro phenomenon is taking place at the very centre of the large metropolis of Beijing.

Works by·艺术家 :

MARCELLA CAMPA & STEFANO AVESANI - http://www.instanthutong.com/

photo via instanthutong

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I would love to hear from anyone who went their, please leave a comment.

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