Beijing 2008

[gatsby]

On a side note:

Does anyone know if fencing clubs in Beijing will be operating this summer? I'm gonna be over there and would kinda like to fence (since I'll be there quite a while). If it helps, the club I found is the FenXing Fencing Club (http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguid...club_beijing-i). I've been having a hard time reaching them though.

[oso97]

On a side note:

Does anyone know if fencing clubs in Beijing will be operating this summer? I'm gonna be over there and would kinda like to fence (since I'll be there quite a while). If it helps, the club I found is the FenXing Fencing Club (http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguid...club_beijing-i). I've been having a hard time reaching them though.

I'm not so sure the Chinese government would be entirely thrilled at the prospect of a foreigner having unsupervised access to its citizens for such a period of time...

[fencerX]

I'm not so sure the Chinese government would be entirely thrilled at the prospect of a foreigner having unsupervised access to its citizens for such a period of time...

I'd recommend a visit to China -- you need to get out of Texas (and 1972) more.

[Beloit Fencer of Old]

Heck, I know someone who travels to China a couple of times a year as a Christian missionary and even brings Bibles with him.

[oso97]

I'd recommend a visit to China -- you need to get out of Texas (and 1972) more.

Lets see, in the past 12 months alone, I've been to:
Georgia
Louisiana
Oklahoma
Colorado
Nebraska
New Mexico
Iowa
Illinois
California
North Carolina
Florida
Pennsylvania
Ohio
Virginia
South Dakota
Arizona
Nevada

So, there goes your "get out of Texas" more statement. I'm not entirely sure what significance 1972 has to do with anything (unless you refer to Nixon's visit to China, which, while diplomatically important, changed little with regard to internal political openness).

Fact: Despite some cosmetic changes, China is a "closed" society. Foreigners are restricted to specific locations. Just try to travel to Tibet right now, see what happens.

Yes, commercially, there are contacts and exchanges (money talks, after all, just like it does every where). But the government is quite opposed to letting in foreign ideas.

Beloit, tell your friend the next time he goes to China to wear a tshirt saying, in Chinese, "I am a Christian missionary, here to proselytize and convert," and see just how well he is treated at customs...

[Murakami]

??? I lived in China for about 6 months, teaching english and training gongfu, and I travelled anywhere I wanted to go whether it was Shandong, Shangahi, Beijing, Hong Kong, wherever. Of course, I wouldn't try to cross any borders into Tibet or anything. :eek

[mrbiggs]

I'd hate to contribute something concrete to the thread, but there was an article in American fencing several years ago about fencing as a foreigner in China. If someone wants some solid information, that's probably the best place to go.

No, I don't know where to find it, but it's a start.