News You Might Have Missed: Locke Gets Out-Locked, Plus Travel and Holidays

America’s neighbors to the north have decided they’re not going to let US Ambassador Gary Locke get all the credit as the foreign do-gooder. When Canada and America aren’t getting tangled in a "model diplomat" competition, Beijing’s local transportation is generally improving and the holidays are quickly coming.

Locke isn’t the only ambassador who's becoming a symbol of anti-corruption for the Chinese. Weibo has erupted in a debate over the extravagance of government cars in China after the Canadian Embassy posted a photo of their Ambassador’s Toyota Camry Hybrid, an economical and practical family sedan. Ambassador David Mulroney also clarified two additional points on the Canadian car policy, i.e. that government cars are only available to officials in the two highest levels (Deputies and Ministers) and that expenditures are capped at CAD 27,000 (USD 26,711) and CAD 32,400, respectively. If Locke wants the spotlight back, he'll have to pull off a drastic move, like sweeping up in front of the US embassy.

If you’re looking for an update on Beijing’s traffic and transportation, there’s some news for everybody, regardless of whether you drive, bike, take the subway or fly.

  • According to new reports, Beijing’s traffic now qualifies as only “slightly jammed.”
  • The latest bike-rental scheme has blown a tire, lost a chain, kick(stand)ed the bucket after 20 months.
  • Three new subway extensions (Lines 8, 9 and 15) are in the final stages of testing; they are expected to open later this month. Beijing West Railway Station will finally connect to the rest of the grid via Line 9.
  • Smokers can once again feel at home in the airport. After taking a hard-line stance last March (i.e. banning all smoking areas in the terminal), Capital International Airport threw open the smoking lounge doors on December 1. The authorities must have decided Beijing doesn’t have quite enough issues with smoking-related problems, like lung cancer.

If all that isn’t too overwhelming, expect Chinese New Year travel to begin before the Christmas decorations are down from the trees. An end-of-January Chunjie means the mass migration may begin as early as January 8.

While we’re on the topic of holidays, a hotel in Shanghai has just laid claim to the world’s largest Christmas cake, measuring in at 1,068 meters long. Looks like we’re not the only ones in China trying to break a Guinness World Record.

If that doesn’t get you into the Christmas spirit, then surely last week’s first snowfall of the season did. So, Beijingers, what did you think: a winter wonder or a major hassle?

Photos: chinadaily.com.cn