2016 German Christmas Charity Bazaar

A yearly grand event

I have been trying to visit it yearly. The 2016 German Christmas Charity Bazaar was as always a blast. This time I bought the entrance ticket in advance, at the German School. Good because otherwise it is near impossible to enter. I understand last year there were 5,000 visitors, most being Chinese and not just foreigners.
I arrived too early, 10:30. It opened 11 am. The good things was, I was quickly inside and could try some of the food with queuing. The VW curry sausage was great.

Rotary present

Rotary had again its coffee corner. I met a number of Rotarians and Rotaractors and it was just great fun for all.
We were lucky with the weather, not so cold nor winday and even the pollution levels came down a bit.
The 2016 German Christmas Charity Bazaar has a great marketing machine; the British Bazaar instead was left unnoticed by most.

Thierry Beer Mania shaved

The bet

Thierry Beer Mania shaved or not? That was the bet for the Maovember action. Guests could put money in either the shave or no shave container. I had put in the no-shave. Well, I lost!
But no panic, Thierry has decided to grow his beard again. I gues, will take some time to reach his previous record…

Maovember

A charity event that teams bars, restaurants, vendors & customers in Beijing. This year’s charities: Library Project and Good Works. Beer Mania was one of the participating bars and raised a total of far over the 20,000 RMB of just for the shaving event.
See: http://www.maovember.com/

For Beer Mania:
http://www.beermania.asia/

Beer Mania has not only Belgian beer: also snooker and more.

Legend Beer has great food, and girls

A good meeting spot

As Legend Beer has great food, and impressive girls, and is next door to my home, reasons enough to have a dinner with friends.
Good to meet an old friend from Belgium, Professor Alphons (“Fons”), who visits China regularly and is also a great photographer (and travels a lot).

Some of the food

See here some of the great dishes: roasted lamb, avocado with shrimps, crispy pork knuckle, German sausages, German potato salad. And more.
As a friendly help to the manager Adam I also function At times as the “professional photographer” (haha) to make pictures of the customers. And yes, beautiful girls ( and handsome boys), see also earlier posts.

Old China Hands and The Beijinger

The first Friday as usual

As usual, on the first Friday of the month our lunch at Morel’s Restaurant. This time 2 December and it was “Old China Hands and The Beijinger”, as we had the visit of their journalist (Scott) and photographer.
The Beijinger is an authority on what is going on in Beijing, see:
http://www.thebeijinger.com/

We had a nice group of just over 30 people, with a large variety of nationalities.

Now waiting for…

Waiting for the interview that should come out in January. See the great pics I got back from The Beijinger.
And waiting for the next lunch, Friday 6 January 2017.
Our informal get together is for foreign passport holders with at least ten years of China experience.

Child safety seats in China

Save Kids Lives Project (SKL).

As reported earlier on Child safety seats, see: https://www.beijing1980.com/2016/11/21/district-sr-frank-yih-rotary-beijing/
As few people know. the leading cause of death in China for children under 14 are traffic accidents, another major cause being drowning.
Ever seen kids sitting in the front seat, or back seat, without protection? Adults in the back seat without a safety belt? Those are major causes of death. Chinese totally ignore the terrible risks. In European countries those attitudes are punishable by law. In case of any accidents the kids simply fly through the front window, normally with instant death.
Our Rotarian James, through his company Ming Jian has been lobbying the authorities on this, with success, at least in Shanghai.
See also (in Chinese):
http://www.mingjian.cn/savekidslives/events

Child safety seats to be made mandatory

See article in Shanghai Daily:
Child safety seats to be made mandatory
By Yang Jian – 10 November 2016
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/metro/society/Child-safety-seats-to-be-made-mandatory/shdaily.shtml

Child safety seats will become mandatory for private cars carrying children under the age of 4, under the city’s draft road and traffic management law released by the Shanghai legislature yesterday.
Using a mobile phone while driving would also be banned, bringing the city into line with many jurisdictions overseas.
The two new clauses would join a raft of offenses that include speeding, incorrect lane changing, not wearing a seatbelt and overloading.
Violators will be fined up to 200 yuan (US$30) and be hit with demerit points.
Drivers who rack up 10 offenses or more will face tougher punishment, under the draft bill’s provisions.