Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

Housing in Guangzhou is just as bad

As I’ve said many times on this blog, barring any drastic changes - like a recession or a dramatic construction boom - to the housing market in San Francisco, it is impossible for me to buy a home in the city I grew up in. At this point it’s not even sad anymore, simply an accepted reality. It’s the reason why I have a Porsche 911 GT3 to play around with, representing a portion of my savings that would otherwise go towards downpayment on a house.

It seems my original hometown of Guangzhou, China, have a similar housing problem to San Francisco: it’s practically unaffordable for the typical middle-class earner. This is really surprising, because unlike the zoning quagmire we have here in the Bay Area, cities in Asia have no issues building super tall and dense apartments. So it’s difficult to understand how Guangzhou would have high housing costs, given that developers can build apartments as tall as the earth would hold a building upright (in theory, at least).

One condition I didn’t account for is the enormous population that resides in greater Guangzhou area, some 12 million. Therefore, though it looks like there should be enough supply for everyone, the demand is as overwhelming as it is here in San Francisco. Especially so in Guangzhou’s core that surrounds the Pear River on both shores: the high-paying jobs are mostly within that area, and who wouldn’t want to live closer to their work? Keep in mind that people work longer hours in Asia compared to our typical 40-hour weeks; a long commute would obliterate any spare personal time.

Due to these conditions, even my family’s many decades old apartment building, in what used to be a rather crap part of old Guangzhou, is now worth quite a significant sum. The city have developed far beyond what we could’ve imagined before immigrating to the States, and because our place lies inside the city’s core, its location is very desirable. My aunt receives soliciting calls constantly, asking if our apartment is for sale.

I guess I take some misery-loves-company points in knowing that Chinese people my age have the same problem with housing affordability. However, at least they can apply for government assistance - pseudo communist country, after all - I’ve got nothing but my proverbial boot-straps.

I'm glad I came back early

Just yesterday evening I was chatting with my family about the Wuhan coronavirus situation, and how the government there really should shutdown the entire city: hold everything in static until the appropriate authorities can figure out exactly what’s going on. The spread of the virus is too prolific to not take this extreme step, though we recognize China is currently right in the middle of the great Chinese New Year migration, so restricting access to a city of 11 million would have tremendous ramifications for what is the biggest holiday for the country.

Conversely, I’m sure the annual migration plays a part in how fast the coronavirus have spread outwards from Wuhan, if person-to-person transmission is indeed confirmed. It represents a real Sophie’s choice for the powers at be.

I was quite surprised then to read this morning that Wuhan is now effectively under quarantine: air and train traffic in or out of the city is completely shutdown, and public transportation within the city have also ceased operation. It’s a necessary move that I didn't think the Chinese government had it in them to make. A few weeks back when this whole coronavirus issue has yet to proliferate into a concern for the World Health Organization, the only Chinese media reporting the few cases was all in Hong Kong - there was a de-facto blackout of the news in the mainland.

I know this, because I was there, and was initially baffled at why the Guangzhou media wasn’t reporting anything on the Wuhan situation. Of course, I quickly remembered exactly what sort of governance China is under, and it seems Beijing is keen to keep a lid on the problem for as long as possible.

Until travelers started to bring the virus back to their home countries from China. I’m low-key glad I returned to the States well before the issue exploded to an International-level crisis, because last thing I want is any hiccups going through immigration. CBP would and should carefully screen passengers on planes originating from China, even those not directly from Wuhan. Now that the whole city is under quarantine, I would not be surprised if countries of the world would do the same for travelers coming from China. With the direct cause and factors about the coronavirus still unknown, the stakes are too high.

An early morning at Pier 1 before the crowds.

The Ohana Floor

Yesterday was Martin Luther King Day, and as a public employee, I was lucky to have the day off. Not so fortunate is one of my friend who works in the private sector: she definitely did not get a three-day weekend. It was just as well, because that friend happens to work at Salesforce, and through her I can gain access to the observation deck - 61st floor - of the shiny new Salesforce Tower. The free Monday yesterday was the perfect opportunity to finally make the visit since the tower opened for business, because a bunch of us had the day-off, and she didn’t.

Honestly, I was surprised the observation deck of the tallest building in San Francisco is not open to the general public. The gleaming towers in other cities usually offer a chance - often times for a fee - for the public to go high up and see the respective city from a totally contrasting perspective. Most famous of towers has to be the Empire State Building in New York City. I guess Salesforce can’t be bothered to take the public’s cash: it’s too busy raking in the money from its “day job”. Besides, having the masses of people queuing to go up would interfere with the coming and goings of actual employees.

Therefore, to have the privilege to go up to the 61st floor - “The Ohana Floor” - one must know a Salesforce employee. And I’m really happy that I do, because the views up there at the highest point in San Francisco is expectedly spectacular, truly a perspective you cannot get anywhere else. On a day when Karl the Fog takes a break from blanketing the city, you can see as far as the Golden Gate Bridge and the western end. To have such a view to enjoy while slowly eating our lunch was an absolute highlight of yesterday. There’s also coffee and tea on offer; gratis, of course.

I have to say it’s somewhat of a shame that not everyone can have the experience of going up to the top of Salesforce Tower. A private company can do what it wants, obviously, so find yourself a friend who works there. Preferably someone who can defer about four hours of work on a Monday to hang out. Thank you, Hannah!

Guangzhou tip: don't take the subway

The sprawling metropolis of Guangzhou has a fantastic subway system, able to take you quickly to practically anywhere in the city and its periphery. You’d be surprised then to know that in my two weeks there earlier this month, I took the subway a grand total of just once. If a destination is also accessible by bus, I’d always choose that option, even if it takes longer to get there.

The reason is simple: the Guangzhou subway is massively crowded. In a city of 11 million people. the subway system is rather erroneously not built to handle the amount of people that utilize it on a daily basis. The stations aren’t big enough, and subsequently the trains aren’t long enough to adequately acquiesce to the flow of people. On the major lines that go through the heart of Guangzhou, it’s crowded nearly all the time: you’re either fighting with the commuter crowd, or fellow tourists visiting the city.

The masses of people get so bad during the morning and evening commute hours that security guards have to set up barricades outside of subway stations to keep people from flooding in disorganized. No other city have I visited where you’d need to queue up before you even enter a station.

What we in the West think of as “personal space”? Forget about it: you are packed into the subway trains like sardines. The Chinese aren’t bashful about barging their way through, and you the foreigner mustn’t take it personally. Being overly polite might mean you won’t be able to get off in time before the doors close - it’s that packed.

It’s due to these factors that I avoid taking the Guangzhou subway as much as possible. The surface bus network is equally as extensive and far-reaching, and while it may take considerably more time to get somewhere, at least I’m not stuck in a precarious position amongst a dense cluster of humanity as I would be taking the underground train. Often times there were open seats on the bus, which allows for a comfortable and leisurely ride to get to where I want to go. For travelers who can afford to not be in a hurry, I highly recommend taking the bus in Guangzhou.

Though there is one potential problem: the bus stops and buses have nearly zero English translations, so if you’re not a former Chinese national like myself, then you really need to rely on Apple Maps to assist you (Google maps is utterly blocked in China, remember). Follow the GPS to know when to get off the bus, because the stop names listed are Chinese only.

Apologies, user of Android phones.

The glorious Guangzhou library in the Tianhe district.

China is working hard to be green

I’ve now gone home to Guangzhou for the past five Januaries, and every single time, the city amazes me with how much it has advanced in quality-of-life aspects. I can remember back in 2016 I could barely breathe the air it was so choked full of smog; had similar conditions occur in San Francisco, we’d be advised to stay indoors, and classes would be cancelled. Fast forward to now, air quality in Guangzhou have improved so much that I have no problem spending two weeks there.

Mind you it’s still not the cleanest of air. I’d compare the current Guangzhou to a particularly bad air day in Los Angeles: not ideal, but very livable. The city government - and I’m sure the same is true for every major city in China as well - understands that smog and pollution is big issue, and it’s doing everything it can to address it.

On last year’s trip, I was utterly surprised to find the entire public bus fleet in Guangzhou have switched over to pure electric, a hefty undertaking that eliminates a huge source of emissions from the surface streets. The smug of you may say what good are electric buses if the power supplying those batteries comes from dirty coal that China is stereotypically known for. Well, bad news for those of you: Guangzhou is powered by nuclear energy.

I can’t even imagine San Francisco doing something similar, switching the SF MUNI fleet to electric. I’d be shocked if such a thing happens within the next twenty years.

On this most recent trip to Guangzhou, I found the city have begun a massive garbage sorting campaign. Propaganda was absolutely everywhere, and residents are now required to divide up their garbage properly before throwing out into the corresponding bins. Perhaps it’s bad on my part, but I honestly never thought I’d see the day that people living in China would have to sort their garbage like we do. With so much land and landfill, it’s far easier to simply lump it all together and haul it out - as it has been done for as long as I can remember.

Everyone sort of expects China to be this gross polluter, with its cities filled with smoggy skies. If Guangzhou is any indication for the rest of the vast country, then China knows it’s got a problem too, and it’s doing something about it at a pace and scale that’s impossible in the West.

I look forward to many days of clear blue skies in future trips back home.

HKG is not the same

I bought plane tickets for my trip back home to Guangzhou way back in June of last year, well before the Hong Kong protests started. I then - along with the rest of the world - saw the uprisings happen, and the mess have lingered and continued on into 2020. My father joked that there is no way the protests will last the many months to coincide with our trip through Hong Kong, and yet there we were two weeks ago, flying into HKG whilst protest was scheduled to happen in the city yet again that very day.

It’s a shame, because the Hong Kong part of the trip on the way to Guangzhou is something I enjoy immensely, well worth the extra four hours it takes to fully complete the journey compared to flying directly into Baiyun International. Some years I even spend a few days or a week in Hong Kong before going home. It’s a city I have great affinity for, but unfortunately due to the demonstrations, I was unable to do my usual tour. Rather not risk any potential clashes, though I do wonder what the protesters think of a person like me: born in mainland China, but is now a citizen of the United States.

Anyways, the game plan then was to immediately hop on a direct bus to Guangzhou right at the airport. Upon exiting out into the arrivals lobby, I immediately knew that these were not normal times: they’ve shut down the outbound transport terminal, which used to be in an external building. Instead, the ticketing for buses are now inside Terminal 1 itself. After purchasing our tickets, we walked through guarded doorways to get to our waiting hired car, which is something I’m so not used to seeing in what is one of the safest metropolises on the planet. Surrounding the airport itself are many police barriers and fencing, a legacy from the unrest that reached HKG last year.

Coming back into Hong Kong for the flight home was different as well. We took the same direct bus in the reverse direction, and it’s when we arrived outside the departure deck that things got interesting. The entrances to the terminal are cordoned off by police barricades, third-world checkpoint style. To get in, you have to show your passport, and either the flight confirmation or boarding pass. I’m not even sure they would let family or friends who are seeing you off to go inside with you. The price of fighting for liberty, as it were.

I have no dog whatsoever in the Hong Kong situation. I only selfishly hope that on my next trip home, HKG -and Hong Kong - will be back to what it were: a fabulous airport that’s one of my favorites.

Graffiti in China? Only if they let you.

First of the year

Hello, friends, and welcome to the first blog post of 2020. As it is per usual, I’ve been away on holiday back home in China to start the year, therefore it’s not really until the middle of January that the new year officially begins for me. That’s not a complaint; I quite like having the two weeks’ time to decompress and meditate over the game plan for 2020, and I’m incredibly lucky to be afforded such leisurely opportunities to do so. Most people only get Christmas Day and New Year’s Day off, and that’s it.

Indeed, heading home to Guangzhou allows me plenty of time to think things over because being back at a familiar place meant I’m not busy doing the typical touristy stuff when I travel to other countries. The pace is decidedly slower, and the primary goal actually is to see family and eat lots of Cantonese food that I can’t get back in the States. Plus, thanks to the Great Firewall of China, the Internet as I personally know it is largely blocked off when I’m inside the country. Due to the protest in Hong Kong, the Chinese government have even targeted VPN services, meaning my usual route of bypassing the censors was mostly ineffective.

I barely got my end of 2019 reflection piece in, with the photographs taking forever to upload under VPN speeds. Yes, Squarespace and any website hosted on the platform is blocked in China.

All of that is to say, I had a lot of time to ruminate on what I want out of 2020, and I’ve narrowed it down into a key few items. First and foremost is to be kind, both to myself and others. My bouts with anxiety in much of 2019 stem from the inability to take the positive perspective to the things that are happening to me, and that corrupted how I see the outside world as well. It’s not a very nice mental place to be, always thinking the worse of situations, especially when they are outside my sphere of control.

The second item is to do only the things I’m passionate about. Life isn’t about ticking as much boxes as possible, but rather it’s ticking just the boxes that are truly important. If something no longer holds my eager interest, I will drop it immediately. This goes for books, podcasts; any activity, really. The point is to have experiences and tasks that are meaningful and matter to me on a personal level, and not something to do for the sake of doing - I’m not here to collect accomplishment trophies. In 2020 I want to read only good books, and not finish the most books.

The third item is to constantly keep focus to the absolute present, and try not to worry (too much) about what has happened in the past and what’s to come in the future. Detach. Easier said than done, obviously; it’s one of those daily practices that remains a work in progress for possibly a lifetime.

One foot in front of the other. Let’s go.