Our table overlooking the Seine

Name: La Tour d’Argent
Address: 15 Quai Tournelle, 75005 Paris, France
Website: http://www.becasse.com.au/
Phone: +33 1 43 54 23 31
Type: Restaurant
Cuisine: French
Opening hours:  closed Sunday and Monday, and August

The fame of La Tour d’Argent is at once its greatest asset and greatest burden. Reviews and reports on this restaurant by the Seine are laden with superlatives – the restaurant is “legendary”, they say; quite possibly “the most famous in the world”; its wine cellars are “magnificent”, its wine list “biblical” (this one is literally true – but we’ll come to that). It is surrounded by mystique, at least partly consciously cultivated by the late owner, Claude Terrail – it will be 430 years old next year; it was a favourite of Henry IV of France; its guest register lists emperors of Russia and Japan, kings and presidents; Marcel Proust wrote about it; Salvador Dali liked the duck; Pixar’s Ratatouille drew on it for inspiration.

Christmas tree in the ground floor foyer

Scallops

We recommend:

- the Champagne Authentique

- Pike dumplings «André Terrail»

- Duckling “Tour d’Argent”, souffleed potatoes - the famous “blood duck”

Blood duck course 2: duck breast with souffled potatoes

Service: 10/10

Ambience: 10/10

Value for money: 7/10

Overall: 9/10

Here is some information I translated from the profile for the King & Wood Communist Party Sub-Branch on a Chinese government website (original link at the end):

“The King & Wood Communist Party Branch was established on 2 April 1997. Currently membership of the Party Branch numbers 169, the Branch secretary and Branch committee are composed of senior lawyers and excellent Communist Party members.

“Since establishment, the King & Wood Communist Party Branch has strictly followed the overall requirement of “One Centre, Five Developments and Three Guarantees”, combined with the special characteristics of grassroots Party development in the legal profession, have steadfastly placed the ideological development of the Party at the forefront, have organised Party members to carefully study the “Report of the 17th Party Congress”, have undertaken education on the vanguard qualities of Communist Party members, and have perfected Party branch organisational development. In September 2007 Branch committee members were sent to the [Communist Party guerrilla base] Jinggang Mountain to attend the Party Cadre School, to participate in the “Core Cadre Study Session On the Spirit of the 17th Party Congress”. In October, they have participated in the training class for branch secretaries organised by the Personnel Department, which has strengthened all Party Member’s upholding of Communist ideals, and solidified the faith in Communism of the King & Wood Party Branch members.”

The rest of the article emphasises how King & Wood’s Communist lawyers participated in their highest profile deals.

From: http://chylawyer.bjchy.gov.cn/sub/viewDetail.jsp?newsid=70082&subjectid=3574 (in Chinese). I have copied the full text below incase the website changes.

n1: Update:  According to this more recent article by King & Wood Mallesons partner Junfeng Wang (also in Chinese, also copied below in full), the party branch is now a Main Branch, with 16 Sub Branches, 7 Party Committees, and more than 400 party members. Among other recent achievements, the Communist party branch magazine “Fly, fly the Red Flag” is now the “spiritual home that guides” King & Wood Mallesons employees. The “Firm-Party Joint Committee” has been formed to ensure that the Communist Party organisation participates in all key decisions of the firm, and to clarify that all major decisions must first be subjected to the comments and suggestions of the Communist Party organisation. The article further mentions that the firm has adopted a policy to recommend Communist Party members in priority to act on major deals of national importance. If anything, this is an even more disturbing article.

n2: For readers less in tune with events in the Australian legal market, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, one of Australia’s largest law firms (if not the largest), has merged with Chinese law firm King & Wood, to create the new “King & Wood Mallesons”. There is no, nor has there ever been any, “Mr King” or “Mr Wood” – they were simply easy to pronounce English names picked by the Chinese firm when it formed in the 80s. I’m sure Mr Malleson would have been very proud to know that he now ranks third after two fictitious names.

 抓实律师事务所党建工作

 作者：王俊峰    来源：中组部党建研究网    添加时间： 2011-9-21

北京市金杜律师事务所成立于1993年，总部设于北京，在国内外共有15个分支机构，现有工作人员1400余人。1997年成立党支部，2009年成立党总支，现有16个党支部，7个党小组，党员400多名。近年来，我们认真贯彻落实中央的有关要求，坚持抓班子、带队伍，积极创新组织设置、活动载体，切实加强制度建设，不断提升党建工作水平，较好地促进了金杜律师事务所律师事业的健康发展。

一、以思想建设为抓手，着力提升律师队伍素质。党员律师党性的强弱、作用发挥的大小，直接关系到律师行业的发展，关系到社会和谐稳定。为此，我们以提升律师思想政治素质为抓手加强队伍建设。在建设学习型律师队伍中，事务所总部建立理论中心学习组，各分所党组织成立学习小组，建立事务所领导班子成员带头学习制度。积极开展学习实践科学发展观活动，成立指导小组，制定活动细则，紧紧围绕律师事务所的业务如何为社会发展服务主题，组织广大党员认真研讨，广泛交流，引导律师懂国情、政情、社情，将金杜律师的事业与国家、民族、社会事业紧密结合起来。建立政治学习制度，规定每周学习时间和内容，保证党的路线方针政策的广泛宣传，建立党组织书记与党员谈话制度，强化思想政治建设，确保律师队伍的政治方向，切实把律师事务所党组织和广大律师党员的思想认识统一到中央精神上来。

二、创新组织设置方式，扩大基层党组织覆盖面。针对合伙制律师事务所组织松散、律师独立性强等特点，金杜党总支高度重视党组织设置工作，以“横向到边、纵向到底”的组织设置方式，实现党组织和党的工作在事务所全面覆盖。按照党章的规定，金杜总部设立党总支，党总支书记由创始合伙人、党员律师担任，各分所分别建立党支部或党小组，建立了以北京总部党总支为核心，各地分所分别建立党组织的组织体系。明确规定把党组织建在团队、建在项目上，实现业务开发和党组织设置同步进行，即每个新项目和新团队凡有3名以上正式党员的，成立党小组，由业务素质过硬的党员合伙人担任团队或项目负责人。各分支机构依托属地司法局或律师党委先后在上海、广州、深圳等地设立了党支部，依托项目建立了党小组，切实做到事务所哪里有律师党员，哪里就有党的组织和有效的管理，把党的组织优势转化为律师事务所的业务优势和战斗力。

 三、以制度为保障，充分发挥党组织的作用。我们坚持从制度建设入手，把事务所党建工作与业务发展相结合，为党组织发挥作用提供保障。结合金杜律师事务所合伙制特点，汲取现代公司制管理模式，在业务组织架构上，设立了“四会”，即合伙人大会、战略发展委员会、管理委员会和理事会，制定和实施了党务业务联席会。明确合伙人大会为事务所最高决策机构，管理委员会为管理执行机构，党务业务联席会搭建起党组织参与律师事务所重要事务决策的平台。建立重大事项议事制度，明确提出各所的重大事项出台之前必须听取党组织的意见建议。借鉴国际同行先进经验，根据具体国情所情，制定了一体化财务管理制度和“计点制”分配制度。近年来，由党总支牵头，事务所管理委员会制定出台了一系列制度，有力地保证了事务所业务发展的正确方向。

四、创新活动载体，加强党员教育管理工作。结合律师职业特点，我们以丰富多彩的活动加强党员队伍建设，提高律师服务能力。一是深入开展理想信念教育。在推进创先争优活动中，设置党员示范岗，开展挂牌服务，组织党员亮身份，开展诚信践诺活动，向社会作出公开承诺，定期公开律师党员执业情况，增强党员律师的党员意识，激发党员律师创先争优的积极性主动性和创造性。加强党员党性教育，今年4月初，党总支选拔41位优秀党员律师和入党积极分子赴中国井冈山干部学院，接受革命传统教育。二是加强管理和服务。完善党员信息库建设，建立了所有党员信息登记册，做到党员底数清、信息全。在政治上关心律师，推荐优秀律师担任各级政府或企事业单位法律顾问。在生活上关怀律师，帮助律师解决生活上的后顾之忧，增强了党组织的凝聚力和向心力。三是壮大党员队伍。坚持开展党员“传帮带”活动，加强入党积极分子培养，有计划地做好发展党员工作。四是充分发挥党员的作用。金杜各级党组织和党员律师积极参与属地活动，作为各级政府的法律顾问，促进政府科学决策与依法行政，为政府决策提供法律保障。

五、拓宽渠道，推动律师事务所服务社会发展建设。我们从行业特点出发，引导律师在服务经济社会发展大局中发挥作用，推进律师事务所事业不断发展。一是组织党员律师积极参与代表国家利益的重大项目。担任北京奥组委的中国法律顾问。金杜的奥运法律服务填补了中国奥运法律服务的空白，为中国律师、国家和民族争得了荣誉。多次代表中国商务部参加WTO贸易项目谈判、处理贸易争端。二是为中国企业“走出去”战略保驾护航。近年来，随着国家“走出去”战略的实施，越来越多的中国企业走出国门。金杜律师事务所凭借对中国法律法规的立法原则和司法实践的深刻理解，以及对中国客户特别需求的深入了解，在“走出去”融资项目中，为中国企业提供许多建设性的结构设计和解决方案，为中国企业的知识产权保护提供法律服务。三是组织党员律师参与多种形式的法律援助活动。在北京市农民工法律援助工作站、北京市法律援助基金会、首都慈善公益组织联合会发起的法律公益援助活动中，金杜公益志愿者积极参与，安排公益志愿者16人次，办理法律援助案件7件，有7名律师入选北京市公益法律援助服务宣讲团。四是创新履行社会责任机制。成立了金杜公益委员会，全额出资500万元人民币设立了“金杜公益基金会”，目前已向“延庆农村公益法律服务项目”捐款60余万元。金杜实行公益活动项目化运作，成立了多个专项公益基金，广泛参与突发灾害的捐助活动，先后为汶川、玉树等灾区捐款400多万元。

六、加强阵地建设，提供基础保障。金杜律师事务所按照创建具有国际水准的一流的法律服务组织的目标，确立了“以人为本、团队合作、精诚奉献、追求卓越”的核心价值理念，在这一理念的指导下，我们以“一刊一网一平台”构建起律师党员学习阵地，加强了事务所党建宣传长效机制。通过出版党建专刊和党建工作简报，定期在全所范围内宣传党建工作，表彰优秀律师党员，宣传了律师党员在专业领域和社会责任方面的奉献精神。刊物《红旗飘飘》已成为引领金杜人的精神家园。通过利用事务所一体化管理的网络平台，在内网开辟“党员之家”网页，在全所范围内及时传达党中央的重要指示精神，大力宣传党员先进人物和先进事迹。通过在总部和各分支机构设立“党员之家”活动室，配备党刊杂志、党史书籍资料、党员活动信息栏等，确保了党员参加组织活动有场所、有平台、有内容。

(作者为北京市金杜律师事务所管理委员会主席、中华全国律师协会副会长、第十一届全国政协委员）

金杜律师事务所党支部

2008-07-08  信息来源：朝阳律师网 

金杜所党支部成立于1997年4月2日。目前金杜党支部共有党员169人，支部书记和支委都由资深律师和优秀党员组成。

金杜所党支部成立以后，严格按照“一个中心、五个建设、三个保证”的总要求，结合律师行业基层党建工作的特殊性，始终把党的思想建设放在支部建设的首要位置，组织党员认真学习“十七大报告”，接受共产党员先进性教育，完善支部组织建设。2007年9月派出支部委员前往井冈山干部学院参加学习十七大精神骨干班。10月参加人事部组织的支部书记培训班，增强了全体党员坚持共产主义理想，坚定了金杜党支部党员的共产主义信念。

作为一家在亚洲名列前茅的优秀律师事务所，金杜所支部党员律师参与了中国三大保险公司、国有大型商业银行、北京地铁改造等社会公共项目整改的法律服务工作，曾多次代表商务部参与了有关反倾销、WTO框架下的贸易谈判等事务。尤其是，2002年金杜律师事务所成为2008年北京奥运会组织委员会唯一指定的中国法律顾问，有近百人参加了奥运法律服务，得到了奥组委的充分肯定。

在公益活动中，金杜所支部通过金杜公益委员会、在清华大学设立法学专项奖学金、在江西等省市开设“金杜课堂”等形式参与社会公益活动，为弱势群体提供法律援助，为灾区群众捐款捐物，充分发挥了党员的先锋模范作用，为国家社会的发展和进步作出了应有的贡献。

Update: added link to event page on CLSS website

Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum

This is the first in hopefully a number of posts where I put up travel itineraries which have worked well for me. See notes below on my choice of sights and alternatives.

Where: Nanjing is a historic city located in eastern China, about 300km from Shanghai as the crow flies, or roughly 1.5 hours by bullet train. Today, Nanjing is the capital of Jiangsu province, but for centuries it was the capital of various regimes throughout Chinese history, and the capital of a unified China in the 14th century and again in the early 20th century. Its long history has given it many poetic names, but its modern name means, simply, “the southern capital”, mirroring the name of Beijing, “the northern capital”. Culturally and linguistically, Nanjing is a thorough mixture of northern and southern China, reflecting successive influxes of northern rulers and its location in the heartland of Wu culture. Visitors to Nanjing are usually attracted by its great monuments, including the tomb of Sun  Yat-sen, the “father of modern China”, but it is also famous for its food, boulevardes, lakes and mountains, and the legends that still echo from laneways to ruined palaces.

The Gate of Fraternity

Day 1:

• Train to Nanjing: I took the 8:00 am bullet train from Shanghai station to Nanjing station (about 1.5 hours travelling time). If you are travelling by train, note carefully the departure and arrival stations. If you are departing from relatively central Shanghai, I recommend choosing a train that goes from Shanghai station to Nanjing station, rather than from Shanghai Hongqiao to Nanjing South. Also be aware that Nanjing South station moved in 2011 from just south of the city centre to much further away, and now takes about 30-45 minutes longer to get to from central Nanjing.

• 

  Shuttle "trains" and golf carts

• Purple Mountain (紫金山） / Zhongshan Mountain （钟山） area: the most impressive monuments in Nanjing are located in these hills just east of the city centre.  The three key attractions here are the Mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, the tomb of the first Emperor of the Ming Dynast, and the Linggu Temple area, which was formerly the Nationalist war cemetary for the 1911 revolution and conflicts with Japan leading up to World War II. Each of these are arranged up the slope of a mountain, and there are golf carts / electric shuttle cars to convey tourists within the larger park area.
• From the railway station, take the Metro Line 1 to Xinjiekou station (新街口), then change to Line 2 to Muxuyuan station (苜蓿园). Leave the station from Exit 1, and follow the signposted boardwalk which runs parallel to the main road to a parking area next to the elevated expressway.
• Buy tickets for the park shuttles. Current prices are RMB 5 per ride, but I recommend the five-ride ticket for RMB 15 since you will most likely take at least three rides while in the park.
  

  Avenue of plane trees in Purple Mountain

• Find the park shuttle to the Mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen (中山陵). The tomb complex is free to visit. From the shuttle stop, follow the crowds to reach Fraternity Square, in front of the Gate of Fraternity. Directly across the square from that gate is an interesting bronze cauldron, which marks the southern tip of the tomb complex. Follow the stone steps up the hill to visit the tomb itself. The burial chamber (influenced by that of Napoleon) itself is currently closed to visitors due to the influx in visitors since the tomb complex stopped charging admission. (About 1 hour)
• Coming back to Fraternity Square, cross the square slightly to the left (while facing away from the tomb) and you will see a sign for the Music Bowl (音乐台). Here you can buy a ticket that covers admission to the other major sights in the Purple Mountain area for RMB 90. The Music Bowl itself is an interesting example of Republican architecture and design.
• Coming back to Fraternity Square, go right as you face the tomb to board the shuttle for Linggu Temple (灵谷寺). Take a walk  up the hill to see:
• the Hall of Infinite Strength (无量殿/无梁殿), a rare, brick-vaulted traditional Chinese building which was converted into a shrine to the war dead of the National Revolutionary Army;
• Linggu pagoda, an early 20th century construction decorated with works of calligraphy by artists who happened to have been leaders of the 1911 revolution, and which offers great views over the area and Nanjing generally;
• several interesting tombs, shrines and memorials of various styles, such as the tomb of Tan Yankai, a 20th century construction with classical Chinese elements; and
• Linggu Temple, a modern recreation of the temple from which this ensemble derives its name; and
• In the right season, sweet osmanthus blossoms.
• (About 2 hours in total)
  

  The front of the mound at the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

• Coming back out to the shuttle stop, look for the shuttle that goes to the Ming Xiaoling Tomb (明孝陵), the 15th century tomb of the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The shuttle takes you close to the tomb complex itself, which is an interesting mixture of original elements and later reconstructions of buildings destroyed by war. After you reach the burial mound, come back out, and upon exiting the gate of the tomb complex there is a path that leads left. (Less than 1 hour)
• Optional: if you are doing well for time at this point, follow that path to the left, which takes you into the Zixia Lake (紫霞湖) area. A 20 minute walk up the mountain is rewarded with pretty views of Zixia Lake, a reservoir high up the mountain built at the time of the construction of the Mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen. It is a favourite swimming, fishing and picnicking spot for locals.  Walking around the lake takes you to some medieval ruins and also Zhengqi Pavilion (正气亭), which reputedly marks the spot that Chiang Kai-shek picked out for his own tomb. On the way up or down the hill you will also see the ruins of the tomb of the first crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, who predeceased his father and so was buried close to his tomb, and a gallery of Chinese calligraphy carvings. (About 1.5 hours)
• Coming back down to the front of the Xiaoling tomb, a road leads to the right as you stand before the bridges before the tomb (facing away from the tomb). Follow this road as it turns left and then left again to see the stone statues of civil and military officials who guard the “spirit way” of the Emperor’s tomb, and, after another turn to the left, paired statues of animal guardians both mythical and real. The camels and elephants are especially impressive. At the end of the “spirit way”, follow the path until you see a tall brick enclosure on your right. This is the official tombstone for the mausoleum, a giant granite block carried by a colossal tortoise-like creature. From here, take the pedestiran bridge across the main road to exit the mausoleum complex from its official entrance, the Great Golden Gate.
• At this point you will find yourself in a complex of shops, restaurants, and galleries capitalising on the tourist trade. If Republican history interests you, turn left here, exit the mall complex via the path marked by ornate columns on the left to return to the main road. Walk along the road to the right and you will come across Meiling Palace (美龄宫), formerly an official residence for the President of the Republic of China but in reality a villa used mostly by Generallissimo and Madame Chiang Kai-shek. The villa is ticketed separately.
• To get to your hotel or to the city, there are shuttle stops on the main road near Meiling Palace. The one across the road takes you back to Muxuyuan subway station but services are infrequent. You can walk back to Muxuyuan station by following the main road, it takes about 15-20 minutes.
• Gate of China (Zhonghua Men) / the Confucian Temple night markets / Hunan Road snack street
• The Gate of China (中华门) was the southern gate of Nanjing, and is well known for its formidable construction and elaborate defences. Unlike ordinary city walls which are defended by one barbican, the Gate of China has three, and an invader who chooses (unwisely) to attach the city here would have to breach four gates and face traps and arrows at every turn. From here, you have the option of walking or cycling along the city wall for quite a long way in either direction. The gate complex itself houses exhibitions as well as a temple to a treasure bowl that legend holds was buried under this gate. Note that the subway stop named “Gate of China” is some distance from the gate itself, the most convenient transport option is by bus. The “Tourism route 2″ or “Y2″ (游2) (see general tips below about the ”tourism route” buses) takes you to the gate.
• From the Gate of China, take the Y2 (游2) bus out (the bus stop is on the side of the gate complex, on your right if you are standing on the gate facing away from the moat and into the city) to the Confucian Temple (夫子庙). This is not just a temple – indeed the temple itself is quite small and not entirely authentic. In times past, this area housed one of the main imperial academies in China, and with the large concentration of students the area became a centre for restaurants, taverns, shops of all description, and brothels. The brothels are gone now but the other establishments have been re-established. Take a walk (and maybe a boat trip on the river) and absorb the bustling atmosphere.
• On the south side of the river are some historical neighbourhoods, including the newly constructed Ancient Residences of Wang and Xie (王谢古居). This is a museum which is intended to reflect the era when Nanjing served as the capital of several dynasties ruling over southern China. The museum is located in Wuyi Xiang (乌衣巷), or “Black Suit Alley”, named after a unit of elite troops of the Wu kingdom in the Three Kingdoms period which was stationed here. Their distinctive uniform – as you may have guessed – was black.
• Being so saturated with tourists, it is difficult to find good food near the Confucian Temple. From here, take a bus (e.g. route 31) or the subway (follow the signs) to get to Hunan Road. The closest subway stop is Xuanwu Men (玄武门). There are a number of “snack streets” off Hunan Road, which are packed with unique restaurants and food stalls. The most accessible is Lion Bridge, or Shizi Qiao (狮子桥). This street is perpendicular to Hunan Road and is marked by a large ceremonial gate on Hunan Road.
• Some recommendations for “local” flavour include:
• Huiwei Duck Blood Vermicelli (回味鸭血粉丝)  (past the McDonalds). Their signature dish, duck blood vermicelli souop, features mung bean vermicelli in a soup along with a variety of duck products, including blocks of duck blood (like tofu but with duck flavour), gizzards, cured liver and other delicacies. Great tasting (despite the organic sounding ingredient list). Goes well with a basket of their xiaolongbao (tiny steamed buns with soup). Order at the counter, pick up food from a window and take it to your chosen table.
• A Simple Diet  (粗茶淡饭) (before the McDonalds) serves a variety of down-to-earth but delicious regional cuisine.  Choose a table, catch a waitress to get your order form, then go to the counters to order. The menu is presented as plastic food so you can get an approximate idea of what you get even without speaking the language. I recommend the chicken soup with stirred noodles. The pastries (xiaolongbao and other steamed dishes) are also nice.
• To leave from Lion Bridge, walk back out to Hunan Road. Walking to the right takes you to Xuanwumen station. Alternatively, walk left until you reach Zhongshan Road, where you will find many bus lines.
• If you still have the energy, take the subway or a bus to Xinjiekou (新街口), the key modern shopping area in Nanjing, where you will find department stores and international brands.

Day 2:

Presidential Palace

• Presidential Palace: The Presidential Palace in Nanjing was the centre of political power during the periods of Kuomintang (Nationalist) rule in the Republic of China. It is a mixture of a classical Chinese yamen (as the office of the Viceroy of the Two Jiangs), Republican-era architecture and Communist era desecration.
• Take the subway line 2 to Daxinggong station and walk north across the open plaza, alternatively take the Y2 bus.
• There is plenty to see at the Presidential Palace and no single route. It roughly divides into three sections organised around the central, western and eastern axes. The most significant sights are along the central axis. This includes the restored presidential office and executive council conference rooms, all in the Zichao building at the northern end of the compound.
• The western axis features several gardens as well as the presidential office used by Sun Yat-sen as the first provisional president of the Republic.
• The eastern axis has a range of service buildings from the Viceregal era, as well as some early 20th century offices used by the executive government during the Republican era, restored to the way they were in the 1940s.
  

  The steps seen in many official photographs of the Republican era

• Nearby is the Meiyuan Estate (梅园新村), some preserved villas from the Republican era which are today preserved mainly because the Communist party delegation to the capital was located here during the negotiations between the Communists and Nationalists in 1946-7.
• A new attraction which at the time of writing is yet to open despite having been completed more than 3 years ago is the Nanjing Zizhao Fu (南京织造府), or the Nanjing Weaving Works, intended to be a museum on the site of the former imperial weaving and embroidery works. The architecture is interesting as a combination of traditional elements juxtaposed onto contemporary forms. The building currently sits empty due to disagreements between the private sector developers, the city government and scholars as to its proper contents.
• Also in this area of the town are several universities such as Nanjing University (the former Nanking University) and Southeast University (the National Central University during the Republican era), which feature some interesting architecture from the Republican era. Also interesting is Yihe Road (颐和路), reputedly the best collection of Republican architecture in Nanjing.
  

  Jiming Temple viewed from the wall

• Jiming Temple (鸡鸣寺), or the Temple of the Crowing Rooster, is a historical temple built along the slopes of a hill to the north of central Nanjing. You can reach it by walking by buses including the Y2.
• While the temple itself is fairly small and mostly the result of modern construction, its most interesting features is original: a covered walkway at the back of the temple takes you from the hill on which the temple is built onto the city wall. This section of city wall gives some great views over the city, and also over Xuanwu Laketo the north.
  

  Xuanwu Lake from the wall

• From here, it is not too far to go to one of the eateries of Hunan Road for a late lunch and perhaps shopping for some souvenirs.
• Duck is a traditional specialty of Nanjing and often bought as souvenirs.  One particularly well known shop is the Halal Han Fu Xing (韩复兴) Cured Duck Shop, which makes great salt ducks and roast ducks, as well as the eponymous cured ducks and a variety of duck products and other types of roasted poultry. One unique product, sold from a window facing the street, is duck-oil pancakes. These come in both sweet and savoury varieties, and are delicious if eaten hot (or reheated). Han Fu Xing have branches on Hunan Road (No. 110 Hunan Road) and in several other places.
• When returning by train, the best way to get to the station is via subway Line 1, either to Nanjing Railway Station or Nanjing South Railway Station. The latter takes longer to get to, and should not be confused with the old Nanjing South Railway Station, now re-named Gate of China (or Zhonghuamen) Station.

Other notes:

1.  Nanjing is best seen on a 3-4 day trip, this is a compressed itinerary suitable for a weekend trip out of Shanghai.
2. I speak passable Mandarin; if language is a problem for you, you may want to ask someone to prepare printed tags for you and rely more on taxis and metros and less on buses, for example.
3. I don’t like wasting my travel time on political propaganda. Two major Nanjing “attractions” which fall into this category and therefore are excluded here are the Yuhuatai (“Platform of the Rain of Flowers”) Martyr’s Memorial and the Nanking Massacre Memorial.
4. I prefer eating local specialties at restaurants where taste comes first. While hygiene is important to me, decor is not, and I usually avoid foods which are from the wrong part of the world. For example, even though I make no mention of them above, Nanjing, like any other city in China, has a good selection of spicy restaurants if your tastes are inclined that way.

Happy travelling!

– from behind the Great Firewall of China

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJBnHMpHGRY

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/worldnews/8555247/Tiananmen-Square-massacre.html

It was a grey morning with a light sprinkle of rain in Paris. G and I had been wandering the laneways near the Madeleine and the Palais Garnier looking for coffee, when we chanced upon a little store. We were intrigued by the window displays, an eclectic mixture of writing instruments, stamps and cards, all stylishly designed. We went in. It being fairly early in the morning and close to Christmas, we seemed to be the only visitors, although there were quite a few staff tending various departments. The store was modern and minimalist in decor, and was organised into several somewhat disparate departments. There was a philatelic department, equipped with mounted magnifying glasses for examining stamps; an area for designing (and printing) your own envelope and parcel wrappers; as well as a large range of pens, cards, writing paper, and equipment and material for creating your own stationery.

I especially liked the philatelic counter – where I bought my favourite piece of Paris souvenir. Le Carré d’Encre literally means “Ink Square”. The store brought to mind what a post office shop could be like if it was given a complete redesign by someone with both a sense of style and a love of writing, in all its forms. In fact, that seems to be how the store came to be – it is a project of Phil@Poste, the stamps and stamp-collecting section of the French postal authority, La Poste. They  took all the fun bits of a post shop (stamps, stationery, cards, even creative envelopes and parcel wrapping) and gave it the glamour treatment – but left out all the boring bits like the queues, teller-style counters, and computer-printed text labels.

Even surrounded by all the grand magasins of Avenue Haussman, this shop definitely stood out as my favourite.

Who: Le Carré d’Encre
Where: 13bis, rue de Mathurins, 75009 Paris (nearest Metro: Havre-Caumartin)
What: Stylishly designed stationery and stamp store
Website: http://www.lecarredencre.fr

The TV licence system, however, is retarded. It is not unique to Britain – some other European countries have also retained it. The British, however, have managed to run the system in such a way as to make it, frankly, ridiculous.

First, a brief explanation of the TV licence itself for those of us unfamiliar with such a backward system. Every year, each household which uses a television to receive TV broadcasts (whether directly or recorded) is required to pay a licence fee, currently £145.50 per year for a colour TV. The fee makes up the majority of the BBC’s funding, with the rest coming from commercial arrangements and topped up by government.

The licence fee system is fundamentally unfair. It falls disproportionately on the young, because it is imposed by household, meaning that a single person household is taxed (it is legally a tax) at the same amount as a large family. It falls disproportionately on working people, because it is a set fee, not “pay per view”. This means that a household is required to pay the same fee if they watch even 5 minutes of television when they get home from work, as someone who has the television available to them at all times. It falls disproportionately on the poor, because it discounts the number of television sets in a household. Someone with just one TV between a family of six pays the same licence fee as a household with a TV in every room. Finally, of course, the tax is a set amount, not means tested and not income-progressive, and so it falls disproportionately on those with a lower income. £145.50 is not a small sum – it’s about $250-300 (depending on exchange rates), quite a bit to save up in austerity Britain.

By now you can probably imagine what kind of person benefits most from such a system – someone called Lord Faroutford who has bred like a rabbit, lives in a palatial mansion, has a stack of servants, and who doesn’t need a day job. In other words, the tax is exactly the kind of class oppression you’d expect from the kind of government loaded in favour of the rich and the landed that gave us rotten boroughs or corn laws. Not what you’d expect from a country that brands itself a liberal democracy. Even if we presuppose the necessity of maintaining a public broadcaster not funded by advertising, it is far fairer to fund said broadcaster out of consolidated government revenue funded primarily by a progressive tax system with a primarily individual-based tax unit.

What makes the British system especially ridiculous, though, is the tactics of quasi-legal intimidation it employs to make people pay up. The TV licence system is backed by a joke of an enforcement system. At some point, the government must have realised that, unlike electricity, you can’t actually cut someone off from receiving television broadcasts out of the air. It can criminalise unlicensed TV viewing, but the only way to obtain evidence of this in most cases would mean invading personal privacy. Not a problem at all, of course, for Lord Faroutford, for whom the local constable would have to knock cap-in-hand at his gate for permission to walk up his mile-long driveway and then ask to inspect his television. But even for your average Joe (or whatever they call it in Britain. The man on the Clapham omnibus?), it really isn’t much of a problem if you keep your wits about you and don’t open your door to someone who says they are here about your TV licence. So enforcement generally means sending threatening letters about the heinous crime you are committing by stealing TV signals out of the air, and how they will rip you apart if you gave them a chance. If the system was vicious before, the toothless intimidation makes it absurd.

To add insult to injury, the other day I clicked on a link hosted at http://www.bbc.com/, and it told me – and I will quote it verbatim because it is almost Kafkaesque:-

We’re sorry but this site is not accessible from the UK as it is part of our international service and is not funded by the licence fee. It is run commercially by BBC Worldwide, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BBC, the profits made from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes. You can find out more about BBC Worldwide and its digital activities at www.bbcworldwide.com

So let me get this straight. Because I have to pay an exorbitant and unfair tax that would not exist in any civilised democracy - because of this tax, I am blocked from accessing content provided for free by the very broadcaster I am helping to fund, content that is free to access by anyone who doesn’t have to pay this tax?

It boggles the mind.

Name:

Bécasse is well known in Sydney for its unique combination of culinary innovation with traditional tastes. After several tries and eventually booking a month in advance, G and I visited it for the first time – and it did not disappoint. The restaurant is located at the Druitt Street end of Clarence Street, a quiet location that is mere minutes from the hustle and bustle of Town Hall. At dinner time, the muted external decor makes the restaurant almost hard to spot amongst the half-lit low-rise office buildings and shuttered cafes – especially when one’s eye is drawn to the spectacular white stair case of the award-winning Alliance Française building across the street.

The understated ambience is continued in-doors – while the gentle light of the street lamp filters through the Romanesque arch windows, frosted glass makes it clear that the interior is a world away from the common street outside. Behind a heavy glass door and dark drapery, the restaurant is divided into three areas: a sunken area close to the kitchen, from which diners can watch dishes being plated at a counter; the entry-level area with a series of relatively small tables, generously spaced from each other; and an upstairs area for larger groups. The colour scheme tends towards the warmer end, with dark drapery accentuated here and there with mirrors and simple abstract art. The candle at the table (not, Cafe Sydney should note, a flickering light bulb) sits in a glass bowl of water and sprig of flower. G and I were seated in the entry-level section.

The menu is pricey, and I got the impression that most diners were there for an occasion of some kind. The menu offers the options of a la carte or degustation. The two of us chose the (carnivorous) degustation (as opposed to the vegetarian option) at $130 per person. Optional matching wines with every course is an additional $60 per person.

After some canapes and amuse bouche, here were the dishes we sampled:

Salad of marinated heirloom vegetables with sugar snap mousseline, black olive and lemon balm: beautifully arranged plate of simple vegetables, with subtle sauces that well-complement the natural flavours
Confit miso blue-eye and smoked scallop with sauteed cuttlefish, cauliflower and buckwheat: lightly sauteed seafood, almost sashimi-like; best part is the sauce. Toasted buckwheat adds a nice surprise
Forgotten vegetables slow cooked in smoking cedar with aged pork jowl, scratchings and jus gras: like a rustic pork dish, but with the pork reduced to a hint and the vegetables enlarged to become the main part. Presented with a slice of lit cedar wood.
Roast Palmers Island mulloway with king prawns, soubise puree and smoked crustacea emulsion: familiar taste of fish and prawn given new meaning by the sauce
Caramelised suckling pig and braised pork tail with roast parsnip and compressed apple: a deconstructed variation on a roast pork dish, with a bite of roast pork and a bite of braised pork
Daube of Blackmore’s full-blood wagyu shin with potato baked in ash, Jerusalem artichoke and jus Bordelaise: the ash-wrapped potato was an interesting taste; the fattiness of the wagyu was well-used
Orange and cardamon pannacotta with blood orange, beetroot and vanilla: a thin panna cotta covered with the intersecting textures and flavours of the toppings. Beautifully presented and a refreshing transition into the dessert courses
Banana creme brulee with salted peanut brittle and milk coffee sorbet: a deconstructivist interpretation of the creme brulee. Banana in creme brulee is a little rich and quite sweet, but combines well with the fairly salty peanut brittle
Zokoko 70% Bolivia chocolate and caramel ‘cadeau’ with organic vanilla and milk sorbet: the cadeau is a perfectly formed dome. The sorbet is surprisingly nice – and tastes very different to vanilla ice cream

We finished with tea and petit fours (included in the meal).

Conclusion: Quality food, at once adventurous yet familiar, perfectly managed production

Food: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Ambience: 8/10
Value for money: 7/10
Overall: 9/10

“‘[Xu Qinxian] asked if there was an order from … Zhao Ziyang … The answer was no and ”Xu then refused to march.”” 

http://www.smh.com.au/world/how-top-generals-refused-to-march-on-tiananmen-square-20100603-x7f0.html