In a recent trip through Changsha in Hunan Province (湖南长沙) I stumbled across this shop, only some few hundred metres away from the Clio Coddle itself. I didn’t see a Crocodile or Lacoste in the vicinity however. I suppose by now i’m hardly surprised, though it does amaze me how shoppers can fall for such blatant rip offs unless, that is, they don’t care about branding at all – in which case what’s the point to copy? I do wonder.

The english (NuoManDiEYu) is basically Chinese pinyin for “The Romantic Crocodile” (诺曼的鳄鱼). Notice the logo is also a crocodile, pointing in the same direction as that of Clio Coddle’s.

Not far from NuoManDiEYu I noticed Kobbo. Looks disturbingly similar to Italian clothing company Kappa, which had an official store only some 50 metres away. Kappa, who also own the Robe di Kappa brand, were a little known brand in China until brought into China in 2006 by the China Dongxiang Group. Now listed on the stock exchange, owner Chen Yihong is now amongst the 50 richest men in China.

I don’t suppose Kobbo would ever get that far.

Changsha South Station is some 25mins from the city centre

Bridging half the gap between bustling Guangzhou in the South and capital Beijing in the North, the WuGuang Passenger Railway (武广客运专线) now brings some serious competition to air travel.

My journey started in Changsha (长沙), capital of Hunan Province (湖南省). The station was 20km and ¥50RMB away by taxi from the city centre: no subway yet or convenient bus. It seemed far. Somewhat a magnificent structure (though frankly just a carbon copy of what appears to be standard design for most high speed stations in China like Beijing South and Tianjin), the ticket machines are still cash only and (unlike Beijing South) there were no shops for last minute snacks or a pre-departure coffee.

The train interiors were nice, but not that exciting

An army of cleaners appear from nowhere immediately upon arrival

At prices similar to a discounted air ticket it’s perhaps all not worth it at the moment. However once everything is in place, including proper connections within the cities, I can see the high speed rail networks becoming a viable alternative to domestic air travel.

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.

Lots of PRC flags on display throughout Tibet

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?

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.

Russia isn’t high on my list of places to visit, but this is certainly welcoming news. Being so close, it even sounds mildly tempting…

Edit – Noting that many people get here searching ‘visa free access China’ in Google, note the following:

2) Visa-free access to Russia granted to the following countries as of 28/08/2009 : Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, Cuba, Moldova, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Israel, Macedonia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Venezuela, Argentina – and Hong Kong.

Sure we all did at some point, but nowhere before has it been so noticeable and prevalent to me. Should I be worried? In this day and age where talk is about muslim extremism and terrorism, it’s somewhat disconcerting to see so many boys running around with plastic pistols. That was particularly noticeable in Kashgar (喀什), where easily half of the kids I encountered were playing with toy guns, probably purchased and paid for by their parents.

If these are the values being instilled upon these young lads, it’s no surprise if one or two of them eventually move on to practicing real violence. Of course, giving a toy gun doesn’t imply they will; for that matter owning a real gun doesn’t mean you’ll use it. But as something I noticed quite obviously within minutes of walking around town – it does make you wonder.

Giving your patrons the bill before they ask is just rude and shouldn’t happen. I’ve never seen it in Hong Kong and, i’m told, it won’t happen in S China either.

To Beijing restauranteurs out there: lighten up.

The aircraft was returning from Greek island Kos (now there’s a surprise – Brits on a beach holiday) when two drunk women in their mid twenties started being abusive. They are suspected to have smuggled alcohol on board.

For other passengers it was no doubt an early welcome to the UK – or for the fellow Brits, “welcome home” before landing.

People like these should have their passports confiscated. But not before sending them to a remote island. Twats.

It’s an embarrassment to Brits everywhere.

Flying in and out of Beijing frequently I am often plagued with fog, maintenance issues, or simply “aircraft delay”. I’ve even seen signs saying ‘aircraft delayed for reason’. Well yes, and I should hope so too! Regardless, being grounded in China can be a painful affair. Airlines here have terrible internal communication; nobody knows what’s going on, and travelers are given little service. Even the airports are clueless, with FID’s often showing the wrong gate or failing to list certain flights. Delays are rarely compensated for (most airlines on domestic flights will provide only a lunchbox upon long delays, not food coupons), and there is certainly little advanced warning.

Once on the aircraft travelers can be greeted with further delays, often lasting over an hour while the plane waits for clearance on the tarmac. But don’t expect much information here either: pilot announcements are vague and almost always inaccurate.

Fellow passengers are often also part of the problem: too many carry large luggage onboard as ‘carry on’, yet I wonder how these are allowed on in the first place. It helps to board earlier to grab a piece of the limited bulkhead space. Be prepared for impatient passengers to use their mobile phones right up till take-off too, and immediately after landing. Quite likely, expect people to get up while the aircraft is still taxiing after arrival.

I have of course had good experiences flying into China, and doing so on a more reputed airline such as Dragonair or Cathay Pacific does improve the experience. But until the rules and regulations finally develop to an international standard (and not to mention the mentality of fellow passengers & staff), don’t expect a ‘western flying experience’ just yet.

And remember to bring a good book.