Day of an Assistant Professor (8)

1. Read Anderson and Ray (2008)'s paper on missing women.
2. Learn a bit about the DHS maternal mortality module and update the Devecondata accordingly.

Day of an Assistant Professor (7)

1. Submit the referee report after the final check.
2. Compiling the dataset for our climate change project. The most tedious part is over.
3. Read the introduction of a couple of papers of my interest in the latest issue of Review of Economic Studies.

Day of an Assistant Professor (6)

1. Finish writing the referee report.
2. Compiling the data for our climate change project.

Day of an Assistant Professor (5)

1. Writing a referee report
2. Compiling the data for our climate change project
3. Have a chat with a PhD student in my research institute about my new project

Day of an Assistant Professor (4)

1. Writing a referee report
2. Compiling the data for our climate change project

Japanese chandelier

Designed by Yumi Terauchi.

(These photos are taken from Excite Ism Concierge, January 12, 2009.)

Day of an Assistant Professor (3)

1. Preparing a referee report
2. Compiling data for the climate change project

Day of an Assistant Professor (2)

Finish reading the paper for which I have to write a referee report.

Day of an Assistant Professor (1)

Let me try to record what I do each day as an assistant professor from today on. Here's what I did on the first day of my job this year.

1. A meeting with my colleagues on our climate change research project.

2. Write exam questions.

3. Submit a referee report.

4. Prepare the claim for reimbursement of expenses to attend the conference in China last month.

5. Start reading a paper for another referee report.

At the Beijing Capital International Airport

Taiwan is not an international departure destination.

Hotel Review: Lu Song Yuan

The Entrance

I stayed in room 311 of the Lu Song Yuan hotel from 17 to 19 December, 2008. Room 311 is not on the third floor but on the ground floor, by the way.

The Lobby
The main courtyard

The good:
Booking was easy. I simply emailed them to ask the availability of a bedroom, received a reply on the following day, emailed them again to confirm my booking, and received their confirmation and a direction to the hotel (useful to show taxi drivers as this hotel is not well known to them) as email attachments. As I would arrive late, I called them up to give my credit card number (otherwise you don't need to do this), which went on smoothly.

The hotel building dates back to the Qing Dynasty era. The lobby's decor feels traditional with antique furniture and decorated ceilings. So does the bedroom. There are several courtyards, one of which I see through the window of my bedroom. The tea house looks cosy with two shared PCs for internet access.

Near the hotel is Nanluoguaxiang Hutong (see the post below), a narrow street lined with hutongs, Beijing's traditional homes dating back to the 13th century, which house small restaurants, bars, and shops of rather good taste.

The staff members are all friendly though few speak English.

Room 311

The bad:
The location is not as convenient as it seems. It is located in the center of Beijing, but the nearest subway station is a 15 minute walk away. As taxi drivers do not know where this hotel is, going back to the hotel is a bit of a pain in the ass.

There seems to be no way of preventing shower water from spilling into the bathroom floor even with a shower curtain.

The receptionist mistakenly charged my credit card with 1100 yuan at checking-in, which is fine. But when I checked out, it took 15 minutes for her to arrange the refund in cash, shortening my precious time for exploring Beijing before heading for the airport.

The ugly:
The bathroom stinks.

Verdict: if you don't mind breathing with your mouth in the bathroom, it is a great budget hotel in Beijing.

Nanluoguxiang Hutong

A street in Beijing with recently renovated hutongs housing cafes, restaurants, and shops.

Bellagio

A restaurant mostly featuring Taiwanese cuisine despite its Italian name. What's noticeable at this restaurant is the uniformity of waiters and waitresses. All of them have the same haircut (the kind of short hair style popularized first in Tokyo), wear the same kind of clothes (a white shirt, black suit trousers, and either a black jacket or a black vest), and have a round face. It takes some time to realize that some of them are boys while others are girls. The restaurant manager seems to select girlish boys and boyish girls to achieve the unisex appearance. The decor is, I would say, a mixture of Chinese and Scandinavian style.

I order a Taiwanese pickled cabbage for a starter, a Taiwanese stir-fried noodle for the main dish, and a glass of hot milk tea in Hong Kong style. All of them are excellent. The price is 76 yuan (7.60 euro).

Gongti Xilu, the street that Bellagio faces, appears to be a happening place during the night with several restaurants in style like Bellagio (the next door is Green T Cafe, featured in Wallpaper* City Guide) and some nightclubs.

On Line 8 Platform of Beitucheng subway station

If your travel guide to Beijing was published before the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, the subway map in the guide is outdated. It's wise to print out a Beijing subway map with station names both in Chinese and English, like this one or that one, because subway stations do not provide portable maps to visitors.

A Chinese woman playing pool in front of the Water Cube

The Water Cube (aka the National Aquatics Center) doesn't really look beautiful. Fortunately, there is a weird sculpture nearby.

Bird's Nest

What makes Bird's Nest beautiful is the shape of its top edge in entirety. The closer you get, the uglier it becomes.

Entrance to the Forbidden City at night

Lotus Lane at night

After having dinner at No Name Restaurant (see the post below), I stroll down to the south along the western shore of Lake Qianhai. After passing loads of restaurants and bars, most of which are rather tacky, I enter Lotus Lane, where I meet the most disgusting Chinese people. A guy approaches me, talking to me in Chinese. I ignore him as this kind of guy is usually dodgy. But he doesn't give up, following me all the way. Once he realizes I'm not Chinese, he starts talking in broken English, saying, "Chinese girls." I say, "No thank you." But this pimp never gives up, still following me all the way. It's very disgusting and distracting. I tell him out loud, "No thank you." Then he finally gives up.

At the exit of Lotus Lane, a woman approaches me, saying, "Music. Girls." She also never gives up until I tell her out loud, "No thank you."

Chinese pimps are very persistent and disgusting.

No Name Restaurant

For dinner in Beijing, I visit No Name Restaurant, recommended by Wallpaper* City Guide. Finding this spin-off from the pioneering bar in the area surrounding the Houhai Lake without its name (thus known as No Name Bar) is a bit tricky. But once you find it, a real treat awaits you.

The restaurant offers the Yunnan cuisine. The menu is both in Chinese and in English with photos of each dish. Both shredded potato fried in Yunnan style and grilled whole fish stuffed with lemongrass are excellent. Even a cup of tea (Pu-erh tea) is very good. All of these cost 136 yuan (13.6 euro), expensive by Beijing standards but still reasonable for someone from London or Stockholm.

East End Art Zone B

Although it is still an interesting area to explore, the Beijing 798 Art District (see the post below) has become too commercial for some serious contemporary artists. Such artists, also grumpy with rising rent in the 798 District, have migrated to the northeast, by crossing the Fifth Ring Road, and settled in a village named Caochangi. I'm amazed by the fact that Beijing's contemporary art scene has already reached such a second stage. The Caochangi village indeed has no commercialism at all. No billboard. No cafe or restaurant.

East End Art Zone B is a walled area in Caochangi. Inside the premises spreads out a surreal settlement. Every building looks the same: two-story, gray bricked walls, and with a garden surrounded by wooden fences. If you turn more than once, you will lose the sense of direction. No signpost.


On one alleyway sits a giant art piece, possibly thrown away by an artist.


There are two art galleries in the Zone. One of them turns out to be a Japanese one named Mizuma & One Gallery, which displays a work by Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba.