Priceless!

Mastercard should doing all of it's commercials here in China...allow me to share my recent experience in Beijing:

• Walk to marketplace: 20 minutes
  
• One new Chinese bicycle (w/ accessories): 180 yuan
• Flat tire after riding new bicycle once...PRICELESS!

My friend Beom (also on exchange from Babson) helped me locate where to buy a bicycle (which is a necessity, given how large Tsinghua's campus is), and also a huge second-hand market to get a cell phone.

Everytime I go overseas, I'm reminded by how junky the cell phones in the U.S. are. Personally, I would rather have the most advanced cell phones (w/ zero subsidies/contract obligations from service providers) - and front the $300-$1000 for a new phone (depending on how fancy ppl want to get). Oh well, I opted for a new & junky Chinese-branded cell phone that cost about 260 yuan (about $35 US) - which was less than some of the prices for second hand phones. It's about as basic as a phone could be (but at least I can make/receive calls and SMS).

What do bikes and cell phones have in common in China? Well from my perspective, they are the most basic elements that reflect how the country is changing: personalization and expression of individuality illustrated every day. Gone are the days of the old Flying Pigeon - a black, one-geared, plain bicycle that everyone used to own in China. Now, bikes come in all colors, some multi-geared, some small wheeled, some that are motorized (with pedals to get you started at traffic lights and in slow traffic). And cell phones...nearly every other TV commercial (and every other product on the equivalent of Home Shopping Network) is for cell phones...

So last night was my first night out in Beijing...went to the Beijing Pop Festival and got to see Marky Ramone and
Nine Inch Nails. IT WAS AMAZING!!! Take the biggest park in Beijing (excl. the sites set aside for the Olympic Stadiums and parks), and hold a 2-day international music festival there! (That's like bringing Lollapalooza to Central Park!) Back in the States, these 2 bands would draw a very eclectic crowd...and in Beijing it was the same too.

Not only did it bring out a ton of foreigners (some on the travel circuit, some studying, etc) - but also droves of young Chinese. Talk about individuality...it was just fascinating to witness the confluence of Rock/Punk/Pop music + Chinese culture. (Think crowd surfing, moshing, and dreaded/long haired/frizzled hair styles. Not everyone, but more than you'd expect.)

Honestly, it was hard to believe that I was in China...what reminded you that Big Brother wants to keep an eye on things were the military personal on-hand to make sure things didn't get overly rowdy...In this photo,
guards held hands to create a human wall to prevent too many people from getting close to the stage. After all, this 2-day festival was one of the largest music festivals in Asia. (Public Enemy, Brett Anderson - of Suede played the night before. Imagine that, Chuck D & Flavah Flav rockin' the mic in Beijing...) Oh and Mando Diao, from Sweden, nearly brought the 2nd stage to the ground - they are amazing in concert!!

Anyway, rockin' out to "I wanna be sedated" and Trent Reznor screaming his heart out in "Head like a Hole", "Wish", and "Closer"...PRICELESS.

[photo with Astrid (Norway), Eira (Finland), and Rob (UK)]