Jerry Chan

Dave Liang is the producer of the The Shanghai Restoration Project, a music group that blends Chinese culture with hip-hop and electronica. His music has received coverage in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC, and NPR’s All Things Considered and he recently released “Little Dragon Tales,” a compilation of Chinese children’s songs mixed with elements of hip hop and electronic music. BeijingKids interviewed Dave via e-mail and he shared some of his experiences in the music industry and producing this compilation.

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Another week, another abysmal stretch of weather ... Greenpeace's East Asia site has a jarring infographic that breaks down exactly what it is that we are inhaling during these heavily polluted days - namely PM2.5, short for particles less than 2.5 millimeters in size ("approximately 1/30th the width of human hair") that is primarily created by factory emissions, burning wood and coal and can cause a whole range of serious health issues ranging from respiratory ailments and heart disease to blood coagulation problems and low birth weight in babies.

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“Women may hold up half the sky” it was once said, but the sad reality is that trafficking, prostitution and sexual slavery are just a few of the ways they continue to get exploited across the Asia-Pacific region and around the world.

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Chinese media reports that police in Shenzhen captured a woman selling a list containing the personal information of around 150,000 newborn babies on a busy overpass. What’s worse, the list included the phone numbers of the babies’ parents as well as information on the families’ residences, vehicle registration and other personal details.

Each set of personal family data was being hawked for anywhere between RMB 2 to 8 (and in some cases, even as low as 1 mao), and many area parents had reportedly been receiving “harassing” phone calls from maternity supply, medical and insurance companies.

Shenzhen isn’t the only city where this kind of activity is going on – illicit sales involving lists of personal data is big business across the country (witness the ridiculous amount of SMS spam you receive each day) – but what’s most alarming is that “newborn data lists” are being sold around Beijing as well, something to which I can personally attest.

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The State Council of Legislative Affairs is considering tweaking China's official maternity leave policy and is currently soliciting input from the public, according to a report on msn.com's Chinese-language news site.

Under the proposal, which would replace the current policy that was effected in 1988, the number of maternity leave days would be increased from "90 days to 14 weeks" (98 days). Other stipulations include two additional weeks off for "difficult births," and two extra weeks off for each baby if you have multiple babies. Women who suffer miscarriages (or undergo abortions) in their first four months of pregnancy can also get a minimum of two paid weeks off and after four months, it goes up to six full paid weeks.

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Fall is the perfect time for a brisk country hike and Beijing is surrounded by natural reserves and mountains, and any hiker, no matter how experienced or fit, is sure to find something that fits.

Fenghuang Ling (Phoenix Mountain) Nature Park Regarded as a “green lung” for the capital, Fenghuang Ling is also known as the “little Huangshan.” The park covers 15 square kilometers and has jagged peaks, vast forests and springs. It’s an ideal place for autumn fruit tasting, and also offers sights including numerous ruins and Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian sites. RMB 25 (Apr 1-Oct 31), RMB 15 (Nov 1-Mar 31). RMB 13 (ages over 60), free (ages over 70, children under 1.2m tall). Daily 6am-6pm. Fenghuang Ling Nature Park. Inside Xishan Nongchang, 19 Fenghuang Ling Lu, Sujiatuo Zhen, Haidian District. (6245 5933/6245 9492) 凤凰岭风景区, 海淀区苏家坨镇凤凰岭路19号（西山农场内） Bus: Take Bus 346 from Summer Palace directly to Fenghuang Ling Nature Park. Approx distance: 33km

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After years of using disposable water filters we finally took the plunge and got an under-the-sink water purifier installed at home.

According to this forum post by Dr Richard, Beijing's hard tap water "is full of minerals and metals, which technically (at least by the WHO and others) doesn't cause major health problems."

I can believe that, but for me it boils down to a matter of taste (which in Beijing's case is similar to swimming pool water) and the rather nasty-looking calcium residue it leaves behind (even after running it through a drip filter).

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Former BeijingKids columnist and renowned Panda Dad Alan Paul has officially announced that the movie rights to his book Big in China, about his experiences living and playing music in Beijing, have been purchased as an option by Ivan Reitman's (Animal House) Montecito Pictures.

To quote from Alan's blog:

Reitman himself is signed on to produce and direct. Anything could still happen, of course, but the option is not sitting on a shelf. Writer Paul Fruchbom has been hired to write a screenplay. We have had a few conversations. I like him and I’m excited about where it’s headed and happy to be involved.

From the first time I spoke to my agent Doug Johnson, he was very enthusiastic about the prospects for Big in China, but I never really believed him, partly as a defense mechanism so that I couldn’t be disappointed and partly because I think that an important part of any agent’s jobs is relentless optimism.

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The air outside may be barely breathable, but why let a little asphyxiation stop you from having family fun? All kidding aside, it doesn’t take a PhD to point out why staying indoors as much as possible on heavily polluted days is a good idea – that is if you can stand being cooped up all weekend at home with the kids. Here, then, are a few places to go for some indoor family fun:

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The Bethel China Foundation, a charity that runs the Bethel Foster Home for blind orphans, is opening a store in Shunyi that will give 100% of its proceeds to the foundation. 

The store aims to turn the impression of charity stores selling "low quality cheap stuff where people have to give sacrificially for a good cause" (which, the organizers, emphasize, does not imply anything about other Beijing charity stores) on its head by selling "quality" items, including jewelry, hand-knit pieces and hand-made scarves, produced by businesses and individuals who can either donate all of the proceeds or keep 60 percent of the profits from any sold items.

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