Brokeback Mountain

I watched the movie last night on DVD, It was a beautifully made movie, and the story is so moving that the characters, landscapes and songs are lingering in my mind throughout the whole day today. To be honest, I didn’t think I would be so intrigued and touched by a story of the relationship between two men. However, love is the force of nature, as the movie says, and admittedly a lot of us have applied the prejudiced view on a gay relationship. The truth, great love is not a privilege limited to straight couples. And the movie goes beyond this message, it shows how society could impose enormous pressure on people that they don’t dare to pursue the love of their life, which is sad and a shame indeed. Love, is the most important thing to keep us alive, but sometimes reality is cruel and only through the continuous fight against old norms we could evolve into a more open, liberal, inviting society where people could have understanding and tolerance on the diversities, whether it be a choice of sex partner, religion or political views.

I am never a big fan of country/folk music, and never really into the cowboys’ life. But this movie, with most of scenes shot in the farm and mountainous area, has a striking appeal, and along with its soundtrack in the background, creating a world that might be wild and rough, but has its natural, gripping beauty at the same time. And the love between two cowboys, under the blue sky, in front of the brokeback mountain, is so passionate, powerful and sometimes as damaging as the nature itself. And the complexity of life and the journey of two then young men discovering themselves and the love of their lives, are all presented in a subtle, mature and convincing way. Ang Lee, along with the screenwriters, had done a remarkable job in interpreting the original story, if not enriching and expanding it to a level that suits better for the big screen.

Though on the contrary to what most people assumed, this movie was not shot in rural Wyoming, instead it was mostly shot in Alberta, Canada due to the fact Wyoming doesn’t have the infrastructure to support the movie making. It is a bit pity, cause personally I would really like to see how this western state looks like, the part of the country that I have never set my foot on.

This is probably the best movie I saw in the past two years, I guess you can't call it a master piece, but it is certainly enchanting and leave something for all of us to ponder on rather than a fake "happy ending" movie.

Spring Bud School

Our company has invested in two Spring Bud schools, one in He bei Province and one in Jiang Su province together with China Mobile. The idea is to help the impoverished children (especially girls) from poor rural areas to return back to school. It is a great initiative, not only in the perspective of good publicity for the company, but also in the sense this is the solid act that really helps people and therefore should be encouraged and followed by companies across China.

Today there are some pictures on the bulletin board in the office from these two schools our company help to build. I was deeply touched by some of the scenes. The the contrast between their old classrooms, desks and the new classrooms, desk and school supply for the children was obvious and the innocent smiles on these school girls and boys are so pure and beautiful. There is hope and desire written all over on their faces. Some pictures of their old shabby classrooms remind me of the primary school I went to in my childhood in the country side outside Beijing. And that was 25 years ago. It is quite sad to realize that how little changes that has taken place in some remote villages in China. It is true though that what matters most in life, is that the real happiness never comes from self fulfillment but rather from helping others to achieve their goals. It is a pity I missed the visit arranged by our company to the school in He Bei because it was on a weekend when I was in Thailand for vacation.

And also very happy to know that we will continue this effort by helping to build two more schools in China this year. This is definitely a more influential investment than the sponsorship of WTA. The real hope for a new, more advanced society in China is education and for all the people.

Beijing's appeal to the international community

It’s been like this for more than a week now in Beijing, very smoggy, grey sky, in fact you hardly tell if it is morning, noon or afternoon, because the layer of dust is so thick that the sun looks like a faint icon hanging in the sky, and sometimes you can’t even see the sun at all.

The city looks like a giant ailing monster, deeply trapped in the heavy pollution. This really has to change. It is almost hard to believe that with this look Beijing is ready to welcome our friends for the 2008 Olympics. Beijing needs a thorough face cleaning and lift.

With the pollution problem on the side though, Beijing still seems to be an attractive place to live for a lot of people from the west and other parts of Asia. The international community has expanded, and it continues to grow.

I was invited to an Australian friend's house party on the weekend. It was held at his friend's apartment, in a brand new residential and commercial complex called “China Central Place”, 2 kilometers east of China World Trade Center. It was a typical expats crowd, mostly Australians, but also British, Dutch and local Chinese (mostly girls) who can speak English. And interestingly, most of Aussies at the party are architects and interior designers and a lot of them are involved in the Olympic projects in Beijing. I joked with one friend, “I never met so many architects under one roof!” Everyone seems to be quite happy with the life in Beijing, and excited and proud about the fact they are working on new stadiums, airports and other facilities attached to the Olympics.

“The expat life style is quite good here in Beijing”, an Australian said to me. Of course I can understand this. Everything is much cheaper and your house work is taken care of, by your ayi you almost never bother to cook because eating out is so cheap and the good is generally good. It is a comfortable life. With the history of being the old capitals of emperor time, there are always so much to see and to do in the city. Also the dynamics here is a big contrast compared with Europe, and that is a strong appeal for the youth. So many new things and building are popping up everyday. There are hundreds of thousands of foreigners studying Chinese in China, trying to capture the golden opportunity in this land of adventure and actions.

But is that enough to make Beijing an appealing place to live? On the way back at night, I looked up at the sky, I didn’t see any stars. Pollution and bad traffic are common problems in almost any big cities, though it has gotten worse in an accelerated rate in the past ten years in Beijing, and despite the prosperity of material world, people’s manner and social values seem to be on the decline in some perspectives or very little improvement has been made. A friend of mine from Britain said he thinks the social values in China is close to the 1890s in Europe, I have to admit I was quite shocked and sad at the same time when I heard the comments. That says a lot about how much advancement we still need to make to catch up with the rest of more developed world.

It is difficult in a city on a fast moving train, people tend to be driven by intangible forces to strive for a better life. But a quality life is never a just equation of goods available in the market, rather it has more to do with how people can learn, grow and interact with people in a friendly and respectable way. I hope Beijing don’t become a place with just huge shopping malls and office buildings with no character. I hope people come here and enjoy here because it represents a life style, a free mind and a warm and welcoming community.

The farewell has started, overshadowed by the gloomy weather

It seems my farewell has kick started on this Saturday night - dinner with some good friends at Shinyeh, a taiwanese restaurant and after drinks at Souk, a cozy bar at west gate of Chaoyang Park. Three years and six months after being back in China from the states, now it is time to move on with my life and start the new adventure in London.

Beijing is still my city and my home- with my love and deepest sadness for its shortfalls and the sincere desire to make it more beautiful, more appealing and most importantly, make it match up to a first class city in the world, that is my dream anyway. With the great wall standing behind us and thousands of years history, this shouldn't be a goal too remote to achieve.

There is a kind of love you don't utter, but it is with you everyday, that is what I feel about the city I have grown up with, witnessing its falls and rises, its good days and bad days. In the past week, it's been horrible weather in Beijing, it is so polluted that you hardly see the sun or the stars, I almost don't remember the sky is supposed to be blue. But today, when walking out of the bar, I saw the stars shinning on the dark sky, so bright, that almost makes me want to cry. At least, now I know tomorrow will be a better day...It is really the hope that makes people stay alive, isn't it?

Sometimes I can't help to wonder about how other people live and think, especially the less fortunate ones. There is never a fair game in this world, but you try your best to win. What about the people who start from the bottom of the society? Like the hundreds of immirgrant workers coming to Beijing, do they find a sense of home, security and comfort or it is rather a long journey looking for a better life. They have done a lot for the better looks of Beijing - new office buildings and residentials and subway lines, but what we have offered them? Is that true our society has become so cruel that we only look up to the "successful" which is defined by nice cars/houses, and just completely ignore the ones who are contributing to a major part of the construction of new modern society? And sometimes I think it is so sad that we have become so heartless that this comparison with the less fortunate would only make us feel better about our relatively better position in the society, and rather than feeling the need to help and bridge the gaps?

There is a shadow in the booming prospect on the surface. Sometimes I feel like the affulent middel class here have become too content and focus on our own lives and the society has lost its drive and vision for a better and more balanced development of future.

Highlights of Thailand

The buddha in the temple on the hill in Chiang Mai.






The summer palace in Bangkok, very serene and exquisite. And the king seems to be fond of the western achitecture and even buit church and western style houses in his palace.

The view from the boat cruising on the river Chao Phraya, on the way back to Bangkok from Ayutthaya. It was a beautiful day and the roofs of grand palace are emerging from the palm trees.

The "Winter" in Thailand

It is the cold season in Thailand, well, cold by their standard - still around 30 degree. Having spent past 10 days in this winter paradise, now I am back in Beijing, which is still cold and grey, a bit depressing really!

My second visit in Thailand, Bangkok still feels more or less the same, but the huge shopping mall "Paragon" in Siam is new to this busy district in downtown. And I always think wandering around in the night bazarre or the backstreets there gives you a better flavor of the local life, and again I was very fond of their handifcrafts painted in bright colors and the lamps and lanterns in various shapes and styles. It seems all human beings have a great love for lights - however, Asians like to present it in the more subtle way that the light is hidden in the little lantern, while in the west people have candles and big chandliers, so the light just comes through directly.

Chiang Mai is such a nice and relatively quiet town up in the north, the temple on top of the hill is particularly impressive. So rich in colors and so delicate design, even with the old fashioned style still makes it a dazzling piece of art that you could hardly take your eyes off from it. And it is fun to watch the devoted buddists praying in front of the temple, I can't help to think it might be a good thing to have a religious belief, somehow it gives you a peace of mind in this world full of chaos and fights, it gives you a place your heart can reside.

The old capital Ayutthaya, 100 km outside Bangkok, is a lovely small town with ruins spread out round the city. Some of the architecture has similar style to the Angkor Wats in Cambodia, when I asked our guide, he said “Yes, basically when Thailand ruled Kmer (former Cambodia) they adopted this same style and brought them to Thailand. Old ruins always intrigues me, guess partly because I am nostalgic person by nature? The old city wall, eroded by rain through the years and burned by war in the 18 century, still stand there indicating its glorious past. I think we all like old things for certain reasons, like we deliberately make the new pictures with brown color background so they would look like old pictures. The truth is, when we look back at the good old days, the memory tends to be tinted with this magic lining so they look familiar and distant at the same time.

I spent two days in Phuket and I like the Karon beach – relatively quiet compared with Patong, which is more crowded and busy with some reconstructions after Tsunami. But sunbathing on the beach became boring after a while. I ventured out at night on my own, strolling down the busy bar street near Patong beach. Had to admit it is difficult to travel as a single Asian woman in Phuket, it is just very rare. The only time you will see single Asian women, literally, is at the bars and night clubs, and they are Thai, and actually they usually sit around by the bar, looking out to the street searching for their next “customers”. A few times I had the urge to just sit down in the bar for a drink and enjoy the music and the scene, but then I can’t resist the thought that I would be mistakenly taken as one of the bar girls. Sadly, two nights in a row, I didn’t really go out, 10 pm at night, I was back in hotel, watch “BBC world”, pathetic!

In Thailand, the very common scene you would spot is this interesting combination, an old white guy (mostly over 60s), with a young Thai girl (not necessarily pretty but usually dark, short and skinny. And they seem to be happy with each other. But really, why should we judge them anyway? Life, for a lot of people, only presents very limited choices, and the fact is they both seem to find what they want: for white guys, young, exotic oriental girls make them feel they are young and attractive again, for the girls, they are mostly from country side, not well educated, and with the white guys, at least they are treated with respect and they are looked after. Taking away the finacial aspect of this relationship, it is a working relationship that probably still involves certain degree of love and care, after all, we human beings all have the need to be with someone and to love and to be loved. This might not be an ideal relationship, but it is kind of relationship that exist due to certain economic circumstances as well as the underlying nature of basic needs of human beings.

The tropical aroma has a strange influence on me - after being back for three days, I can't help to miss the walk in the Lumpini park, cruise on the river, the temple on the hill, parasailing in the ocean, and of course, the lovely orchid that are just blooming so beautifully everywhere!