The Beijinger Blog - Steven Schwankert

Beijing Business Blog: Learn to Manage the Dragon

lauren_mccarthy — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 14:00:00 +0800

Looking for some insight on being a China entrepreneur or just some additional knowledge on economics and business in China? The Beijing blog "Managing the Dragon" provides information on "business in China - From the ground up". The blog also successfully translates dull businessnews into stories of human interest that can be followed by even the most economic-incompetent. Agenda sat down with Jack Perkowski to find out exactly how to manage that daunting Chinese dragon.

New Zhang Yimou Opens Pusan Film Festival

danedwards — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 18:00:00 +0800

The 15th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) opened last night (Thursday, October 7) in the South Korean seaside city with a screening of Zhang Yimou's Under the Hawthorn Tree. Zhang and cast members Zhou Dongyu and Dou Xiao flew to Pusan Wednesday evening, and Zhou was spied by the Beijinger's Steven Schwankert in the customs line upon arrival at Pusan.

Chinese half-year Box Office Record Shattered

danedwards — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:40:00 +0800

The war for China's box office may very well have been fought in late 2009 on a planet called Pandora, and won by a bunch of very large blue people.

The State Administration for Radio, Film and Television (aka SARFT) announced today that total box office take for the first half of 2010 was US$714 million, not too far off the 2009 total of $909 million. With three weeks of the summer haul of blockbusters like Toy Story 3 not counted, and with Feng Xiaogang's earthquake epic Aftershock opening tomorrow, it's possible China's box office haul this year could reach US$1.5 billion.

Soccer Legends Touch Down in Beijing

N405WN — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:00:00 +0800

Already slipping into soccer withdrawals? No problem. World Cup-winning goal scorer Andres Iniesta and the boys from FC Barcelona land at the Bird's Nest on August 8, commemorating the second anniversary of the opening of the Beijing Olympics.

The Usher has Landed

Jerry — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 13:41:26 +0800

Usher arrived in our fair city around 5:30 Saturday evening for the first time, ahead of his Sunday night show at Wukesong Arena. "This is the first time visiting many cities on this tour. It's an honor for me and I hope it will be a treat for fans that have supported me for a long time," the glassed-one said, keeping both his eyes and his famed muscles under wraps throughout a Saturday night press conference.

Usher meets Leehom

Jerry — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:00:00 +0800

It's either putting a scoop of ice cream on apple pie or adding insult to injury: Ultimate Abs artist Usher will be joined onstage by pretty boy Wang Leehom (Wang Lihong, 王力宏) for a duet at the Sunday, July 11 show at Wukesong Arena.

“I am really excited! It is a great honor to be able to perform with Usher who has had such a powerful role in developing R&B around the world.” Wang, a self-professed Usher fan told the press. “The audience in Beijing is in for a really special night.”

The Young Fool Who Made a Film: Profile of the Director of Yugong Yishan Documentary

thebeijinger — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:00:29 +0800

Yugong Yishan is one of the best live music venues in town. It's won the Best Live Music gong at the Beijinger's Readers Bar and Club Awards every year for the past 5 years and this week Kaiser Kuo told Beijing Boyce that he considers the new digs on Zhang Zizhong Lu to be one of the 5 best Beijing live music venues of all time. Where else can you see a French trip-hop DJ on Friday night, then on the next night catch a raucous blues show and then on the following day go and watch Peking Opera with the local Peking Opera society? On Friday night they'll be screening a 30 minute documentary about themselves by director Joanna Vasquez Arong. Steven Schwankert caught up with the director of the film last month and we've included his profile of the director below.

Apple Store in Sanlitun to open this Saturday

thebeijinger — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:30:52 +0800

image Steven Schwankert

Two weeks after the opening of the world's largest Adidas store at the Village in Sanlitun, China's first official Apple store is set to open in the same development. The store, which is split over two floors, will officially open at 10am this coming Saturday, July 19. According to Steven Schwankert, who took a look around the store earlier this week and reports on what he found over at PC World, although no iPhones will be available, Beijing consumers will be able to get their hands on the complete range of Apple computers and iPods, including the iPod Touch.

A refreshing look at the Great Wall

thebeijinger — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:30:12 +0800

Visitors in town for the Olympics, but hiking from Simatai to Jinshanling in Beijing summer heat doesn't sound appealing? Try seeing the Great Wall from a cooler angle: underwater.

On July 6, intrepid Beijing-based divers, including myself, Will Moss and Ed Thurley and diving club Sea and Wind's Li Hui ventured out to Panjiakou Reservoir to dive a section of the Wall flooded in the late 1970s, as part of a project to provide more water to the city of Tangshan.

Although recent rain limited visibility to a few meters, we were still able to explore rooms of a submerged tower, including swimming in and out of its various windows. We also swam thourg a nearby five-meter-tall archway. Water temperatures ranged between 20 degrees at the surface, to a bracing 8 degrees below six meters.

SinoScuba plans further exploration of the area. Due to lake levels being at their lowest in years, access to deeper sites is somewhat easier. The town of Panjiakou remains at the bottom of the lake with its location undetermined, as are sections of the Wall including the "South Gate," an apparently well-preserved section consisting of a large tower and archway.

You can view a couple of videos of the trip here and here.