Ingredients:

• 200 kilogram flour
• 3 tsp olive oil (others can probably do too)
• 2 eggs
• A knife edge of salt

You put the flour in a circle on the kitchen table and make a hole in the middle, where you put in the other ingredients. Then you slowly start to mix it, better with less flour at first, more can be added later. When you have molded your dough plenty you put it in the refregiator for at least one hour. The dough should be sticky, but so it go off the table without problems.

After its been resting you start rolling it flat on the table, roll it as thin as you like. When you got a big flat “plate” of pasta you fold it from both ends, and then start roll it flat again. You need to continue this procedure for at least 4-5 times. After that, your pasta dough is ready.

Click an image to see big version. 1-3 how to fold, 4 photo the result after folding and rolling 4-6 times.

You can use it for ordinary pasta, by slicing it into thin slices, or for example as ravioli. With ravioli you cut the pasta into soothing square sizes, put some water on the edges of the square, and your filling of choice in one end of the square, and then you fold the square and make the ravioli package where the edges are wet. Both the pasta and f.x. ravioli can keep good for days or longer, if you dont wrap it in paper it will start to dry like the pasta one can buy.

Tip: After cutting into squares you can roll the small square a bit more thin before u fill it

The pasta should be boiled for 3-4 minutes if its fresh, perhabs longer if its dried a lot. You can let the ravioli dry on the table or in the refrigiator, they will slowly become more stiff, and can hold for days.

If your having guest for dinner one day they will love you for this.

Some simple ravioli fillings:

These bank books also need a pin code to use, perhabs thats why the founder is looking for the owner on Chongqing news website, hoping for a reward?

In another post a teacher in Shaping ba is complaining about his poor sallery, stating that none of the people he meets believe him when he tells them his monthly income is around 2200, that most think he earns double or tripple.

The poor teacher is married to a teacher with same sallery, and has a monthly morgage of 1800, which brings monthly costs before food and other necceseties up equaling one of the couples salleries. In his complaints he remember to thanks their parents for helping with the paydown for their appartment!

A third user complains about a nude group photo of all the kids in a kindergarten, swearing that she wouldnt trust her kid to go to such a kindegarten. Funny  or luckily enough the teachers in the background are all dressed. The photo can be seen here: http://bbs.cqnews.net/thread-1727334-1-1.html

In Ao yuan kang Cheng, jiu long po district lives Zhang chun mei. She got her 5 year old retriever one and a half year ago by coinsidence: she was interested in getting one, but found the prices to high, when suddenly one day a dvd saleswoman she knew said – I know a family who wants to give their golden retriever away.

Zhang Chunmei went to see the golden retriever, the owners was a grandparents couple living in small appartment on zhi gang da dao, with their daughter and grandkid, and they thought the dog took up to much space after the grandkid had been born.

Chunmei didnt hessitate, the dog, Xue Er was sweet, gentle and beautifull, she felt struck by luck.

Soon after Xue Er changed home, Chunmei found that the dog seemed to be quiet famous. Her and her husband had changed the name to SuiSui, but almost every day on the streets Chinese bypassers was greeting it SuEr, and stopping to talk with the dog. ZhangChunMei thought it was because she also was living on Zhigangdadao, not far from the previos owners.

But when she half year later moved to a new build appartment in Ao yuan kang cheng, 10 minutes drive in taxi from Zhigang, there was stille people who called Suisui per her original name and stopped and talked to her.

And one day Zhangchunmei met another golden retriever owner online, who lived far away, and who came to visit to pair her male retriever with Suisui, she also knew the dogs original name.

How could that be? Zhang Chunmei was wondering, there is so many golden retrievers in Chongqing, why did her Suisui seem to be famous?

The answer lies in the market mechanismes and the growth and prosperity in Chongqing: Suisui is a 5-6 years old golden retriever, 5-6 years ago there wasnt many golden retrievers in Chongqing, its a likely guess that suisui was one of the first, so it became famous, Chongqing people loves golden retrievers, alone the name “golden” will indicate something precious to a Chinese, and in a fast growing city where most dogs are the typical chinese farm dog, a golden retriever will surely catch attention.

5 years ago some people in Chongqing realized that, and saw potential in selling golden retrievers, so they imported them, started to breed golden retrievers to sell to the many interested possible dog owners. Year by year the market got filled with golden retrievers, and today, where Zhangchunmei lives, theres at least 20 golden retriever owners, and new ones coming on monthly basis.

Zhangchun  just sold SuiSuis puppies for 800 rmb, puppies which 2 years ago would have been sold for 2000.

But as she said, to her its not the price but the new homes which matters.

Facts

• In China its normal to sell puppies after only 42 days. They are considered ready by that time.
• Before it wasnt required to have a license for a dog in Chongqing, but the police is introducing new rules, maybe due to the growth in dogowners among middle class chinese
• Popular breeds in Chongqing are Golden Retrievers and small Poodles. German Shaefer, Schnauzer and dwarf dogs is starting to show up in the streets also.
• Dogs are in general well percieved in Chongqing, compared to f.x Shanghai where a bigger percentage of the population is genuinly scared of dogs.
• One can have a dog transported by flight in China, it costs around 800 rmb.
• When 2 dog owners does match making with their dogs in order to get puppies it is normal that the owner of the dad dog is either paid a fee or given one of the puppies.
• Most chinese dog owners cares a lot about their dogs and treat them to beauty saloons and spas.
• If a dog bites a human the victim can request that the dog is to be killed.

It is primarely export of cars, motorcycles and laptops which is driving the rapid growth, the statistics reports that from januar to august an overwhelming number of nearly 6 million laptops was exported.

The biggest export market for Chongqing is EU which accounts for USD 3 billion from january to august. Second is ASEAN countries and first as number third comes the US.

With the increasing investments in production fascilities from both car manufactoreres like Ford and laptop manufactorerers like HP it is likely that the growth will continue in the coming years.

According to Chongqing mayor Huang Qifan Chongqing is heading towards becoming a world famous car town with a yearly production of more than 4 million cars in 2015, mainly based on the current domestick manufactorers 1 million output and Fords future 2 million output.

There have also been rumors that Ford might enter the electric car market in China,  though the headlines in foreign medias was merely due to a comment from Fords chief executive officer  that  ”As we move to more electrification, you’re going to see more hybrids, plug-in hybrids and all-electric” and the condition that the Chinese market for electrical vehicles is subsidied by the government,. But the headlines aint substained by any real facts.

Carrefour is often mentioned as a success story of foreign retail enterprices entering the Chinese market but as the chinese market has developed the future of Carrefour might be more gloomy than most would expect.

Since july last year Carrefor have closed 6 shops, and the chain had a 249 million euros loss in first quarter of 2011.

Big domestic and foreign chains are growing dramatically.

If carrefour’s business now is in trouble then the future might bring down even more pain to the giant.

When carrefour entered the Chinese market in the late 90’ties the Chinese market was immature, consumerisme was just starting, and Chinese authorities and governments was more than happy when carrefour wanted to put one or more shop in their cities. They was so happy that they gave Carrefour huge discounts on renting shop space, often in very attractive locations, where the prices since then have soared.

Most of the leases was signed for 20 years, hense within a foreseable future many of them are up for renewal, and Unless the renewals will fall in middle of a Crises or recession it seems unlikely that carrefour with get any discouts this time, governments and contracters will have $ signs in their eyes.

Take for example the Carrefour in yang jia ping in Chongqing, not unlikely one of the best spots for a big supermarket, in the middle of a shopping area, rignt down the stairs from walk streets; even with several competitors popping up in recent years, the branch is almost always overly crowded.

One can easily imagine some Chinese retailers dreaming big dreams of taking over the location.

Many other retailers have learned from this and instead of renting they simply buy the locations for their shops, though if Carrefour after 20 years in china is to follow that path buying shop space wont be cheap.

Besides problem with renewal of leases carrefour also faces increasing competition from both foreign and domestic retailers like young hui, among other places, located in the basement of the semi fancy paradise walk mall in yang jia ping. If carrefour is crowded Young hui is often more, especially in the food sections. There are many similarities between young hui and carrefours interiour and build up of the store, but somehow Young Hui seems more Chinese, more like a traditional Chinese market in a modern shape.

And similar stores is popping up everywhere in Chongqing, Carrefour will less and less seems like the “special supermarket’” but one among many others.

Carrefours focus on a full home product line, with TV’s and refrigiators etc when you enter the store can also be discussed. Even the yang jia ping branch is crowded, it aint with TV and refrigiator buyers, most Chinese will probably go to more specialized retailers for that, which might also explains why Young hui dont sell these items. The young hui branch is smaller than carrefours, but they have a higher percentage of their products which is grocery related.

Carrefours meassures the last years to change their business seems diminuish, coupon codes which gives a 6 rmb rebate for each 66 rmb bought, or increased foreign product line, besides that, the Chongqing shops looks like they did 10 years ago.

If carrefour should keep its earlier strong position there seem no doubt they need to evolve and get up to speed, resting on past glory wont help them much in the Chinese present day.

The new tax is at 0.5%, 1% or 1.2% depending on the purchace price of the property, and will only affect the 9 districts in Chongqing city itself.

The tax regulations is considered to be a government incentative to increase revenue and is not related to the recent concerns about inflatation in property prices, where Chongqing in june had the questionable honor of having the number one spot in whole China with a dazzling 6% increase from the month before, which temporarely made the government cease all property bank loans.

China Daily reports that the tax limit falls on appartments with a sqm price higher than 9,941 yuan, for whoom the 0.5% tax will apply, while more expensive property can be subject to the 1 or 1.2%. The number of property falling in this range was before january accumulated to 3.400 units, but the number is exptected to increase dramatically since prices on new property have been soaring.

It is also noted that owners not paying the tax will face public exposure and perhabs limits on their ability to travell abroad.

Article was updated the 28/8.

Earlier this month Spring Airlines launched flights between Chongqing and Shijiazhuang at very competitive prices as low as 280 rmb one way.