Expats in Baotou City: Where to Eat in Baotou: International Sport Baotou City July 2011The Seven Pizza bar is located on the 1st floor (western description). It is located just one block from the Main Road Gangtie Dajie and LinYin Road. That intersection also forms the North West Gate to Ba Yi Park. It's not an Up market Joint, and nor is it one of those places where the Chinese stare at the foreigner like he is a monkey in a zoo. It's a 'home away from home' place for foreigners.
Seven Pizza Bar Baotou City for Foreigners and Expats
Foreign Teachers and Expats in Baotou City Inner Mongolia
I first came to Baotou in 2009 and during the time I have been here, I have never really known any foreigners nor come across a place frequented by foreigners. What I didn't know when I first arrived is that there was a foreigner's or expat's bar in the Kunqu District (West) of the City. It opened up about the same time I arrived.
It transpires that for most of the time that I have lived in Baotou City, I have lived just around the corner from The Seven Pizza bar. I had in fact seen it, but had no idea that it was an expats bar.
The Seven Pizza bar is located on the 1st floor (western description). It is located just one block from the Main Road Gangtie Dajie and LinYin Road. That intersection also forms the North West Gate to Ba Yi Park.
Not long ago I ran into one of the owners and he gave me a personal tour of the establishment. The business is a joint Western-Chinese Venture run by Gao Zichang and a Pilipino named Xiao Fei, or 'Ross' if you prefer.
This photograph was taken from outside looking into the interior of the room. The place has a variety of seating styles, a big screen TV and a DJ corner, as well as a lot of interesting bric-a-brac.
It is just a couple of hundred meters from the Walking Street in the Kunqu District of Baotou, near the BaoBai and Victory Hall Shopping Plazas. It's down a side street and in a laneway which is somewhat threadbare, but which leads you out to Ba Yi Park.
It's not much to look at from the street, but inside it is quite comfy. It's not an Up market Joint, and nor is it one of those places where the Chinese stare at the foreigner like he is a monkey in a zoo. It's a 'home away from home' place for foreigners (mainly teachers from the nearby English First School).
Photographs of the Inner Sanctum - taken from different vantage points.
They make a great BBQ Hawaiian Pizza and serve a variety of other foods and drinks as well.
As I am always looking for Photographs to use as the 'Photo of the Day' at Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA, I asked Ross if I could come and take some and use them in the newspaper. (I have of late been putting 'Baotou' 'Photos of the Day' in my own column).
While I will still use some of the photos I took as 'Photos of the Day', today I am actually providing a little story to go with the pictures, some of which are of Ba Yi Park Baotou.
The Pizza Bar has two rooms inside the building, and two outside sections as well. These photographs, like the double photo immediately above it, are taken in the Entrance / Foyer / Counter Area of the Business. Off to the diagonal left of right frame photo, is the entrance to the 'Inner Sanctum'
Most of the photographs shown here were taken in the daytime, before the Pizza shop opened. In fact, the shutters to the outside section were still closed and the lights weren't on which made it easy for me to get good photos.
Taken about 11.30am.
You can see the Pizza Over to the right; the counter directly ahead (not to mention the staff member who had to move the tables for me to take the shots); the interesting bottles up on the shelf on the far wall; the tons of beer to the left; and that game thingy that everyone likes to play when they are watching soccer (football) on the TV. The photograph was taken from the doorway of the inner sanctum.
I actually had dinner there last night (July 13th) but didn't have my camera with me. I originally had planned to take my Local Boss and another Staff Member to dinner there last night, but my boss had to fly off to Beijing, so that dinner has been postponed. During the afternoon however I had to work at Qingshan Branch, and while there, I received two calls from two friends wanting to meet me, so we arranged to meet at the Seven Pizza Bar. I decided that on the way I should stop off at home (I only live one block from the Pizza Bar) and grab my camera.
This photograph was taken from the side street that leads up to Gangtie Dajie and the Walking street. The Pizza Bar is recessed back from the street and is located in a laneway that leads through to Ba Yi Park on Linyin Road. It's a rather dead area, but has lots of Muslim and other eating places. On the other side of the road is another shopping district. I've put these photographs here just to help you locate the area.
Although from Dong He District you can catch the No 5 bus to the Da Li Ya Bus stop near the walking street outside Baobai and walk down to the Seven Pizza Bar, I was at Na Lin in Qingshan, and had to take a different numbered bus. Although I could have taken the number 20, 23, 33, 32, or 134 buses to Baobai on Gangtie Dajie in Kunqu, I actually took the number 11. This was a mistake, because while the other buses would have dropped me outside of my apartment, the No. 11 dropped me off at the park and I walked through the park to go to the Seven Pizza Bar. The walk through the park caused me to forget to go home and grab my camera. I did however promise to go back today to get the shots.
Different Entrances
Left frame with the shutters is the First floor passage way leading from the stairs
Right frame is the stairwell - were you to approach from the side street.
Right Frame is a shot of the deck area - taken from the next level up.
Right Frame looks toward the Side Street leading to Gangtie Dajie.
Taken in Gangtie Da Jie
Right Frame: Same side of the road as the side street - taken at the bus stop. Side Street is other side of that Entrance to the underground mall. (Orange Box far side of the Bicycles - left of Right Frame)
Left Frame: Da Li Ya Bus Stop Other side of the road. This is where you would get off the bus if coming from Qingshan or Donghe Districts.
Mike my Japanese-Mongolian friend arrived at the Pizza bar not more than a minute after I did and while waiting for my other friend to arrive, we shared a pizza and chatted. Our chat was not restricted to just between ourselves. We also had a staff member who joined us for awhile (and massaged my shoulders) and we also talked with the Chinese boss Mr. Gao; with Martin the Dutch guy; Hannah an Australian lady, and with Chris a Pom (English). Altogether I counted about 10 foreigners in the bar last night.
There is some Interesting Stuff in this place.
This is just one small shot of several areas of wall upon which travellers write their comments. My favourite comment is the one that goes something like 'I had a gloriously happy life up until the day I met you!' Comments appear is several languages. The English comments contain a lot of "Jesus Loves You" while the German comments seem to be about how much the writers 'Love You!'
Reeeaaaalllyyy Cooooool Guys!
I love this photo
I recognize two of the people as partners in the business and the others are probably teachers from English First Training School
After dinner I called my Mongolian friend to say that we were leaving the Seven Pizza Bar and going for a walk in the park. When we got to Ba Yi Park (it's just down the laneway and across the street), we met up with Arnold (the Mongolian) and his female friend.
Located on either side of Lin Yin Road at the Laneway leading to the Seven Pizza Bar
A Waterfall on the Western Side of Ba Yi Park
Opposite the Waterfall and beside the laneway is a building with these Sculptures in front.
The three of us took a stroll through Ba Yi Park and finally settled down to have a drink and a chat in one of the many food places there. The conversation was interesting because we are all bilingual and between the four of us, there was a lot of conversation in Chinese, Japanese, Mongolian and English. I learned a lot of new words last night.
With so many foreigners arriving in Baotou City right now for the International Sports Event due to start on July 16th, I thought it appropriate to do up this little photographic piece in order to give the visitors to this fair city (a little literary license used there), a chance to find a place where they can hide away from the Inscrutable Chinese glares, and relax in a place where the Chinese are more likely to speak to them in English.
At any rate, if there are foreigners out there trying to locate a comfortable place (without the stares and Chinese comments that go with them), where they can get a decent western meal in Baotou City, you can rest assured that at Seven Pizza Bar you will find a nice informal place to relax and enjoy a meal and a pint or two of your favorite beverage.
In the Ba Yi Park article at Kingscalendar I have provided some more photographic details and information on how to find the Seven Pizza Bar.
If you are in Baotou or coming to Baotou (especially for the International Sports Event July 16th 2011) and decide to take a visit to Ba Yi Park, don't forget to drop in at the Seven Pizza Bar. Both places are quite interesting.
My personal thanks to Gao Zichang and Xiao Fei for their instant friendship, and I wish the Business partners all the success in the world for their business venture.
R.P. BenDedek
Email: rpbendedek@hotmail.com
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With the official greetings over, we were presented with a variety of performances from local artists and international guests, including an American man and his family. This family presented a narrative from a Gospel about the birth of Jesus, and then went on to present some musical renditions of Christmas Carols. Another foreigner, who performed a Chinese fan dance, was Helen, a Ukrainian with an American Accent. She is also an English teacher in Dong He District Baotou. We chatted for a little while at the end of the night. The other performances included an Arabian - Chinese dance performed by a group of girls balancing rice bowls while they gyrated around the place. They were all young and beautiful and adept in their craft
My 'less than trusting' Chinese friends (currently scattered far and wide throughout China), are not so excited. They tell me that not only are private schools well known for their abuse of and cheating both foreign and National teachers, but one should not trust a Chinese boss to keep his word. While in fact no one has actually informed me that I will be paid overtime, the provision is in my contract and I don't see how it can be 'forgotten'. I doubt that the franchisee could ever have become such an illustrious business woman (She has businesses in China and in Canada) had she not been an ethical manager
Parks and Gardens in Inner Mongolia: Expats Watering Hole: International Visitors to Baotou have a lot to see within the city. Ba Yi Park is Located in Kunqu District Baotou City Inner Mongolia which is in the west of the City. It occupies a block in the middle of Minzu Xi Lu (East), Gangtie Dajie (North), Linyin Lu (West), and Qingnian Lu (South). In the West it is located on the last intersection (Gangtie Dajie and Linyin Lu - Northwest Entry) before the Underground Mall, the Walking Street and the Baobai and Victory Hall Shopping Plazas.
Expats in Baotou City: Where to Eat in Baotou: The Seven Pizza bar is located on the 1st floor (western description). It is located just one block from the Main Road Gangtie Dajie and LinYin Road. That intersection also forms the North West Gate to Ba Yi Park. It's not an Up market Joint, and nor is it one of those places where the Chinese stare at the foreigner like he is a monkey in a zoo. It's a 'home away from home' place for foreigners.
Nanhai Park is in Dong He in Baotou. Dong He is just one part of Baotou and lies to the east. It can be reached from Qingshan and Kunqu Districts by cathing the No. 10 or No. 5 bus. It's about a 30 minute fast trip from Qingshan and a little longer from Kunqu.Now although we don't know and don't care why this dragon was in the water, we were interested to travel over to this little island you see in the next photo. We were only interested until we saw the boat ride prices! We live here and earn Chinese rmb. We are too poor to spend that sort of money. As I am often heard to say to Chinese who want me to spend up big' 'Hey! I am a foreigner. I am not Chinese! I am not rich!'
I have spent most Chinese New Years in the villages of Heng Ji and Fengkou in Hong Hu city in Hubei. Last New Year I was in Australia and now I am in Baotou. I have to admit that I prefer to watch the fireworks in the dark countryside, but it has nevertheless been an interesting experience tonight.
For those who regularly follow my adventures in China, it may come as a surprise to know that I have returned to work in Baotou in Inner Mongolia. For those who don't follow my adventures, the reason that some people would be surprised to hear that I have returned to Baotou is related to the rather serious events that occurred last May.
Not long before I left Baotou in early 2010, my friend Arnold (Chaolu) took me for a visit to his home village and gave me a look at some local scenery. I could probably tell a story about our trip, but it would mainly involve the difficulties encountered with Chinese Transport. Therefore there is no real story here, just a glimpse of the area out past Lin He, northwest of Baotou. Chaolu has for years taken foreigners on private tours of the grasslands but is now in the process of establishing a tour company called "Tournmg" (Tour Nei Menggu)
As I skirted Mr. Gao to assist Miss Mae, Mr. Wu the EET Baotou office manager - he's tall, powerful and huge - began powerfully kicking Mae in the ribs and stomach, all the while screaming obscenities at her in Chinese. The Female American Teacher threw herself onto Mr. Wu and I grabbed Miss Mae and rushed her outside away from the commotion.
Such is the game playing that goes on in China, but in this case, the games are being played my a Norwegian and a Taiwanese. When you the foreigner, are having fun in Shanghai this year, please remember that while Hu Jintao is making great strides to make China a harmonious society, with government officials doing their work honestly and with transparency, there are always those people in China, who, because of their money or some personal power, seek not only to control Chinese and foreigner alike, but to punish them if they do not willingly agree to be slaves.
Although EET Baotou is not legally entitled to have foreign teachers, schools 'legally' require release papers and letters of recommendation from unregistered schools. Perhaps M/S Cui's claims to have influential friends in the police and education departments is no simple boast.
11pm, I was sitting in my little room updating articles for my website. My door was open, (to allow ventilation), and I could hear someone in the hallway jabbering away on their mobile phone. Then I heard a noise at my door, and looked up. Standing in the doorway was a middle-aged Chinese woman, in pink flannel pajamas staring at me. I looked at her; she looked at me. Before I could say anything, she said: 'Oh! You are a foreigner!'
Within an hour of arrival in Baotou, I was off to work for EET. At the time I arrived at EET, we had 3 staff - Sabrina, myself, and Mae (a lovely lady who speaks no English - we do have fun communicating when no one else is around). From June 26th (my contract started July 1st) I was waking up everyday at my usual time of 6:30am. I would leave for the office at 8:50am; return to my room for an hour at lunchtime, and return to the office for the afternoon. After work, (although I was never sure when work actually finished) we would go to all manner of hotels to meet all manner of people that were either personal friends of Sabrina's or people that we as a business are going to be doing business with. Most nights I got home around 10pm and 'worse for wear'.
It is quite amazing to see how such young children are already programmed to study and learn, but the frustrating thing has been their reluctance to actually speak English.When they ask me questions in Chinese, I tell them to ask in English. It doesn't matter how many times I give them the English translation, they persist in speaking Chinese
The interesting thing about the ride is that as the train leaves each station, a uniformed attendant salutes the departing train. At night, people dance, talk, roller scate etc. An Island blocks the view to the ocean. The sculpture of the boy is urinating
Arriving at the Hotel at 7 pm, we booked in to once again find ourselves faced with a room with one queen sized bed in it. Again we insisted and received a twin room. We stayed at the JinHui hotel which you can find listed at www.ctrip.com. It is located at LuoHu (lor - who) and is 2 minutes walk from the cargo vehicle border crossing into Xiang Gang (Hong Kong).
The Hong Kong Hotel was located in a back street, about 10 minutes from the Bund. We spent two days in the area before taking the train to HangZhou, where we spent a couple of days exploring 'West Lake'; and visiting "Shaoxing" about which I have already written at Magic City. The photos contained in this file are nothing spectacular, but for those who have never been to Shanghai, or never been to China, they might offer some insights.
After years of living in China, I finally got around to organizing a trip to Tibet. I was due to pay for the trip at the End of June and I was to go in October during the Chinese National Holiday. If you have been wondering why the Chinese Government put a ban on foreigners going to Tibet, then now you know the reason. It was to stop me! Alleyways and Streets are more narrow than the canals in Xitang Town ZheJiang. Once we cleared the bars it quieted down. Now this is where I point out why the title of this article has 'Clown' in it.
Mingxing's company had booked him into the upmarket Kempinski Hotel in Wuxi and he organized and paid for one extra day so that we could go sightseeing. There are two photos in Part one that relate to the Kempinski Hotel Room, but this photo is of the lavish foyer of the Hotel as taken from the first floor landing above the coffee shop. Whilst the Big Buddha is the 'centerpiece' so to speak, the real spectacular is to be found in the Cultural Museum. This place is one helluva spectacular place inside. It sits directly opposite the replica of the Potala Palace, and when you enter you are required to put coverings over your shoes. I suspect that the real reason is to cut down on the cleaning bill. This place was crowded and all those people shuffling along wearing shoe protectors gave the marble floor a really high sheen.
The Fairy Island on the Lake Taihu. which used to be called the Three-Mount Island, is a group of well-known islands and islets in the famou s scenic spot of Lake Taihu.it lies in the lake, and is 2. 0 kilometers away from the Turtle Head Peninsual, which is in the northeast shore. The entire islands are made up of the islets such as Daji, Xiaoji, Dongya, Xiya, with a total area of 12 hectares. (From a Sign at Taihu.)
Beijing
(Note: Chiara Braccagni's articles are in both English and Italian)
A una di queste chiamate, ci fermiamo a fianco a una coppia di giovani. Non solo i due incauti avevano diversi sacchetti, ma portavano con sé anche una torta. Dopo varie discussioni con la bigliettaia perché la torta nel pulmino proprio non ci stava, provano ad aprire il finestrino e a passarla alla ragazza seduta di fronte a Justine. Visto che non riuscivano a spostare il vetro, sporgendomi, faccio alla bigliettaia: "Lo faccia passare da qui" (okkei, va bene, ho detto solo "da qui", il resto della frase era sottinteso!). Io, anima ingenua, credevo che una volta saliti i due giovani avrebbero trovato il modo di riprendersi la torta. E invece no! Mi sono fatta una decina di chilometri di strada sterrata con una torta gelato sulle ginocchia! E giusto per renderla ancora più precaria, era una torta a due piani con complesse decorazioni, tra cui un drago giallo con occhi e baffi di cioccolata. Avevo il terrore di spetasciarla. A questo punto, però, ridevamo da non riuscire più a respirare.
Storie dalla Cina in italiano: Dal momento che Shijiazhuang non è proprio il paradiso del turista, una volta cambiato il biglietto e anticipata la partenza (per andare sul sicuro avevo comprato un biglietto sul tardino, non si sa mai di aspettare un bus una vita e mezza, perdersi nella campagna e rimanere bloccati a Shijiazhuang!), l'unica attività a mia disposizione era il sopralluogo a uno dei centri commerciali della piazza della stazione (unico negozio degno di nota il supermercato, ho preso certe cialde al sesamo buonissime da sgranocchiare al rientro)
Sabato sera, in un locale di Pechino, ho conosciuto una ragazza cinese, Sophie. Lei e un amico scattavano alcune fotografie al gruppo live. Era molto gentile e dopo un po' di conversazione ha invitato me e le due ragazze che mi accompagnavano a visitare un nuovo quartiere artistico di Pechino. Abbiamo subito accettato con piacere
Built in 1406-1420, The Imperial Palace, popularly known as the Forbidden City, was the permanent residence of the Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It's buildings are divided into two parts. The front part, or the 'outer court', consists of Tai He Dian Hall, Zhong He Dian Hall and Bao He Dian Hall, which are taken as it's main body, plus Wen Hua Dian Hall and Wu Ying Dian Hall, which are taken as it's two wings, Where the Emperor held important ceremonies
From the airport one may take the fast train into Hong Kong, or as the Chinese say, 'You can just......'. The trouble with that is, unless you can read Chinese, or have someone with you to guide you, you can't just do anything. I found it very confusing and wasted a lot of time trying to find my way OUT of the airport and onto the train, but having finally accomplished that, when I arrived at the final destination, I had no idea where I was, or where to go, or who to speak to, for, although Hong Kong was under the control of the British for so long, no one seemed to be able to speak English
Built in 1406, The Imperial Palace, popularly known as the Forbidden City, was the permanent residence of the Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It's buildings are divided into two parts
Definition: King's Calendar Chronological Research
The Premise: Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE (but continuing down to at least 104 BCE), Sectarian redactors transcribed the legitimate 'solar year' chronological records of Israel and Judah, into an artificial form, with listed years as each comprised of 12 months of 4 weeks of 7 days, or 336 days per year, thus creating a 13th artificial year where 12 solar years existed.
When the Synchronous Chronological Data provided in the Books of Kings and Chronicles for the Divided Kingdom Period are measured in years of 336 days, the synchronisms actually align. [Refer to Appendix 5. to see how it synchronises the Divided Kingdom Period]
About the KingsCalendar Publisher
R.P.BenDedek is the owner and Editor of KingsCalendar.com which was originally set up to publicize his research results into the Chronology of Ancient Israel. Those results were published under the title: 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran'.
Whilst there have been many attempts to solve the chronological riddle of the Bible's synchronisms of reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah and their synchronism with other Ancient Near Eastern Nations, no other research is based on a simple mathematical formula which could, if it is incorrect, be disproved easily. To date, no one has been able to dismiss the mathematical results of this research.
Free to air Academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
During the current economic downturn, this book has been drastically reduced in price but will eventually rise as the economy improves.
Check the Chapter Precis Page to see details of each chapter and to gain access to the Four Free to Air Chapters
R.P. BenDedek writes social commentaries and photographic 'Stories from China' both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing columnist at Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA.
(He has been teaching Conversational English in China since 2003 and currently (2013) is teaching in Suzhou City Jiangsu Province.)
