Banks, Bicycles, Boiling, and Bonuses

Banks
Peking University refuses to take our tuition via wire transfer from a United States bank. Instead, they insist upon a transfer in RMB from a Chinese bank. As if that was not frustrating enough, one of the bankers in the Manhattan office of Chase refused to execute a wire transfer without us sitting in front of him, pen in hand. Thankfully, though, the folks in the branch near my dad's house were more accommodating--they just asked us to fax them the wire form from China after we set up our account. Silly New Yorkers and their "rules."

But nothing goes quickly in China. When Katie wrote out the fax number of the Chase branch in Croton-on-Hudson, our hotel thought that the six in the fax number was a four. The Fedex Kinkos in Haidian thought the same thing. When we set up a bank account, our student host thought that the six in Katie's passport number was a four as well. The lesson is to be very clear when writing out numbers here in Beijing and elsewhere in zhongguo. ("The middle kingdom") But it's done.

Electric Bicycles


e-bikes are awesome. We see people riding these little wonders all around town. The Chinese government is really pushing them, because they help to curb emissions. The Chinese people love them because they're a step up from the usual faire, but not quite as expensive as a car. True, they're not the most attractive form of transportation, but I suspect that if they were introduced in Boulder, they would catch on like wildfire. (And Schwinn even has some prettier options) But here's the kicker: in China they cost around $200 USD, but elsewhere in the world they sell for about ten times that amount. As the Chairman of eBike, Lee Iacocca must be making a killing on these things.

The base models go about 25 m.p.h., hold a charge for 45 k.m., and can be recharged in about three hours. Because our apartment is located a bit far from campus, and because there are bike paths the entire way, we might invest in a pair. Eleanor, one of our new expat friends, tells us that her e-bike paid for itself within two months, given the cost of cabs in Beijing. If only we could find a used pair on That's Beijing.

Boiling

Rural Chinese farmers use "night soil" (read: human excrement) to grow crops. So we're trying to stay away from uncooked fruits and vegetables, particularly from street vendors, until we find a safe source, or at least until we get our last round of hepatitis shots. And even when we do find a safe source, we're still going to boil our fruits and veggies.

Above is what we had for lunch, after a week without fresh fruit. As you might imagine, eating canned peaches with kuailuh (chopsticks) is pretty tough. The little "S" on the side is the Chinese equivalent of the "UL" mark, but for food.

Bonuses
We got some bonus second-hand smoke in the elevator hotel today, thanks to the pack of men who got on with us that could help but smoke in the elevator. For you, however, we have a bonus video for the folks back home of Katie crossing the street near our hotel.