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Donate to the Philippines… Here’s how

Posted: 11/14/2013 9:42 pm

There has been so much devastation in the Phillipines from both tropical storms (Super Typhoon Haiyan) and earthquakes. Some people would like to help out but don’t know how. Here is your opportunity.

Tonight at Rapscallions you can bring your old shirts, shoes, hats, and canned goods to give to either Shenzhen Local Music or put in the Donation Box from the Filipino Community.

St. Anthony’s Church will also have a donation box. The church is located on Nonglin Lu next to Sam’s Club. Another location to drop off goods are McCawley’s in Futian and Trainspotting in Shekou.

The Filipino community is also throwing an event this Sunday at Luna Bar. It is a buffet Dinner for 100RMB called “Dine for a Cause”. The proceeds will go to the typhoon victims in Tacloban City and Leyte.

Haohao
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Shenzhen this weekend: UFC, live music, charity bike ride, and disco returns

Posted: 11/14/2013 1:49 pm

The temperature may be dropping, but there’s plenty of ways to keep warm in Shenzhen this weekend!

Nov. 14th - Learn to throw a frisbee by the SZUPA - The SZUPA aims to spread the sport of Ultimate frisbee to Shenzhen and China. Members meet weekly for many activities related to the sport as well as social activities to reach out to the Shenzhen Community. Join tonight if you’d like to learn the basics of throwing and catching a frisbee.

Nov. 14th - Luna Bar 70′s Night Party - Shake your groove thang this Friday night at Luna Bar. Be sure to dress up and be ready for some Beer Pong!

Nov. 15th - Ashura album tour @ B10 Live - Chengdu-based Ashura will be playing songs from their newly released album called Ashura II at B10. A blend of  rock, pop, rap, and dance music.

Nov. 16th - Shangri La Ride for Hope - Are you up for a real adventure in China for a good cause? Shangri La hotels are organizing a charity bike ride to benefit a group of villagers in Guangxi.

Nov. 16th - Takeout Comedy! English Standup Comedy Show in Shenzhen - Takeout Comedy returns and this time they are invading Shekou. Trimmed down to four seasoned performers. Guaranteed to leave you laughing.

Nov. 17th - UFC 167 @ Xpats - Spend a nice lunch watching some people beating the $%^$ out of each other down at Xpats.

Nov. 17th - Sunday Ultimate Frisbee by the SZUPA - Join a growing group of expats and local Chinese players play the fast growing international sport: Ultimate.

If you attend any of these events, please email me at Jeff@thenanfang.com and we may include some of your reviews in a future post. Let’s keep your event organizers working to provide better and better events!

(Editor’s Note: We’re looking for dining and nightlife writers in Guangzhou and Dongguan. If you’re interested, please get in touch with us at admin@thenanfang.com)

Haohao
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Jazz Festival, DJ parties and more on tap this weekend

Posted: 09/27/2013 7:00 am

It’s another busy weekend in Shenzhen! Check out what’s happening:

Sep. 27th - IZ Band - The 3rd OCT Jazz Festival - The IZ Band is playing Live @ The 3rd OCT Jazz Festival. One of the best festivals in Shenzhen for music with lots of new acts each time.

Sep. 28th - Taboo from The Black Eyed Peas @ Face Club - Taboo will be performing a DJ Set at Luohu’s Face Club. Nuff Said.

Sep. 28th - The Dave Allen Trio - The 3rd OCT Jazz Festival - The Dave Allen Trio will play live @ The 3rd OCT Jazz Festival.

Sep. 28th - Unicef Champions for Change Charity Event @ Sheraton Futian - That’s PRD and Sheraton hotels are hosting a Charity event with free entry, food, and live music for UNICEF. Come and support children in need.

Sep. 29th - Sunday Ultimate Frisbee by the SZUPA - Join a growing group of expats and local Chinese players play the fast growing international sport of Ultimate.

If you attend any of these events, please email me at Jeff@thenanfang.com and we may include some of your review in a future post. Let’s keep your event organizers working to provide better and better events!

(Editor’s Note: We’re looking for dining and nightlife writers in Guangzhou and Dongguan. If you’re interested, please get in touch with us at admin@thenanfang.com)

Haohao
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Shenzhen temple the latest elaborate and controversial rooftop structure

Posted: 08/21/2013 4:29 pm

A rooftop temple on top of Meijia Square housing complex in Shenzhen’s Nanshan District has become the latest in a series of controversial rooftop structures in China.

The report comes after a privately owned Beijing rooftop villa made from artificial rocks came to public attention last week. Authorities have since given the Beijing owner 15 days to demolish it, or face punishment. Local residents said they feared it might have caused the entire 26-storey apartment block to collapse in on itself.

Carl Ji, a Shenzhen resident, told The Nanfang today: “This kind of construction work is illegal. Shenzhen’s government should demolish it as soon as possible to set an example. Who is this guy that he thinks he can build his own temple on a public area? He’s just interested in his own private interests. It is arrogant.”

The 21st storey apartment on which the Shenzhen temple has been built is said to be worth 15 million yuan (US$2.5 million). The building’s tenants are all “either high-ranking officials or very rich people,” according to the report by Yangcheng Evening News today.

“The Meijia Square housing complex is an expensive property where every square metre is valued at about 30,000 yuan (HK$38,000),” the South China Morning Post also said in a follow-up report earlier today.

The Post added: “Neighbours were unsure who the owner of the property was, but said that the temple was often occupied and used for traditional Chinese religious practices… neighbours did say that golden sheets of joss paper… occasionally floated down from the temple’s perch.”

The temple, suspected to be an illegal structure, first came to public attention Monday after Shenzhen Special Zone Daily seized on the controversial local oddity in the wake of the Beijing story.

Particular concerns with the Shenzhen temple, aside from structural issues, are regarding restricted access to the rooftop, which is a public area designated as an emergency escape route — though how residents are supposed to “escape” from a rooftop in the case of a fire, for example, is perhaps a question in itself.

“A police spokesperson said the department would demolish the structure if illegal construction was confirmed, and measures such as the freezing of property rights would be taken if the owner opposed the demolition,” Shenzhen Daily reported earlier this week.

A fingerprint scanner built into the roof’s gate is apparently intended to keep away unwanted visitors.

The case is still under investigation by local authorities.

Photo credit: Shenzhen News

Haohao
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Takeout Comedy brings stand-up to Shenzhen

Posted: 08/19/2013 6:00 pm

Eight comedians performed live at B10, Loft, OCT, in Nanshan on August 10th for the Takeout Comedy English Comedy Festival. The event was heavily promoted as a brekout of sorts for standup comedy in Shenzhen. Around 100 people showed up, which is a pretty good turnout for something relatively new in the city. I was fortunate to be there, so thought I’d share some thoughts on the night.

Below are the names of the comedians who performed in bold, their introduction provided by Takeout Comedy in italics, and my comments afterward. Let’s get started.

Nick Milnes, a British comedian living in HK, who performs regularly in TOC HK. He hosted the event and introduced all the other comedians. He started off the night with some standup of his own and had a few bright moments, but I didn’t feel he was a good fit for the audience, which was mostly American and Chinese. He tried his best and got a few laughs throughout the night, but for the most part he couldn’t hit the audience’s funny bone.

Andrew Chu, came second in the 2007 Chinese comedy festival, and came first in the 2010 English Funniest Comedian Competition. That however just makes me question who he was competing against. He definitely has a funny - but mostly creepy - look and some of his act seemed ok for an occasional chuckle. He also had a few callbacks to previous jokes which are important in comedy, but no really memorable moments.

Jim Brewsky, was a finalist in the 6th Annual Hong Kong International Comedy Competition and has opened for comics Paul Ogata (Comedy Central), Al Ducharme, Wali Collins (Comedy Central), Barry Hilton, Brad Upton (Comedy Central) and Butch Bradley (HBO). Jim was one of the shining stars of the night. He definitely knew how to work the room and had people cracking up throughout his whole set. His jokes and facial expressions were hilarious. I look forward to seeing him again.

Earl Young, has opened for Wali Collins (USA), Paul Ogata (USA/JPN), Ruben Paul (USA) and Al Ducharme (USA). He has performed in Shenzen and Guangzhou, China and the Philippines. He also was the headlining act at Comedy Masala #63 in Singapore in December of 2011. Earl also put on a strong comedic performance. He seemed more experienced than many of the other acts besides Jim Brewsky, who was maybe the best of the night.

Jayjay Ma, is a new but shining STAR in Shenzhen, he has been performing on Chinese stage for 2 years, and with an English major background, his recent English comedy show was awesome. I’m sorry, but if you are going to bill this as an English standup show, they need to speak much better English. He had - maybe - two laughs throughout his whole set. Maybe he’s a funny guy, but not many understood him. One of the worst of the night.

Victor Maltsev, is a Russian citizen. His style is oriented to George Carlin, Louis CK, Bill Hicks, humor with a bit of education, asking and answering question to himself and audience, true examples and situations from real life. Oy…Comparing yourself to George Carlin? Louis CK? Those guys are legends. Those guys are funny. Those guys are understandable. During the set and after I had people asking me, did you understand what he is saying/said? He came off as angry at the world without being funny. Even less funny than Jay Jay…

Kevin Zou, is the founder of Takeout Comedy Shenzhen branch. He is a bilingual regular performer and recently he is on TV Talent show in China. Kevin comes off as genuine nice guy that’s been practicing for a while. He has a good grasp of the English language and did a fairly good job with some good laughs throughout his set.

Vivek Mahbubani, crowned 2007 Chinese and 2008 English Funniest Comedian in Hong Kong and was the host of the TV series “Hong Kong Stories” by RTHK. He had high praise from my friends in Hong Kong before I had heard him and he really delivered. He played with the crowd and was funny enough to just riff and make fun of the audience. I dare someone to try and heckle the guy. He seems really smart, very likeable, knows how to work the audience, and best of all, he’s funny.

I would definitely come to another Takeout Comedy show, but I hope they would either replace some of the less funny acts, especially the ones who can’t speak English well, or focus on just the funnier comedians. I guess comedy is a matter of personal taste, but it was clear the audience, as a whole, preferred some comedians over the others.

The Takeout Comedy Club schedules most of their events in Hong Kong, but they do visit Shenzhen from time to time.  I’d recommending coming out next time and experiencing this for yourself. Good or bad, entertainment options in Shenzhen are sorely needed and nothing is perfect in the beginning.

You can get more info from the Takeout Comedy Club on its website: http://www.takeoutcomedy.com.

Haohao
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Ultimate Frisbee draws crowds in Shenzhen for summer league

Posted: 08/12/2013 9:49 am

Last month, the ShenZhen Ultimate Players Association hosted its first Summer League for the popular international sport Ultimate Frisbee.

Ultimate, as the sport is known, has been gaining popularity in the PRD in recent years, particularly in Shenzhen due to the SZUPA.

The 2013 Shenzhen Summer League is the first Summer League for the sport in Shenzhen on a full-sized field. Seventy people from around Shenzhen and Hong Kong registered to play and were separated evenly to four color related teams. The teams were the Lao Whites, Blue Wave, the Shenzhen All Blacks, and Team X (Mixed colored uniforms). Over the course of 4 weeks, the teams battled it out with the hopes of improving their skill and having some fun in the sun.

They played every week at OCT Middle School from the end of June through July.  Below is a round-up of the winners.

Week 1 - The SZ All Blacks beat Team X (9 -6), while Blue Wave had the win over the Lao Whites (7-6).

Week 2 - The SZ All Blacks took on the Lao Whites for another win (8-5). Team X overcame the Blue Wave for a close fought win (10-5).

Week 3 - The SZ All Blacks lost by 1 point to Blue Wave in a high scoring game (11-12) while Team X lost to the Lao Whites (7-8).

Week 4 – The Lao Whites claimed their 3rd place ranking by defeating Team X (6-5). The Blue Wave seemed like they would put on a much closer game, but the SZ All Blacks strong defensive game really took the Blue Wave apart for a decisive win (12-4).


Afterwards medals were awarded to the winning team, the Shenzhen All Blacks and each team’s MVP, Most Improved Newcomer and Best Spirit winner, was awarded a prize from The 2013 Shenzhen Summer League’s sponsors, FiveUltimate.com, Little India Shekou, and SZUltimate.com.

Ultimate Frisbee originated in New Jersey in the US. It is a co-ed sport that blends many sports together, including elements of American football, rugby, netball, basketball, and soccer. A standard Ultimate field is 70 yards by 40 yards, with 25 yard endzones on either end making a total of 120 yards by 40 yards. There are seven members per team on the field during game play. Each team is trying to score by catching the Frisbee (disc) in the endzone at the opposite side of the field. The disc can be moved forwards or backwards by throwing and catching only. If the disc is in your possession, you cannot run but can pivot like in basketball when you’ve picked up the ball. If someone runs up to defend you they cannot take the disc out of your hands or hit you as Ultimate is a non-contact sport.

They can however start a count to 10 which if they reach before you throw it is a turnover. A turnover also happens, if there is an incomplete throw, an interception, or if the disc is thrown out of bounds.

If you’re interested in playing, you can visit here.

Haohao
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Parents line up overnight in Shenzhen, just for a chance to get kids into class

Posted: 03/28/2013 2:18 pm

If you happened to pass by Shenzhen Nanshan Bilingual School recently, you’ll have seen more than a hundred parents sitting on stools, laying down, and slouched over in a long line-up in front of the school.  They are waiting (and hoping) to get one of the few spots at the school for their child, according to media reports.  The problem is the enrollment date hasn’t been announced yet, so the parents are waiting there “just in case”.

Nanshan Bilingual School is a state-owned private school. It plans to recruit 100 Grade 1 students, but there are over 150 parents in line. With education being paramount in China, parents are willing to stick it out in line for a shot at getting their child enrolled.

Reporters learned that a few of the parents have begun playing the role of a so-called “parents committee”, which means they write their kids’ names on slips of paper following the order of arrival. All parents can then line up according to the numbers.

The parents are organized, too. If one family member gets tired of waiting, another will stand in for a while. Some are reading books, using the internet, chatting, dealing cards or playing chess to kill time. They might have to wait for another two or three days before the enrollment time is announced.

The school told the media that there is always a conflict between the gradual growth of student numbers and their limited classroom space. They have already expanded from six to 12 classes.

Some parents suggested the school create an online sign-up process instead, but the policy says that online application do not allow quota restrictions. The school master said he hopes the education department can offer more teaching space to parents don’t need to line-up.

Haohao
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Guangdong Province chooses 3 areas to pilot anti-corruption measures amid deep mistrust

Posted: 12/14/2012 5:27 pm

Guangdong Province, as is often the case, has been chosen to pilot some of the country’s newest legislation. According to China Business Journal (via The Atlantic), Hengqin County in Zhuhai, Nansha County in Guangzhou and Shixing County in Shaoguan will be “experimental zones” for a system to make information about officials’ assets publicly available in 2013.

This was announced after a period of just over a month in which scandals involving officials in the province came thick and fast.

While corruption seems to be everywhere these days, the Fabius Maximus blog, which focuses on economics and geopolitics, argues that corruption in China is not at dangerous levels when you consider how corrupt America was when it was at a similar stage of development.

But anger at official corruption is widespread and raw. Both Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping have emphasized the need to tackle corruption in order to maintain stability.

As The Atlantic points out, making genuine long-term progress through this experiment, which is part of Guangdong Province’s five year plan, would be a hell of an achievement:

The idea of an official assets disclosure system was first put forward in 1989, followed by ceaseless calls from the public, as well as proposals submitted by representatives of the National People’s Congress, demanding the establishment of such a system. But objections from various interest groups have held the plan up in the air.

Allegations of official misconduct are not slowing down. One of the more high profile cases came in Shenzhen at the beginning of this week.

In recent days, an online post accusing a Shenzhen subdistrict government official of abusing power and arranging jobs for numerous relatives was picked up by several newspapers, according to Shenzhen Daily.

In the post, a director surnamed Chen, now with the Cuizhu Subdistrict Office in Luohu, has been accused of arranging jobs in the office for 50 relatives and buying an RMB 500,000 (US$79,986) car with public funds. He also stands accused of buying an RMB 400,000 car for his own use when he was appointed head of Cuizhu Subdistrict, which would have been unaffordable on the salary he was earning.

But the exposure and punishment of the occasional official is unlikely to satisfy a public hungry for broader reforms. Demanding that officials declare assets does not stop corruption, which is described by author Murong Xuecun as “abuse of power.”

Moreover, the three counties selected are of little importance on a national level. Such reforms have been experimented on before in villages and counties, only to die out when the person who introduced them moves on.

Officials who illegally amass money can easily move it overseas. And nepotism in government departments and state-owned enterprises is so prevalent that whenever any seemingly undeserving person is promoted, many people immediately assume it be a case of nepotism.

A public that is seeing higher living costs while salaries remain stagnant is growing tired of being left in the dust by a ruling class that is not introducing the meaningful reforms to help them.

This was best illustrated by the case of the government official, Yuan Songfang, who recently jumped to his death from his residence building in Zhongshan after months of protests in Haizhou Village, which he presides over.

This case is a tragic example of the conflict between maintaining stability and tackling special interests.

 

Haohao
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An eclectic music mix the highlight of Shenzhen’s Fringe Festival

Posted: 11/28/2012 5:23 pm

“2012 Shenzhen Fringe Festival will build a bigger stage beyond your imagination. Let the power of arts blow the tradition, let the surprise of creativity shock the city, and let the heat of Shenzhen keep influencing the world!” - Fringe Festival website.

Strolling through Nanshan’s Coastal City shopping center, one might be surprised to suddenly find a music and art festival camped out in the middle of Haide Square. Overwhelming the neighboring bars and restaurants is the Fringe Festival, an art and performance showcase full of photography exhibitions, merchants, snacks, and a major stage with daily shows. Fringe Festivals are held in 300 cities all over the world. This is the third year one has been staged in Shenzhen, and it’s sponsored locally by the Nanshan district government for the purpose of promoting cultural activities.

The opening weekend began with a parade, and the headliner was the Rave Out. Rave Out started with a floating DJ booth at the parade, then moved the rave to the Fish Theater in the main center tent, and finally on Sunday to Wenxin Park. Shenzhen’s top DJs performed to their best, creating as entertaining a dance party as any found at one of Shenzhen’s nightclubs. Admission is always free, with music going day and night.

The Rave Out performance for the festival was organized by Shenzhen-based crew Real Deal. An international group of talent and trendsetters, they are known for setting up parties all over the city and were enthusiastic about participating in the Fringe Festival. Sebastian, one of the main organizers, told The Nanfang: “We are trying to bring some artistic elements into the Shenzhen party scene. We always have very good DJs, fire-dancers, jugglers, video installations, and decorative LED lights at our events.”

The Rave Out party (captured by smartphone)

But what makes Real Deal different from the usual nightlife scene? “Most clubs and bars are chains these days, and all look alike. Rents are very high and clubs are forced to cut their budget for good DJs and performers. Since we don’t make much money and don’t pay rent, we are free to try new party concepts.”

And great concepts they are. One top performer goes by Mr. Magnus, and was happy for the opportunity to share his music with a new audience. “The passion and spirit with the crowd is the best part of Real Deal parties, seeing all those people dancing and enjoying the music is what keeps us going. It’s not about sitting all night drinking and playing games, its about dancing, the music, and meeting people who share the same passion.”

Magnus is definitely passionate about music, and plays an eclectic set. “My music comes from European Techno, House, and Trance, and my remixes and live performances are about creating something new by remixing music that contains something special.” When asked about what he sees for the future in the scene, he was very hopeful. “I would love to see more people in China know what the Real Deal is all about, and what real dance music events are about. Hopefully we can influence the clubs as they see what’s missing in China at this moment.”

It might have been an odd sight to see all the curious mall shoppers take pictures  of dancing foreigners in the rain, but the locals who did get inspired were excited. All in all it seemed like a great success.

The raving may be over now, but the Fringe Festival will continue until December 2, with various theatrical productions, more music, workshops, exhibitions, and even comedy. Other venues include Huaxia Star Light Theater in Book City, and the Old Black Box theatre at Shenzhen University. Certainly worth checking out, whether just by passing through while shopping or by making a serious plan to enjoy the main events in their entirety.

Bilingual schedules and maps can be downloaded on their website.

Real Deal posts future gatherings on their website as well.

Haohao
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A legacy of Shenzhen’s Universiade that the city isn’t proud of

Posted: 06/9/2012 7:00 am

While one expects to see Chinglish on bathroom doors or restaurant menus, it can still be surprising when found in use by international companies or famous sporting events.

The Shenzhen Universiade has become the latest victim of a rather high-profile English gaffe.  The Universiade Cauldron Tower in Nanshan has displayed the terms “1th”, “2th” and “3th” since the games took place a year ago, which any native English speaker will tell you are incorrect.  In fact, many people have contacted the Shenzhen government and Universiade to point out the error, but their complaints have been dismissed.  Why?  Well, Shenzhen says those terms are a Universiade convention which have been used at all the games.

The International University Sports Federation (FISU), which organizes the Universiade, has finally chimed in to say, no, that’s not the case.  Indeed, those are English mistakes that have nothing to do with the Universiade itself.  This, according to a report in the Shenzhen Daily:

The Southern Metropolis Daily first reported the issue last August, quoting an unidentified person in charge of the Shenzhen Universiade’s opening and closing ceremonies as saying the incorrect numbers were, in fact, a convention of all Summer Universiades. The person told the paper that the style was used according to an FISU guidebook, and Chinese Foreign Ministry staff had been assured by FISU officials that the style had been used by Summer Universiades for the past 50 years.

But in an e-mail to Shenzhen Daily on Wednesday, FISU spokesman Christian Pierre acknowledged that the numbers are grammatical errors.

On FISU’s official Web site, the first, second and third Universiades are listed as “1st,” “2nd” and “3rd.”

The issue raises the question of whether there was a communication problem between Shenzhen Universiade organizers and FISU regarding the spelling, or if Shenzhen officials intentionally used a nonexistent “Universiade custom” as an excuse to cover up a simple mistake.

Our bet is on the coverup.

Haohao
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