The "Fa Piao" Loophole.

While enjoying a Chinese New Year Dinner with a couple friends, I noticed that CX asked for a fa piao. The waitress said something to him so fast that I couldn't catch what she said, but when she returned, there was a Coke on the table. 

A bit of a Chinese lesson before I continue with this post. In Chinese, "fa piao" means "receipt." 

In the Chinese tax system, when a business writes out a receipt, that's keeping a record, and they have to pay taxes on the amount of money that the business has made. CX explained that he learned from his mother that some places will go around that little obstacle and offer something for free so that they change their mind on the receipt. The customer is happy because he or she ends up with something for free. The business is happy because they don't need to write a receipt, therefore not needing to keep a record for the government to have them pay taxes. A win-win situation. 

Now, this doesn't mean that a foreigner can walk into a McDonald's and get the same kind of treatment. This is more for the small restaurants in China that do this. The big businesses, like KFC, wouldn't be able to do that because of the amount of foot-traffic in these places. They would probably end up losing money if they tried doing that. As for the smaller restaurants, it's hit and miss. 

Not every small restaurant will offer a person something for free. It's pretty much trial and error for what places will offer free stuff when you ask for a receipt. 

Tianjin pic of the day!

New Year Fires

For the past couple weeks, I've seen a lot of ashes on the sidewalks. As well as nicely built fires with people feeding paper circles into them. Seeing how this is Chinese New Year, I figured it was some sort of tradition that seemed interesting, so I took a picture of it. But because of what I learned about it, I won't be posting it any time soon.

Turns out those remains of a fire I keep seeing pop up everywhere are fires to respect the dead. People burn things like paper money or paper cut-outs of different things so that the ancestors can have everything they need in the after-life. Because of that, I'll never post the picture.

The reason? Taking a picture at funerals, funeral services, or of anyone honoring the dead, at least to me, is no different than taking a picture of the most recent turd you've just expelled and passing it around to your friends at a child's funeral. You just don't do it.

The only thing I get confused on with these fire piles is where to walk. The ashes aren't cleaned up right after the fire, so how far away from them must I be to show the proper respect? I have no idea. I simply hope where I'm at isn't disrespectful to someone's way of honoring the dead.

Tianjin picture of the day!

Thankfully, horribly polluted days like the one this picture came from are rare in Tianjin. Today has been quite clear. :) 

Being a Michigander, it seems fitting I'd be quite an expert skater. Doing all those figure-skating tricks and what-not. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. I'm maybe at a below-average level, but I can at least skate around for a little bit.

Or so I learned when I went ice skating with co-workers today. It wasn't my first time ever, but it was the first time in about five years. So naturally, I was a little on the rusty side when I got on the skating rink.

The one thing that I really liked about skating here was that you get forced to get off the railing and actually learn to skate. Not because there wasn't anything to grab onto in the first place, but because there's so many people. Some are standing in groups just talking while others have their phones out taking pictures. Some couples are out enjoying a leisurely skate, while some are going so slowly on the railings that they're afraid. Once you get better, you risk going around all these types. So you're decent in no time.

When you're done, you'll find yourself sore in places where you forgot muscles existed. Somehow, I've managed to get my thigh muscles sore. Still trying to figure that one out. But it's all right. Skating sounds like a nice thing to do whenever I have the chance. Though I'll always be shown up by the little kids that are learning figure-skating.

Tianjin pic of the day!

View outside of Joy City. :)

Joy City

I have found what has got to be the biggest mall I have ever seen. Unfortunately, I've never been to Mall of America, so I can't really compare it to that. But either way, it's huge. Very very huge.

It's a giant building called Joy City. One of the main entrances has a white Christmas tree completely dedicated to Hello Kitty. So little pink bows decorate the tree while Hello Kitty and penguins surround the tree. Not too far from it is a giant Optimus Prime. I think I only reached his knees, myself. That's just the entrance!

As you walked in, there are stores all around. The basement is home to an ice-skating rink. I've yet to go to the rink itself. I need to find some people to come with me. :) Also, the arcades! There's an arcade designed for older kids, teenagers, and adults, while an arcade meant for younger children is right next to it.

The building is also designed to look like giant domes from different parts of the mall. Hello Kitty still decorates the places like she's touring different parts of the world. On the different floors are also different Transformers. I think I saw Bumblebee fighting a cat Decepticon... If I remembered it correctly.

The stores looked a little on the expensive side, but then there was one place that sold me on the awesomeness of it... Cold Stone. That's right. There's a Cold Stone in Tianjin.

For those of you that have never had Cold Stone, it acts more like a cream than Ice Cream. It's frozen, like ice cream, but the texture of it is more cream. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if it was frozen yogurt. You order your sizes in Like It, Love it, or Gotta Have It. I go for the Like Its. Then they flatten it, and you can have whatever you want inside the ice cream. Sprinkles, oreo cookies, etc. It's amazing. I highly recommend people look on Google Maps to find out where the nearest Cold Stone is to them, and make a drive. It's a little expensive, but it's worth every penny. It's gotta be good if there's Cold Stones in more places than Beijing.

Tianjin pic of the day!

Turtles! Aren't they cute? I have no idea if they're meant to be pets or food. Probably pets, considering their size. 

Fast Food Sin

If I was in America, right now, and I decided to eat a McDonald's meal, I'd have to make sure I threw my meal away. If I didn't do that, I'd be be a real dick. It's one of those unwritten rules of the fast food industry in America.

That being said, I've yet to walk into a McDonald's, or a KFC, in China and cleaned up after myself. Not that I'm being a dick. It's just that I've yet to see anyone else doing it and wonder if there's some unwritten rule in Chinese fast food that you don't clean up after yourself after you eat. It's a strange concept. Makes me wonder if I'm the wrong one, or if I'm actually doing the right thing, and it feels wrong.

Tianjin pic of the day!