798 - Warehouses in Beijing

In the last entry I reviewed the warehouses in Melbourne (click here to read more). In Beijing, where deindustrialization also takes places, there is a similar spot.

The place is called 798. It is a factory with dozens of warehouses. The name doesn't mean anything but only a series number in the Red Days when 'the whole nation is a chessboard' of Mao Zedong. You can even find Factory 797 or something similar nearby. In those days China tend to have a preference of name public facilities in series numbers. In Beijing they have No.1 No.2 high school and the order didn't stop even it knocked No.101. (No.101 High School is actually a good one. It locates at the corner of the site of the Old Summer Palace, which is burned by British and French troops during the Second Opium War.)

Factory 798 or 798 Art Zone is what this place is famous as. Wikipedia told me technically 798 only refers to one of the complex within this factory. It became so famous that even the most conservative English text books in China from People's Education Press contained an artical about it.

I don't want to go through the history about this place because Wikipedia provides more information than you need. I've been to 798 only twice, not much compared to thousands of artists who live there and hundreds of thousands of Artsy Youth (文艺青年，简称文青) who consider 798 as their Mecca (no offending to muslims). However I'd love to share some experience of my visit.

So the ideal time to visit 798 is a dusted and polluted weekend in Beijing which is dusted and polluted as any other usual weekend. The Beijing Bus Company apparently didn't appeal to the popularity of 798 therefore only less than 3 bus lines were operated in that areas. Or maybe they are in a secret treaty with 798 authority which encourages more people arrive there by car or taxi, in this way they can purify their audience by how much they earn and want to spend.Otherwise you have to spend hours in transiting metros, lightrails and buses.

798 contains of graffiti and sculptures, most of which are political pop themed. They reflecte the crazy old days and examine the spirit and soul of the captilism-lized communism China. There was a painting in 798. The background was Tiananmen square, the policital centre of Red China. There were a group of figures, eyes covered, dreamwalked randomly on the square under the portait of Mao Zedong. The meaning was obviously. There was a sculpture. A naked kid was standing, with eyes covered by a pair of red palms.

Critics complained that such artistic were created in favour of 'International anti-China Sentiment. However government didn't ban them at all.

There are also several permanent exhibitions in 798. The famous one is the Nike Factory. Nike is the top sports brand in China and is the symbol of the youth lifestyle. The young Chinese city kids are proud of their Nike sneakers and other outfits. Nike launched in China with the help of the image of Michael Jordan. When I went to 798 there was a special exhibition in Nike Factory about the all the Jordan basketball shoes Nike made. A typical pair Jordan basketball shoes costs about ￥1,000, while the average income in China nationwide is ￥2435.75/month in 2008. （Data from National Bureau of Statistics of China) You now know why Nike is pursued by Chinese city kids.

Another one is UCCA Ullens Center for Contemporary Art. I don't know much about it.

 Nike Factory

In China toilets are called WC.

Warehouses in Melbourne: Rebirth after Deindustrialization

If Melbourne has nine souls, then warehouse is one of them.

They spread around all over the city. And the suburbs. What they were designed for is never a concern of the customers who enjoy the coolness of the atmosphere. I guess they were used as factories which were each moved to Dandenong or China. Or as storehouses which stored things people don't need anymore (cassettes maybe). Then with the deindustrialization of inner Melbourne, these warehouses became abandoned. Some of them were demolished, while some survived under several waves of urban redevelopment.

Warehouses are bigger than normal business premises with better lightnings and less obstacles when it comes to decoration. Therefore it is perfect for galleries, cafes, cool restaurants and other similar stuff you can image. Today I even went to a warehouse sales for a well-known clothes brand in Collingwood, the centre of coolness. To me it looks more like a theatre with all the seats upstairs and a big stage in front where the changing rooms were set up. Jeans and tops are displayed on long tables in the hall and cool people just walk around.

Then we went to another place called Litter Creatures Dining Hall on Brunswick st, Fitzroy. It is surrounded by the Brunswick st neighbourhood and still stands out among the awesome. The menus are printed on rough paper. Bill folders are just children reading books like Donald the Duck, etc. Btw the waiters/waitresses were too cool that the bill should have been requested for at least three time before it was delivered. The lighting is supreme and background music is wonderful.

Another place I really recommend is called 1000 Pound Bend, locating on Little Lonsdale st. I don't it has a website. Nor a phone. Nor a name card. It just doesn't need any. The waiters are so casual that even if you forgot to pay nobody would bother you. There are several review about this place. Click here and here. My friend Dan even did a video review, which it is Chinese and English bilingual. Dan was little bit concerned about the way how this place will make money. While I don't really worry about it. They have now an Asaki exhibition and they hold functions every now and then.

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Melbourne is soooo sunny today that I had to take some photos.

1000 Pound Bend Cafe

ADMIRAL Movie Review: A Rehabilitation of White Russian

Admiral, a blockbuster of Russia in 2008, tells a story about the rise and fall of Kolchak, a leader of white russian movement. He went to the Russo-Japanese War, WWI, then became the commander of the white russian army in the russian civil war. After 'liberating' several major cities, his army was not several hundred kilometres from Moscow, the red capital. Lenin then started his propaganda to launch a counterattack of some 200,000 people, most of which are workers and peasants. Then Kolchak was defeated and sentenced to death.

A movie about a civil war is always sad. Especially this one. The Red army fought so hard against the alliance of former upper classes. But what for? Ten years later, most of them were wiped out by Stalin.

The movie, of course, didn't say anything good about the Red army. It seems that they were a group of bogans wanting the power. While the White army represents the elegancy, the beauty, the order and the courage. There was one scene in the movie that when all the ammunition run out, the White army just march to the fierce gun powers with their bayonets.

The movie, however, didn't say a work about the dictatorship and brutal about this commandar. It didn't say anything about the strategy he used at all.

Kolchak was never rehabilitated in Russia. Two requests have been denied by court.


I'll talk more about the White Russians. After russian revolution, the people who were 'revoluted', who were normally military officers, nobility, the rich, fled overseas. Some of them went to China. Harbin, a major city near China-Russian border, once was full of Russians. These russians then had difficult times in the Japanese occupation time in the puppet state Manchukuo. Many left China and went back to Russia, only to be arrest in the Great Purge. Others who remained then found them to be sent back after WWII when Russian army won the war and liberated that city.

Russians in Shanghai was a different story. Days were tough in this big city so some women ended up with being prostitutes. Others who were well-educated joined Ballet groups or orchestra. After WWII however, red China forced them to leave. Some of them fled to Australia and other countries.


In addition, the movie shows how wonderful the Russian rail network was. Simply there was train from every major city to every major city. Taking trains in winter is an extragvagance. The whole world was covered by snow while the carriage is warm as spring.

image: here

 The love story, I have to say, is pretty boring. The last scene apparently was set to dedicate to the Titanic. However it seems the director failed to develop the love story further and I don't see any relationship between the love story and the main story line.

Trip to Charlton

Charlton is a small country town in northeast Victoria. Perhaps halfway between Melbourne and Mildura. It was so small that the Shire of Charlton was abolished and merged into the Shire of Buloke.

What makes Charlton famous is its the Charlton Feedlot, a huge feedlot with some 23,000 cattles which is the largest one in Victoria. It is the reason I came to Charlton: we have a research project in Melbourne University ragarding the greenhouse gases emission from feedlot.

Campared to its size, Charlton has a few motels. One of which even was fully booked that we had to change to another one. It was a motel at the fringe of the town, making it the first stop from the farm. The backyard of the motel connected to a big farm and the paddocks runnning all the way up to the horizon.

I generally don't enjoy work. But working on field is so much pleasure, except for the flies and exposure to the sun. I feel so close to the sky which is right there around me, reaching to the very verge of the land. Clouds stretch out in the sky from all directions effortlessly. Birds glide over the water surface, which reflects rays of sunlight into goldness.

The night is a magic gift. Especially at twilight, the last drop of sun lingers at the far reach of the horizon, colouring the strips of clouds into sunset glows, purple, blue, orange. Looking above, it's alright dark, sapphire sky embedded with stars. When sunlight becomes invisible, the Milky Way reveals with all the constellations. The land, the houses and ourselves are enfolded into the sphere of twinkling eternities, and dreams, embrace us.

(Image from http://charlton.vic.au/)

Malaysia Journal 4 - Chinese off the Southern Seas

Southern Seas, or Nan Yang (南洋), is a Chinese term for South-East Asian countries. One or two hundred years ago when wars and difficult times were occuring in China, migrates from this country, especially from her coastal provinces, began to embark on journeys across the South China Sea to seek opportunities in the under-populated lands.

After WWII, the immigration flow stopped due to the independence of these countries and the rise of nationalism. However, the Chinese culture has still been retained and Chinese people can easily be identified. In Malaysia, Chinese account for some 23% of the total population, though it has been decreasing since the emigration of Chinese to North America and Australia, and the lower birth rates of Chinese compared to Malay and Indians.

Though having heard of the size of Chinese population in Malaysia before the trip, I was still amazed at the popularity of Mandarin and other Chinese dialects I had overheard on streets in Malaysia. There are Chinese signs everywhere. Menus are written in Chinese sometimes even in an Indian restaurant. Chinese newspapers can be found at major newsagents. People talk to you in Chinese if you look Chinese enough. To be honest I was quite annoyed when asked about where I came from in China because I　KNEW they had never heard of my city, not even my province. Why bother asking? Anyway I had to explain to them where exactly my province is.

-Is it near Shanghai or Beijing? 

-Beijing. 

-So is it north or south? 

-It's in Northern China but south of Beijing. About three hours drive. 

-Oh yes I went to China in 2005 and I've been to.. blah blah blah

Well I don't mind sharing my hometown with fellow Chinese people. But it's just TIRING!

So anyway, I think most of the Malaysian Chinese were originated southern coastal Chinese provinces such as Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan, etc. Their mother tongues were Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka and other non-Mandarin Chinese dialects. Thanks to the wisdom of local Chinese community leaders, they began to adopt Mandarin as a lingua franca among local Chinese communities. They have been teaching Mandarin and simplified Chinese characters in school for a while, maybe since 1990s. The uniformity of Chinese dialects in Malaysia is perhaps less than in Singapore, where any Chinese dialects other than Mandarin are prohibited in public broadcasting, but of course better than in Indonesia. In Suharto-era Indonesia, under the 'New Order' scheme, no Chinese was allowed to be taught at school. Even Chinese books were not allowed. This strict policy made most Indonesian Chinese unable to speak Mandarin nor write Chinese. I recently interviewed a local Indonesian Chinese student about how she learnt Mandarin. She said her family hired a tutor to teach her, while the lingua franca of local Chinese community is Hokkien.

Malaysian Chinese cuisine is as wonderful as it is famous for. Hainan Chicken Rice is probably one of the best-known dish from strait-settled Chinese. It was brought by immigrants from Hainan Island. (It is a remote island of China. Think about Tasmania to Australia.) The story was when Hainan people arrived in Malaysia and Singapore they found the jobs were taken by pioneers from Guangdong and Fujian. So they had nothing to do except be a cook. The dish is a combination of tender chicken and oily flavourful rice.

Malaysian Chinese contribute a lot to the formation of Chinese communities in Australian and other Western countries . Especially Australia which is a geographical neighbour of Malaysia. During my visit, a lot of people I talked with had some connection with Australia. They have either friends or family members living in Australia.