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| In case I got lost, you could try to look for me in these places. :P
丽江-》中甸-》德钦-》雨崩-》稻城-》亚丁-》康定-》成都-》乐山-》峨嵋-》元谋-》昆明-》大理-》丽江
You are very welcome to come and join me for part of the trip as well.
My phone number in China: +86 15919808566
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| If you have been following my Facebook status update, you probably know that I'm planing a trip to Yunnan. In fact, I'm leaving this Saturday. I've only bought an one-way ticket to LiJiang, so I have been doing some research and see where I might want to go. While I was doing the research, I suddenly came to some realization about Tibet.
For the past few years, I have almost unconditionally accepted that Tibet should be part of China. Perhaps because I'm a Chinese, there is a subconscious idea that Tibet should be "ours". It has been part of China for the past 50 years, and there really is no reason for it to change. I saw it as purely a political excuse that foreign governments use to pressure China into some unfavorable terms. What I did not understand is why so many average foreign citizens would voice up so strongly to "free Tibet".
However, that view has been challenged for the past few days. I have been reading up travel journals from travelers, mostly Chinese, who traveled to the Tibetan areas of Yunnan and Sichuan. I have been reading up how the area is changing. The most striking moment came when I found out that some developers are trying to build a cable car system in Yading. Yading is a small village in Sichuan with beautiful landscape, inhabited mostly by Tibetans, that was discovered in the 1990s. It is called the "last piece of Shangri-la". In order to develop the area into a tourist attraction, investors are cutting down trees, building roads and cable cars, hotels and other facilities throughout the village. They charge a hefty admission fee for tourists to go into the area in order to pay for the development. Needless to say, all the money made will go to the ethnic Chinese who "invested" in the region, even when they paid almost nothing nor asked for permission from the locals Tibetans to build in the area.
A road to the region might be a fair game. But what I don't understand is, why the first thing they think about is to build a cable car system, even if that means cutting down all the trees, filling up the lakes, and destroying the environment? Don't they realize that Yading is attractive exactly because the Tibetans live they own living without disturbance from outside? Don't they realize it is attractive because of its beautiful landscape which is not polluted by the modern civilization?
If you look at the national parks in the US, you can hardly see a cable car system in any of the parks. Why do they have to do that in China? So far, there is almost no tourist attraction in China I really liked. Everything is man-made or rebuilt, and is simply packed with tourists. I feel so sad that one more beautiful place on earth is disappearing, and being transformed into another theme park that is going to be packed with tourists.
I have read reports that the government and the developers closed the region temporarily, sent security personnel into the region to prevent Tibetans from bringing the issue up by telling their stories to travelers. For the Tibetans, it is their home, and they don't want it destroyed. They have been living there generations after generations, and now their way of living is threatened. Of course, part of the conflict could simply because the proceeds from tourisms do not go to the locals, so there is a conflict of interest. But in any case, I believe the residents who lived in that place should be the ones to decide their fate.
A few hours later, I came across a blog from a western traveler. He observed something that seems to have answered my earlier question. The idea of "vacation" in China does not include anything physical. That is why a cable car system is always a necessity wherever they try to develop a tourist attraction, from the mountains in Yading, to the desserts in inner Mongolia, and to the Great Wall. This is a cultural thing that cannot be changed easily. The developers are simply satisfying a market need.
A few months ago in Beijing, my teacher in BLCU said that she did not understand why Tibet could become an issue. She mentioned that over the years, the Chinese government has put in so much resource to develop the area, even when it means taking away resources from other provinces. She felt that it is almost unfair to the other provinces in China. But I guess what she did not understand is, it is exactly those "resource" and "investment" that lead to the situation today.
Most of the Tibetans are not asking for indepedence. What they wanted is simply to preserve their culture and their way of living. I believe their wish should be respected. The ones who wants indepedence are the ones who are fed up with the unfair treatment by ethnic Han Chinese, from the cultural revolution to today's exploitation. I understand that realistically , under this capitalism driven society, Tibetans is very unlikely to be able to live they way they used to be. However, any change to modernalization should be initiated by the Tibetans, the ones who lived in the land for generations, instead of an outsider from the ethnic Han Chinese who merely wanted to make money out of it.
A lot of foreigners are supporting the Tibetans. Their point is simple enough. But why would most Chinese, including myself, don't see the point? Are we blinded by nationalism?
Tibet is definitely a controversial issue, and there is probably no black or white answer. But I just thought it is interesting to share how my view has changed in the past few days. I hope this post won't be eaten up by a river crab, or got myself into being denied entry into China two days later. Afterall, I still have faith in "one-country-two-system".
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| Dear friends,
Greetings from Hong Kong, and Happy New Year 2009!
Time just flew by. Just a year ago, I was in San Francisco Bay Area saying farewell to all my friends, packing, and giving away most of my stuff accumulated throughout my 10 years in the States. I talked UA into letting me bring on board six suitcases weighing over 150kg, and headed to France to start my MBA student life at INSEAD.
2008 has been a memorable year. During the past year at INSEAD, I met an amazing group of classmates from over 75 countries, and from every single industry I could, or could not have imagined. I studied in two campuses, Fontainebleau, a small town near Paris known of its famous chateau, and Singapore, an Asian metropolitan.
When I was in France, I shared a cottage with 7 other INSEAD classmates in a little charming village near INSEAD. It is my first time that I actually stayed in Europe other than as a tourist. It has been a wonderful experience. I love the food and wine in France, especially the pastry -- something that I cannot find anywhere else in the world that is even half as good. I traveled to most of the western European countries, Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Spain, Czech Republic, even Morocco, and Turkey, etc etc. I made a lot of good friends during the travels, sharing life experiences (and gossips). I wish I could have stayed in France longer, and perhaps bring my French level up a notch so that I could do more than just saying "Je ne parle pas français. Parlez-vous anglais?"
During the summer break, I spent 6 weeks in Beijing, watching Olympic Games, re-discover my Chinese root, and went on an exciting trip to Inner Mongolia with friends. After the summer, school restarted again, this time in Singapore. My four months in Singapore is comparatively uneventful in INSEAD standard. While my European classmates were pretty much traveling every weekend, I mostly stayed behind practicing “Singlish”, hanging out with some of my Singaporean friends and other Asian INSEAD classmates, as I had been to most of the countries in Southeast Asia already. Just as we were about to begin our recruiting season, the financial crisis hits. We had a scary talk from our Dean telling us how the financial sector disappeared overnight from recruiting perspective, and that consulting and industry is going to be very competitive. So what was our response? Party some more -- given that there are fewer companies to interview with so we can free up some more time for parties. =)
The year ended with my graduation in Singapore, and a family trip to Bali -- something that I could not afford the time to do for years. After coming back to Hong Kong, I met up with a lot of friends that I haven’t seen for years. And of course, how can I forget the Christmas Eve and the New Year Eve parties (was it just last night?)
Looking forward to 2009, the priority is probably to find a job that I like, at a location that I might want to settle down at. The job market is definitely challenging, but it also gives me the opportunity to reflect on what I really want to do. During a celebration of the 10th year anniversary of HKSAR in San Francisco last year, I was suddenly hit by the emotion that I wanted to go back "home". When I got back home two weeks ago, my parents reminded me that it has been exactly 10 years since I left Hong Kong. During the past 10 years, I met a lot of interesting people, and definitely learnt and grew a lot. But I think it is the time for me to come back, either to Hong Kong or China. It is probably challenging to re-adapt to the pace and lifestyle in Hong Kong, at the same time re-establish my network here. But I am sure that I will do just fine. =)
Please drop me a line whenever you are in Hong Kong, or wherever location my Facebook profile indicates in the "current city" field.
Here is my contact info:
Phone: +852 5162 1605 (mobile) / +852 8120 7885 (Skype forwarding number)
Skype: albertli80
MSN: albert80 (at) yahoo (dot) com
Email: albert.li (at) gmail (dot) com
If you want to check out some of my pictures taken last year at INSEAD, you can find them at http://bugbug.smugmug.com/INSEAD.
Wishing you all the very best of 2009!
Warm regards,
Albert.
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| I'm doing some research on anti-trust law in China because of my business law project. This is the Chapter 1, section 1 of the law...
第一章 总 则
第一条 为了预防和制止垄断行为，保护市场公平竞争，提高经济运行效率，维护消费者利益和社会公共利益，促进社会主义市场经济健康发展，制定本法。
"促进社会主义市场经济健康发展"....!
Looks like China is still not willing to giving up its "socialist" idea yet....:P
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| | | 尊敬的 Li/Tsz Fung Albert ，很高兴通知您以下订位已经成功： | 订单号：733085520 |
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舱位 | 机票
单价 | 机建
费 | 燃油
费 |
1 | MU563 | 北京(首都) | 上海(浦东) | 2008-07-01 19:10 |
2008-07-01 21:20 | M | 790 | 50 | 100 |
2 | MU564 | 上海(浦东) | 北京(首都) | 2008-07-06 14:05 | 2008-07-06 16:30
| V | 570 | 50 | 100 |
乘机人姓名 | 证件号 | 保险 |
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1 套机票，共计RMB 1,660.00 （包括以下所有费用）
（其中机票费 1,360.00；机建费100.00；燃油费200.00；保险费0.00；送票费0.00）
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2008年6月10日 |
| Passenger information
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Number in party: 1
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Name:
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LI/TSZ FUNG MR
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Travel itinerary
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Confirmation no.: X0FSGQ
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PARIS/DEGAULLE to BEIJING departing Saturday, June 28
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AIR CHINA 964
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Depart:
PARIS/DEGAULLE 2:00 PM
Arrive:
BEIJING 5:55 AM
Seat(s):
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NONSTOP
Equip: 330
MP miles: *****
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ECONOMY
In-Flight services:
Meal: LUNCH, DINNER
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BEIJING to HONG KONG departing Sunday, July 6
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AIR CHINA 107
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Depart:
BEIJING 7:50 PM
Arrive:
HONG KONG 11:30 PM
Seat(s):
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NONSTOP
Equip: 737
MP miles: *****
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ECONOMY
In-Flight services:
Meal: DINNER
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HONG KONG to BEIJING departing Wednesday, December 17
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AIR CHINA 118
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Depart:
HONG KONG 8:30 AM
Arrive:
BEIJING 11:35 AM
Seat(s):
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NONSTOP
Equip: 767
MP miles: *****
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ECONOMY
In-Flight services:
Meal: BREAKFAST
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BEIJING to PARIS/DEGAULLE departing Wednesday, December 17
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AIR CHINA 933
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Depart:
BEIJING 1:30 PM
Arrive:
PARIS/DEGAULLE 5:15 PM
Seat(s): |
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