Music is for the lonely

Music is for the lonely, I say. Because that's when you can truly appreciate the moods the writer and singer put into it. No distraction and play in full blast so you can hear the singer's each breath. Let the rythem take you and digest the lyric as if you're singing it.
Yes, it's been a while since I have been able to do this on my own. This was an activity I knew well as a lonely teenager, before boyfriends and before kids.... and without peer pressure of what type of music it is "cool" to like and dislike. So bring on the old Chinese folk songs and I would sway to them as I did as a little girl.

Code 46

Just watched "Code 46" last night. It is perhaps the most current movie that puts the city of Shanghai on high display as its futuristic city back drop. For those of you who have not had the chance to visit Shanghai in recent years, watch this movie. Aside from the city, Tim Robbins really surprised me with his hopelessly romantic role of a character. Never saw him as the type to fall in love with. I still think of him mostly as the wrongly accused in Shawshank or the goofy hula hoop inventor. I guess I really like this new master piece of his. Even though the movie didn't get too much shelf space at the local Blockbuster's. It's got just the right mix of sci-fi and romance. The sex scenes were very intimate yet charged with electricity. But it seemed as if the director intentionally only focused in on Samantha Morton, the leading lady of the story and leaving audience to imagine Tim's part... :-
The vision of such a social cast system as the consequence of the massive abuse of in-vitro fertilization, gene splitting and cloning technologies of the human race as our future is also very refreshing and intriguing. I can't deny there is definitely cause to believe that's exactly where we're headed from the way things are today... Afterall, just only today, I was refused from donating blood because I traveled from Shanghai to Hangzhou by train rather than by plane. I was exposed to potential uncontrolled regions of China's country side. Makes you think doesn't it. Piling on the evidence, read this article from NPR's Tech Nation program host, Dr. Gunn.

DNA, the Blueprint of Human Potential

OK, I'm officially scared. If you haven't noticed, I will tell you. Recently I was curious enough to try out Google's AdSense on my blog site. If you scroll down this blog page, you'll find a typical Ad tower panel on the left of the page. This is powered by Google AdSense engine which searches for key words on my blog site and posts the relevant sponsors' ads that are of potential interest to the readers of my blog site. I, myself would be their target no doubt.
I was really just curious and want to see how good Google's search engine and matching capability can be.... Well I asked for it and now I get it.

Check out this excerpt from this link:
Our race was not only affected by genetic tampering and experimentation but was also almost totally decimated by distortions in the planetary grids. You see, the Earth is a living organism as well and brings in energy from Source just like any living organism or planetary structure. We as humans living on the Earth, can only bring into our bodies the frequencies that Earth can bring in from Source. If the Earth's grids are damaged, then every life form living on Earth will have a damaged DNA template. Planetary grid distortions of the 3470 BC "Babble-on" Massacre caused mutation in the human DNA template that shortened human life span, blocked higher sensory perception, caused loss of race memory, and scrambled our original language patterns, which are built upon DNA fire letter sequencing. Our race has been amnesiac, dying young, and "babbling on" in rhetorical conflict ever since. This historical event was recorded as the biblical "Tower of Babel" story.

Please tell me I'm not as off the grid as this site reads... Although I admit I am a fan of super hero, super human genra of movies such as X-Men, Spiderman, heck even the spells of Harry Potter intrigues me. But I feel like I would be diving off the deep end if I start to believe all this... :-[

"Conscious Evolution"

Two quotes I found in my new reading, "Conscious Evolution" by Barbara Marx Hubbard.
These are actually quotes she quoted from others in her book. But it's nice that she did her research and collected the finest from her readings.

Jonas Salk stated in Anatomy of Reality, "The most meaningful activity in which a human being can be engaged is one that is directly related to human evolution. This is true because human beings now play an active and critical role not only in the process of their own evolution but in the survival and evolution of all living beings. Awareness of this placess upon human beings a responsibility for their participation in and contribution to the process of evolution. If humankind would accept and acknowledge this responsibility and become creatively engaged in the process of metabiological evolution consciously, as well as unconsciously, a new reality would emerge, and a new age would be born."

In 1486 Giovanni Pico della Mirandola wrote in Oration on the Dignity of Man, "We have made you a creature of neither heaven nor Earth, neither mortal nor immortal, in order that you may as the free and proud shaper of your own being, fashion yourself in any form you prefer."

Oxymoron:

• Fresh water fish like a little bit of salt in their water.
  No matter how scratched up the piece of glass is, it will always look flawlessly prestine soaked in water. The part of my fish tank wall above the water line are always cloudy and fuzzy looking. But the submerged parts are crystal clear. We're all flawed because we're human. But we all can appear perfect if we are viewed in the right angle or if we find the most compatible medium which hides our flaws.
  
  
• I'm collecting filterred water in a tank for drinking and for my fishes, when it's pouring rain out.
  Why don't I just collect rain water? It has been raining every night for the past month. We all should just use rain ducs on our house roofs to collect them for house use... like how the solar panel work with the sun light.
  
• Our parents discipline us and punish us because they truly love us. Strangers don't care about the consequences we must face alone.
  
• Without the contrast of bitterness, one would not know how sweet sweet can be. So drink coffee with your deserts. Think of the happy times when you're sad.
  
• We must rage wars in order to keep peace.
• Wars are fought following orders. Battles are fought according to well thought out plans and strategies. But the outcome of a war is almost always destruction and death.
• Chaos rein the peaceful times. But the most ingenious inventions of human beings are often times the result of spontaneous activities or experiments that went terribly wrong.
  
• The most important, vital organs in our body are the ones we take for granted the most. Did you know the strongest muscle in human body is your heart? Do you appreciate your lungs 24x7 even when you're sleeping? So how often do you think of the most vital members of your company or organization? Do you even know their names?
  
• The more you care about someone or something, the more likely he/she will not hang around or you will miss-place it. Your intention may be to hide it so others can't steal it from you. But your good intention often work against your will. The trivial matters of your life will always cluter your thoughts and household. Purge, my friend, purge the junk. Just like "Clean Sweep" showed us on TLC.

Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't.
Mark Twain

Happy New Year 2005!

I have not stopped writing blog entries. It's just I started a new blog site on Xanga.com. At least my sister in Taiwan can read the posts on that site. So if you like what you read here, visit my Xanga site for my recent blog entries at: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=pixarfan01.
I will continue to blog this one for China oriented subject matters. Occassionaly I will cross post my entries on both sites.

刀郎 and 六翼的天使

I have been listening to 刀郎's CD Andy brought back from China. I like his singing style very much. It sort of resambles Bon Jovi in Chinese folk songs... His voice and music has the wild open prairie kind of feel to them.

"都怪你" is the record we have. This site gives a very nice short intro to his background and his music style.

While searching for 刀郎's related info, I accidentally found another very interesting Chinese blog site, 六翼的天使. I think I just maybe falling in love with it. I haven't read Chinese books for so long, I just couldn't stop reading this site's various entries like a thirsty traveler found the springs in a desert.
The author's identity is some what confusing. I couldn't tell if it's written by a he or she. A Chinese American writing in Chinese so well... I wish I could do that. Of course that means I would have to learn how to type in Chinese much more efficient than 拼音 and copy/paste.

Raising fish in a tank is depressing.

I'm not sure if I get more pleasure watching the fishes swimming about or does the frequent trips to the garbage can with a dead fish in my hand erase all the pleasure of having them in my possession in the first place.
When I urged Andy to buy 2 gold fishes for Alex at his 3rd year birthday, I, aparently, forgot all about the darker side of it all. Now he has gotten into this fish raising hobby but is temporarily out of town for the month, I'm facing their dying and the cleanup afterwards all by myself. It is depressing. Even though I also have a small jug of new borm fries growing, the constant depleding adult population in our 25 gallon tank is such a downer.
Some people believe, perhaps myself included, that every dead fish represents a bad luck it blocked for its owner. What BS that is but a self deluting execuse for fish owners to give themselve for their neglect toward the helpless creatures in their tanks. I'm sure all fish owners have good intentions toward their lovely pets that keep themselves entertained. But are we not playing the role of God? What if we, human beings on eartch are like the fishes in the tank to our God? Are our self killing and death from nature disasters on this planet the fault of our God's neglect and carelessness?

Disclaimer:
We're responsible fish owners. I know my water to fish ratio is within the recommended ratio of 1 gallon to 1 inch of fish. We have a few neon tetras, 4 guppies and a couple other barbs and algae eaters. We keep our water temperature and salinity at the recommended degree for these fishes.

The Battle Against "Supersize Me"

It's been a month since my last entry. By now, Andy and Alex both are back home from their 2-months journey in China. This is officially the end of our China trip and life resumes back home in S.F. Their trip did not end in Shanghai like mine. They visited their ancestry home near Shan Tou in the second half of November before their return to SF. I wish I could have been there with them. And I would if it wasn't because of limited vacation days from work. I don't think I will attempt to write up their part of the journey though.

What prompted me to write this entry is actually more relevant to a couple of new things Alex has learned since his return. The brief month of bachelette life in Nov. got me back on my movie watching trend. I went through quite a few latest movie releases as well as the popular documentaries such as Fahrenheit 911 and Supersize Me. On Alex's 3rd day back, we watched Supersize Me together. Now he learned the truth behind the Big Macs and Happy Meals sold at the golden archies, he has agreed that he will not eat at McDonalds any more... :) It is amazing how easy it is to influence a 3-year old either to love something or to hate something. I know some of you may think this type of documentary is not suitable for kids, but what about the hundreds of TV ads aimed at your kids everyday, selling them on fast foods and snacks? Is that fair? I only hope that I can influence my kids at an early enough age where they would always get the message on both sides of the fence. So they will always learn to think twice about what they see on T.V.

Today, Alex helped me to thread many of our junk mails, under my supervision of course. They're mostly credit card offer letters and some are blank checks sent from our existing credit card companies for us to use as cash advances. We never use those checks. It got me to think how when I was a kid, any such type of letters at home would be kept away from us. Even papers used in our notebooks for homework are reused at home for other things. But my kids are learning a whole new aspect toward these documents. They will have no respect for them, no matter how pretty they're printed or packaged. Alex will learn how to filter out the real important mail from the junk ones. Material things, wehther toys or pretty picture books are so abundant in his little life, he will learn at this early age that you just can't keep or save everything just because they're nice or pretty things. You have to throw away or give away what you cannot use and don't need.

Because of my Chineses upbringing in an age of shortage on everything from food to clothes, not to mention toys, till this day, I still struggle with every decision I make to throw away something I don't use or need. I do realize now that I must change my mentality in order to keep my life and household lean and organized. The new shows on TLC such as, "Clean Sweep" really openned my eyes on how others suffer from the over abundance of material things and allow their homes to be clogged with junk they don't need. The battle against the big commercial interests in making profits by supersizing us and our lives has just begun. As conscious and responsible consumers, we must learn how to differentiate the psuedo demands advertisements create in our minds and teach our next generation to do the same just as how they need to identify friends from faux.

The Expansion of the Fastfood Nation

Scenes from the streets of Shanghai and the brand new shopping center we visited today. U.S. franchise are spotted every where. Almost all of the most popular American fast food franchise are seen here, from Pizza Hut to Papa Johns and KFC...

The McDonalds seemed to be much superior than the typical ones we see in the States. The locals love them. Long lines are in front of each store. So of course we have to try out the Shanghai McDonalds store, especially when Alex insisted on it so much. I just wish I could bring you all some of their special spicy chicken wings here. It taste much better too!

Papa John's is perhaps one of the newest chain of the U.S. fastfood industry that is making their own food print here.

KFC is perhaps the most popular American fastfood restaurant here in China. It may be because of the fried chicken taste is much easier for Chinese to accept than any hamburger could. KFC has also adapted their menu to more suit the Chinese taste buds.

Pizza Hut is definitely the hottest pizza joints around town. I have not ate at one in China yet. But remembering even back in 1993, there are many Pizza Huts in Taipei where they sold pizzas with all kinds of fancy Chinese food toppings such as Kung Pao Chicken or shrimp...

Last but not least, of course we had to visit a McDonald store. The translation of McDonald's name in Chinese literally means, "to have grain to eat, one should work hard." It is so in synch with the traditional Chinese value of hard work.

McDonald's in Shanghai

Menu display outside of the store shows many items around the price of 5 Yuan which is less than $1.00 USD.

Yao Ming's endorsement life-size photo cutout greets all guests enterring the store.

A flight of staircase leads customers to the second floor dinning area...

McDonalds' employee are seen taking orders in the cashier lines to help speed up the orderring process. This is not done in the states typically..

Upstairs, there are video game consoles for kids to play for free... most likely since there is less space available for each restaurant to have a full size play gym... But of course, it was a challenge for parents to get their kids away from these consoles to actually eat their meals.

The Road Block

On our way to the Thousand Island lake, due to the construction of the main highway is not yet complete, our tour guide decided to venture into the nearby mountains for a shortcut.... It was a road no more than 1.5 lane's width by US standard. There is no traffic lane of any kind drawn on the pavement of the road. On the left the steep hill side slopes upward to a sea of bamboo forest. To the right, a short cliff drops down to a valley of fields with plots of rice and yam and various other vegetations. There are farm houses spotted here and there but no main turn offs for cars miles and miles at a time. It's around 4pm in the afternoon. The sun down is just about a hour away. Our tour bus managed to manuver along this tiny road for the last hour and half when it had to stop behind a long line of other trucks and cars. The first line utterred by our bus driver, "We're stuck." He then pulled his hand break on and shut off the bus engine. Our tour guide was the first to jump off of the bus to investigate the situation up front. Soon, the rest of the 20+ passengers on the bus filed down one by one... Alex used the opportunity to catch a field butterfly and enjoyed himself running back and forth along the small high way.


This is the road we were stranded on from 4pm till 7pm. At the very front where the line of traffic changed direction is a truck the size of a semi with no trailer facing our direction. It is pulled over all the way to the right side of the road, but there is still not enough room left for another truck of bus to pass through. Smaller cars and bikes were way to squeeze through. Even those some times have taken the risk of having half of their left wheels hang off of the ledge of the pavement. The semi truck should have never taken this moutain road for sure.
The driver of the truck is seen under the truck trying to fix the problem. In the distance you can see a local farmer's brick house. It is typical for farm houses in China to have 3-4 stories tall.
I thought to myself, we may windup spending the night there...


By 5pm it was dark and cold. Most of the passengers had to dig out their jackets to keep warm. These tourists of my dad's generation, all in their late 50's or early 60's have been patient and understanding. Even though a few of the women complaint to the tour guide making such an unwise decision on his choice of roads. Andy later said he did see a sign at the start of the road showing tour busses are not allowed. However the driver ignored the sign and said that sign is only in affect for certain times of the day. By 6pm, the sun is completely down and a new crescent moon rose on the edge of the mountain. The view is still spetacular, but no one was in the slightest mood to enjoy it.

After hours of waiting and convincing, he finally agreed to let another truck driver, also stuck on the road to tow his truck with a steel cable up 20 feet to where the road is slightly wider. My mom and I were walking down the road looking for a spot to relieve ourselves and managed to find a small path that led up to the bamboo forest that is private enough to do so. By the time we're done, the bus managed to get through the blockade. And we made a change of plan to stop at a nearby hotel for dinner.

Shao Xing - Ke Yan:

Shao Xing (绍兴)- Ke Yan (柯岩):

Ke Yan's giant rock face towering over the park's lake and grassy plain, showcasing its dramatic presence to all tourists enterring the park. The park houses 7 giant rock formation which rises out of flat lands as if they flew over from some where and just landed here ...

Another giant rock in the park, a sculpture of buddha is carved into the stone. Of the hundreds and thousands of temples built to house buddha statues, I would have to say this is a very special one which make all the others deem into the shadows. The sourrounding hills and lake definitely make this one the penthouse of its kind. :)

The koi pond

There is a giant koi pond full of fish in the middle of the park. It was over populated with hundreds of fish fighting for tourists' food. Alex had loads of laughs watching them jumping at every speck he tossed out. But the park also make a killing selling small packs of fish food to tourists. The fight is so fierce they literally bite each other or suck each other's lips. In a way I see this pond of fish as a metaphor of China. Its beauty, prosperity and fierce competition all resembles today's Chinese people so well.... :)

A Picture Album of Shao Xing

OK, I figured out how to post multiple pictures within one Blog entry. So here it goes. Perhaps the only entry where I have more pictures than writing.


The fashionable young tourists spotted enterring Ke Yan Park. I often find myself much less fashionable these days compared to most Chinese city folks. No more will you find drab blue communist party uniforms in the streets. In parks and city streets, even farmers dress like run way models...


The one in the middle of the lake resembles that of the side profile of an old man. The way it sits in the middle of the pond as if he is on the verge of drowning.

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"Let Live" is something Buddhist monks always preach about. Don't kill and you will be loved by buddha and other gods. You will have luck and fortune if you let the animal go... This turns out also can be a source of profit for moden tourist attractions...


Fish and turtles' holding tank at the park's store where you can buy them to let them go in the nearby pond. This is an act of good faith on the tourists. But an extremely profitable practice for the park. They can fish the fishes and turtles back at the end of each day and sell them over and over again in subsequent days to different batches of tourists.


The lovely bell tower that is also a source of profit for the park where tourists can pay to ring the bell for good luck.


The walls of the staircase leading to the main house of the park tells the story of Buddha by elegant murals. They're newly painted using bright colors but with the old brush techniques.


View of the hammer rock from top of the hill.

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The second place we visited in Shao Xing is Lan Ting. The old residence of a famous Chinese writer, poet, Wang Yi Zhi.


In Lan Ting, the famous Ink Pond's center houses a patio where Wong Yi Zhi used to write at. I just love the roof lines of this structure! It is named the "Ink Pond" because the writer used to wash his brush in the pond daily. The water used to be completely black.


The old residence of Wong Yi Zhi sets in this beautiful green mountain landscape surrounded by a lilly pond. White walls, black tile roof tops outlined by blooming water lilly in the summer months would have been even better.

The near by river, the foot-bridge and its bamboo garden leaves a poetic impression in the mind of any traveler. I would have loved to spend a few days just lingerring there. On the other hand, one would not wish such a place to ever be converted into another modern day resort complex.


The small village next to Lan Ting park is a newly constructed tinsel town that houses many sourvenior shops. It will be great for film makers to use for their next Zhang Yi Mao movie...

Class Reunion

Now that I'm all by myself back home, I have more time to sit down and write up the last 2 destinations of our China trip. Andy and Alex stayed back in Shanghai because my parents-in-law will be visiting Shanghai coincidentally in mid-November. So since Alex was born and Andy's last trip to N.Y. back in 2000, I'm all alone for the first time in 4 years.

So you may wonder what's this class reunion stuff all about as suggested in my entry's title. Well, for our last weekend in China, we joint my Dad's Tong Ji (同济) classmates for their class reunion trip to Shao Xing (邵兴) and Qian Dao Hu (千岛湖). It's a easy way to travel, saving us the trouble of arranging for our own accomodations and tour guides. It also gave us a rare chance to peek into the social dynamics and insides of his generation.

Since my parents met and fell in love while studying architecture in Tong Ji university back in the 60's, this type of class reunions can reveal much about what their lives much have been like back then. I don't want to make this entry one that is about the China's infamous culture revolution but that is the back-drop of their college years. While the 60's has been an era of sexual freedom and drugs in the U.S. and western world, China was going through perhaps the most rigid era easily comparable to the Victorian age's social values when it comes to courtship and marriage.

Our young tour guide, Ms Jiang was of great help in stirring up the crowd. In order to entertain the group on the bus, she would bring up old stories she dug up from various classmates to discuss and laugh about. There are old dorm room stories as well as singing their favorite Russian folk songs. Yes you heard me right. They loved Russian folk songs. Back then their required second language study was not English but Russian. Of course it was due to the close relations between the 2 communist countries.

When asked to talk about their "love stories" on campus back then, the comments we heard most from them is how drastically different it is now adays for college students to date and have public intimacy and publically known sexual relationships. Back then, sexual relationships just aren't allowed and will be a cause for expelling the student from the school. If you were lucky enough to have a girl/boy friend, then everything must take place under the highest level of secrecy with the support and cover of your closest friends. It is just not talked about in public.

I sensed a kind of sadness among the laughters in the bus. The kind that says they were robbed of their golden years in a way. But I do believe the kind of relationship that was forged under those circumstance must be superior and can withstand more tests of time and tribulations. I would say most 90% of them stayed with their college sweet hearts till today.

They try to meet up like this every other year now. But knowing with passing time, each time there would be fewer of them make to the trip either due to their health condition or simply has passed away. I also would not hesitate to say that their generation has been the hardest working generation even today. There is a well known saying in China these days. "The prosperity and growth in China today is at the cause of an entire generation's health." I don't think I have ever recalled my parents having any type of personal hobby such as golfing or fishing or even going to movies... All their lives, they're either studying, working or taking care of family. Even today, at the age of 60, they still work 6-7 days a week on a regular basis.

So I give my salute to my parents and their classmates for all they have lived through and sacraficed.

I'm back

Tonight, I'm back in Redwood City tonight safe and sound. It feels like I've been away a long time yet I'm not looking forward to go back to work tomorrow at all. :(
At the end of this trip, Bay area actually feels like home to me now. Although I have always seen myself as a guest here for the past 4 years. Perhaps it still stems from the fact we don't yet own our own house here.

--- And I truly truly appreciate the speed of my cable connection from here. What a difference. :) ----

What I will miss from Shanghai:

1. Definitely all the great Chinese food from breakfast items to great local dishes. There are so much more variety than what we can find here. Plus everything is freshly cooked whether you buy from from street vendors or fancy restaurants. Even the grocery stores has a lot more brands. It will seem like a drab to shop here in our local Safeway again.
2. The endless shopping malls you can browse. There are just a lot more styles and brands of everything.
3. Most of all, I'll miss Andy and Alex who stayed behind. Alex will be spending another month there to attend the local day-care. I'm hoping by the time he gets back, he will be fluent in Chinese. :P

What I will not miss:

1. The terrible city air. The car exhaust is the major source of pollution on the street. Then there is also the pollution from the sewer system below.
2. The hundreds and hundreds of pedestrians and bicyclists on the street.
3. The taxi drivers who would not hesitate to scold a 3-year old child for stepping on the taxi car seat.
4. The spits on the side walks every where. It's like a national sport for men there. I guess you can't blame them if they really have so much spit due to respiratory problem caused by breathing all the car exhaust every day.

Compared to the Shanghai I saw the last time I was back there in Dec of 2001, there are visible improvements every where, mostly in the form of new constructions and high rises. Also I find the store clerks are more friendly now. I guess the customer service quality is also improving.

On my flights back, I finished the "Fast Food Nation" book. In this edition's final chapter, it seems to me, Schlosser made a turn for the positive in his attitude toward the golden archies giant. He gave positive encouragement to McDonald's corporation to continue their endeavers for a positive public image and extending their influence to the meat packing industries to treat their employees better and improve their work safety. My conclusion after reading the book is that just don't eat hambergurs any more. If we must, just go to In & Out joints. In fact, it's better to just be a vegetarian.

Any way, I better hit the bunk now. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep through the whole night considerring I didn't sleep more than a couple of hours on the flights over.

Healthcare in China

It wouldn't be a complete vacation without someone getting sick and has to visit the local hospital. Alex, being the youngest member of our family was the first to get infected. Luckily it was just a common cold. With the shortage on flu shots in the US, he probably would have caught something back in the Bay area any how.

Taking my parents' suggestion, we took a taxi ride to the nearest Chang Ning general hospital. The hospital is quite modern. It's fairly new and is a complete contrast to the older hospital my dad stayed at back in 1999 when he had his pancreatic infection. Marble floors, large lobby that opened up to the 2nd, 3rd floors with plants around the corners and escalators. It looks more like a shopping mall than a hospital.

The lobby was full of people as expected. You see, in China, you don't call the doctor's office for an appointment up front. You just go to the hospital and register in the lobby for a #. The regular registration fee you pay at the lobby's registration windows is all that you pay for the doctor's examination and consulting fee. For regular registration, it's a modest 20Yuan, equivalent of less than $3.00 USD. Then if you need to pick up medication, you would pay that later in the hospital.

For us, we decided to go upstairs and register at the "Special Need" department where we pay a hefty 120 Yuan per patient, an equivalent of $15 USD or less (same as our current PPO co-pay amount in the states). There is no need to show any indication of insurance coverage or identification of any sort. At this service level, you'll be allowed to wait in a fancy waiting room equipped with nice sofa, TV and most importantly much faster turn to get to the doctor. The nurses will also fetch all the paperwork and necessaties for your blood or urine tests, etc.

The doctors servicing this floor have lesser patients to see than the other department. There are also more than one type of doctor available at all times on this floor. Aside from general family doctors, there is also a staff of other specialty doctors. Most other patients we found on that floor are either Taiwanese or Korean residents of Shanghai.

Overall, I find the division of service quite convenient for us, foreign travelers. The locals are also allowed to use this level of service as long as they're willing to pay the same amount. No wonder my parents have not had any trouble with their healthcare need during they stay here in the last few years. The expat level of service at the same cost as our co-pay in the states really goes to show the dramatic hyper inflated medical costs here in the states. Remember, there is no other insurance company who will pay the hospital another 80% of the cost at a later date... There will not be a medical statement sent to us later showing how much the insurance policy negotiated the doctor's rate down to and paid on our behalf... The 120Yuan ($15USD) was all it took.

And what medicine did Alex get for his cough and cold? Tylenol cold and Clariton D... :

Trip Update

I must apologize for the lack of entries lately. The connection I have from my parents' home is very slow and my attempts to create new entries on Blogger.com are often unsuccessful. Here is a quick update of what we're up to.

We took a day-trip yesterday (Oct. 14) to go visit my ancestral home and grave sites on an island in the middle of Tai Hu lake (太湖,西山). It's a 2-hour drive from Shanghai, near Shu Zhou. That is truly a magical place. The island in the middle of the lake has its own moutain range and villages. The farmers live there are either fisher men or orange growers. Some also grow gingo nuts. My grandfather grew up there before he went to work in Shanghai. There is still one relative's family who live there today and tends to the ancestral graves. Their lives are of a completely different era in time and a pace of its own. They grow much of the vegetables they eat on their own land. The village has its own wells that supply their water which in my opninion is much better than the city's water. I'll have to write a separate entry for this place when I have more time.

Today afternoon, we'll be joining a group of my dad's old college class-mates for a short 2-day trip to Shao Xing(邵兴) and the "Thousand Island Lake" (千岛湖). We'll be back in Shanghai by Sunday evening. Then I'm scheduled to fly back to SFO on Monday the 18th.