the Beijinger

Last week we reported Peter Hessler’s last minute withdrawal from the Bookworm Literary Festival for unspecified personal reasons. Since then several other events have been canceled or changed, with one session altered after the author was refused a visa for China.

"Jiayou Zhongguo! Jiayou Aouyonghui!" so goes the official Beijing Olympic chant. Testament to the One World, One Dream mantra of this year's Games, it's a Korean who has been charged with teaching these words (plus a few nifty dance moves) to some of China's top cheerleaders. Cho Soojin is her name, and this August her girls will be performing at two of the Games' biggest events.

Cho established herself as go-to girl for cheerleading in China after her squad of dancers turned heads at the 2002 World Cup. The use of Chinese elements in their dance and costume attracted a lot of positive attention, and since then her studio, Soojin Dance, was designated the official cheerleader-training center for the CBA from 2002-2004.

the Beijinger met this hot Korean cheerleader captain to talk about her unusual career.

the Beijinger: You started your career as a gymnast, how did you get into coaching cheerleading in China?

I originally brought RMB 40,000 with me to come to Beijing Language Culture University to learn Chinese. I planned to spend only half a year in China, but I really liked Chinese culture. I am an extrovert, but in South Korea women are not allowed to [behave like] this … I feel more comfortable in China. I soon noticed that there were no cheerleaders in China, so I decided to organize my own cheerleading squad. In the beginning I taught classes in the park for free.

Not sure if this is a classic piece of Chinglish signage or a witty piece of wordplay for an establishment offering more than coffee.

Late last month we did a post about a story in the Chinese press concerning two “swarthy, ragged Chinese guys” who hitchhiked from Beijing to Berlin in order to see the German girlfriend of one of the travelers. We expressed doubts about the story’s veracity, but now we have to eat humble pie. One of the hitchhikers, Beijing-born American Kyle Johnson, contacted the Beijinger and agreed to an interview. Here’s the rundown on his amazing trek west.

A month after the Rickshaw's demise (reported here), clouds appear to be gathering around another of Beijing's favorite bars of recent years. Beijing Boyce reports here on Q Bar's one-day closure earlier this week, citing tension among the management. As the sun comes up again over Beijing, plenty of us will be looking forward to occupying Q Bar's terrace for a drink - let's hope we'll get the chance. Boyce also notes that Blue Frog's terrace has reopened already. Hmm. I'm as big a fan of happy hour drinks on the Frog's terrace as anyone, but given the icy winds this morning, I'd say they're just a little too eager to start reaping the rewards.

We asked notable Beijingers: "What's on your bookshelf?" Here's how Evan Osnos, China correspondent for the New Yorker magazine, answered:

"I hate optimism out of insensitivity."
- Zuoxiao Zuzhou

For the past five years, this guy has been making headlines for pricing his albums from 30 kuai to 500 kuai. He’s also known for being a contemporary artist/poet/soundtrack composer working with Ai Weiwei and film director Jia Zhangke. Born in 1970, alternative rock singer-songwriter Zuoxiao Zuzhou (literally means “left-little-curse of the ancestors”) founded Beijing East Village with many avant-garde artists in early 90s, and their controversial artwork Adding a Meter to the Nameless Mountain (为无名山增高一米. See photo, below) shocked the Chinese art world in 1995. Meanwhile, ZXZZ's rock band "NO" released Trip to Temple Fair (庙会之旅) and The Missing Master (走失的主人). Both albums are filled with spacious guitar chords, tribal drum beats, sound experiments and volatile vocals, which scared many people for sure, but also gained him a loyal fan base.

Fubar boss Chad Lager thrives on schemes and promotions that seem like madness. He launched Cinco de Drinko at Saddle Cantina, giving away half-price drinks for a whole day on the 5th of every month. Later, after moving to Tun, he did the unthinkable and started a ladies' night on Fridays - in Beijing nightlife, this was the equivalent of declaring the world to be round in medieval times. Both ideas worked. Then Chad went off to open Fubar, a "speakeasy" cocktail bar priding itself on large pours, quality drinks and good prices. All very sensible. Were Chad's days of dreaming up insane promotions over?

We asked notable Beijingers: "What's on your bookshelf?" Here's how Dr. Geoff Raby, the Australian ambassador to China, answered: