Lost In China

While looking for some current event in China, I can across this National Geographic series, Lost In China.

Jeff and Peter Hutchens, both filmmakers and photographers, make their way through China. Their goal with this series is to go beyond cliche that people have of china. They travel to more remote parts of country and show you how diverse the country really is. Here is a link to the National Geographic site. The episode that I am really interested in seeing is the one in the on the Three Gorges Dam. As soon as I find a link to a video I will post it.

Here is another episode I found. In this episode Jeff and Peter travel into North Western China.

Photography

Middle River, MD

Photo: b.wisniewski

While in China I will be documenting my experience though photographs. I will be using my Nikon D30, along with my dad's small digital camera. In addition to bringing my camera I will be bringing my computer to store all the photos I take, and I will most likely bring a hard drive to back them up just incase. It is my goal to take as many pictures as I can. I am really excited to take photos from the Royal Gorge boat trip we will be taking. I really enjoy taking photos over the water. The picture above is an example of a one of my favorite photographs i've taken of my backyard. When I arrive back to Vermont I am going to upload the pictures that I think best describe my trip. I really hope to capture what this trip to China will mean to me.

Karaokeee!

During class the topic of karaoke in China was brought up.

The first thing that I thought of was the scene from Rush Hour 2.

In China karaoke bars, called KTV's, are very popular. The culture around karaoke in China is very different from the US. In China a common KTV has multiple room in which karaoke is sung. The rooms are generally small, 6,12,or 20 people. This keeps the atmosphere fun and private, and allowing the people not to get to embarrassed singing in front of a room full of strangers. I have also found that KTV's have come under the unfortunate stereotype of being a front for brothels. But as long as it says KTV and the name of the place, and there isn't a line of only men waiting outside you should be fine. (More Info. on KTV's) I am hoping that while we are in China we will have a chance to go to a KTV. Maybe one of the nights we are in Beijing?!

I found a video of some karaoke we can practice with in class.

Doesn't singing Little Mermaid at 8am sounds great!

Knowledge of China

China is a very big country, with a lot of people… and panda bears.

http://www.therealstevegray.com/

There are currently over 1 billion people living in china, with the population increasing by 12-13 million people each year. (More information) The People’s Republic of China, in efforts to slow the growth rate, imposed the One-Child Policy. There is much controversy about the policy because it is Chinese custom to favor having a baby boy, resulting in the rate of female births to decrease. Human rights are also viewed differently in China then in the United States. In China the rights of the community are valued over the rights of an individual. This view comes from the convergence of many different religions, but primarily Taoism. China also censors all of what is published, read, or seen in the internet.

bbc.com

While thinking about what I know about China this video clip popped into my head.