Border with China May Fully Open by June 2022

Border checkpoints with China to open fully by June 2022

It's interesting to note how the latest updates about Hong Kong's efforts to reopen the border with China are literally coming in drips day after day, not consolidated into one big announcement. It's just like Chinese water torture -- drip by drip we're exasperated by how little information is released each day, leaving us hanging for the next bit of news.

The latest? The border should be fully reopened by June next year -- not February as it was previously speculated.

And the reopening will be in stages too, much to the chagrin of businesses that are desperate to reconnect with clients or suppliers, or families anxious to reunite, children wanting to cross the border to go to Hong Kong for school.

Lam says the reopening will be three stages

There will be a three-stage reopening starting in mid-December as Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has said before. It will be a pilot program involving daily quotas that will be expanded to larger numbers by February. 

By June all 10 land checkpoints will be fully open, enabling people to come to Hong Kong and China quarantine-free, though they have to meet specific requirements like nucleic acid tests and having the right health code apps.

While priority will be given to business people, and those visiting elderly family members, or attending funerals, cross-border students will have to wait longer because of the sheer numbers of them, says Lam. There is also the issue of them being vaccinated or not.

Lots of people used to cross the border regularly -- in 2019, 236 million people crossed land checkpoints, but since the pandemic hit in late January 2020, only 17.5 million crossed last year in the only two checkpoints open, mostly truck drivers who had quarantine exemptions. 

There are also concerns if an outbreak occurs and how to deal with it. 

"We also need to prepare for the contingencies, say in the case of a new outbreak happening, how do we handle the people who are still crossing the border? How shall we quickly notify people who have travel plans?" said an unnamed government official from Guangdong province. 

People expected border to open after Olympics

While reopening the border is good news for companies, it can't come fast enough.

Joe Chau Kwok-ming, president of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Business, was disappointed the full opening may not happen until June.

"We had hoped that a close to full opening of the border could come after the Winter Olympics [in February 2022]," Chau said.

"There is nothing we Hong Kong businessmen can do but wait. We hope the Hong Kong and mainland authorities can reach consensus earlier. The government perhaps can also explain the difficulties it faces. For many Hong Kong businessmen, what they want is for both sides to find a solution, a way that the mainland side finds acceptable and the Hong Kong government also finds workable."

They have -- it'll just have to take till June...

Businesses and family reunions will be priority

"Many are losing the chance to meet potential clients. Many mainland cities like to have in-person interaction when doing business. The border and quarantine restrictions for the past year have forced many small- and medium-sized companies to lose business," Chau added.

We hear you, but it's all up to Beijing, not Lam...

In the meantime, those wanting to jump at the chance of crossing to the mainland should start booking their booster jabs now as that will probably be a pre-requisite, not just the two.

Winter Solstice Wontons

Wontons wrapped "envelope" style that are ready to be boiled...

The shortest day of the year has come and gone with winter solstice.

It's also a day for families to gather for dinner.

I was inspired by a friend who posted pictures of wontons he had made a few weeks ago and I decided to do the same.

The end result is delicious wontons!

He used minced pork with watercress and mushrooms, but suggested I could make whatever filling I wanted.

Tonight I made one by combining minced pork, finely chopped cabbage, chives, mushrooms and shrimp. They were mixed with some salt, soy sauce, sesame oil and Shaoxing wine.

I didn't really know how to wrap wontons and did it the "envelope" style... but taste-wise they were delicious, the crunchiness of the cabbage and chives and the shrimp added more texture. They were light and not hard to eat a lot of them!

I've just Googled other ways to wrap the wontons and can't wait to try to wrap them again...

How to Keep Warm in China

Keep your uterus warm this winter with this patch

A friend just told me that during wintertime in China, many people who need to work outdoors manage to stay warm thanks to pocket warmers, like Hot Shots, or HotHands, or Zippo Hand Warmer.

There are ones specially designed for hands, and for inserting in shoes, and even to keep one's belly warm for up to eight hours.

Apparently there are ones specifically designed for women, and what are they called? 艾草暖宫贴 (ai gong nuan gong tie), literally -- uterus warmer.

Too amusing! What if a man uses it?

Running 8K in Vancouver

Marathoners powering through the course earlier this morning

This morning was my first time running 8K in the BMO Vancouver Marathon. It was the perfect day for it, though by the time we started running at 9.30am it was already quite warm.

Before my trip to Vancouver, I saw on social media an ad for the marathon and thought it would be fun to take part and roped my friend into joining me. Turns out it was a good plan, and over 17,000 other runners took part in the 8K, half and full marathons.

A group celebrating Beijing's upcoming Olympics also ran

My friend and I met up at Oakridge station to take the Canada Line downtown to Waterfront Station where we got dropped off her bag for check-in near the finish at West Pender and Bute, and then we boarded a school bus to get dropped off near the start in Stanley Park.

The shuttle service ended at 8.30am which meant we had an hour to kill before the race started. Near the starting line was a group of Chinese people, both Mandarin and Cantonese speaking who were part of a "Run to Beijing 2022" event on the grass. They all wore red T-shirts and there were some people who wore light blue sashes across one shoulder that read Xiamen Airlines Company. Some of them actually ran the race.

These people took pictures of not only themselves, but also the half marathoners who were running past. Why were they doing that? It wouldn't surprise me if they made the half marathoners look like they were supporting Beijing's preparations for the Winter Olympics, and the red shirts were all paid for by the Chinese government.

In any event we were reassured the Vancouver Marathon was definitely a Canadian one when all the runners assembled were asked to sing the national anthem. A few minutes later we were off!

A record of over 17,000 took park in the races this year

It was so nice to run through Stanley Park, luckily there was quite a lot of shade from the trees and it also helped having small bands playing loud music to keep us going. The first kilometre didn't seem to come fast enough, but the subsequent kilometres were actually relatively fast. There were several water stations and we took advantage of them as it was getting warm.

Admittedly I did stop three times throughout the race due to several inclines that wiped me out. But overall I was able to keep pace with my friend who cheered me on periodically and stopped to walk with me. A few people had signs along the way, including one guy whose sign read: "Smile if you're not wearing underwear". He noted a lot of us were smiling...

As we ran we saw the gorgeous scenery along the Seawall, there was nothing but blue skies above us and the mountains to our left with just a bit of snow left over. It couldn't get more beautiful than that.

The last kilometre was pretty much all uphill and I wasn't mentally prepared for it! After a short break we powered up and finally finished -- receiving a medal in the process! Unlike Hong Kong's marathon, there was no traffic jam at the finish line and we were able to take pictures near there.

We also got loaded up on food -- we were given bags of chips, a banana, a choice of either vegetarian or turkey sandwich, bottle of water and energy bars. There was also a McCafe truck giving out free "specialty coffee" so we each got a cup of steaming hot brew. Everyone seemed in good spirits and wherever we went people congratulated us on our run.

I don't know if I'll be back in Vancouver this time next year, but if I am, will try to make an effort to run this event again. It was well organized and fun. Our only complaint was that those running 8K didn't get free transit passes -- only those doing the half and full marathons did. It seemed strange not to include us as we had to get downtown to get to the start...

Picture of the Day: Sunset Summer

Catching the tail end of a gorgeous sunset at Spanish Banks in Vancouver

I've had a short trip to Vancouver, but enjoyed every moment thanks to the fantastic weather we've been having. The best part is that the humidity is so low you hardly break out into a sweat, unlike Hong Kong, where walking outside for five minutes results in sweat pouring from your forehead like a waterfall.

After dinner my friend and I headed to Spanish Banks to catch the sunset and we got there at the tail end with the sky was already a deep pink and mauve.

Down the beach we saw a gaggle of Canada geese hanging out right by the water -- I don't remember ever seeing this before. But there they were standing around and cleaning themselves. Wondered what they were up to next.

It's so nice to see the sun go down just before 10pm -- in Hong Kong it's already dark by 7pm, but then again in Vancouver, it's dark by 3pm in the winter.

Nevertheless I was really glad to be able to catch the beautiful sunset right by the water -- before heading back to Hong Kong.

Picture of the Day: Snake Soup

The thinned out snake soup at Tim's Kitchen was a disappointment

The temperatures these days aren't exactly freezing cold, but it is winter, which means it's the season for snake soup!

Last weekend I remembered I hadn't had snake soup yet, and being in the Sheung Wan neighbourhood, I decided to head to Tim's Kitchen to see if I could have a bowl.

It was after 7.30pm and the place wasn't as packed as it was before; I hadn't been back for a few years.

Nevertheless I ordered a bowl of snake soup (HK$138) and looked forward to the hearty concoction.

Soon it arrived in a mini clay pot, but more for presentation. The soup looked choc full of ingredients, but when I tried it, the soup was more diluted than what I remembered, and there was hardly a hint of mandarin peel, usually used to hide the snake meat smell.

Though a small portion, the braised pomelo skin is a winner

I also ordered another seasonal specialty -- braised pomelo skin with shrimp roe (HK$90). Now this dish was how I remembered last time. Portion-wise it's on the small side, but the skin was braised to the point where it practically melted in the mouth, and seasoned with the piquant flavours of the shrimp roe.

The dish uses a lot of shrimp roe sauce, so I got a bowl of rice to drizzle the sauce on top. It hit the spot.

While the snake soup wasn't as satisfying as I had hoped, the braised pomelo skin was a nice finish.

Tim's Kitchen

Shop A, G/F-1/F, 84-90 Bonham Strand

Sheung Wan

2543 5919