Archive for the ‘China’ Category

High Speed Rail China to Europe

Beijing, China, Travel | Posted by Terence
Mar 12 2010

I’ve been following with interest recent news in this part of the world regarding China’s ambitious High Speed Rail plans.

This is of course nothing new: original plans were initiated in 2006 by China’s Ministry of Railways with 2008 seeing the opening of the dedicated high speed link from Beijing (北京) to Tianjin (天津). In December 2009 the link from Guangzhou (广东广州) in the south began whizzing passengers to Wuhan (湖北武汉) and back at average speeds of 312km/h – currently the fastest long distance rail line in the world.

In fact, several similar high speed lines are now in operation with more coming, in addition to many semi-high speed (250km/h) railways. Wikipedia has an excellent overview of the China high speed rail situation.

What caught my eyes are the ambitious plans to extend high speed rail travel to Europe: at just over 8,100km that comes to a little over 24 hours, though of course straight line is not possible. It’s a hugely ambitious plan, not least because of differences in track gauge (both S.E. Asia below China & Russia / Far-Eastern Europe to the West are on different gauges), but financing, planning permission, and operation logistics are all issues to be resolved. And then there’s visa’s.

China is already in discussion with 17 nations regarding this very issue, having reportedly already reaching basic agreements with Myanmar and Russia, the former to be funded by China in exchange for vital resources. There’s much debate over the imperialistic tendencies of China here with its ever-increasing dominance in Asia – but there’s no arguing that such a railway connection would provide a huge boost in logistic capability for all involved.

I’m more interested to see how this pans out in Europe. Just yesterday the UK Government announced a high speed link from London to Birmingham, stretching eventually to Manchester and Leeds. With construction slated to begin in 2017 and considering that it took eight years to obtain planning permission for Heathrow’s T5, that’s a huge contrast to China which is aiming for 10,000km of track by 2015. I can’t condone forced evictions nor balk at due process, but sometimes it takes a powerful government to think big and actually achieve something.

I hope China pushes hard with this. It won’t be easy.

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Alipay / Taobao on Apple Mac

China, General, Shopping | Posted by Terence
Dec 10 2009

Update: Online payment now possible using Apple Mac and Merchants Bank.

Apple users in China have long been treated as second class citizens when it comes to surfing the web. Quite simply, many sites just don’t work well. Often one is confronted with buttons that don’t click, pictures that are misaligned, or login boxes that don’t allow you to login. Alipay (支付宝) and Taobao (淘宝网), China’s biggest online payment platform and auction site respectively have long required special Active X / Javascript plugins to work properly – typically these are released exclusively for Internet Explorer only. Now, however, it’s possible to download a Mac version of this plugin.

Alipay LoginNote: This only works on Safari at present.

Upon entering Alipay or Taobao, you should notice a link (请点此输入密码) in lieu of the password prompt at the login form. Click this link, and you will get an inline popup. If you do not see a link but are able to enter your password in the form, you might have already installed the plugin or Alipay might have finally come to their senses!

Otherwise, now click the button (立即安装) to download the plugin.

Alipay-DownloadPromptThe plugin will work for both Alipay and Taobao sites (they are both same company), though may require a restart of your safari browser first.

That Apple users are finally gaining some recognition in China is excellent news, though there’s still a long way to go. Unfortunately even after your purchase on Taobao you will be faced with a payment problem as most online banking platforms are not Apple compatible. Nonetheless it’s a good beginning, and at least payment is still possible via pre-deposit into Alipay or through other methods such as mobile phone topup card.

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Flags in Tibet

China, General, Travel | Posted by Terence
Nov 08 2009

Lots of PRC flags on display throughout Tibet

Lots of PRC flags on display throughout Tibet

One thing I noticed in my travels through Tibet was the abundance of Chinese flags prominently on display – even in remote villages occupied by ethnic Tibetans. This is interesting of course because it is not what you would expect considering the political sentiments in the area: sure, certain other flags are banned, but then you’d think one would settle to avoid flying any flag altogether!

I put this issue to my guide: apparently some Tibetans have been harassed in the past for not being patriotic enough. So there you have it – the secret to a harmonious society: coercion and forced patriotism.

Surely the local party chiefs can’t be this stubborn?

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China Unicom iPhone

Beijing, China, General, Tech | Posted by Terence
Oct 12 2009

Prices have now been released for the Apple iPhone 3G and 3GS which began sale in China this month with China Unicom. The sales model will be similar to that in Hong Kong (albeit at higher cost), whereby the phone is sold cheaply with an additional prepayment for mobile service.

This is alongside updated pricing plans (linked tariff for non-iPhone users), promising greater data quota’s than previous packages and China Mobile’s current offerings. The higher the service plan used, the cheaper the iPhone is sold for. This offer requires a 24 month service commitment.

Details of 3G and 3GS pricing and service plans available on China Unicom Online Store (or in English via Google Translate). There are slight differences over the standard packages, notably increased data quota and free SMS bundles.

Note: Chinese iPhones have WiFi disabled, but are not carrier locked. For a full featured unlocked phone, consider purchasing from Apple Store Hong Kong. Or wait for a WAPI/WiFi release in China.

Update 2010-11-12:
iPhone 4 has superseded the 3G/3Gs for a while now, and therefore the above is no longer relevant. Chinese iPhone 4 now includes WiFi, and is sold with updated pricing plans. Contract period remains 24 months, with upfront payment of RMB5,880. This is rebated in airtime, depending on your chosen package, with the RMB 286+ packages giving 100% rebate on phone cost, and RMB 96 plan rebating only RMB 1981.

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More banking nonsense

Beijing, China | Posted by Terence
Sep 30 2009

I’ve reported before on how much trouble the banking system in China can be. Today, I went to repay my Bank of China credit card only to be asked for my ID and told to fill in some forms. The reason? I was repaying my USD account and first had to purchase USD.

Some basic background: due to foreign currency restrictions in China there is no free flow of currency in or out of China. Each person has a USD$50,000 limit they can use annually for purchase/sale of foreign currency. Therefore, purchase of USD would generally require registration with SAFE (国家外汇管理局). Many credit cards issued in China have statements separated into RMB and a foreign currency (usually USD) – all foreign purchases are converted and invoiced here. The “foreign” portion of the card works like any credit card overseas.

Typically, my credit card is repaid through direct debit. Once setup, I need do nothing apart from ensuring I have sufficient funds monthly, and both “accounts” (RMB and USD) are repaid automatically. USD repayments here fall outside of the USD$50K annual limit. Apparently telephone instruction are also outside of the limit. Going in person to the bank, however, requires you to carry out the foreign currency purchase procedure – which is troublesome and uses your quota.

- all for a matter of US$20, in my case.

This inconsistency appears to be a fault in logic for me. Despite the forex restrictions in place, there are so many ways to escape it – purchases abroad and repayment through direct debit being one. ATM withdrawal using foreign card is another. For those looking to get larger amounts of RMB into China, you can consider an RMB account in Hong Kong: you can purchase 20,000RMB daily and transfer 80,000RMB per batch to China with scrutiny. Then of course, there’s the underground banks – extremely fast and efficient.

While on the topic of banking restrictions… why can I replace a passbook in any BOC branch but to replace ATM card I must return to the opening branch? why, why?

They really don’t like to make things easy here.

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Tibet “open for foreigners”

Beijing, China, Travel | Posted by Terence
Sep 26 2009

This amusing clip on CCTV (China Central Television) claims that Tibet is open for foreigners and that there are no restrictions. They even boast of having 36 organised groups – including 12 of foreigners for the National Day Holiday week!

Firstly, it’s a load of bollocks. I’m planning a trip to Tibet mid-October and there’s certainly been no relaxation of TTB requirements. If anything, they are now stricter than two years ago, and regulations are constantly changing (though to be fair it’s still better than during the Olympics).

Secondly, as if the clip is supposed to impress that China is open about Tibet, an announcement that there are no restrictions is about as reassuring as claiming one didn’t commit robbery today – surely the opposite of normal ‘newsworthiness’. Except, when it comes to Tibet, to say it’s unrestricted is newsworthy… but if only it were true.

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Restaurant explodes in Beijing

Beijing, China | Posted by Terence
Sep 25 2009

News on this a bit thin at the moment, but speculation is rife on whether the restaurant that blew up in Beijing this morning was, in fact, due to gas leakage as officially stated – or a bomb blast. We shall soon find out.

The government line is that it was caused by gas canister. I don’t know much about police detection work, and presume it’s fairly quick to rule out foul play in normal circumstances, though in China and particularly with the pending National Day Celebrations I wouldn’t necessarily give the government the benefit of the doubt.

In any event, it was a good restaurant. That would be the biggest shame – not to mention of course those injured in the blast.

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China Unicom 3G price tariff plan

Beijing, China | Posted by Terence
Sep 24 2009

China Unicom (中国联通) announced new 3G tariff plans to coincide with its official 3G launch on 1st October. The new plans give additional, cheaper, post-paid monthly tariff options as well as increased data quotas. The previous add-on data plans will no longer be valid.

Existing 186RMB plan remains (510mins talk-time) but now with 650mb data allowance. The cheapest 96RMB plan includes 240mins talk-time and 300mb data. 126RMB will get you 320mins and 400mb data.

Those interested in downgrading to the new cheaper plans should contact China Unicom customer service at 10010.

Additionally, previous 2G customers on 13x numbers can now also switch to 3G service without changing number or SIM card.

Update: Plan details now available online, but in Chinese only. I include a brief overview in English below:

Monthly fee Talk time Data Video call Free SMS
66 RMB 50mins 300mb 10mins 240
96 RMB 240mins 300mb 10mins None
126 RMB 320mins 400mb 15mins None
156 RMB 420mins 500mb 20mins None
186 RMB 510mins 650mb 20mins None
226 RMB 700mins 750mb 25mins None
286 RMB 900mins 950mb 30mins None
386 RMB 1250mins 1.3 Gb 50mins None
586 RMB 1950mins 2 Gb 100mins None
886 RMB 3000mins 3 Gb 180mins None

All plans include free incoming calls nationwide. Domestic roaming & long distance dialing within China now inclusive in talk time with standardised nationwide pricing.

66RMB plan now available to all including non-students

Update 2010-11-11: The above 3G tariff plans still valid, but more options are now available. 3G plans are now split into ‘A’ and ‘B’ group – those listed above represent current ‘A’ group plans. ‘B’ group plans offer more talk time with less data, as below:

Monthly fee Talk time Data Video call Free SMS
66 RMB 200mins 60mb 10mins 0
96 RMB 450mins 80mb 10mins 0
126 RMB 680mins 100mb 15mins 0
156 RMB 920mins 120mb 20mins 0
186 RMB 1180mins 150mb 20mins 0

Additionally, SMS packages are now available for a small monthly surcharge:

Monthly fee SMS included
5 RMB 60
10 RMB 125
20 RMB 300

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