TheSZWeb | Shenzhen News and Commentary

The official list of benefits:

• Best pool tables in Shekou - with room to shoot 
• Longest happy hour in town - noon until 9:30
• Lowest prices in town - see the menu page [on their website - click the image above]
• Great food - buffalo wings, burgers, onion rings & more
• Great live rock music - Wednesday thru Saturday 
• Great daily drink specials - see the menu page [but the for best drinks you have to consult the X-ta-sea cognoscenti]
• Several large screen TVs - watch sporting events on ESPN, Star Sports & more

TheSZWeb Analysis:

• Excellent bar with a friendly staff and non-sleazy atmosphere
• Millions of laowai, some sober, some Russian
• [benefit:] No particular focus on sports, despite the title
• no.1 choice for LIVE MUSIC — "Mind The Gap" rules — see below

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One man tested positive for H5N1 bird flu in Shenzhen in June 2006. All the 98 people recorded as having had contact with him were quarantined for a week, and all were released without problems.

Since January ‘06, supermarkets and restaurants in Shenzhen have been forbidden to slaughter poultry, and this ban is generally being enforced, with the exception of some really good chicken restaurants which depend for their business on the clientele being able to choose between different grades of live chicken and select the best looking bird.

Hong Kong has already suspended imports of live poultry from the dreaded mainland, and HK TV carries the usual hysterical news reports every day, reinforcing the usual anti-mainland phobias.

In case you were planning on smuggling a chicken into Hong Kong, the fine is 50,000 HKD and/or six months’ jail time.

Drivers in Shenzhen might have to follow at least one rule of the road starting this July (2006). Everyone is now obliged to have auto insurance, and if anyone needs it, it’s the crazy car owners of Shenzhen. (Wondering about mini buses here…but who would be crazy enough to insure them?)

• Insurance for a normal car (five seats) costs 1,050 RMB per year, which covers for up to 60,000 RMB.
• Although the new rule is in effect from July, inspection will only begin in October 2006
• The maximum fine for not being insured is only approximately two times the price of the insurance.
• Compensation for a road traffic accident death is calculated according to the average city annual income. Which city depends on who gets killed. For killing a Shenzhen citizen the compensation is up to 1,010,000 RMB. Judging by the ‘hazard awareness skills’ of the average Shenzhen driver, not enough people are aware of this fact…

If you thought voting for your leadership was a somewhat distant dream of the future in China, think again. We are already having elections here.

Straight from the horse’s mouth:

China will re-elect its county and township People’s Congresses from July 1st to December 31st, 2007. More than 2 million deputies to the County People’s Congresses and deputies to Township People’s Congresses will be re-elected in the upcoming months. Some 1.5 billion voters will cast their ballots.

(Quoted from The Shenzhen Daily, an utterly impartial and reliable source of information for foreigners who need to learn about Our China.)