Vodka Actual, Do You Copy?.

Dear Readers, welcome back to the Yellow River Chronicles and the final part of our cryptic series on Mongolia.  As you know, we live the James Bond lifestyle here at the YRC.  Martinis, exotic locales, expensive tailored clothing, and of course, the sheer adventure of Life on the Other Side of the World.

It can lead to some serious adrenaline addiction, let us tell you.  Sometimes, when life gets a little predictable and domestic here in the Mighty 'Hai, we will do something INSANE to get that rush of adventure.  We may cross the street after only looking twice, or stop for a tasty snack of street food, or indulge in the infallible adventure here in the 'Hai, hold a door open for someone.

So, really, the YRC is a chronicle of what is called "adventure travel".  This, from a YRC solid resource, Wikipedia:

The YRC Staff kayaking in the Sea of Cortez

Adventure travel is a type of tourism, involving exploration or travel to remote, exotic and possibly hostile areas. Adventure tourism is rapidly growing in popularity, as tourists seek different kinds of vacations. According to the U.S. based Adventure Travel Trade Association, adventure travel may be any tourist activity, including two of the following three components: a physical activity, a cultural exchange or interaction and engagement with nature.
Adventure tourism gains much of its excitement by allowing its participants to step outside of their comfort zone. This may be from experiencing culture shock or through the performance of acts, that require significant effort and involve some degree of risk (real or perceived) and/or physical danger (See extreme sports). This may include activities such as mountaineering,trekking, bungee jumping, mountain biking, rafting, zip-lining, paragliding, and rock climbing. Some obscure forms of adventure travel include disaster and ghetto tourism.^[1] Other rising forms of adventure travel include social and jungle tourism.

The Rascal of the Stars heads for the grocery store

COMFORT ZONE, people.  That is what we are talking about.  And in Mongolia, we had a chance to go SO far from our comfort zone, that we felt we were on a journey with the Rascal of the Stars, "Curiousity", looking back at our comfort zone on earth.

To digress further, we are going to provide a photo, sent from Curiosity on Mars and then we will provide a photo taken by the YRC staff in the Gobi as a way to begin our discussion of, let us be frank here, adventure travel gone...slightly wrong.

Going for It in the Gobi:  Adventure Travel on the Edge

This is a photo from Mars, people, courtesy of Curiosity

Alpha One and Bravo Three compare compass coordinates in the Gobi

Our trip included, along with some excellent camel and horse trekking, the chance to do some hiking in the steppes and in the Gobi desert.   And hike we did.

To keep the story short and to the point (not a YRC strong suit by the way) we shall simply chronologue our first experience with RIDM (more later).  

Our fellow travelers included two extremely fit and motivated hikers, Alpha One and Two. Next were the reasonable and middle path hikers who we will call Bravo Three and Four (a YRC staff member).  Finally, there was the solo YRC staff member who will will call Roadkill Five.  

We shall designate our trip leader and his driver Vodka One and Two, and their elite Russian SUV Vodka Actual.

For a number of reasons, Alpha One and Two decided to introduce our elite Team to some Rage Induced Death Marching (RIDM) on the day of our 12-hour Gobi hike.  They thought it appropriate to lead our somewhat hung over Trip Leader (loonnnnng story....go with it, please) on an extended chase across the vast wasteland that is the Gobi desert.  Our group had no radio contract, but if we had, it would have gone like this:

Roadkill Five:   Bravo Three and Four, do you copy? <crackle>

B3&B4:  Affirmative, Roadkill Five, we have you four by four.

Roadkill Five:   Bravo Three and Four, I have you on visual approximately two to three miles to my west.  Do you have visual contact with Alpha One and Two?

B3&B4:   Affirmative, Roadkill Five, they are another two or three miles to the west of us.  They are working their way along the ridge.

Roadkill Five:   <crackle>.  The ridge?  WTF??  Do you have a visual on Vodka Actual?

B3&B4:   Negative, Roadkill Five.

Roadkill Five:   Bravo Three and Four, we are in the center of a vast barren alluvial plain that terminates in deep desert sand about 12 miles south from here.  The current temperature is around 102 degrees Fahrenheit.  Do you have any idea why Alpha One and Two are mountain goating about four miles off course to the west of here?  We should be heading south.

B3&B4:   Affirmative, Roadkill Five.  They seem to think it is funny.

Roadkill Five:  <crackle>  I've got my binocs out and now have a visual on Vodka Actual.  They seem to be attempting to assault the ridge to corral Alpha One and Two.

B3&B4:   Copy that Roadkill Five.  We wish Vodka Actual lots of luck with that.  We are consuming GORP and are Oscar Mike.  See you at the VodkaEvac site around sunset.  Stay hydrated!

So, you get the idea, well-hydrated YRC readers.  To wrap things up, everyone arrived safe and sound to our camp at the base of some spectacular sand dunes and a fine time was had by all.  And a fine time you shall have as the YRC heads to .....America! for next week's Yellow River Chronicles.  See you on down the trail, partners!

Sunset in the Gobi

Riding Like Genghis Khan with the Yellow River Chronicles

Horse trekking under the Big Blue

Greetings and a friendly tip of the ol' cowboy helmet from your pardners here at the Yellow River Chronicles.  You may remember that this is the second in the three-part series on Mongolia.  This week we are going to saddle up and take a look at the pros and cons, ins and outs and what have you of horse and camel trekking in the Big Empty.

Note:  The videos are large and will take some time to upload, particularly if you are you know where behind the you know what of China.

Mongolia is a large, unpaved country where many folks still move around by riding either a horse or camel.  Horses are used primarily in the steppes where there is enough water and grass to sustain them and camels are used in the vast Gobi desert area in southern Mongolia.

We will start off with horses on the steppe, first.  Here is the video to get you in the mood:

Mongolian ponies are small, tough, friendly and easy to talk to.  Sort of like....Italians.  After careful horse selection and a few pointers on how to steer, stop and go (say "chu") we were riding the Mongolian plains like one of the Khans own.  

The Mongols are some of the best horse people in the world and rather than burden us with too much information by sharing any of that knowledge, they opted to let us learn on our own.  Get on horse.  Ride! And learn on our own we did as we "chued" our way across the plains.

The assigned YRC horse was named "Pokey" by the YRC staff for his extremely leisurely style.  He was good natured and fun to hang around with.  But he was always the very last in the string of horse. We spent six hours riding across the steppe together and the YRC staff was able to get the sense of what it was like traveling in the days before roads, bus stations and chauffeured limousines.  The Poke was particularly good during the archery training*. We took short Mongol bows, a big quiver of arrows and spend part of the trip practicing galloping and shooting things with arrows.  It took some extra concentration to avoid taking each other out but luckily there were only flesh wounds*.  By the end of the trip, we were able to get a true Mongol experience when we attacked a van full of unsuspecting Korean tourists*.   "No prisoners!  NO prisoners"  we chortled to each other as we bore down on their startled tour group* and a great time was had by all, Mongol invasion style.  

Admittedly, the YRC staff walked more funny than usual for a day or two after the long ride but all things considered, nothing that a fistful of Motrin couldn't solve.

Next stop, we headed for the Gobi, the huge desert in the south of Mongolia.  There, for many reasons, the Bactrian camel is the preferred mode of transport. Camel trekking, unfortunately, did not offer the same opportunity to pillage.  One simply stands by camel, camel kneels, camel rises and there you are, eight or nine feet off the ground.  

Our host for the day and ace camel wrangler

Camel gait can best be described as.... elliptic.  Camels are known for their general  unpredictability, so a string approach is used.  I had the lead of the person in back of me while the person in front of me had my lead.  

YRC staff and trip member Shelley from Texas in the Gobi

We proceeded in a nearly direct line and there was quite a bit of excitement because we had even LESS training that the horse riding section of the trip.  Get on.  Hold line.  Hang on.   That was the long version of the camel riding training.  Here's another video to give you the camel trekking effect:

Because these treks attract adventuresome, interesting, sophisticated and educated sort of folks, most of the time staggering across the Gobi on the camel trek was spent in debate over which camel was expressing the most flatulence.  True, the Gobi is a harsh environment, so we were all wearing masks, but the camels released voluminous amounts of methane that would threaten to knock you off your camel if you didn't hang on.  Many claimed that "Clueless" was the worse, "Booger" was in the upper ranks but "Stinky", the camel of a unnamed YRC staff member, finally got the "Foulest" award.

We rode for three hours and stopped for a break.  At that point, after we dismounted, we all decided to burn our clothes and continue to explore the Gobi....on foot.

And explore we shall, in the next YRC Chronicles.  Tune in next week for our "Best of Mongolia" awards ceremony.  See you then!

*  This is a joke. Really. Hhhhhaaaaa hha haaaa. Conan, what is best in life?  Ahahahahahhaa.  

The Yellow River Chronicles Heads to the Nation of the Eternal Blue Sky!

Hello and welcome back to the Yellow River Chronicles!  Your hard-working YRC staff have been rambling the steppes and dunes of Mongolia to bring you a new three-part series on Mongolia, the nation of the Eternal Blue Sky.

As you may remember, the YRC rolled through Mongolia during last year's Trans-Mongolian railroad trip from Moscow to Beijing.  That brief adventure created the idea for a real visit.  One year later we returned to ride the steppe on horseback and plod the sands of the Gobi by camel when our planned visit to Tibet was undone by ...um...travel permit problems.

The YRC staff have just returned and are in the process of rinsing the camel spit out of our hiking gear and oh, what a process that is.  Honey, pass me the gasoline!  But here's a brief overview of all things Mongolian.

Upon spending any amount of time in Mongolia the first thing one becomes aware of is the continued strong influence and respect for Gengis Kahn, know as "Chinggis Khaan" in Mongolia. The airport is named after him, he is on the currency, and pictures and statues of him are still everywhere.  His empire started in 1206, so Mongolians have been revering him for +800 years.   At that time, Europe was still deep in the Dark Ages--the Italian Renaissance would not start for another 150 years.

To help you get in the Mongol mood, here's a clip from the film "Conan the Barbarian", which won Arnold Schwarzenegger an Oscar for "Best Austrian Accent".  It features a version of a famous Kahn quote:

“The greatest happiness is to scatter your enemy and drive him before you, to see his cities reduced to ashes, to see those who love him shrouded in tears, and to gather to your bosom his wives and daughters.” -Genghis Khan

But IF the Kahn had used the Conan quote, I am sure he would have done a much better job with the word "lamentations".

Great to be here in...where is this again?

Back to Mongolia!

Mongolia features the coldest capital city, the lowest population density and is the second-largest land-locked country in the world. This means they have no navy, ports or seafood to speak of.  While KFC, Mickey D's and Pizza Hut have yet to make an appearance, Long John Silver's has no chance.

The Land of the Blue Sky shares a border with Russia and China, which means as an active democracy, they are politically...nervous.
G.W. Bush was the first American president to visit Mongolia.  The Mongols are still thinking about how he might of answered the question, "What is best in life?"

Many Mongolians get around by horse or camel, but there is also a large number of SUVs to travel an extensive network of unpaved roads.  Travel around Mongolia usually features a long ride bashing around the back of a Russian SUV:

And bash around Mongolia we shall as we head out next week to do some horse trekking and experience the nomadic life in a ger on the Mongolian steppes. Hang on, and we'll see you then!

Mao's Spiritual Nuclear Weapon

Your serve, Great Navigator

Hello and welcome back to the Yellow River Chronicles.  This week we have an Olympics Special Edition:  a first here at the YRC!

To sound the starting gun, so to speak, a few evenings ago the YRC staff stayed up later-than-usual to watch women's gymnastics.  Pixies!  Leotards!  Time differences and no Olympics cable coverage in the YRC staff offices meant that we would go to an local sports bar at around 11:30 in the p of m to watch the finals.

Stay up late?  Hang out in a bar?  We were willing to make the sacrifice, people.

(As a side note, the Chinese are not big drinkers and do not hang out in bars.  Their per capital alcohol consumption is near the lowest in the world. The bar and sports bar is a complete Western invention.  In Shanghai sports bars are generally populated with Australians watching rugby, or Australians watching car racing, or Australians watching...Australians, really.  More on this in a future YRC.)

The US attitude towards Ping Pong...

After watching ping pong for three hours, we convinced the staff to turn the big screens in time to catch the gymnastics competition.  After all, China swept them in 2008, comrades!  

But on this particular night, the big attraction remained, of course....table tennis, AKA ping pong.  So after an hour or so of pixies in leotards, we were back to blinding pong action on the big screen.  What is the big deal with ping pong, we asked after our seventh cranberry and vodka?  It is, after all, the nerdiest Olympic sport.  Why as proof of its epic nerdiness, Bill Gates the uber-nerd, recently announced he is going to help promote table tennis in the U.S.  This from The Global Times:

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) plans to work with Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft Corporation, to promote table tennis in the United States, ITTF President Adham Sharara said. 

The initiative was brought up after Gates came to London to watch the game between US teen player Ariel Hsing and Chinese Li Xiaoxia on Sunday, Sharara told Xinhua in an interview.
Sharara didn't disclose the details, but said that Gates offered to help after watching Hsing's match, in which the 16-year-old girl nearly pulled off one of biggest upsets in Olympic table tennis history, pushing No. 2 seed Li to the limit before losing 4-2 in six tight sets. 

"He (Gates) was surprised to see the young American girl played so well. He was very motivated. He asked me what he can do to help promote table tennis in the United States. I think we'll work with him. If the United States becomes very strong in table tennis, it's also good for China," Sharara said.

Uber-nerd Gates Pings the Pong while Buffet coaches

The elite YRC Research staff blasted into action and found this from Table Tennis and Ping Pong Diplomacy Article:  We highly recommend you read the entire article by Jeffry Hays, but here are the highlights:

In the early 1950s, Mao decreed table tennis as the national sport of China. Sinologist saw the decree as a shrewd move by Mao to shore up his legitimacy by developing the sport and producing world-class players as a way for China to build post-revolutionary self-confidence, show the world it can excel at something and get over the humiliations of the previous century and a half. [Source: Matthew Syed, The Times of London, August 10, 2008]

Why Mao chose to highlight table tennis is not known. Perhaps it is because he liked the game himself and realized it was the perfect low-cost game for a nation of peasants. In any case, China was admitted to the International Table Tennis federation in 1953 and it wasn’t long before world-class tennis players emerged.

In 1959, Chinese player Ring Guotuan won the table tennis world champions in 1959, becoming the first Chinese to be a world champion in any sport. Mao deemed the victory a “spiritual nuclear weapon.” He was succeeded by Zhuang Zedong, who won the next three world titles. Mao lavishly praised the player and made light of the fact they played in a Chinese way using the distinctive penholder grip.

Table tennis like everything else suffered in the Cultural revolution. Hounded and tortured by Red Guards, three members of the national team committed suicide in 1968, including Rong Guotuan.

Zhuang was major player in the ping-pong diplomacy that brought the United States table tennis tam to China but also has been linked to some dark episodes in the Cultural Revolution. A devoted Maoist and ally of the Gang of Four, he was jailed along with other members of the Chinese table tennis team for allying themselves to Mao’s rival Liu Shaochi—ironic considering the fact that Zhuang once said, “I owe my entire table tennis success to the study of Ma Zedong philosophy.”

After Mao’s death and the collapse of the Gang of Four Zhuang was lost his government position and was forced to work as a street sweeper. He was publicly denounced for among things “wearing a Swiss-made watch” and was sentenced to prison, where he spent four years in solitary confinement.  After getting out of prison he has held low-level coaching jobs and only recently has been invited to minor sporting events.

Back to our regularly scheduled column:

Since Mao unleashed the "spiritual nuclear weapon" China clearly dominates the international ping pong table. They have won 20 of the 24 golds on offer since it became an Olympic sport in 1988, and 15 of the last 16.

Your elite YRC staff is headed to the rec room to get our paddle on, we'll tell you.  However, we won't be back for a few weeks: we're going camel trekking in Mongolia. Or something like that...  Expect a full report when we get back and thanks for tuning in!

Nine Million Tourists Minus Two!

Qinghai-Tibet railway. Photo courtesy of the Chinese government

Tashi delek! and welcome back to the Yellow River Chronicles.   As you know, the YRC is focused on going places and then lying about our experiences when we come back.  This is the heart of all travel stories...changing the facts for dramatic effect and good story telling.  For example, a near miss with a black tip reef shark in the Phillipines becomes ...bad seafood.  And a 5,000 foot sudden drop on an Aeoflot flight became....bad seafood!     It's a much better story that way, don't you think?


So, while we may continue to "stretch a few" in the interest of totally biased journalism in the inimitable YRC style, we are going to "change up the mojo" a little this week.   Instead of talking about a place that we have visited, this week we are going to chat about a place that we will NOT be visiting...Tibet.  We are going to stick to the facts, because this one doesn't need additional seasoning.

Photo courtesy of the Telegraph and the Ambassador

We'll start with a somewhat perplexing article from the UK Telegraph by Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador to Britain. published July 26, 2012.

 The title of the article is "Tibet is a better place than it used to be" and you can read the whole article here:  Click here to read the Telegraph article!

The article basically points out that things are just, well, better in Tibet now.  But here's the section that caught the eye of the ever-vigilant YRC staff:

Tibetan culture is not closed. It needs exchanges with the outside world. Certain material conditions are required for such exchanges. Improved transport links is one of them. More than five decades ago, Tibet had neither highway nor railway. Today a highway network centring on Lhasa has been put in place. Its reach is in excess of 20,000 kilometres. The Qinghai-Tibet railway climbs over the Kunlun Mountain towering at 4,600 metres. It has one of the most stunning views of any railway in the world. Nearly 50 million people have travelled to and from Tibet this way. There are also air links between Tibet, and more than 10 Chinese and foreign cities. Last year alone, Tibet received around 8.7 million tourists from home and abroad. At the same time, more and more Tibetan artists travel widely across China and around the world spreading Tibetan culture.

THE BACK STORY:  Late last year, the YRC staff gathered at the sacred cocktail table to plan travel for 2012. It was going to be an unusual year because there were to be perhaps +10 separate visits to Shanghai by friends and family, drawn by the warmth and charm of China as described in the YRC.  

The globe-trotting Gula Family at Jing'An Temple

(This year has already seen visits by the crowd-stopping Tchamwas, the adroit Gula family, the epic tour by Dragon Lady and Her Consort, old hands El Zorro and Jerry Perry Berry, Spin-Spin and Stash and several other planned visits by family and friends.  Pack your suitcase, there is a party going on!)

The planned visit schedule meant that we would have time for ONE EPIC TRIP, headed for...you guessed it, the Open and Very Much Better Tibet Autonomous Region.  We planned to ride the Qinghai-Tibet railway and hike around Tibet for two weeks.  We found a great outfitter, booked the trip, packed our backpacks and then...unpacked them.

Photo courtesy of Corbis. 

We would not be going.   While the good Liu Xiaoming and +8.7 million other tourists will visit the TAR this year, the YRC staff and friends will not.

Travel to Tibet requires a special permit.  It looked like we would get the permits, but then the borders were closed to all foreign travel in early June.  There are lots of good articles on that, but the Wall Street Journal has a succinct version HERE.  


Then in late June, the border "reopened".  The following was released (from China Digital Times):

(Most) Foreigners Can Travel to Tibet

Earlier this month, travel agents told the media of a state ban on foreign travel to Tibet. It seems foreigners are once again allowed entrance, albeit under some curious stipulations. Columbia University Tibetan Studies professor Robert Barnett tweeted a link to an update on the Land of Snows travel blog earlier today:

[...]The early word out of Lhasa and the Tibet Tourism Bureau, which many major news networks across the globe picked up, was that the TAR would be closed until late August or early September. However, the Tibet Tourism Bureau had a meeting today (June 18) and will begin processing permits for foreigners again starting on June 20th. There are still a lot of restrictions. Only groups of 5 people from the same country will have their permits processed. This means that if you are traveling with a mixed nationality group, you probably will not be able to get travel permits. Also, for some reason the Tibet Tourism Bureau has stated that people from Norway, the UK, Austria and Korea will not be able to apply for permits to travel to the Tibet Autonomous Region. No real reason was given today for this by the Tibet Tourism Bureau. Also, when the TAR reopens on June 20th, Everest Base Camp will remain closed. Again, no reason was given for this. Lastly, the Tibet Tourism Bureau has told travel agencies that in order to process permits for the required groups of 5, travel agencies will need to submit proof that 50% to 100% of the tour is paid for in advance. This means that anyone planning to go to the TAR will need to pay at least a 50% deposit before their permits can be processed and may even need to have the tour paid for in full.

Photo courtesy of Land of Snows travel blog

You can read a good summary, at the Land of Snows travel blog.  To sum it all up, some foreign visitors may be visiting Tibet in the future but it is getting increasingly difficult.


You put your application in,
You put your permit out,
You put your visa in,
And you shake it all about,
You do the hokey pokey
and you turn yourself around
That what it's all about.


Sadly, however, the Yellow River Chronicles staff will NOT be visiting:  there is another catch.  Americans theoretically may visit if they meet the requirements above and have Chinese tourist visas. However, Americans with residence visas can not travel.   While a tear or two has fallen into our morning martinis, we are here as guests of the People's Republic and must respect their laws.  It's that simple.  All the snarky journalism in the world is not going to get us into Tibet....but somebody needs to call Liu Xiaoming...


Buuutttt, we are working on a special report on Tibet tourism for those who can tour!  Check it out at the YRC next week and thanks for tuning in!

The Safe and Controlled Version of Subsidence

Hello and welcome back.  And this time, we mean WAAAAYYYY BACK!   To illustrate this week's sexy and fun topic of subsidence, we are going to bring you a YRC FIRST (Cue the Drum Roll!).  Yes, time travel!  But as the saying goes, before we go backward we must first go forwards.

To start this week's missive, this is a depiction of what downtown Pudong will look like when the "Three Brothers" project is finished.  In case you didn't know, Shanghai is now constructing the third of the "Three Brothers", the Shanghai Tower.

Downtown Pudong, 2015.  Photo courtesy of Inhabitat.

Shanghai Tower facts, according to "That's Shanghai"

The Shanghai Tower is well under construction and on schedule to top out at a neck-craning 121 stories and 632 meters tall in 2015.  The building is organized as nine cylindrical buildings stacked one atop another and enclosed in a double-skin façade, the world’s first double-skin building of this magnitude.
Design firm Gensler say the overall concept driving the dynamic design is China and Shanghai’s emergence as major economic and cultural global influencers.  

Shanghai TowerHeight: 632 METERS
Floors: 128
World’s tallest: 2nd (upon completion)
Construction: 2008-2014
Construction cost: RMB 13.8 billion
Elevators: 106

Sooooo exciting!  The Shanghai Tower is built RIGHT NEXT to the World Financial Center, the world's third largest tower and of course, the Jin Mao tower, the world's 13th tallest building.  Total investment in the three giants is over 25 Billion dollars, about the same as the 2010 GDP for North Korea, for you factoids out there.

The view from the Time Machine, 1921

We know what you are thinking.  You are thinking, "where's the time machine?" We now fire up the good old Way Back machine to take us to 1921 in Shanghai.  

There are no towers.  No Pudong, really.  Only wild old Shanghai.  If you read the YRC column on "Sin City"  you would know there is a lot of partying going on.  So you hit a few bars, fire up the opium pipe, listen to some jazz, sober up and get back in the machine.  You step out onto Nanjing Lu and WHAT happens?

Anyone?  Anyone?  Subsidence, baby!!  You step out the the machine wearing your silly party hat and still clutching your now empty opium pipe and...

You fall six feet!  Six feet, people.  Weeeeeeaaaaaahhhh!  THUD!  Since 1921, Shanghai has...subsided or, more clearly, sunk SIX FEET.  Shanghai is officially six feet lower.  Here's why, from Time Magazine:

Soaring to Sinking: How Building Up Is Bringing Shanghai Down

As land-subsidence concerns sweep across more than 50 cities in China, the country's most populous metropolis remains among the most vulnerable

By KATE SPRINGER | May 21, 2012 | 11

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Since 1921, Shanghai, China's most populous city, has descended more than 6 ft.

Shanghai’s skyline glitters with sleek financial skyscrapers and glossy residential towers, but below the city’s lustrous facade lies an enduring problem. Thanks to mass urban migration, soft soil and global warming, Shanghai is sinking, and has been for decades. Since 1921, China’s most populous city has descended more than 6 ft. Across China, land subsidence affects more than 50 cities, where 49,000 sq. mi. of land have dropped at least 8 in.

It’s not just the numbers that are frightening: the problem has manifested itself tragically and more frequently of late. Earlier this month, a young woman unexpectedly fell through the sidewalk into a 20-ft.-deep sinkhole while walking along the street in Xi’an. In April, a woman died after falling through the sidewalk into a pit of boiling water in Beijing. Scientists have continuously warned of dire repercussions if the government does not implement more stringent guidelines for urban planning, water usage and carbon emissions — and they expect the situation to get much worse in areas with large-scale, fast-paced construction, like Shanghai.

As progress continues on Asia’s soon-to-be-tallest skyscraper, the Shanghai Tower, the problem has manifested itself in malicious cracks nearby, captured and posted by users of the Twitteresque microblogging site Sina Weibo, then published by ChinaSmack. In mid-February, one blogger posted about a 22-ft.-long crack situated near the 101-story Shanghai World Financial Center, across the street from the highly anticipated tower.

(MORE: A Valuable New Tool Lets You See Where the Sea Will Rise)

In response to bloggers’ concerns, Shanghai Tower Construction, the company responsible for building the tower, issued a statement saying surface cracks were “controlled and safe,” the Shanghaiist reported. Liu Dongwei, chief architect of the China Institute of Building Standard Design & Research, cited groundwater, rainfall and soft soil foundation as the reasons for the settlements. But that’s only partially accurate.

Shanghai has inherently soft soil because of its geographical position at the mouth of the Yangtze River basin and, yes, groundwater accounts for nearly 70% of land subsidence; however, experts say, the weight of skyscrapers and global warming also play hefty roles in aggravating what they call “the most important geological disaster in Shanghai.” Unfortunately, the implications will only grow graver with the pace of development and rising sea levels.

According to a report by the Shanghai Geological Research Institute, the physical weight of skyscrapers accounts for 30% of Shanghai’s surface subsidence. “Usually groundwater pumping is the key factor,” Jimmy Jiao, a professor of earth sciences at Hong Kong University, tells TIME. “But in Shanghai, development is also important because the building density is high, and most of the high-rise buildings are sitting on the areas with soft soil.” Basically, what’s happening is, the weight of high-rise towers presses down on the earth, as if you were to put a weight on a spring or scale.

Read more: http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2012/05/21/soaring-to-sinking-how-building-up-is-bringing-shanghai-down/?iid=ec-article-mostpop1#ixzz218qBjfY1

Subside THIS!

Shanghai Tower prepares for descent to center of the earth

So you see the problem with the Shanghai Tower.  Three of the biggest buildings in the world are built on the sand and mud of the Yangtze River basin, in an area that was rice fields ten years ago.

All that weight, concentrated in one city block. Hmmm.  In our feverish YRC minds, we see the three towers majestically sinking into the ground like epic, slow motion pile drivers.   As the rate of subsidence increases, the building's height numbers are adjusted each year, but the sinkage will be reported to be "controlled and safe". 

"The Shanghai Tower, formerly the second highest building in the world, is now nearly as high as the Metropolitan Tower, in Youngstown Ohio.  The Tower features the world's largest basement, which extends over 2,000 feet below ground."

Or, they may simply build new floors on top of the building to keep it at the same height.  Who knows?  We certain are going to enjoy the glacial departure of the Shanghai Tower on it's epic journey to the center of the earth...stay tuned!

Some Answers to Questions and Some Questioned Answers at the Yellow River Chronicles!

Okay, here they are, the answers (?) to the first Yellow River Chronicles POP Quiz.  Score 10 for any "correct" answer or answer that you thought was particularly astute on your part.  Score another 10 for even taking the test and score another 10 for reading another Yellow River Chronicles.  Any scores over...50, get a free beers when you come to visit the 'Hai!

The Questions with equally questioned Answers:

1)		You are getting ready to go out for a night on the town in Shanghai with your main squeeze, Madame SlinkyFox.  Your plans include drinks and dinner with a late night KTV stop.  What do you choose to wear?
	a.	Chairman Mao jacket, duuuhhhh.
	b.	Every night is Halloween in Shanghai!
	c.	Formal evening wear or pajamas
		And the answer is "B!"  Either the circus is in town, or it is Saturday night in the 'Hai!  You see lots of pajamas but rarely do you see formal evening wear.  We are all just...relaxed here.
2)		Western fast food is extremely popular in Shanghai.  However, one chain has a clear lead in market share, number of locations and hours of operation
	a.	Mickey D’s
	b.	Pizza Hut
	c.	Kenny Roger’s Roasters
	d.	KFC

3)		Hard to believe, but the most popular Western fast food joint in the 'Hai and the greater People's Republic, is KFC.  This from the Harvard Business Review: In the Harvard Business School case "Yum! China," professor David E. Bell and Agribusiness Program director and senior researcher Mary Shelman examine how Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC and Pizza Hut, outperformed McDonald's and became the largest restaurant company in mainland China.  The evening goes well and you do indeed end up at a late night Karaoke place.  You decide on a Chinese mainland classic and sing:
	a.	Yue liang daibiao wo do xin
	b.	Hotel California
	c.	You Shook Me All Night Long

4)		While it is true that Hotel California is played almost everywhere and is a very popular KTV song, the chinese classic "The moon is my heart" is chosen frequently, particularly with the older set. You are waiting patiently at a busy street crossing.  The light turns green and the pedestrian walkway sign now shows a glowing green walking person.  You should:
	a.	Wet yourself in fear, turn, and flee homeward
	b.	Proceed across the street in a dignified and orderly manner
	c.	Move like iced lightning, dodge like a lawyer and watch your six like an assassin

5)		While our hearts tell us that the correct answer is "A", you can actually cross the street in the 'Hai by following the moves in answer "C".  You will die if you follow "B". There are many examples of duplicates, copies or fakes in most markets in Shanghai.  What is the best way to determine if an item is fake?
	a.	If you have purchased it on the mainland of China, it is a fake
	b.	Tourists are carrying shopping bags full of the same item
	c.	A medium size will fit on a gopher
	d.	There is an official seal of authenticity from a Chinese government regulatory body

6)		Ho HO!  Yes, you can tell by all of the answers, but the BEST way is "D".  Nothing says "FAKE!!!!" better than an official Chinese seal of authenticity. Which of the following items will you NOT find as part of the standard outfit worn by American tourists visiting Shanghai for the first time:
	a.	Brand new, white running shoes
	b.	An over sized t-shirt with the name of a plumbing company
	c.	Four or five pairs of glasses and sunglasses, hung from various lanyards around the neck A “Free Tibet” t-shirt
		This one is probably not even funny, but you will see no references of any kind to ....that place, here.

7)		While excellent and quite inexpensive, Chinese beer has a very low alcohol content. What is the labeled alcohol content of a bottle of Tsing Tao beer?
	a.	6.7%
	b.	Your horse has a kidney infection
	c.	3.5%
		None, it’s a FAKE, dummy! In this, any answer but "A" is correct.  Chinese beer is extremely tasty on a hot summer day, but has almost noooo alcohol.  Leaves more room for baijiu that way!

8)		You are visiting an eco-retreat in a remote Chinese province famous for its bamboo groves and mountain vistas.   In the evening, as you approach the resort, what is the first thing you see?
	a.	Blue mountains with epaulets of snow
	b.	Gentle pines bowing like geishas to the wind
	c.	Neon, baby!
		A group of hikers wearing “Hello Kitty” garb The Chinese are very fond of neon.  You find it in caves, on most buildings, on boats, and in nature preserves.  You will see A, B and D, but the FIRST thing is usually the neon.

9)		The Chinese are fond of things that are re nao.  A restaurant is good if it is re nao.  A street market on a Sunday is best if it is re nao.   A public park on the weekend will usually be re nao.  Based on what you have learned from the YRC, what does the phrase mean, literally?
	a.	Good value
	b.	Hot and noisy
	c.	Calm or serene
	d.	Fake!
		Yes, there is a fake "Fake!" answer.  Does that make it true, because two negatives make a positive? Maybe...score another 10 points just in case, but the answer is 'B", hot and noisy.  When served in a Chinese restaurant, you usually get a deafening roar with the Gong Bao Chicken 宫保鸡丁.  And yes, KFCs are re nao.

10)		An attraction in China (not Shanghai) was described as follows in the brochure.  What was the attraction?  When in rainy season, it seems a sensational giant dragon under moist vapor like to kiss you cool and comfortable.
	a.	An ancient meditation cave
	b.	A Ming Dynasty bath house
	c.	The showers at a highway rest stop
	d.	An underground waterfall
		A car wash As much as we like the answer "C", the brochure described "D", an underground waterfall in southwestern China.

11)		Which of the following was not one of the Toxic Food items in the Chinese press this year?
	a.	Pork that glows in the dark
	b.	A condom in a container of yogurt
	c.	Exploding watermelons
	d.	Hydrochloric acid and formaldehyde used to produce counterfeit beer
		Cooking oil recovered from sewers BONUS QUESTION!!  Score 10 if you answered ANY of the above.  They were all reported in the media.  Pass the stinky tofu, darling! That wraps this UP, rock stars!  Thanks for reading the YRC and taking the test and we'll see you next week!  We're icing down the beer right now...