Observations on China: Volume 5: British flags, tiny dogs and Gollywogs, the Beijing taxi wave, UFOs and Jackie Chan

• Tiny dogs - there are a lot of dogs in Beijing that wouldn't seem out of place with gay men or Paris Hilton.  Everyone has them and there's nothing more funnier than seeing a Beijing builder after a days hard work having to take his little rat dog for a walk. I'm told that this is because there is a size restriction on dogs within the 3rd ring road. 
• Luo Bao Bei - is a mascot for an upmarket area Chaowai Soho in central Beijing.  She is my favourite person in Beijing.  And here she is riding a rainbow rollercoaster with her assorted friends - including a Gollywog.  Ah, Chinese racism. 
• British flags - there are more British flags in Beijing than in Britain.  It seems to be the fashion to have a British flag on your t-shirt or bag or sometimes hat.  I really thought Beijingers had welcomed me with open arms when I first saw a crowd of people wearing Union Jack t-shirts.
• Chinese sellers will never lose a sale but will never give you money they don't have to.  Trying to get a refund in China is like getting blood from a stone.  No money will cross a Chinese seller's palm to you if it doesn't have to.  You might get a product replacement, but never money.  And never try to win at haggling- it'd be like trying to outrun a leopard, if you had one leg.
• People in China don't like Jackie Chan (or Chan Long as is his Chinese name).   It's partly because he's shunned China by living in the US and marrying an American, but mainly because he's over exposed here, endorsing way too many products
• Crazy callers on the subway platform with megaphones who shout at you if you stand near the yellow line -  no different from London then.
• Fluorescent kite lights in the night - I thought they were Chinese UFOs at first, but people fly kites very high in the night sky around Beijing with all manner of bright lights in the strings and kites.
• High school kids in China study for 12 hours a day - the number of Chinese kids trying to get into University is like trying to get a camel through the eye of a needle. Because there are much much fewer uni places then there are candidates.  So the kids are super competitive and study for 10 - 12 hours a day - every day.  But it's also because the Chinese have a hard work ethic.
• Subway pushing game -  If you're not mercenary, you'll get pushed around like a pinball on the subway.  I don't like strangers touching me/ anyone pushing me. So the only way you can survive is by pushing other people too.  If they push you, push them back.  I've had to forget all of my British sensibilities to be able to do this.
• Women with megaphones shouting the same shit outside shops - over and over again, shops will advertise their wares with a loud megaphone.  If you're on a street with lots if shops, you can't even understand what they're saying.  Or, if you're me, with limited Chinese, you can't understand what they're saying anyway.
• Beijing taxi wave - to do the Beijing taxi wave, take your right hand, hold it out at 90 degrees from your body, and only move your hand up and down like your patting someone's head vigorously, without moving the rest of your arm.  It's the campiest thing.  And it doesn't suit me.  Or maybe it does.
• You can use your phone and 3G on the subway- yay!