And, by the way, Wuhan is hiding most of China’s beautiful women (and handsome men) from the rest of the country!  

     (Alishan, Taiwan)                                                          (Wuhan, Hubei)

 But the holiday is over and it’s time to get back to work! I’m very excited about this year because a lot of positive changes are coming and I hope that all of my students (past and present) can enjoy this new year with me. Although I will be teaching my last term at Jinan University, Zhuhai (Spring 2012)，I will be continuing in China as a professor, author, and company partner. All of these areas are key in my professional growth and I know my students can benefit from this too!

Professor: As you may know, I’ve been teaching English courses through my online training school, and at universities, companies, and private training centers since 2004. I will continue teaching advanced English courses in various subjects through my partner schools in Zhuhai, Zhongshan, and Guangzhou. Specifically, I’m planning to use my own text books and new methods to teach spoken English to both students and professionals. It will be exciting to see this develop and I’m looking forward to teaching others about S4 English Pronunciation. Also, talk to me if you are going to take IELTS soon…

Author: As some of my JNU students know, I’ve become heavily involved in the development of a revolutionary way to learn spoken English. My students sound like native speakers and score higher than their classmates on spoken English exams. Visit the free S4 study page on EFET. You don’t have to be a college student to be a successful English speaker either. As long as you are comfortable with a system like Pinyin, you will succeed with S4 English Pronunciation. My first books in 2012 include Hotel English and Dating a Foreigner in English. The first edition of Hotel English will be available as an iBook for Apple usersinternationally and the printed book will be available in the specialized courses I teach in my new training company, 博识 (Bo Shi).

Company Partner:  博识管理咨询有限公司 is a joint-venture based on my US-based training company called Boss Language Training LLC and a Chinese training company partner in Zhuhai. (Website coming soon…)  We offer advanced training courses for companies and individuals through our network of training centers all over Zhuhai (in-person). Our primary course offering includes economics, management, HR, and language programs (English and Japanese). Online training is also offered through my online academy, EFET. Furthermore, we offer certificate programs through Zhuhai’s Labor Department, which is highly useful in getting promotions at your company and around China.

2012 is off to a great start! At present I’m not hiring full-time staff, but I am interested in hiring qualified people on a per-task basis. Some tasks include typing, marketing, and sales for Bo Shi and my own books. I will post these tasks here in Qzone when I need help. Other ways to work with me include active participation on S4 pronunciation, since I know most students following my Qzone want to improve their English! Follow@jieminglaoshi for #天天S4# updates!

Tibetan man and Me in Lhasa

Talking to Tibetans about how they see modern Tibet is something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time now. I often discuss modern China with Taiwanese, because they also live in a politically sticky environment. Superficially, Taiwan is considered a renegade province of China but their license plates say “台湾省” (Taiwan Province). There are also noticeably squeamish times of the year when international sporting events encompass all of Asia. Taiwan becomes “Chinese Taipei” and their flag is often an Olympic symbol on top of a white background. And as Mainland China grows its clout around the world, it is fair to say that fewer and fewer countries will recognize Taiwan as they once did decades ago.

But back to Tibet! The Lonely Planet guide doesn’t recall the Chinese history of Tibet in as bright a light as Chinese history books. For the Chinese, Tibet “has always been a part of China”; for Western historians, Tibet has been fighting foreign powers for centuries to keep its independence. In fact, two separate dynasties of China maintained territorial control over Tibet, and that is why The Party claimed Tibet after the civil war with the KMT (Kuo Min Tang: the previous Chinese government, which fled to modern Taiwan).

Me, Gyaltsen, and Jake at Potala Palace

Cut to present-day Lhasa City, February 2011, Gyaltsen: Our tour guide was a sweet, friendly man who seemed to genuinely appreciate our visit. He wrestled with his English but was still very informative. I could tell through indirect comments that he wanted to express the local people’s struggle with the military presence in their society. Platoons of soldiers, heavily armed, march around the squares of the most important religious sites in Lhasa. It was a bizarre, conflicting scene that could only be believed in person. At one side you see a man prostrating painfully around Jokang Temple, and to the other side you see helmets and shiny weapons.

When I asked Gyaltsen “How do Tibetan’s think about their lives today as compared to years gone by…?” He carefully answered, “there is more pressure now, but people still pray and go about their daily lives.” When my cousin Jake asked about the money flooding into Tibet, he replied “it makes people’s living better, but it also makes life harder.”

Monks in Shigatse's Monastery

From what I could see around the city and in small towns, Tibetans don’t necessarily care for the blue jeans and light beer being pushed on them from outside. They live hard lives, but that is what believers in Tibetan Buddhism prefer. When there was a chance for independence in the early 1900s, the Dalai Llama fought the conservatives who said that they didn’t have to militarize the country. They didn’t want to “modernize”… to their own peril we now see. They wanted simple lives, even if their spiritual leaders were sitting comfortably high up on their thrones.

In order to understand Tibet, you need to be familiar with their religion and the political influence of the Lamas (high priests of Tibetan Buddhism, which are reincarnations of various Buddhas). The two major lamas being “Dalai” (Avalokiteśvara = Compassion buddha) and “Panchen” (Amitabha=Great Scholar), but living in exile these days. The 14th Dalai lama is older and more famous than any other current lama. As he approaches his final years, the people will rely heavily on the Panchen lama to influence the choosing of a new spiritual leader. Unfortunately, the Panchen lama vanished from the public eye in 1995[*], and the Beijing appointed lama is finishing highschool in Beijing. Tibetan leaders will be never again be chosen as in the past, but rather, based on who will follow Beijing policies. Although Tibet is without a doubt part of modern China, this mysterious, once-isolated culture will only become more watered down as time passes by.

Gyaltsen and Turquoise Lake

Tibet is a beautiful landscape which is a must for anyone’s bucket list. Even in dusty winter-time, the roof of the world is truly spectacular. Although a lot of artifacts and buildings were lost or destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, their culture is still very strong. Gyaltsen told us that March is when the Tibetan New Year is held, which is also called the King’s New Year (as opposed to the Peasants’ New Year, on the Chinese calendar). With tongue in cheek, as always, the people of Tibet will always be a humble people who welcome the world to see their beautiful home; which certainly is a treasure to the human race.

KTX-Korea

High Speed Rail (HSR) is not new to Asia, although the biggest network is now being constructed in China. HSR has been in Asia for decades and is getting upgraded all the time. As you experience various countries across North Asia, it is important to get familiar with these amazing trains and be sure to work them into your trip! The thrill of legally speeding at 340 km/h (210 mph) on the ground is an awesome feeling.

Shinkansen-Japan

I was lucky enough to experience the early HSR in South Korea (called KTX), which opened just as I arrived there in 2004. It speeds across the country in just under 3 hours. Of course Korea is pretty small, but the KTX beats the 5+ hours car trip plus $60 tolls.

THSR-Taiwan

The Shinkansen, in Japan, was opened in 1964 and initially reached speeds of 210 km/h (130 mph). Their fastest Mag-Lev trains reached 581 km/h (361 mph) back in 2003. As a rule of thumb, traveling around Japan is expensive, so this rail option should be planned carefully.

Taiwan has the THSR which basically parallels their older West Coast railway. Somehow they found space on this tiny island to build Inter-County highways, traditional rail, and High Speed Rail! It is a beautiful piece of work which opened in 2007. I tried it once from Kaohsiung (a major southern city) up to Taipei (the capital city). Since there are spots rather frequently, its top speed is limited to 300 km/h (186 mph).

CRH-China

Mainland China’s Railway Highspeed (CRH) is the longest high-speed rail network at over 7,400km (5,000 miles), called “Gao Tie” [Gow Tee-a-uh]. I have been on it twice; once between Zhengzhou-Xi’an, and also between Guangzhou-Wuhan. My recent trip to Hengshan took 3 hours by HSR instead of 8 hours by car. Various corridors of the Chinese CRH system have been completed and the rest of the system will be completed by 2020, bringing the total length up to 25,000 km (16,000 miles). The fastest leg of this whole network is a MagLev train in Shanghai which reaches speeds of 431 km/h (268 mph). I rode this train in 2006 from Pudong airport into the city subway system. It was incredible to say the least!

Inside Guangzhou South Station

Not only are the trains amazing, but the new stations being built for their specific use are mind-boggling. Opened in 2010, the Guangzhou South Station is one of the biggest in China and looks like some kind of alien spacecraft! I’ve visited this station three times and still break a sweat when I approach the main entrance. The pictures don’t even begin to describe the feeling inside this place.

The Belly of the Beast

High Speed Rail is not the future, but the present. It’s a reality that is sweeping across Asia and changing the speed of life on the ground. With boarding and exiting times much faster than commercial flights, while carrying many more passengers with less energy, it is an intelligent choice for countries which can make the case to its citizens. In countries whose citizens don’t get a vote, this decision comes much easier. And maybe this is a good thing during a time of increased global climate concerns.