Hugh in China.
With the Olympics sprinting towards us, we've sent Hugh off to China to see what else is going on. We broadcast his first report on PM last night - and these are some photographs to illustrate it. He's on his way to the far west, to the Uighur town Kashgar near the Pakistan and Afghan borders. He began his journey in the far east of the country - on the coast east, in Shanghai. These are Hugh's words and pictures:
"The Huangpu river at dawn.
Shanghai's stunning Pudong international airport, capacity 20 million passengers a year.
Maglev, the magnetic levitation train that covers the 30 km (19 mile) journey from the airport to Shanghai in 8 minutes - reaching a maximum speed of 431 kilometres an hour (270 mph).
Mah Jong.
Street restaurant in an old Shanghai neigbourhood.
Mobile shopkeeper.
Penny Wan and Jeffrey Zhang watching Thierry Henri shaving, on their HD home cinema.
Penny and Jeffry.
Mr. Liu and Mrs. Zhang, and her 10-month-old son Zhang Hui Mei. They live in rented rooms in a rotting building with a leaking roof. "If the rain comes in," said Mrs. Zhang, "we just put a bucket down to catch it".
The building has no mains water supply, apart from the outside tap.
And finally, for pet lovers everywhere":
Listen to PM
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~14~RS~)
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I thought Hugh had a report about the Chinese working hard; how come they have time to watch a giant-sized shaver?
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Yesterday's report was spellbinding, and the juxtaposition of the two families and the huge differences in their circumstances brought home the fact that there is still a long way to travel, even when train technology is at its most advanced.
I felt I was on the train with Hugh and shared his wonder as the speedometer needle rose. Wow!
And a final comment: pink ears do not suit dogs. Shame on 'em! But the pups are very cute (as is the tiny kitten).
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
The dogs are not bred for the colour of their ears but the sweetness of the meat. Little bit of advice Hugh, if you don't know what it was, don't eat it
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TB (4)
The modders have obviously never walked past the 'butcher stalls" in mainland China.
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Other doggy-related stories from China:
An interesting article on Chinese attitudes towards dogs: clicky here.
August 2006: Dog cull in China to fight rabies
May 2004: China couple split over dead dog
November 2003: China reports sharp rise in rabies
April 2003: Animals suffer in the war on Sars
Then a quick web search on "China dogs" pulls up several different articles highlighting the highly ambivalent / ambiguous attitude the Chinese have towards dogs.
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(6) Not a very nice selection of web visits. It's jolly lucky they don't get the chance to host a major world event to give them legitimacy.
Ah..............
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I would love a job with the I.O.C.
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Inspired by Thunderbird...
Stop Press: Shortlist for 2016 Olympic Games revealed.
Countries on the list include Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.
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Is Mr Liu in photo 9 about to expose his man-boobs?
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wot, no pictures of an English Takeaway?
Hugh, beware of Schezwan puppy and kitty!
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Dear Modder,
How come DIY gets away with (11) and I get modded for (4)?
Is it the Vegan thing again? I thought that stopped at the end of Shatner week!
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The description of the trip on the MagLev train was fantastic - wonder if we will have transportation technology like this in place for the 2012 London Olympics! We should have - we invented MagLev back in the 1960s! The Government of the day axed the funding and let our competitors develop and commercialise it. Sound familiar? Same thing happened with the tilting Advanced Passenger Train (APT). We could start a list of similar technologies our short-sighted governments have let slip away over the years.....!
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HZH (12) I was number 4, are you trying to steal my thunder?
I made a very clever joke about dog-meat that was so cunning that the modders didn’t even know it was there
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(13) Aren’t the Chinese wonderful, I guess you have never been there; the trick with China is to look just beyond where they want you to. This gives the opportunity of seeing poverty and misery piled high. At least the London games will be a genuine white elephant not a pretend one.
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Thunderbird (14)
I sincerely apologise ... being irate at a modder (and who'd volunteer to mod the stuff we put up!!!) is no reason to miscount the blog entries.
I would never steal your Thunder (… or your Bird for that matter.)
Mia culpa.
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I just wanted to say that Hugh Sykes is one of the BBC's true gems. Every report he files is filled with insight, humanity and compassion. Thanks Hugh (no, I'm not a member of the Sykes family).
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neonoctafish: Welcome to the Hugh Sykes Fan Club! ;o)
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Hugh Z: I've been meaning to ask you for some time - are you related to Hugh the Hack?
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bbc.co.uk mostly blocked here, but I chanced on an indirect link to the PM blog.
Thanks for the appreciative comments.
But. But...where does this obsession about the Chinese eating dog meat come from?
I fear it's another primitive, essentially hostile stereotype based on a largely outdated practice.
I have never seen dog meat on a menu here.
What I have seen is a lot of people affectionately looking after the pet dogs, and taking them for walks.
Just like, er, the British......
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Hugh, Namaste
Such a rare thing these days, eh?Well said.
Salaam/Shalom/Shanthi/Dorood/Peace
ed
P.S. I keep my fan club membership continually up to date.
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