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Stranded, Broke Zimbabwean MPs Call Time in Guangdong “Hell”

Posted: 07/8/2014 1:04 pm

The stranding of 27 Zimbabwean Members of Parliament in Guangdong Province for five days last week has become a case of finger-pointing after they missed their flight home, reports NewsDay.

The 27 Zimbabwean MPs had separated from the official delegation in Beijing to head to Guangzhou for some shopping. But after blowing all their money, they were unable to get back to Beijing in time for their scheduled flight home. The stranded MPs, who have all mostly returned to Zimbabwe, described their ordeal as “hell”. The MPs had no money, nothing to eat, and nowhere to shower.

ZANU PF Makoni South MP Mandi Chimene said the incident began when Zaka Central MP Paradza Chakona (Zanu PF) led a group of MPs to go shopping in Guangdong against her orders.

READ: Zimbabwean MPs Blow Money on Shopping Spree,
Trapped Penniless in Guangdong

Chimene refuted the suggestion that she had abandoned the breakaway MPs, and gave her own opinion as for why the Zimbabwean MPs got stranded:

Maybe it was God’s form of punishing the MPs for not obeying my advice and revolting against all my efforts…
I did nothing wrong, but helped MPs to get exposure. Maybe God was angry, even Moses had the same experience and God punished the Israelites by sending snakes. Maybe that was the same case here. 

Chimeme then elaborated upon Chinese regulations, and how the stranded MPs did not abide by the rules:

They were told by an Embassy official that if they go there, they should not come back on a Saturday (the day of departure) but they disregarded that and chose to travel that Saturday. They were told to come straight to Terminal 3, but again they argued saying they wanted to pick-up another MP at Terminal 2. I tried to negotiate with officials, but their things have systems. 

We agree that life in Guangdong can be tough, maybe even a little unforgiving, but to call being stranded here “hell”? We’re just glad that they weren’t stranded in Shanghai.

Photos: Amazing Victoria Falls

Haohao

Zimbabwean MPs Blow Money on Shopping Spree, Trapped Penniless in Guangdong

Posted: 07/2/2014 10:25 am

Traveling to China can be an overwhelming experience. There’s the culture, the language — and of course the amazing shopping.

Bargain hunting became too much for a delegation of 27 Members of Parliament from Zimbabwe. The group of MPs were in Beijing to promote the country’s “Look East” policy, but took an unofficial detour to Guangdong Province by bullet train to go on a shopping spree. They ended up not only running out of money, but also missed their flight back home, reported Newsday.

To complicate things further, the Zimbabwean MPs fly Air Zimbabwe, and the next flight from Beijing to Harare isn’t until July 10.

The breakaway party of MPs were apparently warned not to travel to Guangdong, according to a source with the group:

We tried to persuade them not to travel to Guangdong as it is very far and they did not have enough money, but they did not listen… They did not have enough money and now they are stranded. We do not know where they are sleeping, what they are eating and how they will come back.

Guangdong is 2,294 kilometers away from Beijing and requires at least ten hours of travel by high-speed rail.

The Zimbabwe Parliament convened yesterday, so the 27 stranded MPs are now missing sessions in the Senate and National Assembly.

Photo: SW Radio Africa

Haohao

Hong Kongers May Get Reprieve If Special Mall For Mainland Shoppers Opens in Shenzhen

Posted: 06/25/2014 12:54 pm

qianhai economic zoneHong Kongers have long complained of Mainland shoppers clogging streets and crowding the city’s famous MTR subway system, but it looks like some hope may be on the horizon.

Qianhai, a special economic zone in northwestern Shenzhen, may be home to a “mini Hong Kong” featuring a special shopping mall with Hong Kong brands,  reports The Standard.

The Qianhai Management Authority revealed they are currently negotiating with Hong Kong merchants as they showed off the proposed area to Hong Kong and mainland media.

The report states that the Qianhai Management Authority plans to have the shopping mall developed and operational by the end of this year. However, the same report quotes Qianhai authority spokesman Wang Jinxia pouring a bit of cold water on the plan.

“The concept of setting up a shopping center in Qianhai to provide another choice for mainlanders is purely exploratory at this stage.”

The Qianhai Management Authority said the shopping center will be able to ease pressure on Hong Kong from the flood of visitors under the individual travel scheme. However, data shows that mainland visitors to Hong Kong dropped during the Labor Day long weekend, the first such drop since 2003. From May 1 to 3, there were only 388,070 visitors to Hong Kong, a drop of 1.7%.

And yet, others have been suggesting that mainland visitors who want to shop for Hong Kong goods be able to do so without having downtown Hong Kong involved in the process. The Heung Yee Kuk, a rural Hong Kong group, has recommended the establishment of a shopping center in Sha Tau Kok to divert mainland shoppers from the cool parts of town that Hong Kongers frequent.

This all sounds like a good idea that should have been implemented years ago, but one factor still remains unresolved. Wang stated that the Qianhai Management Authority has still has not yet decided whether the sales of Hong Kong products in the new “mini Hong Kong” will be tax-free.

For that, we may have to wait until the end of the year when the mall is finally completed or exploratory plans have been confirmed.

Photos: Hexun

Haohao

Top 10 Things To Buy Now that FamilyMart has Opened in Shenzhen

Posted: 05/22/2014 4:33 pm

familymartFor being a hushed secret whispered between expats, Shenzhen kicks ass. It’s rated as one of the best places to live in China as well as being one of the cities in China with the cleanest air. It’s right next to Hong Kong, the weather is nice (if humid and wet), and best of all, it isn’t Beijing or Shanghai.

As more proof of Shenzhen’s ascension to a metropolis of kickassery, the city has now become that much more convenient. Last week, eight FamilyMart stores opened in Shenzhen with further locations to come in Dongguan by the end of this year.

To celebrate this great news, we’re going to provide a run-down of the ten most essential items you’ll be purchasing from FamilyMart—because let’s face it, the one time you really need a FamilyMart is at 3am when you’ve had too much to drink and badly need food.

1. Western Junk Food Knock-Offs

oreas junk food familymartWhen looking for a little sugar fix, you’ll be attracted to the brands that you know and trust (or, at least their logos if you can’t read Chinese). However, there’s something different about it; something’s a little off. It’s not the junk food you’ve become so familiar with…

2. Fruit Sandwichfruit sandwich

If you’re still not over your culture shock, you’re probably going to stick with food you’re familiar with, like the sandwich. How hard can that be to screw up? It’s two slices of bread and some cut fruit, just like your mom used to make.

3. Tea Eggstea egg familymart

And we don’t mean the “virgin boy” type. Tea eggs are always a good purchase because no matter your feelings on how they taste, and no matter the time of day, there are always tea eggs for sale at a convenience store. It’s like as though it’s used as a type of currency a la “take an egg, leave an egg”.

4. Instant Noodlesinstant noodles familymart

There’s a reason why there is usually an entire aisle dedicated to instant noodles, and it isn’t because there is a fundamental difference between any of them. No, the instant noodle is the one reliable food that you can’t screw up, but it does need one thing…

5. Pre-Packaged Chicken Feetchicken feet familymart

No, you don’t make a wish on them like you do on a monkey’s paw. You may not be partial to the delicacy of chicken feet, but you will learn to be more culturally sensitive at three in the morning when you’re ravenously hungry and lack your usual ethnocentric tendencies. You can’t just eat instant noodles on their own, you know.

6. Over-the-Counter Baijiubaijiu familymart

Sure, there’s usually beer available at a convenience store in China, but you want to continue the party, not have a refreshing beverage to cool down. Browse the baijiu section and pick the bottle that looks like it can strip paint off a wall, and you’re set to go.

7. Aspirinaspirin familymart

For tomorrow morning. Buy it now, or wait until you’re dizzy and nauseous.  But, you’ll also be needing…

8. Bottled Waterbottled water familymart

In this day and age, a bottle of drinking water is as necessary as a smartphone. Thirty years ago, who’d have thought that we’d be paying for water and be using portable phones to do everything but make calls?

9. Pepto Bismolpepto bismol family mart

If FamilyMart doesn’t sell this, then what good is it?

10. Condomscondoms familymart

You may need these, perhaps. One day in the future.

With the arrival of FamilyMart, Shenzhen will join Guangzhou as places where you can buy whatever you need at every hour of the day in full disregard of the daily sleep cycles our sad, non-partying forefathers were burdened with.

Thank you, FamilyMart. You’re Japan’s greatest present to China.

Photos: the Beijinger, Daxue Consulting, ChinaDaily, GiantBomb, traveling around the world, wn.com, pzr services, mousetourtravels, dawn.com, xinhua, Bloomberg  

Haohao

Give or Take a Day, Shenzhen Jiahua Bargain Market to Close in May

Posted: 04/30/2014 4:26 pm

Do hipsters cry? I mean, cry unironic tears? Will they openly weep at the tragedy that has befallen all those that are surly-mirthful in Shenzhen now that the main source of cheap, tight jeans will soon be closing its doors, forever?

The Jiahua Foreign Trade Clothing Market will be shutting down on May 3. Included in this raze of the venerable retailer of the tacky and the counterfeit are the nearby Tongbao and Jijianian markets. Soon, there will be no T-shirts with poor spelling available on sale to fully express the dire consequences at hand here.

For 17 years, the Jiahua Market along with its brethen have been providing hipsters, tourists and locals alike with the one true universal language: bargains. Located near Huaqiang Metro Station at the back of Maoye Department store, Jiahua was especially known for providing male clothes in large sizes that are hard to find in China. Referred to as “Mother Earth” for the longest time because of an advertisement out front, Jiahua was also reputable as a good place to find women’s fashions, shoes for both sexes, and outdoor apparel.

But the affected are not just the big and tall. Jiahua was well-known as a place to purchase knock-off products: lovers of brand names can walk away from the market with several amazing deals.

However, Jiahua made every trip to browse its shops an interesting one by mixing up the inventory with both counterfeit and authentic branded clothes. If you were lucky, you could have showed up one day and purchased one out of a hundred in stock authentic branded T-shirts before they ran out. This reinforced the hard and fast rule of Jiahua Market: always bargain, and bargain hard.

Alas, we should remember the ones that will be hit the hardest by the closing of these three bargain markets: the hipster. It is the hipster that revels in the proliferation of clothes made at the cheapest cost for the least amount of taste. And while the Jiahua market did have some quality clothes for sale that can be appreciated unironically even by them, it’s the hipster that will most detest what will soon become of Mother Earth: a luxury shopping center.

After the initial notice to vacate the premises was first given out last year, the property owners Jianian Company gave each of the stores a month rent-free on top of a four month grace period to help with the move. At least half of the store managers are said to have not yet found new store locations.

Although, we think this shopping mall should sell tight jeans. Beside the food court.

Photos: SZ Home, Bendibao, Shenzhen Daily 

Haohao

American fashion invades the PRD: Forever 21 now open in Shenzhen

Posted: 10/17/2013 2:40 pm

A slew of American and British stores have been opening the PRD and Hong Kong in the past few years, giving shoppers a whole lot more choice when it comes to fashion.

The latest is American brand Forever 21, which recently threw open its doors at Coastal City mall in Shenzhen.  The 2000-square-foot store is the third shop to open in Mainland China, with the first two in Beijing and Shanghai.  Up until now, those wanting Forever 21 had to hop the border into Hong Kong, but that is increasingly becoming no longer necessary (via SCMP):

“Shenzhen shoppers looking for international fast fashion [high turnover] brands used to love going to shop in Hong Kong,” said Linda Lin Dan, retail services director in Shenzhen for property consultancy Colliers International.

“But since more of these brands began setting up their stores in Shenzhen in recent years … an increasing number of middle-class consumers are staying to shop in Shenzhen.”

Topshop opened a pop-up store in Shenzhen last year, and Topman opened last September. Meanwhile, Shenzhen was also the site for the first Apple store in China outside of Beijing and Shanghai.

There are still some reasons to pop across the border to Hong Kong though… it remains one of the few places in Asia with an Abercrombie and Fitch.

Haohao

Shenzhen’s Futian District to get an RMB20 billion makeover

Posted: 08/20/2013 5:42 pm

Shenzhen’s Futian District is set to have a new 20 billion yuan (US$3.27 billion) development that will include high-end apartments, a shopping centre, a research and development centre, and a new Mandarin Oriental hotel.

The new plan put forward by Shum Yip Land, a commercial property subsidiary of Shenzhen Investment (a part-government owned group), will be due for completion in 2017, and represents a substantial new addition to Futian’s rapidly developing district — a popular expat area in the city.

The new residential project covering nearly 800,000 square meters of floor area will be called UpperHills. The development is expected to bolster growth in the entire area, with other commercial properties and projects set to benefit from the huge investment plans.

“This development will comprise office towers, a residential complex, significant retail and extensive outdoor space and parkland, and will become the premier lifestyle destination for the local community and the Southern China district. Shum Yip’s UpperHills is located minutes away from Futian Central Business District, the financial centre of the city, and is close to the main custom and immigration checkpoint to Hong Kong,” according to a breaking press release from Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group today.

The news will certainly be welcomed by Futian’s current residents, of which there were an estimated 885,000 in the 2002 census. That number is no doubt significantly larger today. Futian is sometimes known among locals as “the living hub of Shenzhen,” a name it earned due to its heavy emphasis on residential areas.

Peter Kok Kai-lam, deputy general manager of Shum Yip, shared more details of the development plans in an interview with the South China Morning Post today.

Kok said the final project will have a gross floor area of 1.12 million square meters. Meanwhile, sales will begin on the 650 residential apartments within two months, each of which is sized between 106-450 square meters. Clearly there will also be a range of prices to suit different buyers.

The shopping centre, which Kok has said will target “young people, in the 25-35 age group, along with high-end buyers,” will cover 167,000 square meters. A cinema and food court are also planned.

Kok said that one of the towers will be used as “A grade office space” due to high demand, and expected that technology companies and multinational firms would show strong interest.

For more details on what to expect from the new Mandarin Oriental, check out its official press release. Already known is that it will offer 173 deluxe rooms and 17 suites, including one presidential suite, covering a total floor area of 45,000 square meters.

Photo credit: dcmaster, Flickr

Haohao

Shenzhen’s oldest shopping mall to close its doors for good

Posted: 02/22/2013 7:00 am

Shenzhen Citic City Plaza, Shenzhen’s oldest purpose-built shopping mall, could close in the middle of this year after years of decline, Winshang News reports.

The mall, which is located on Shennan Central Road on the border between Luohu and Futian Districts and opened in 2002, has already seen many shops on the second and third floors close down.

Originally known as Zhongxin Plaza, its nearest subway station is Kexueguan. It is close to Shenzhen Museum, Shenzhen Municipal Committee Building and Shenzhen Lychee Park, which once placed it in a prime position to remain Shenzhen’s premier shopping mall for many years.

Li Yingfu, general manager of the mall, explained that although it is the oldest mall in the city, it is lagging behind in architecture, layout, relations with the local government, security, proximity to a subway station and other important factors.

“Due to the intensity of the competition and the speed of Shenzhen’s growth, Shenzhen Citic City Plaza only had five years at the top instead of thirty,” said Li.

The mall has also suffered from instability due to changes in its management team.

In January 2007, Ping’an Trust bought the mall for 2 billion RMB. In October 2011, the trust changed the name of the mall to Shenzhen Citic City Plaza and pledged to invest 50 million RMB in refurbishing it.

Many long-term members of the mall’s management teams did not like the changes the trust was making, and all but a few left or were let go.

Yang Jingyu of Ping’an explained that the investors planned to have an additional 80 luxury brand stores added and have the mall extended by 50,000 square meters. Yang attributed the mall’s decline to its failure to keep up with the needs of shoppers older than 45.

Li Yingfu attributed the lack of success of Ping’an’s initial investment to their lack of experience running managing shopping malls. Now there are almost 30 major shopping malls in the city and Shenzhen City Citic Plaza has failed to keep up with its newer, sleeker rivals.

Haohao
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