Hello, dear readers and welcome back to the Yellow River Chronicles! The YRC staff took advantage of the National Holiday here in the People's Republic of China to head due west for travel and visiting in the Homeland, the Midwest of the good old U.S. of A. Hence, no YRC for the past several weeks.
To start us off again, as may remember, the YRC prides itself in mildly astringent journalism and repartee. So, in the interest of appearing to be fair-minded and balanced, here is a "gosh, we just got back, better write it down before we forget" series: Common Understandings about China in the American Midwest that You May Wish to Reconsider.
Understanding the First: There is nothing to eat in China, so everybody eats weird stuff.
We YRC staff members are frequently asked, "So what do you eat over there" or, "What is the strangest thing you have eaten". The answer is, well about the same stuff we graze on in the States, actually. One of us once had deep-fried mountain oysters, but that was in Colorado.
There is a story that our Chinese friends like to tell about their dining habits. They say that the Chinese will eat everything in the sea except container ships, everything in the sky except airplanes, and everything on the table except the table. While elements of this adage ring true, there is lots of good fresh food here that is about the same as what you find in markets in the U.S. Usually. Generally. With some...caveats.
However, the most common food that Chinese eat regularly but Americans find unsettling is chicken feet. Avian toes are extremely popular here and as a side note, are part of a serious trade dispute.
This from the Washington Post:
There is this sad image of a chicken, somewhere in the States, apparently, fluttering around on its wings and unable to land or perch because somebody has shipped its toes to China, and that is just...wrong, people.
Understanding the Second: Most of China is still moving around in rickshaws wearing the famous conical bamboo hats.
(As a side note, In mainland China and Taiwan, it is called dǒulì (斗笠; literally, a one-dǒu bamboo hat, 笠帽, 竹笠).
The current situation is this, dear readers: Only elderly tourists from Scandinavia roll around in rickshaws wearing said hats. The Chinese take the subway, a scooter, a trusty bike, or increasingly, motor around in their Buick. Yes, dear readers, the best selling vehicle in China is a Buick, your grandmother's car:
Top Ten Best Selling Cars in China (from http://focus2move.com/item/105-china-car-market-volkswagen-at-15-market-share-in-april-2012)
Understanding the Third: China will soon be the wealthiest country in the world.
Well, there are many ways to look at wealth and the one quoted most in newspapers and business magazines in the Homeland is Gross Domestic Product. This from the Economic Times is a great example:
To save you the trouble of clicking the link, here's the top ten. Not many surprises here, except the YRC staff are now planning a move to Luxembourg. We hear the Gromperekichelcher are outstanding!
You will notice that the PR of C is not in the top ten. Nor, if you were to search, is it in the top 25. Nor is it in the top 50. No, dear readers, the PR of C is in slot number 94, firmly wedged between Ecuador and Jamaica with a per capital GDP of $8,466 per year.
However, we hope that we are on YOUR top ten list as the YRC returns to its regular publication date. See you next Friday and thanks for tuning in!
To start us off again, as may remember, the YRC prides itself in mildly astringent journalism and repartee. So, in the interest of appearing to be fair-minded and balanced, here is a "gosh, we just got back, better write it down before we forget" series: Common Understandings about China in the American Midwest that You May Wish to Reconsider.
Understanding the First: There is nothing to eat in China, so everybody eats weird stuff.
There is a story that our Chinese friends like to tell about their dining habits. They say that the Chinese will eat everything in the sea except container ships, everything in the sky except airplanes, and everything on the table except the table. While elements of this adage ring true, there is lots of good fresh food here that is about the same as what you find in markets in the U.S. Usually. Generally. With some...caveats.
However, the most common food that Chinese eat regularly but Americans find unsettling is chicken feet. Avian toes are extremely popular here and as a side note, are part of a serious trade dispute.
This from the Washington Post:
China began imposing stiff duties — including a tax of more than 100 percent — on those American chicken parts, The move was in response to a request by Chinese chicken farmers and processors, who claimed the U.S. government was unfairly subsidizing the American poultry industry through low feed prices and then selling the 'chicken paws,' as they’re known in industry parlance, into China at below-market cost ...But, back to the YRC staff. We are happy to report that we have NOT made the jump (get it?) to chicken feet. The YRC staff is drawing the line, people. We have eaten crickets, wasps, turtles, frogs, duck tongue and had many a fine dining adventure. We will munch the feets, not!
Since the imposition of the tariffs, American chicken parts exported to China have collapsed 90 percent, and the industry has lost an estimated $1 billion in exports to China, according to the council and other analyses.
There is this sad image of a chicken, somewhere in the States, apparently, fluttering around on its wings and unable to land or perch because somebody has shipped its toes to China, and that is just...wrong, people.
Understanding the Second: Most of China is still moving around in rickshaws wearing the famous conical bamboo hats.
The current situation is this, dear readers: Only elderly tourists from Scandinavia roll around in rickshaws wearing said hats. The Chinese take the subway, a scooter, a trusty bike, or increasingly, motor around in their Buick. Yes, dear readers, the best selling vehicle in China is a Buick, your grandmother's car:
Top Ten Best Selling Cars in China (from http://focus2move.com/item/105-china-car-market-volkswagen-at-15-market-share-in-april-2012)
Rank
|
Model
|
Q1
|
Apr
|
YTD 2012
|
Q1
|
Apr
|
YTD 2012
|
2011 Ranking
|
1
|
Buick Excelle
|
76.378
|
23.179
|
99.557
|
2,3%
|
1,9%
|
2,2%
|
1
|
2
|
Volkswagen Passat
|
68.750
|
21.357
|
90.107
|
2,0%
|
1,8%
|
2,0%
|
12
|
3
|
Chevrolet Sail
|
62.251
|
19.860
|
82.111
|
1,8%
|
1,7%
|
1,8%
|
6
|
4
|
Volkswagen Lavida
|
57.977
|
20.000
|
77.977
|
1,7%
|
1,7%
|
1,7%
|
2
|
5
|
Chevrolet Cruze
|
62.051
|
15.914
|
77.965
|
1,8%
|
1,3%
|
1,7%
|
3
|
6
|
Volkswagen Jetta
|
53.175
|
21.909
|
75.084
|
1,6%
|
1,8%
|
1,6%
|
4
|
7
|
Volkswagen Bora
|
52.582
|
19.836
|
72.418
|
1,6%
|
1,7%
|
1,6%
|
5
|
8
|
Hyundai Verna
|
48.489
|
18.786
|
67.275
|
1,4%
|
1,6%
|
1,5%
|
21
|
9
|
FAW Xiali N3/N5
|
50.327
|
15.476
|
65.803
|
1,5%
|
1,3%
|
1,4%
|
7
|
10
|
VW Tiguan
|
49.395
|
14.000
|
63.395
|
1,5%
|
1,2%
|
1,4%
|
23
|
Understanding the Third: China will soon be the wealthiest country in the world.
Well, there are many ways to look at wealth and the one quoted most in newspapers and business magazines in the Homeland is Gross Domestic Product. This from the Economic Times is a great example:
HONG KONG: China is expected to overtake Japan as the second wealthiest country in the world by 2015 on the back of rapid economic growth and strong domestic consumption, a report said Friday. In its inaugural Global Wealth Report, Credit Suisse Research Institute predicts total wealth in China will more than double in five years, jumping 111 percent to 35 trillion US dollars.So it is obvious, right? The Chinese economy will soon cruise to the number one slot, making the People's Republic the wealthiest in the world. Hmmm. Hmmmm. Yes, when we look out the window here at the PR of C, we see Chinese nationals driving Mercedes and throwing large wads of dollar bills out the window. They all live in gated communities and live the Don Don Trump lifestyle. But we must remember, dear readers, that they are the largest economy in the world, because they have the most people. Take a look at GDP per capita:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita
To save you the trouble of clicking the link, here's the top ten. Not many surprises here, except the YRC staff are now planning a move to Luxembourg. We hear the Gromperekichelcher are outstanding!
| Rank | Country | Intl. $ | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Luxembourg | 89,992 | 2011 |
| 2 |  Qatar | 88,919 | 2011 |
| — |  Macau | 77,607 | 2011 |
| 3 |  Norway | 61,882 | 2011 |
| 4 |  Singapore | 61,103 | 2011 |
| 5 |  Kuwait | 54,654 | 2011 |
| 6 |  Brunei | 50,506 | 2010 |
| — |  Hong Kong | 49,990 | 2011 |
| 7 |  Switzerland | 49,151 | 2011 |
| 8 |  United States | 48,442 | 2011 |
| 9 |  United Arab Emirates | 48,222 | 2011 |
| 10 |  Netherlands | 42,834 | 2011 |
You will notice that the PR of C is not in the top ten. Nor, if you were to search, is it in the top 25. Nor is it in the top 50. No, dear readers, the PR of C is in slot number 94, firmly wedged between Ecuador and Jamaica with a per capital GDP of $8,466 per year.
| 90 |  Maldives | 8,932 | 2011 |
| 91 |  Algeria | 8,715 | 2011 |
| 92 |  Thailand | 8,703 | 2011 |
| 93 |  Ecuador | 8,486 | 2011 |
| 94 |  China | 8,466 | 2011 |
| 95 |  Jamaica | 8,065 | 2011 |
| 96 |  Suriname | 7,891 | 2010 |
| 97 |  Ukraine | 7,251 | 2011 |
| 98 |  El Salvador | 6,877 | 2011 |
| 99 |  Namibia | 6,826 | 2011 |
| 100 |  Belize | 6,722 | 2011 |
However, we hope that we are on YOUR top ten list as the YRC returns to its regular publication date. See you next Friday and thanks for tuning in!
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