From Cellars to Penthouses: Beijing’s Disparity of Wealth

Everyday, I park my bicycle underground in one of the apartment buildings in my complex, and I walk past a few undergound “cellar” rooms where families live.

The apartment I currently live in is not a luxurious apartment by any means – it’s actually quite a basic 1 bedroom apartment, but still catastrophically different from those who live just floors below me, in the underground of the same apartment building…but in rooms I can’t imagine were originally built to be lived in.

Thanks to Migrant Children’s May newsletter, an article caught my eye that gave me a jolt back to reality – a reminder of the vast disparity in the standards of living you see on a regular basis in China. After almost five years of living in Beijing, I have almost become numb to the same sights that used to shock me when I first arrived to this complex and still developing city I now call home.

Examples of extremes in poverty and wealth are blatantly seen everywhere.  Just the other day, I saw a brand new Lamborghini speeding past a peddler lugging a mountain of recyclables piled high beyond comprehension and just across the street from my local corner selling chuar and jian bing is one of the most expensive apartment complexes in Beijing’s CBD.

If you have a few minutes to spare, check out this article The Cost of Success: Life in Beijing’s Cellars by Spiegel Online for eye-opening insight into a side of Beijing not often spoken of.

Another article on this topic – Newser’s article: For Many in Beijing, Home Is Deep Underground.

Future Mobility: Pecha Kucha Beijing Volume No.17

Pecha Kucha’s Sole Purpose: To Make You Wiser Than You Already Are

This Saturday, May 7, 2011, Pecha Kucha will be introducing 12 specialists and creative people from various fields reaching from the Automotive Industry, Education, Literature and Science to Architecture and the Arts to each explore the future of their fields and the future of mobility in China.

Originally devised in Tokyo, PechaKucha is a global yet local non-profit discussion platform that exists to host events for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.  Since it’s inception in 2003, this event has since expanded into hundreds of cities around the world, “inspiring creatives worldwide”.

“Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of conversation (“chit chat”), it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It’s a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.”

In their 17th event in Beijing, Pecha Kucha’s “Future & Mobility” event will invite the following 12 Speakers to present 20 slides x 20 seconds each:

Christoph Klemmt Architect Or Project

Cory Grenier Marketing Director Lenovo

Matthew Niederhauser Photographer

Georg Jansen Lecturer

Sathoshi Ohashi Chief Architect Zaha Hadid Architects

Huan Chen Chief Editor Top Gear Magazine

Georg Warga Chief Designer Volkswagen

Miriam Deller Director Corepower Asia

Zhang Yiqing Consultant Linya International Ltd

Nels Frye Chief Editor Life Style Magazine

Wil Manning Art Director G2 Studio

Niko de La Faye Artist

Phil Tinari Chief Editor Leap Magazine

Tian Shen Professor Beijing University

Event Details:

• Date: Saturday, May 7
  
• Time: 5:00PM-8:00PM
• Location: The Orange (Sanlitun Village)
  
• Address: 三里屯Village橙色大厅（大屏幕下面）
• Contact: Email Nicky Meng at nicky7boy@sogou.com  or phone at 86+ 134 2618 7732

LumDimSaying: On Easter

“Easter tells us that

life is to be interpreted not simply in terms of things

but in terms of ideals.”

- Charles M. Crowe

Happy Easter!

x LDS

*What is a LumDimSaying? A quote I find worth noting. And sharing.

Library 98: Roundabout Charity Book Sale

From NOW until April 6, Roundabout Charity Store will be hosting a Book Sale in a new library called Library 98 located close to the Drum & Bell Tower.

They currently have a huge selection of second hand books, most are in English with a few in Chinese and French. Paperbacks are being sold for only RMB 10 and hardbacks for RMB 20.

An additional bonus – All proceeds will be used to help Children in Need.

*If you have any books you’d like to donate, they are continually accepting donations of books for this and future book fairs. Assisting more than 45 charities in the Beijing area, donating your used books and/or purchasing “new-to-you” books makes a big difference to local charities.

They are open everyday (except Wednesdays) from 9AM-2AM.

Happy Reading!

Event Details:

• Date: Now – April 6
• Time:  9AM-2AM
• Price: RMB 10 for paperback, RMB 20 for hardbacks
  
• Location: Library 98
• Address: Tushuguan 98, Gu Lou Xi Da Jie 53
• Tel: 84001532
• Contact: kris@tushuguan98.com

AmCham: Young Entrepreneur All-Star Panel

AmCham’s next Young Professionals event will be bringing on board an All-Star Panel of successful entrepreneurs in their respective industries. Sharing their stories, insights and words of advice, you’ll get the inside scoop and possibly the extra kick-start you need to make it on your own.

AmCham-China’s Young Professionals Committee invites you to join a panel of widely-known young professionals who have started successful businesses in Beijing and listen to their stories of how they successfully launched their businesses and overcame hurdles in the process.

AmCham’s All-Star Panel Speakers include:

Alan Wong: Restaurateur and Owner of the Hatsune Group

Sarah Keenlyside: Founder of Bespoke Beijing

Dominic Johnson-Hill: Founder of Plastered T-Shirts

Rachel Wasser: Co-founder of China Education Initiative

With a panel discussion followed by followed by Q&A and a happy hour reception, join AmCham’s Young Professionals Committee this Tuesday, March 29 at NOLA from 6:00-9:00PM.

Event Details:

• Date: Tuesday, March 29
• Time:  6PM-9PM
• Price: AmCham Members: RMB 50/Non-Members: RMB 150
  
• Location: NOLA
• Address: 11A Xiushui Nanjie, Jianguomenwai, Chaoyang District  朝阳区建国门外秀水南街11A号
• Tel: 85636215
• Website: http://www.amchamchina.org/event/799

85 Broads: ‘Keeping Current’ Progressive Dinner

The Beijing Chapter of 85 Broads is hosting a special Progressive Dinner at Black Sesame Kitchen this coming Tuesday, March 22 starting at 6:30PM.

85 Broads’ Progressive Dinners are ‘anchored’ by senior women who are leaders in their respective industries and have an interest in mentoring young talent.

85 Broads is an exclusive global women’s network inspiring, empowering, and connecting smart women worldwide.

This month’s progressive dinner will follow in the theme of Keeping Current with the Women of News –

“The business of news is a tricky one, one that requires finesse to structure the ever-unpredictable product of news. How does one balance journalists on the ground, backers in the boardroom, pressure of profitability, exploding online media, company bias, and journalistic integrity? There is much to learn from those who keep us ahead of the curve, the women who make sure their business is healthy so our business can keep current.”

Join 85 Broads for an inspiring and engaging dinner introducing guest speaker –

• Melinda Liu, one of Newsweek’s most experienced foreign correspondents.  She has spent months at a time in Afghanistan and Iraq since 9/11, reporting on the war against terror. Her report titled “Eyewitness Baghdad”, filed from the Palestine Hotel, was part of the magazine’s “Shock and Awe” issue which won a coveted National Magazine Award that year.

The Progressive Dinner will be hosted at Black Sesame Kitchen, a special meal prepared by two top Chinese chefs in an open kitchen with well-paired wine.

“You will delight in this gastronomic meandering through the history of Beijing in the beautiful intimacy of a HouHai renovated courtyard.”

Event Details:

• Date: Tuesday, March 22, 2010
• Time: 6:30- Registration, 7:30 – Dinner
• Location: Black Sesame Kitchen
• Address: 3号 Heizhima Hutong, Dongcheng,Beijing, China  中国北京市东城区黑芝麻胡同3号 Map‎
• Tel: +86 136 9147 4408
• Cost: RMB 200 85 Broads Members / RMB 285 Non-Members  (advance purchase at Kocoon Spa or CC Sweets) Door: RMB 250 Members/RMB 335 Non-Members
• RSVP: Email: Beijing85Broads@gmail.com or contact Joy Bloser 158 1159 0368 or Eleanor Connolly 158 1018 9440
• Website: 85Broads.com

85 Broads is an exclusive global women’s network inspiring, empowering, and connecting smart women worldwide.

A global network of 25,000 trailblazing women, the “founding members” of 85 Broads were women who worked for Goldman Sachs at 85 Broad Street, the investment banking firm’s former NYC headquarters. Over the past decade, 85 Broads expanded its membership to include women who are alumnae and students of the world’s leading colleges, universities, and graduate schools worldwide. Our members are located in 82 countries around the world and work for thousands of for-profit companies and not-for-profit organizations.

LumDimSaying: On St. Patrick’s Day

“Here’s to a long life and a merry one.

A quick death and an easy one.

A pretty girl and an honest one

A cold beer – and another one!”

- St. Patrick’s Day Toast

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all my LumDimSum Friends!

xx LDS

LumDimSaying: International Women’s Day 2011

Fragile yet indestructible.

Deep yet fathomable.

Passionate without losing subtlety.

“A woman is a miracle of divine contradictions.”

- Jules Michelet; French Historian 1798-1874

A global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future.

If you have 15 minutes to spare,

here is an inspiring clip I’d like to share:

http://www.ted.com/talks/sheryl_sandberg_why_we_have_too_few_women_leaders.html

Happy Women’s Day!

x  LDS

Roses Are Red…

“All I really need is love,

but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt!”

- Lucy van Pelt from “Peanuts”

Whether you’re single or madly in love, today’s your day to indulge in as much chocolate as you crave guilt-free.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

*What is a LumDimSaying? A quote I find worth noting. And sharing.

Early Bird Catches the Worm: The Bookworm International Literary Festival 2011

After much-buzzed about Festival Prologue events with Dave Eggers and David Sedaris last week, The Bookworm’s International Literary Festival has reached new heights this year bringing together award-winning authors, poets and journalists from China and overseas.

“With China at a historic crossroads, experiencing unparalleled sustained change, looking to the future whilst catching up with the present, without forgetting the past, the Festival provides an open centre for intellectual and creative exchange. We seek to showcase the modern voices of Chinese authors to the world and bring some of the world’s leading literary lights to China.”

Some exciting events worth mentioning:

Author of BBC Samuel Johnson prize-winning classic Nothing to Envy, Barbara Demick relates the stories of six North Koreans who escaped totalitarianism to find freedom in the South.

Witness Malaysian-Australian hip-hop artist and slam poet, Omar Musa “deliver a trademark performance of powerful, conscious rap from his debut album World Goes to Pieces”.

Introduced by the Irish Ambassador, meet Emma Donoghue, author of the international best-selling sensation Room, and hear her discuss her captivating tale of five- year old Jack whose whole world is one “Room.”

Italy’s most talked about young novelist and winner of it’s most prestigious literary award, Paolo Giordano introduces his debut novel The Solitude of Prime Numbers, the tale of two people touched by trauma, who find solace in one another and solitary pursuits.

Hear Greek-Australian Christos Tsiolkas read from his commonwealth Prize winner The Slap – his portrait of broken liberal dreams, empty consumerism, selfishness, adultery, vengeful sex, misogyny and new-age longings.

Special Guest and author of When a Billion Chinese Jump, Jonathan Watts discusses public discourse and the environment in China and how ordinary people can make a difference

An evening with Peter Hessler presenting his portrait of progress and a society in flux, Hessler delivers another careful and compassionate account of China from an outsider’s point of view.

For a full list of The Bookworm’s International Literary Festival Events, see here.

Hurry now as tickets are going fast!

Tickets are exclusively being sold at The Bookworm (starting February 2) from 9AM-9PM daily.

The Bookworm International Literary Festival Event Details:

• Date: Friday, March 4- Friday, March 18 (2 weeks)
• Tickets: Exclusively sold at The Bookworm starting February 2
• Location: The Bookworm
• Address: Sanlitun Nanjie, 三里屯南街4号楼
• Tel: 6503 2050
• Website: http://bookwormfestival.com/

CelebRABBITions: Happy Chinese New Year!

After a passionate year of the Tiger, I welcome the tranquil, considerate and wise characteristics of the Rabbit year.  This Thursday, February 3 brings the beginning of a new lunar year or Spring Festival, the most important of traditional Chinese holidays.

For those who are unfamiliar with Chinese New Year customs, the Chinese New Year is celebrated quite differently than New Years Celebrations in Western cultures. It’s celebrated a different day for starters and rather than focusing on glamorous, sparkly parties and scrambling to find someone to kiss at midnight, the Chinese New Year is a time for family.  Why does Beijing become a desolate ghost-town overnight?  Because everyone is rushing back to their home town to spend the new year with their families.  It’s a cherished time spent indoors with home-cooking, stuffing your face with copious amounts of jiaozi and let’s not forget the endless drum of fireworks and firecrackers…nonstop…for a week.

This year in particular is the year of the rabbit, an animal both adored and loved, symbolizing mercy, elegance, and worship of beauty. This is a year to catch your breath and calm your nerves.

“The year of the rabbit is a time for negotiation.  Don’t try to force issues, because if you do you will ultimately fail.  To gain the greatest benefits from this time, focus on home, family, security, diplomacy, and your relationships with women and children.   Make it a goal to create a safe, peaceful lifestyle, so you will be able to calmly deal with any problem that may arise.” – Chinese Zodiac

This light-hearted image is is devoted to all things funny, bunny, hilariously hare-brained, or perhaps just a bit rambunctiously rabbit .

*Courtesy of my brilliantly creative friend Jennie Glorey.

Happy New Year LumDimSum Friends!

I wish you all an abundance of good fortune, success, love, health, and happiness this year of the rabbit.

新年快樂!

恭禧發財

With Love,

LDS xx

LumDimSummary: Haiti Rise 2.0

While many are familiar with the immediate destruction and catastrophic damage of the 7.0 earthquake just west of Port-au-Prince in Haiti on January 12, 2010, many don’t know about the devastating after-effects of the earthquake. In the weeks following, there were 59 aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or greater, there was a the cholera outbreak in October 2010, Hurricane Tomas in early November 2010 and political violence after the November 28th elections, which have all left Haiti in shambles still.

One year ago, JUMP! foundation and LumDimSum launched the Haiti Rise Campaign to raise immediate relief post-earthquake. Garnering tremendous support from the Beijing community, together we raised over RMB 430,000 in just two weeks, which were donated to Partners in Health (www.standwithhaiti.org) and Global Potential (www.global-potential.org).

One year after the initial Haiti Rise Campaign, JUMP! hosted an informational event on January 12th, 2011 featuring Tara Yip-Bannicq, Haiti-based humanitarian aid worker who has spent the past year and a half in Haiti working in community development, shelter, child protection and youth engagement.

“I have yet to encounter a single Haitian who has not been directly been affected by the earthquake whether through losing a family member, a limb or a house. The sheer magnitude, not of the quake itself, but of it’s overall effects, is what is the most devastating.” – Tara Yip-Bannicq, Haiti-based Humanitarian Aid Worker

Due to the damage from the earthquake, consequent tsunami, coinciding hurricane, local economy and lack of inherent infrastructure present in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas of the epicenter (Leogane and Gressier), it is estimated that over 3 million are directly affected with over a million people still living in IDP (internally displaced person) camps, which lack basic access to clean water and latrines, making it the perfect environment for cholera to spread.  Other problems that continue to plague locals are the lack of jobs available to people and the sheer amount of rubble that has yet to be cleared.  Lack of funding for rubble removal and the question of where to put it all, are hindrances to clearing the rubble, making it hard to rebuild Haiti.

“Overall, Haiti is a very frustrating place to work, both personally and professionally due to the all-encompassing obstacles (lack of functioning government, lack of infrastructure, cholera, security restrictions (lack of personal freedom), etc, etc) but it is also very rewarding work. A friend of mine recently described Haitian culture as really ‘getting under your skin’ in a good way; meaning this vibrant, resilient culture and people really inspire me, as cliche as that sounds.

There is a lot of work to still be done in Haiti and there will be, probably for the rest of my lifetime, at least. So, if anyone is interested in helping out either financially or volunteering, for a week, a month, 3 months, I highly recommend the following community-based initiatives, which are doing a lot of good from the bottom-up; horizontally; and top-down.”

*If you are seriously considering volunteering in Haiti, Tara requests that you contact her first (tara@jumpfoundation.org) so she can properly brief you about staying/working in Haiti and make sure you get in with the organization of your choosing.

List of Organization Recommended by Tara Yip-Bannicq:

Community-based initiatives:

1. European Disaster Volunteers (Edvolunteers.org): volunteer driven, registered charity that does post-disaster reconstruction through community-based work, both structural and educational.  *Tara’s top pick
   • US link specifically for disaster recovery: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/edv-haiti-disaster-recovery/ (specifically for Disaster Recovery)
   • US link specifically for education for children: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/education-for-children-in-port-au-prince/?rf=matched3x (specifically for Education for Children)
   • Any donations made to EDV via US links with the mention of Haiti Rise or Beijing will be matched 3 to 1. Thus, a donation of $1 would become $3 ifHaiti Rise or Beijing is mentioned in the donation.
   • UK link: http://www.justgiving.com/project/1777657
2. Grass Roots United (Grassrootsunited.org): a globally deployable, non-profit, emergency response model and pioneering transition to capacity building. GRU connects affected communities with volunteers, resources, and partner relief organizations.
3. All Hands Volunteers (Hands.org): a US-based NGO providing hands-on assistance to survivors of natural disasters around the world, with maximum impact and minimum bureaucracy. (*where Tara first got her first taste of disaster response/relief in Indonesia)
4. Resilience International (Resilienceinternational.org): international organization working to build a new, sustainable model for community-based recovery after disasters.

Youth-focused initiatives:

1. The JUMP! Foundation (Jumpfoundation.org): an international NGO that envisions a world where young people fulfill their true potential as individuals, community leaders, and global citizens. It provides experiential education and leadership training to youth all over the world, and a percentage of its revenue supports youth-focused development work in Haiti, Cambodia, and China.
2. Global Potential (Global-potential.org): a project of Globalhood, which aims to provide urban youth from low-income communities with the skills and perspectives to affect positive change in their lives, communities, and the global community.
   • Haiti Open Space Youth Conferences: a collaborative project between JUMP! and Global Potential that brings together youth from rural and urban neighborhoods in the US, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic to discuss issues relevant to Haiti, especially those that are often forgotten. Past topics have included the reconstruction of Haiti, sexual orientation, racism, and HIV/AIDS.
3. Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights (Heartlandalliance.org): a NGO that helps people living in poverty or danger improve their lives and realize their human rights. Through its diverse programs, Heartland Alliance serves people in the toughest circumstances including survivors of violence, torture, war, and people living in extreme hardship or poverty.
4. Nouvelle Vie Youth Corps (Nouvelleviehaiti.org): a project of the International Association for Human Values through which Haitian youth are rebuilding their country through community empowerment and sustainable community development progra

LumDimSum Snapshots of Haiti Rise 2.0:

JUMP!’s Global Leadership Project Launch

If I didn’t already have multiple jobs that I love dedicating my time and energy to, I would probably be working full-time with JUMP! foundation.

The same group LumDimSum teamed up with to initiate the Haiti Rise Campaign that raised over RMB 430,000 last January 2009, JUMP! foundation is a non-profit organization that links underprivileged youth with international resources and creates team building and leadership programs to inspire, engage and empower youth through sustainable community development projects all over Asia, Africa, Southeast Asia and Central America. Each of these tailor-made programs highlight themes of “responsible travel, cultural understanding and career development abroad”.

Join this international discussion and learn about their exciting upcoming projects at their upcoming Global Leadership Project Launch this coming Thursday, January 20 and find out how you can possibly get involved with a network of incredible individuals dedicated to making a difference in the world, taking action on poverty, the environment and other global issues.

Event Details:

• Date: Thursday, January 20
• Time: 5:00PM-8:00PM
• Location: JUMP! Foundation Office
• Address: Victoria Gardens, 15 Chaoyang Park West Road
• RSVP: Call 6538 6842 or e-mail: Safia@jumpfoundation.org
• Website: www.jumpfoundation.org

LumDimSaying: On Ringing In 2011

“Ring out the old, ring in the new

Ring, happy bells, across the snow

the year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.”

- Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1850

2010 has been a blast!

Thank you all for your support, inspiration, guidance and the good times we’ve shared over the course of this year.

May this new year bring you an abundance of joy, opportunity, good fortune and happiness!

Wishing all a very HAPPY 2011!

Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas!

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,

stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.

It came without packages, boxes or bags.

And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store.

What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

~Dr Seuss

Christmas!  The very word brings me so much joy and holiday cheer.  While some dread Christmas shopping and the hassle of travel, I cherish all Christmas traditions from putting up lights, decorating a tree, baking cookies for Santa, spending all day in the kitchen, and most of all – feeling the same warm, giddy feeling I had as a child waking up on Christmas day.

A day of meaning and traditions, Christmas has always been a cherished holiday spent in the warm circle of family and friends.

More than just a good time, Christmas is a kind, forgiving, charitable, and loving time.

Open not only presents, but open your hearts and remember that the good you do for others is good you do yourself.

May the gladness of Christmas give you hope,

The spirit of Christmas bring you peace,

The heart of Christmas grant you love.