All Things China

We Love Shanghai!

2009-01-24T14:53:00.000-08:00

In case you are a college football fan....

2008-12-25T09:53:00.000-08:00

There is a bar, called "Bubba's," in Shanghai, where you can get nice Bowl action. Here is the schedule:

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the team at Bubba’s! We thank you for your patronage these past few years and look forward to seeing all of our great customers in 2009. We wish you the best for this New Year.
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> The following lists the bowl games we will feature at Bubba’s to close out the NCAA 2008 season. Most games, unless indicated by “Live,” will be shown same day delayed at the times indicated. Rankings are based on AP.
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> Thursday, 12/25
> Hawaii Bowl/Notre Dame vs Hawaii (1 and 6 p.m.)
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> Sunday, 12/28
> Champs Sports Bowl/Florida State vs Wisconsin (1 and 6 p.m.)
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> Tuesday, 12/30
> Alamo Bowl/#22 Northwestern vs #25 Missouri (6 p.m.)
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> Wednesday, 12/31
> Holiday Bowl/#13 Oklahoma State vs #15 Oregon (6 p.m.)
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> Thursday, 01/01
> Sun Bowl/#18 Pittsburgh vs #24 Oregon State (1 p.m.)
> Chick-fil-A Bowl/#14 Georgia Tech vs #15 LSU (5 p.m.)
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> Friday, 01/02
> Capital One Bowl/#16 Georgia vs #19 Michigan Stage (1 p.m.)
> BCS Rose Bowl/#5 USC vs #6 Penn State (4 p.m.)
> BCS Orange Bowl/#12 Cincinnati vs #21 Virginia Tech (7 p.m.)
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> Saturday, 01/03
> Cotton Bowl/#8 Texas Tech vs #20 Ole Miss (1 p.m.)
> BCS Sugar Bowl/#4 Alabama vs #7 Utah (5 p.m.)
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> Tuesday, 01/06 (LIVE)
> BCS Fiesta Bowl/#3 Texas vs #10 Ohio State (LIVE, 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. replay)
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> Friday, 01/09 (LIVE)
> BCC Championship/#1 Florida vs #2 Oklahoma (LIVE, 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. replay)
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> We’ll also be doing full coverage of the NFL playoffs and a LIVE showing of the Super Bowl. For game times or questions, please drop me an e-mail at kennethjoewalker@gmail.com.
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> As always….see you at Bubba’s!
>
> KJ

A Short Documentary on China by One of My Students

2008-12-19T11:18:00.001-08:00

In summer 07, I took three U of I undergrads to China for a documentary project. Some of the footages they took were turned into this short:
http://connectcontest.state.gov/video/a-friend-in-nanjing
Your comments are welcome!

Books about Shanghai

2008-12-19T06:34:00.000-08:00

Aaron asked me to recommend books about Shanghai. While there are many excellent books on many other famous cities in the world, such as Paris and Rome, good books about Shanghai for general interests are rare. Please feel free to grab any of those tour books on Shanghai. For in-depth readings, I highly recommend Shanghai Modern (by Leo Lee). It gives a fascinating introduction to Shanghai's history as a semi-colonial city and how the city became a converging point for various political and cultural conflicts.

What to Pack

2008-12-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

1. Camera, if it's a conventional camera, you can easily get films in China; if it's digital, bring enough memory cards with you if you don't bring a laptop. I can burn DVDs for you out of my laptop as the last resolve if you run out of memory. If the camera comes with a charger, don't forget to bring the charger with you.

2. Your passport, cash or traveler's check, driver's license, the SAO folder which includes your insurance information and the flight itinerary.

3. Your regular medication.

4. Tylenol or Advil or your preferred over the counter painkiller, diareaah medication, your asthma inhaler.

5. Winter clothes: warm coat, fleece and/or sweater, scarf, gloves, hat, warm socks.

6. A pair of sneakers.

7. A nice set of dress if you want to go out with the group. We are going to celebrate the New Year in style!

8. An Illinois T-shirt or shirt. Be prepared to leave the shirt or an extra new shirt to your Chinese friend that you have made. I respect everyone's stance on the Chief issue. Feel free to wear the Chief logo. But as a respect to the Chinese people, I don't think you should give presents in the Chief logo. I personally was offended when people wearing the Chief shirts yelled at me "Fighting Chink," which was the small Illinois town Pekin's high school mascot.

9. Dental floss, cold sour cream, moisturizer, deodorant.

10. Your cell phone, IF it's quad band, unlocked from the network and uses SIM card.

Scholarship

2008-09-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

Illinois for Illinois (I4I) Study Abroad Undergraduate Student Scholarship

Offering approximately $250,000 in scholarship money annually, awarding approximately 100 scholarships each semester.

Awards range from $500 to $5,000, and will be divided among the following categories:

• General merit
• Financial need
• Underrepresented student (students of Latina/o, African American, or Native American/Alaskan Native heritage)
• Non-traditional destination (study in Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, or Central or Eastern Europe)

Eligibility

Students will be considered for only one award per cycle. Students who do not win an award may re-apply each subsequent cycle. However, students who have already won an award may apply for a new one, in a subsequent cycle, if they intend to participate in an additional study abroad program.

To be eligible to apply for the scholarship, students must:

1. Intend to be enrolled, undergraduate, degree-seeking students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign at the time of study abroad;
2. Meet academic requirements of their Illinois college to be eligible to study abroad;
3. Identify a study abroad program, approved by the University of Illinois, to which they intend to apply or have already applied; and
4. Pay the $5 study abroad scholarship fee during the semester in which they apply.

The deadline to apply for the Winter session and Spring 2009 semester is October 1, 2008.

For more information, contact the Study Abroad Office by email at sao@illinois.edu or visit the Web site.

Tentative Schedule

2008-09-27T08:18:00.000-07:00

1.December 27, Saturday. Leave Chicago O’Hare International Airport for Shanghai.
2.December 28, Sunday, Beijing Time (14 hours ahead of America Central Time). Arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Pick up by SJU’s coach bus for the one-hour ride to the historical SJU downtown campus at Xujiahui, Shanghai Central Business District. Welcome banquet.
3.December 29, Monday
8am: Breakfast (the same hereafter)
9-11am: History of Shanghai and of SJU
11am-1pm: Lunch at the Faculty Lounge
1-2pm: Language class I: Learn how to do things in Chinese in 1 hour!
2-9pm: Tour of SJU campus; get to know the neighborhood and the Xujiahui area
6:30pm: dinner at Element Fresh
4.December 30, Tuesday
9-11am: Language and culture class: How to get around in Shanghai
1-5pm: Sightseeing – Yuyuan Garden, Town God Temple (Chenghuangmiao) Market
8pm: Sightseeing: Nanjing Road Pedestrian Splendor and The Bund
5.December 31, Wednesday
9-11am: Language class: The first impression
1-3pm: Guest lecture: Doing business in Shanghai and China internship opportunities
8pm: New Year’s Eve Celebration on Hengshan Road!
6.Jan. 1, Thursday
Relaxation. Catch up with your journal
7.Jan. 2, Friday
9-11am, Language class
1-3pm, Lecture: Shanghai, China, and Globalization
8.Jan. 3, Saturday
9-11 am, Chinese art
Afternoon: Shanghai Museum
9pm: Cotton Club, the best jazz band in Shanghai!
9.Jan. 4, Sunday
1-3pm: History of Hangzhou
10.Jan. 5, Monday
Board the early morning train for the one-hour ride to the most beautiful city in China – Hangzhou; tour of West Lake
11.Jan. 6, Tuesday
Longjing Tea Plantation; Qiantang River Tide
12.Jan. 7, Wednesday
Lingyin Temple; board the late afternoon train back to Shanghai
13.Jan. 8, Thursday
1-3pm, Chinese Calligraphy class
14.Jan. 9, Friday
9-11am, Lecture: Chinese Entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship
1-3pm, Chinese Calligraphy class
15.Jan. 10, Saturday
Morning tour of the Pudong Financial District and of the Pearl of the Orient
Get your calligraphy pieces finished into rolls and your seals done
16.Jan. 11, Sunday
Xin tiandi (New World): the traditional Shanghai residence and the founding of the Chinese Communist Party
17.Jan. 12, Monday
Take the one-day tour of Zhou Zhuang, the charming village on the rivers
18.Jan. 13, Tuesday
Shanghai acrobatics show; farewell banquet
19.Jan. 14, Wednesday
Fly back to the States

LAS 199: Winter in Shanghai

2008-09-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

Time: Dec. 27, 2008-Jan. 14, 2009

Place: Shanghai Jiaotong University, Xuhui Campus

Address: 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai

Course Description

What can be more fitting to study globalization than in Shanghai, one of the most dynamic and thoroughly globalized cities in not only China but also the entire world? Our course will be based at Shanghai Jiaotong University, in its historical downtown campus. Our focus will be Shanghai: its colonial history, its leading role in China’s rapid economic development and in urbanization, its central role in financial capitalism, and its future during China’s battles with bottlenecks in sustainable development and with environmental destruction. Besides touring the city’s fascinating combination of tradition with modern, we will also see an ancient fishing village and a mid-size city in Hangzhou for contrasting perspectives.