Beijing Workers Stadium story 4

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Progress made

In our Beijing Workers Stadium story 4 more about the progress of the works around the stadium and the other facilities under construction, a further update on our previous post.
On 10 October 2022 TheBeijinger published an update “Workers’ Stadium Nears Completion As New Additions Unveiled”

On 7 January 2023 theBeijinger published an update “Workers’ Stadium Opening Pushed Back to March“
I quote:

Construction on the New Workers’ Stadium complex is inching ever closer to final completion. But due to delays thanks to lockdowns at the end of the year, the time for New Gongti’s opening, originally set for December 2022, has been pushed back to March 2023, according to Beijing Evening News.
Be that as it may, the new stadium is an awe to look at, with the field itself having been fitted with turf, seating completed, and the two 300 square meter screens at either end of the stadium are currently undergoing testing. What’s more, the statue of workers has returned to its original spot in the complex’s north square, according to the Beijing Evening News report.
Construction on the roof and the facade of the complex ended in October of last year, with testing on interior and exterior stadium lighting still ongoing. As we reported in March of last year, the new Workers’ Stadium will have greater capacity: 2,000 new seats have been added to the total. Plus, four tiers of seating and the erasure of the original stadium’s running track means capacity will top out at 68,000.
Once completed, the New Gongti complex will not only be home to Beijing Guo’an football club, but the complex surrounding the stadium will host fitness, lifestyle, and dining, with a connection to the as of yet to be opened Beijing Subway Lines 3 and 17, which will have an interchange station under the stadium.
While it isn’t officially open yet, Gongti played host to a special New Year’s gala put on by BRTV, which saw the return of Cui Jian to Gongti, who first played at the original Gongti way back in 1986.

Taking shape

See how the subway construction building looked like at Shimao Gongsan shopping and now being dismantled. The subway construction building in the north-east gongti corner remains. The subway construction building in gongti south-east comer is also gone, all for Line 17.

See left of the stadium the concert hall on gongti dong lu nearing completion.
Some areal views late 2022, a screenshot about the first concert in January and the gradual cleanup around the stadium.

Lights on!

Late last year the stadium has worked hard to finish the lights on the roof

The lights have been tested many times.

Gongti West, South and East

See the construction at two locations (footh path) in Gongti West road, one is for an electric substation, the other one I am not sure.

Also the two big buildings on Gongti South and the other ones at the corner of Gongti south-east corner – those are still a bit of a mystery as mentioned in earlier posts. The outside seems nearly completed but they all look pretty empty.

Ambassador’s Kitchen in Beijing 2

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Belgian ambassador’s residence

As mentioned earlier, Mango TV was also shooting the residence. In this post Ambassador’s Kitchen in Beijing 2, some details and pics.
For a whole day the TV crew invaded the residence and I admire the ambassador for his patience. I was myself not present, Renaat Morel was however one of the guest stars.

See some of the screenshots of the program and other pics.
The focus was on the typical products Belgium is famous for. Of course we have the cuisine, the many beers, the champions in cycling and our tourist attractions. And we are famous worldwide for the many cartoons. The focus was on the Smurfs.

Gilbert and cartoons

On 28 September 2018 I was invited to give a talk about Belgian culture in The 3rd China Int. Conference for the Investment and Trade of Cultural Industry, in the China National Convention Center. The talk covered only a small part of all the details I have on file on Belgian cartoons and folklore. Eduard van Kleunen, Counsellor of the Belgian embassy attended.

The title of my presentation was “Belgium: A small country with a rich culture (and exporting it)”.
Here the video of the talk, not great because too much focus on me and not on the slides.

Belgium has a long list of famous cartoons, see here the most relevant:

– The Smurfs (French: Les Schtroumpfs; Dutch: De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, human-like creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest.

– Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix (French: Astérix or Astérix le Gaulois) is a series of French comics. The series first appeared in the Franco-Belgian comics magazine Pilote on 29 October 1959. The Asterix series is one of the most popular Franco-Belgian comics in the world, with the series being translated into 111 languages and dialects.

– Jommeke is a Flemish comic strip series in publication since 1955. It was created by Jef Nys and can be defined as a humoristic children’s adventure series. Jommeke, an 11-year-old boy, is the series’ main protagonist.

– Suske en Wiske is a Belgian cartoon series by Willy Vandersteen, one of the most popular ones in Belgium and also Holland. It started in 1945. In other regions: Chinese (Taiwanese version): Dada & Beibei – English (UK): Bob & Bobette (later: Spike & Suzy) – English (USA): Willy & Wanda.

– Robbedoes  & Kwabbernoot (Spirou & Fantasio) is one of the most popular classic Franco-Belgian comics. The series, which has been running since 1938, shares many characteristics with other European humorous adventure comics like The Adventures of Tintin and Asterix.

– Tintin (Dutch: Kuifje en Bobie)(French Tintin et Milou): The Adventures of Tintin is a series of 24 comic albums created by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century. The series first appeared in French on 10 January 1929 in Le Petit Vingtième (The Little Twentieth), a youth supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle (The Twentieth Century).

– Lucky Luke Comic book series: Lucky Luke is a Western bande dessinée series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborating with French writer René Goscinny. Their partnership lasted until Goscinny’s death in 1977.

Shambhala and Barbados in Kempinski

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Kempinski Hotel

The Rotary Club of Beijing had interesting talks about Shambhala and Barbados in Kempinski, in February.

Ms. Katrina is a regular visiting Rotarian to our Rotary Club of Beijing. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Barbados South. She invited H.E. Hallam Henry Ambassador of Barbados to the lunch, in Kempinski on 14 Fenruary 2023.
Katrina is a member of the Rotary Club of Barbados South. She joined th. e Club in 2003 and was among the first females inducted into Rotary in Barbados. In 2009 Katrina became the first female President of a Rotary Club in Barbados. Over her Rotary life, Katrina has served in several club officers’ roles, including Club Secretary. At the District level, Katrina has served as Assistant Governor, 2012-2014  and District Secretary, 2015-2016. She currently serves as the DEI Chair for District 7030 and Vice President of the Rotary of Barbados South. Katrina is passionate about youth programmes and youth service in Rotary, having been a past member of both the Interact and Rotaract Clubs. Katrina is an experienced Human Resources Management Professional with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry. Throughout her 20-year experience of providing advisory services to clients in the Region, Katrina has assisted several organisations in strategy development and execution.

Katrina gave an introduction of Barbados and the activities of Rotary.
I was happy to invite for the lunch an old friend of the Club, Tom Stader of The Library Project.
He worked with our Club and as of March 2009, we have established 108 elementary school libraries. We’ve put more than 71,000 Chinese language children’s books into the hands of eager young readers. Over 22,000 children now have access to improved educational infrastructure. Together we are changing the world, one book at a time. See the results of the Library Project.

A welcome back Laurence Brahm

Laurence is also an old friend of mine and has visited our Club several times. He has quite some intereting stories about our Club from the early days.
Laurence has a rich past, in China and in other Asian countries. He also was a contributor to several newspapers.

More about him in this introduction. 230221 Laurence Brahm

His talk gave a fascinating insight in several little know aspects of Asian culture and philosophy.

Ambassador’s Kitchen in Beijing 1

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Ambassador’s Kitchen is a top-ranked program

In Ambassador’s Kitchen in Beijing 1, an introduction to the program, the actors and how Belgium cuisine was in the focus.
Mango TV (芒果TV) is a Chinese media company controlled by state-owned Hunan Broadcasting System. Mango TV specializes in creating online videos and is an online platform providing content that is presented in TV channels from Hunan Broadcasting System and Hunan Satellite TV. Its current headquarters is located in Changsha, Hunan. Mango TV provides audience with diverse content including films, TV series, music, cartoons and entertainment.

The program was featured in this China Daily article dated 29 December 2022:
Ambassador’s Kitchen, a TV program aiming to embark on an “exotic” journey through mouth-watering foods, recently began shooting in Beijing.
The show features four celebrity hosts: actors Li Chen; Wu Chun; Laurinda Ho, the daughter of late Casino King Stanley Ho; and singer Liu Wei, as well as two guest stars, actress Sun Yi and singer Liu Wei. They will take Chinese and foreign cuisine as a “bridge” to exchange cultures.
Before the launch ceremony held in Sanlitun area in Chaoyang district, the six celebrities were divided into two teams and sent to the embassies of Argentina, New Zealand, Turkey and Thailand in Beijing, to shoot some footage.
Propelled by the stardom, the show’s hashtags have generated around 36 million “clicks” and drawn 119,000 netizens to discuss the related topics on Sina Weibo, an indicator for popularity in the showbiz industry.
Coproduced by Global Times Online and Beijing WiaoE Technology Co Ltd, the TV show was aired on Jiangsu Satellite TV, CCTV and Mango TV.

See other article:
“The ‘Ambassador’s Kitchen’ program warmly launched the re-enactment of exotic cuisine to integrate hospitality”

Belgium in the spotlight

There were several shootings done, in Morel’s Restaurant, in the residence of the Belgian ambassador and a “chef’s competition” in the building of Mango TV next to Taikooli North in Sanlitun.
Some of the stars who joined were:
Ms. He Chaolian, the youngest daughter of Stanley Ho (Laurinda Ho). When Chao Lian was born, the gambling king Stanley Ho was 70 years old.
Li Chen is a Chinese actor and director born in Beijing, known as a Superstar. He is known for being a member of the variety show “Keep Running!” since Season 1. Born on November 24, 1978. Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing shocked millions of fans when she revealed that she is breaking off her engagement with fiancé Li Chen. However, the story is not yet concluded…
All of them were very relaxed and friendly. Chaolian impressed us as she was not only pretty but friendly and a good cook.
Our Belgian ambassador H.E. Jan Hoogmartens joined most of the shooting, with an impressive cool and patience!

Morel’s Restaurant becomes a studio

On 20 December 2022 the massive crew of Mango TV transformed the restaurant in a studio with ceiling, outside and inside lighting. I don’t know the exact number but I guess over 15 camera were filming… Very impressive and so professional.

In this first post see some of the pictures taken in the restaurant and screenshots of the program. The staff was super excited to take a picture with the Superstar!
More to come in other posts.

Discovering AI and Italian wines

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

What is AI?

AI (Artificial Intelligence) is all over the news. But what is it really? Our Rotary Club of Beijing has been discovering AI and Italian wines in recent meetings. Both speakers became members very recently.
As an engineer I am supposed to know a bit about AI but Tom has given a great overview of what is AI is today, and will be tomorrow, I learned a lot.
Tom is from The Netherlands and well known in the Dutch community.

His talk was on 17 January 3023 in Kempinski Hotel, during our Club’s lunch.
Tom‘s presentation explored the concept of generative AI and its impact on society, including how it is flipping the script on traditional artificial intelligence development and its potential effects on industries and innovation. Many examples (some live) were given during the presentation, as well as some key thought-starters for organizations on “where to start”.

Tom van Dillen is the owner of Greenkern, a transformation consultancy with offices in Beijing and Berlin. He moved to China in 1999, and hasn’t looked back since. Tom has a keen understanding of innovation and transformation and how these forces are shaping China’s dynamic society. He’s helped major multinationals navigate China’s fast-moving economy and Greenkern has become an advisor for organizations looking to adopt new thinking in automotive, healthcare, logistics and energy. When he’s not working, you’ll likely find him capturing the changing landscape of Beijing through his lens – or mowing the lawn at his cottage at the foot of the Great Wall.

The complexity and richness of Italian wines

On 28 February 2023 our member Jerome organized a wine tasting evening dinner in Blue Star Restaurant for the Rotary Club of Beijing, very well attended. See a peek in the kitchen!
Great evening with good food, friendly service and excellent variety of Italian wines.

Jerome Tafani is a French national based in Beijing since 2007 and has been an export manager of Asia Pacific for San Silvestro & Costa Di Bussia Wineries from Piemonte Italy for now a decade.
The two wineries are located in the Historical fine wines village of Barolo and belong to the Sartirano family which has owned the estates for 4 generations. The family’s wines are sold over 42 countries and have been in the Chinese market for over 20 years.
Jerome holds a Master degree in International Trade and other diplomas related to the Wine Education such as the British WSET level 3 and Italian Wine ambassador delivered by the famous Winemaker school of Alba Umberto I.
During the years of 2020 and 2021, Jerome was honored to be the chief Wine Critic for the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles on Chinese Wines from NingXia Region where more than 400 wines were tasted.
His life and work is now dedicated to promoting the Wine Culture and pursuing the discovery of high quality wines from both Italy and China and introducing them to consumers.