I’ve moved!

Yep, I’m currently relocating from www.helenstravelcorner.wordpress.com to just www.helenstravelcorner.com. Please check out my new posts at the new and improved Helen’s Travel Corner (and update any links, bookmarks, etc. so you don’t miss anything).  I’m still working out a lot of the technical kinks so bear with me.

Thanks for stopping by!

Helen

China Pollution and my Lungs in Beijing, part 2 – the Follow-up

So back in June when I was preparing for my 3 month trip to Beijing, I was utterly worried about the pollution in the city and what long-term effects it would have on my lungs (see China Pollution and my Lungs in Beijing). I packed four items to help out and now that I’m back in the States, the review is in on both the pollution and what helped battle it.

Beijing’s pollution was a topic that couldn’t be ignored seeing how the media inundated us with stories about the situation leading up to the Olympics. There was one story about special masks that the USA team had engineered and would be wearing right up until the players would compete in Olympic matches or another story about how no world records would be broken at outdoor events due to the pollution. It was worrisome. I blogged about it and what I was going to do to battle it. In my own posting I rattled off Kevin Holden Platt for National Geographic News stating that, “A World Health Organization (WHO) report estimates that diseases triggered by indoor and outdoor air pollution kill 656,000 Chinese citizens each year.” Yes, this is unnerving but what does it mean to the Beijing traveler?

Looking back, I can say that I got caught up in the over-dramatization of the media. Some may say that the air was indeed better while I was there and part of the big China-Olympic façade I encountered, but I disagree. There were days when I looked out my window from the tenth floor and couldn’t see past a block beyond my building due to the white mass of smog. In fact, the first time I rode on the highway by the Bird’s Nest, I couldn’t even see the stadium due to poor visibility. Blue skies were definitely enjoyed when they came around and most people on the trip swore that the Chinese had prompted clearer skies by inducing rain, which I’m not here to prove or disprove. Pollution is a reality there, but I didn’t experience any negative physical effects during my stay like I thought I would. Granted, I didn’t do any demanding physical activity outdoors. All in all, most of my worries sized up to be extra space taken in my luggage. So what did I pack to protect my lungs from Beijing’s pollution and were they in fact useful?

In my bags, I packed four items to help out my lungs:

1. A prescribed inhaler
2. POD – personal oxygen device
3. Doctor’s masks
4. Bandanas

And the final report…drum roll…

1.  A prescribed inhaler – for a non-asthmatic person, NOT NEEDED

The inhaler was prescribed by my internal medicine doctor at my request.It was an Albuterol inhaler and was to be used in the instance of wheezing.I’ve never has asthmatic problems in my life and found that I didn’t wheeze while over there.When I was a little short of breath, I blamed being out of shape over the pollution.So if you’re not asthmatic, then this isn’t needed.For me, it made me re-evaluate my exercise routine, or lack thereof.

2. POD—personal oxygen device, FAVORITE and USED

This product offers recreational use of pure oxygen to boost energy, overcome hangovers or just offer a breath of fresh air.I found it to be the most practical and stylish solution to my pollution fears (really, I’m trying to picture myself sporting a doctor’s mask without rolling my eyes!).I used the POD on particularly smoggy days as a treat to my lungs and on some mornings after drinking too much.It doesn’t have the same umph as an inhaler hits your lungs with, but more of a soothing “ahhh” needed and much welcomed.It’s a perfect hybrid of wanting the comfort and effects of fresh air while not looking like a douche bag.

3.  Doctor’s masks – WASTE OF MONEY

The doctor’s masks went unworn the entire trip and ended up being a waste of money.I  was expecting to see locals sporting them similar as I saw in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Min City, but I didn’t.That aside, they scream fashion-victim.I do treasure my lungs over physical appearance, but this was over-the-top and unneeded.Don’t let your fears overtake your sense of practicality like I did.

4.  Bandanas – USED FOR SWEAT NOT FOR POLLUTION

Similar to the doctor’s masks, this measure went overboard, and also could get one dubbed a fashion victim.While I did use a bandana around my neck when I visited The Great Wall or trekking around the Summer Palace in scorching heat and humidity, I never used any of my bandanas around my face to prevent debris from getting inhaled.

In conclusion…

So there you have it. I went overboard with my precautions, packed fashion-doomed doctor’s masks and found that the pollution in Beijing isn’t nearly as bad as the media made it out to be. Of course, proceed with caution, especially if you’re asthmatic or visiting more of the industrial cities, but don’t get too worked up.

Adidas, Beijing and the Olympics

This past Wednesday, I presented with two other Emerson Integrated Marketing Communication graduate students on marketing and China.  Being a broad subject, and we’re far from experts, we focused on what we were most exposed to as Olympic volunteers and that was the Olympic sponsors.  I thought I’d share with you my portion of the presentation on Adidas.  Not only is it now part of the fabric of Beijing’s architecture gems, but also in China to stay.  Read on to learn about the brand and what I saw while in Beijing during the Olympics.

My presentation:

I want to shift gears a little bit and just focus on one of the main sponsors of the Olympics, Adidas. Both Adidas and Nike used the Olympics as a battlefield to gain a bigger slice out of the Chinese market. The evidence was plastered all over the capital city with Nike and Adidas campaigns and even store locations across from each other. The marketing nerd inside me soaked it all in with amused curiosity.

I want to give you a glimpse at Adidas’s overall strategy and then delve into my personal interaction with the brand in Beijing. Adidas poured the bulk of its money into sponsoring the Olympics in its entirety but did also sponsor several national Olympic associations and some individual athletes. Nike’s strategy put its money towards star athletes like Kobe Bryant and the famous Chinese hurdler who walked off the track injured, Liu Xiang. Unlike most American advertising that focuses on individuals, Adidas played into the collective aspect of the Chinese culture.

Here’s a commercial that aired throughout the Olympics on CCTV that you probably haven’t seen. You’ll see how it caters to the Chinese consumer.

The campaign, titled “Together in 2008, Impossible is Nothing,” does a fantastic job to invoke nationalism and capitalize on the general sentiment that pulsated throughout the city this past summer– that the Chinese couldn’t be more proud to host the Olympics and support their athletes.

The print ads shown here, won China’s first ever Cannes Lions ad award for breakthrough marketing. The copy translates on the diving ad to “Hu Jia [the athlete pictured] plus 1.3 billion Chinese, impossible is nothing.” The ads capture the entire nation supporting their athletes and the Olympics beautifully.

My personal brand interaction with Adidas was one of discovery and awe. These print ads showed up everywhere from the subway station walls to billboards adorning the city. Other elements of Adidas played its own role as part of my summer narrative. Every time I volunteered at the Main baseball field or at the Bird’s Nest during the Paralympics, I was dressed head to toe in adidas attire along with 100,000 other volunteers, including Jackie Chan. Even the pronunciation of the brand entered conversation on several occasions as a topic of international differences. I still prefer “adidas” to the phonetically pronounced “odd-e-dos” that the rest of the world uses.

Adidas spared no money as a sponsor.  The sportswear company spent $100 million dollars on the rights to use the Olympic rings. But it also invested in its largest flagship store in the world to leave a more permanent impact in the capital city. This store, a staple landmark to our frequent visits to the entertainment district of Beijing, sparked intrigue and multiple photo shoots. The meteor looking structure is a shopping heaven of athletic attire. It’s home is at The Village in Sanlitun, a booming shopping, dining and nightlife spot, and a place we found that every taxi driver understood despite how bad we butchered its name.

With over 3,000 feet of retail space, one cannot be but impressed upon discovering everything beyond the clothes the store offers. There was an entire room dedicated for their line “Made for Beijing.” These shoes were created specifically for Olympic sports and were housed in glass displays. Projected images served as wallpaper and holographic images of shoes hung mid-air in the center of the room.

The store also boasts all of the company’s concept lines, customizable shoes and shirts, interactive displays, tests of balance, athletic consultants, a smoothie café and a half-basketball court on the roof!

A less permanent adidas installation was found in the center of The Village shopping area. Beijing truly struck me as a marketer’s playground where limits don’t exist. In the center courtyard, shoppers could clock their take-off times from track starting blocks, test their targeting skills by kicking soccer balls or add to a wall of goals reinforcing the notion “impossible is nothing.” One of the pictures here shows a history hallway where upon touching the images, they stopped moving and were enlarged. I was captivated by the advanced technology. Inside the room, Olympic fans could watch whatever event was being shown on the big screen, if the atmosphere of the marketing structure and its activities weren’t enough.

I was only one customer—and fan—of Adidas in a very enormous and complex country. Adidas generates more than $800 million dollars from China with over 4,000 retail locations. It is the second largest market for Adidas after the United States. By 2010, it is projected to have over 6,000 retail locations and surpass $1.58 billion dollars in profits in China, especially as the idea and organization of sport grows in the country. As for me, I’m glad I got to witness the international brand’s efforts first-hand. While I’m Kobe’s newest fan, my brand loyalty was strengthened more with the company behind the 3 stripes rather the one behind the swoosh. Only time will tell what brand the Chinese consumer will side with.

Bungee Jumping at Longqing Gorge, China

• Check out more video on reactions to the jump and the day recap on my facebook page (feel free to become a fan too)
• Look at more pictures on the jump and Longqing Gorge
• Sign-up for an email subscription to my blog

The story behind my jump:

Bungee jumping in China was the biggest adrenaline rush I got all summer. As soon as I saw the walkway over the cliff I knew I had to do it. Although with my feet happily on the earth, it’s a lot easier to exude confidence over the “venturesome sport” as the Chinese sign called it.

Four of us decided to make the plunge and the other two agreed to take photos and video. The brave four each paid our 150 RMB (roughly $20), got weighed and signed our names by our weight – there were no waivers or any mention if our travel insurance covered this activity. Then off we went to the metal walkway protruding from the cliff and over water some 48 meters high.

I had boldly volunteered to go first (while still on the ground).

The first two jumpers, Trisha and I, went to the tip of the bungee platform while the third and fourth jumpers, Adrienne and Jenna, stayed farther back. All confidence immediately disappeared as we advanced on the metal walkway. Looking down, it felt much taller than we had originally boasted about and was much shakier than we imagined. The metal beneath our feet wasn’t solid so with every step, we could see the water beneath us. Our nerves started getting the best of us. Our pace got slower.

At the end of the walkway was a Chinese staff guy who spoke no English and had very little patience. He had the harness laid out so I could step in. But the harness wasn’t a body harness, it was Velcro for only our ankles! I’ve bungee jumped before. I had a harness and a big yellow cushion on the rope to squeeze. Not in China. It’s only Velcro.

Words like, “It doesn’t matter if we lose our money,” “we don’t have to go,” and “we haven’t seen anyone else actually jump,” seeped out of our mouths as we started to cower back. The Chinese guy just kept pointing where I should step. I meekly uttered the only Chinese I could think of, “bu yao” (not want), to convey we were having second thoughts…not that looking absolutely scared shitless didn’t convey the same meaning. It came down to one decisive moment and two words.

We were there. “Fuck it.” And I stepped down where the Chinese guy was pointing. He far from gently wrapped my ankles in the industrial Velcro straps. Then to calm me fears, he took out SCOTCH TAPE! This was taped tight around my stomach to hold my shirt in place. What the hell had I gotten myself into?

The minor shot of courage I got from my vulgar statement vanished as quickly as it popped out of my mouth. The guy led me to a little platform that had just enough room for my feet to fit. He then closed a metal gate behind me. A resounding “clang” raced through my mind. There was no turning back.

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the railing behind me for dear life. Meters below me was water and anxious onlookers wondering who was crazy enough to jump. No thoughts existed in that moment, only pure, unadulterated fear.

The Chinese guy literally ungripped each of my hands and placed them above my head to form a diving triangle. Then in one quick motion, he pushed me off the platform and I was sent free-falling into oblivion.

It’s a blur. I know I screamed. I know my feet kicked like I was trying to find something in mid-air to grasp. It felt like I went plunging downwards for an infinite amount of time. And then in one jolt, I was being thrust back up towards the platform. Then there was a split second where I just hung in midair before falling towards the water again. After the first bounce, it hit me that I wasn’t dead. In fact, I found an amazing freedom of cutting through the air.

That didn’t last long. A couple of bounces later, I was dangling upside down and the blood came rushing to my head. In my best effort I tried to lift my head so as not to have a killer headache.

A bamboo stick interrupted my thoughts. Yes a BAMBOO stick was poking at me and two Chinese guys in a motorboat were using it to fetch me. After a couple of tries I finally latched onto it and one of the guys pulled me closer to the motorboat. Before I knew it, the other one had grabbed my waist in an attempt to turn me upright. With my ass still above my head, one forcefully stated, “sit.” Who was I to ask how he wanted this done since my ankles were still attached to the bungee rope and above my head. No sooner, one guy undid the Velcro and I plopped into the motorboat. The engines kicked in and I was zipped over to the dock.

A smile erupted across my face. My body was a little shaky from the rush, but I had done it. I survived bungee jumping in China. And I would do it again in a heartbeat.

More about Longqing Gorge here:

Longqing Gorge is a short daytrip out of Beijing and a great way to change scenes from urban sprawl to natural landscapes. The destination is only 56 miles northwest of Beijing and can be gotten to from a city bus for a fraction of the price of what you’d pay for a tour bus. However some research is needed to determine how to get to the city bus and which one to take. We used the book BEIJING EXCURSION GUIDE as our reference and found locals along the way to be very accommodating. The bus dropped us off close to the Gorge in a small town and left us a little clueless. We ended up taking an unmarked taxi which dropped us off at a road leading to the Gorge. Luckily there were restaurants on the way so we appeased our appetite before setting forth on the day’s activities.

We walked to the Gorge entrance and paid the entry fee (40 RMB). Longqing does an interesting job of combining natural landscape with an odd tourism twist. While the cliffs in the area resemble that of a national park, the dragon escalator to the water resembles more of a run-down theme park attraction. Oh China. It turns out that the heart of Longqing Gorge is atop a dam, hence the escalator ride.

It was a fun afternoon. We took a boat tour and soaked up the majesty of the cliffs surrounding us. We also managed to find a temple with monks who were excited to speak with us and practice their English. I was equally excited to talk to monks but later disappointed to find out that they were paid staff and about as authentic as a watch you can buy at the Silk Market. There’s also a zip chord, bungee jump and tram to ride. There are pathways and pagodas to meander around. The exit tunnel exemplifies a strange quality of interest among the Chinese. The tunnel was decked out with fake plants and animals, even stuffed animals, in different scenes. The scenes ranged from tropical to wintery and had the temperature change to match. It was bizarre, but oddly when I showed the cave pictures to my Chinese friends, they thought it was beautiful. Our sentiment was closer to that of a twilight zone experience of “where the hell are we?” but whatever floats your boat.

Overall I’d recommend Longqing Gorge as a manageable daytrip outside of Beijing. It offers beautiful scenery, and if you’re brave enough, some adrenaline pumping activities too.

Congratulations to Brett, the Amtrekker!

Yes, he’s done.  15 months later, with 50 things to accomplish, and on Saturday, October 25, 2008, Brett crossed off his last feat on The List.

The Amtrekker

Brett Rounsaville, better known as the Amtrekker, quite his job as a set designer at Disney to accomplish 50 things he wanted to do before he died.  Well, at least before he hit 45 years old, married and in a mid-life crisis with the realization that he never got around to doing all those things in life that we make mental notes and promises to do.  Although, unlike Brett, most of don’t act on them and leave them lingering as wishful thoughts.  I don’t know what’s in store for Brett next, but the last 15 months have been filled with adventures spanning the United States.  He’s done everything from telling Donald Trump “You’re fired” to walking to the top of the Empire State building and he’s documented it all on his podcasts (available on his website and on itunes).

I was lucky enough to get to know him during many of his stops through Boston.  And with the help of my mom, he crossed off item number 24. “be part of a stage illusion” in my hometown in Tennessee!  Check out his adventures at his website, www.amtrekker.com.  He’ll be posting additional footage and filling us in on more of what happened when he was on the road and not in front of his computer.

In this little travel corner, I have an inkling that he’s going to continue to inspire family, friends, viewers, strangers from the road, and those of us that need a little extra encouragement to go after items on our own life to-do lists.

Congratulations Brett!

-Helen