So this is a pic of my current pimpin' ride, a Junlu mountain bike. It looks cool and was only 300 Yuan (~$45). It has the special shock absorber which is nice, but of course it's made in China so in the 5 weeks I've had it, it has seen the repair shop 6 times. The pedals both broke off within 2 weeks and had to be replaced, it is now only a 1 speed bike instead of the original 18 speeds because it just won't change gears, the seat had to be replaced, one tire started doing such bad figure 8's that it would no longer spin through the mud catcher thingie, the squeaking got extremely annoying, the chain is now completely rusted, etc. But anyway, I went today looking for scooters and am considering either buying a gas powered scooter or a motorcycle. The prices are rather reasonable--scooters are between 2000-3000 yuan and very nice motorcycles are 4000 (~$550). Some issues I have run into, to drive gas powered vehicles you must get a license plate and have a driver's license. As for the license plate, the way that China is trying to help the environment is by putting in effect a law 3 months ago which states that no one can get any new license plates for an indefinite period of time. The only way to get a license plate is to buy a very old scooter/motorcycle that has a plate and you can use that one. However, I asked the scooter salesman if there is another way and he said of course, the store 2 doors down sells fake license plates for only 10 yuan and I can have any number I like. Problem solved! Regarding the driver's license, a foreigner can only get a driver's license after being in China for at least 1 year. To deal with this annoyance, there are 2 methods. The shop across town sells nice looking fake driver's licenses for 100 yuan but that's not a good idea because fake government identifications can get you in trouble, so he recommends I take the second method. If I see a policeman, either act calm and drive normally and he probably won't notice me in a sea of other scooters (80% of which also have no driver's license and a fake license plate) or try to get away from him which is not hard to do because the police never go very fast because they don't want to endanger the public by chasing someone very fast (an eminently reasonable idea that perhaps should be exported to the U.S.) so I can definitely outrun him. If somehow neither of these ideas works out, then it's still not a problem because then I can just speak English to the cop and he will realize I don't understand anything and just let me go. At absolute worst, there is a 300 yuan fine for having a fake or no license plate and a 300 yuan fine for no driver's license, but usually you can just give the cop 100 yuan cash on the spot to avoid these troubles, but foreigners are almost always let go for free for any violation because the paperwork is very annoying for the police to deal with, plus the foreigner will usually not pay the fine since for some reason (hmm) foreigners never figure out the right place to pay it, and moreover the policeman will lose face for having made China look unfriendly to foreigners.
So I think I finally figured out the drinking traditions in China. The alcohol situation in China is rather different from the States. There is no minimum drinking age. A popular drink is homemade fermented rice wine which can be anywhere from 5%-30% alcohol content and tastes extremely sweet. Families often let their children drink it, but usually they must be at least 6 or 7 years old. Beer usually tastes bad here, there is never draft beer unless you go to Beijing/Shanghai and the local brands of bottled beer only make light beer that tastes kind of like Natty Light, Beast, or Old Pile, but it's still ok. You can really splurge and find some Pabst Blue Ribbon in a few stores though. The real man's drink though is Baijou--see the pic on the left. It's usually at least 50% alcohol and tastes like some kind of odd mix between kerosene, butane and Everclear. There is a couple of FTs here that like it, but most of us kringe at the mere sight of Baijou. There is no way to mix it b/c it will at once overtake the flavor of any mixer and even half a shot will give you a terrible hangover.
Drinking is an important resume builder here. One of my students is allergic to alcohol (he gets red rashes on his body the next day after drinking) and his parents are very worried about his employability and are trying to teach him to drink. Many people routinely inquire as to how many bottles of beer someone can drink. If you say more than 10, you get major respect. If you can't drink, you can't really make it in business here, people will think you have something to hide. The more you drink at a business gathering, and the more loud and obnoxious you get, the better. If you try to get a girl to drink more than one bottle of beer she may say that unfortunately she is not experienced in drinking a lot of beer, she has not had enough training.
Drinking in bars or restaurants is certainly encouraged, as is getting as plastered as possible. Restaurants will not close until you are ready to leave. A place that usually closes at 10pm stayed open for us until 4am one day just b/c we were still enjoying their facilities. If people get rowdy, that's cool too. Some students next to our table had a few too many bottles of beer and started breaking the bottles against the wall. The restaurant owners would come and clean up the mess with a smile.
Drinking and driving is certainly a lot looser here. The general rule is that so long as you don't hit anyone, no one is looking to catch you for drinking and driving, unlike America where the pigs look for trouble/look to create trouble by setting up road blocks and taking similar kinds of measures. If you do get caught drinking and driving here, usually being nice to the cop or giving him a cigarette will settle the matter. If he's a hard ass, you probably gotta give him 100 Yuan, but he will probably give you a ride home as well, so it's like a taxi service.
Here are various pictures from my trip to Fujian Province. In one pic you can see me and my student who was my guide for this trip. Most of these pics are from sites I visited in and out of Fuzhou-the capital city. We climbed up a mountain on the Warrior Trail-called that b/c it's 2500 meters up stairs and definitely wears you out so you can see down to the city below from the pics. The first few temple pictures are from a Buddhist temple at the top of the mountain and the others are from a different temple in Fuzhou. Take a look at the blurred picture of the Indian Buddha. You will see the ancient symbol of protection, aka Swastika, which was later used by Hitler.
There is also a pic of a not-so-clean toilet on the train. 
These are some pictures from Xiamen, the beachfront city in Fujian. One pic where I am next to a big bullet is from the island off the coast of Xiamen where the PRC began its ill-fated attack on Taiwan. There is also a pic of me sitting in front of the monument to Chairman Mao Tse Dong in Xiamen City.
