Frank Yu: Land of Opportunity

According to the Foreign Media Service Guide released by Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) on last Wednesday, the foreign media organizations and foreign journalists will be free to report during the 2008 Olympic Games.

BOCOG summarized the Service Guide on its official website,

The Guide covers such a dozen matters as visa application, customs clearance, travel and interview, employment of Chinese mainland citizens, rental of housing and offices, application for radio frequency occupation, acquisition of a temporary driving permit, taxation and insurance with which accredited media organizations for the Beijing Olympic Games, including rights-holding broadcasters, accredited written and photographic press, as well as non-accredited media are generally concerned for the coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games.

The Guide has done its best to give client-oriented interpretations to every section and detailed step by step explanation to the procedures to satisfy the needs of the media.

In addition, the Guide has announced “One-stop” service mechanism for the international media to help them solve any problems that may occur during their coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games. It is an all-round 24-hour service mechanism provided by the Beijing Olympic Media Center, which coordinates different departments of the Chinese Government to grant permits and deliver services to all the media organizations and help them solve any problems.

The purpose to publish the Guide is to provide a brief and clear interpretation and explanation on issues concerning laws and policies for media on their working conditions and simultaneously provide easy-to-operate assistance information on relevant procedures.

The Service Guide for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan media will be available very soon. You can download the full text of the Guide at http://en.beijing2008.cn/upload/Service_Guide_en.pdf.

It is estimated that more than 20,000 international journalists are expected to go to China during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

An old man, using a big Chinese brush with water, is practicing Chinese calligraphy (书法, Shu Fa) on the stone road in Beihai Park (北海公园) in Beijing, yesterday morning. Many Chinese, especially the old man, practice Chinese calligraphy as an exercise to develop or maintain one’s physical and spiritual well being. Historically, many calligraphists were well-known for their longevity.

Chinese calligraphy is an abstract art of square Chinese characters, with a history of four to five thousand years. Chinese calligraphy not only serves the means of communication, but also shows something essential about one’s personality, intellect, and abilities.

The past Golden Week (黄金周) from May 1 to May 7, the 20th golden week in China, is the most Renao (热闹) Golden Week since China’s Golden Week policy launched by the government in 1999. The photo, by frank, shows tourists taking pictures before Tiananmen (天安门) in the last evening of the Golden Week.

According to CCTV，China’s transportation and tourism sectors hit a new record during the May Day Golden Week. Passengers traveling by trains reached over 44 million during the week, up nearly 6 percent from last year. The tourists volume swelled to 1.5 billion, more than one tenth of the total Chinese population. And the retail volume of China’s social consumer goods reached 320 billion Yuan, an increase of 15 percent year-on-year.

According to Xinhua news agency, the Golden week is also a golden business opportunity for foreign invested service providers in China.

China initiated the three Golden Weeks, the May Day Holiday, the National Day Holiday and the Spring Festival Holiday, in 1999, intending to stimulate domestic consumption and promote tourism, hospitality and related industries. The golden week is also a great opportunity for people to make long distance family visits, and for young lovers to have their weddings.

I was suggested that I should choose a luck day (黄道吉日) to start my English blog, the Land of Opportunity. I accept the suggestion, for many Chinese believe that the luck day will bring you a wonderful beginning and a prosperous future, especially when you start to do something important.  

The theory of luck day, like the theory of Fengshui (风水), is in the area of Chinese astrology. According to it, the time when you start doing something is of great importance for success in the future. For example, when Chinese couples want to hold a wedding ceremony, they must choose a luck day for having a nice marriage in the future.  

Fengshui means “wind (风) and water (水)” if directly translated from Chinese. Fengshui is an environment-evaluation system based on the philosophy of the ancient Book of Changes (易经). According to Fengshui, the location of your house and the way you decorate has a huge impact on many aspects of your life. The good Fengshui can bring luck, health and wealth into your life. 

Many Chinese believe that Fengshui is a branch of science; it is an important part of traditional Chinese culture, which emphasizes the harmonious coexistence of man and environment, and is the application of theories of geography, architecture, ethics and prophecy. But there are also some people think Fengshui is superstitious, for it contains too many mysterious elements. 

But I heard that Disney used Fengshui to build Mickey’s new kingdom in
Hong Kong. So what do you think of the theory of Fengshui, comments about your experiences practicing Fengshui, positive or negative, are welcome.