A Message from the Publisher

March 2, 2019
To:          Whom it may concern
From:    John S. Porter, Publisher of WWW.TOURGUIZHOU.COM

Re:         Support for www.tourguizhou.com and the video: “Robo Cars of China”

The Tour Guizhou system of web blogs and chats is intended to create space online information about Guizhou people (including foreigners) our shared culture, food, education, natural beauty, technology, doing business, wine, minorities, and many other things. I have been coming to Guizhou, helping teach English and sharing the culture of Guizhou. I like informing western, English speaking, peoples about Guizhou. I have been coming to Guizhou for nineteen years (first visiting Guizhou to teach in the year 2000) and  I have actively promoted Guizhou online through the www.tourguizhou.com web site for the last seven years. There is also a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tourguizhou/

My background in the USA has included data processing, community leadership, and, as a community leader, I helped create a transportation authority which provides bus transportation to the Grand Traverse Bay (GTBay) region. GTBay is in Northern Michigan of the USA. For a period of time, I was Chairman of the Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA).  That is why I am so excited about the Big Data and transportation innovation in Guizhou.  I recognize its potential in bring us all closer together by advancing the quality of our lives, not just in Guizhou, but also the world.

The video “Robo Cars of China” is an attempt to merge many of my ideas about China and the West into a coherent concept of cooperation, friendly competition, and inspiring young people to engage the new technologies. I want the young people to prepare themselves in an enthusiastic and collaborative way. A key element to this cooperation is “Technology English”. As engineers work together, they soon discover that their English teachers didn’t prepare them for collaborations on technical issues using English. English teachers are typically not engineers. For almost a year I have worked on this video about Guiyang and its robotic car basic research.

The video is staged in Guiyang, promoting Guiyang to the tech community, but also it teaches “Technology” English.  It blends technology English with an interesting cooperation and competition, all taking place in Guiyang. It is an English teaching document, a technical document, and an effort to inspire the young. It is also a promotion of Guiyang, China, and  the cooperation that is growing between and among different countries.

The Tourguizhou web site stresses the lifestyle in Guiyang which is geared to young professionals who want to live in an interesting and progressive culture. Guiyang combines tourist attractions with a progressive technology culture. I have enjoyed telling this story on the web, and the video is my most ambitious effort yet. Unfortunately, I have been forced into retirement by operation of law. At age 68 I am faced with returning to my home country to find work in order to sustain myself. My work in promoting technology and Guizhou will draw to a close unless I find support from the Chinese government and the Chinese businesses that value collaboration with the West. I think Westerners should also have an interest in promoting this kind of cooperation as well. Any thoughts on grant ideas or other support are requested and appreciated.

usainfo@yahoo.com

usainfo@yahoo.com

English/Golf Workshop Holiday Special for Kids

Raymond Lo Cohen USPGA Golf Professional

Raymond Lo Cohen, USPGA, is a retired golf professional from Hong Kong. He has 18 years as a USA golf pro. He has retired in Guiyang and is offering a series of golf/English classes. 

Golfing with Raymond English/Golf Workshop is an ideal way for kids to learn English and Golf at the same time. The first five hour workshop will be hour per week sessions will be fun and be a big boost in English proficiency for students. Jack Porter, sponsor of this web site About Tourguizhou, has helped organize the event and will work with kids as a volunteer.

The event is planned for either February 22 or 23, depending on the weather and client response. The workshop  is for grade school age kids (6-13). The first classes will be offered at the new Golden Tulip Hotel in Jinyang, just minutes from the Beizhan Train Station. Class will be from 10 AM to 3:30 PM, including lunch. This is a saturation English environment, five hours. Raymond has several locations throughout Guiyang where he will be able to offer classes. The first class will feature putting in addition to basic swing and golf English. Other classes will be on a golf simulator or at a local driving range.

This English emersion class will be roughly half in the classroom and half outside. The Golden Tulip Hotel has a fully enclosed courtyard and mini golf area. A variety of classrooms are available at the GoldenTulip and the classroom shown here is the VIP room off of the main restauant.

The Minigolf Area

The Classroom

 Raymond has several foreign friends with at least one volunteer English teacher (native English speaking teacher). Foreign teachers (native English teachers) that want to volunteer can get free golf lessons and/or gifts if they participate. Referral fees and discounts can be discussed if you have interested students. Contact Raymond directly at 13984086686 for information about referrals

Raymond is fluent in English, Mandarin, Guizhouhua, and Guandonghua. Although the class plan is flexible depending on student needs, the current class plan is listed below:

Golf Lessons English Lessons

The object of the game
The names of the clubs
The Setup
The Grip
The Swing
Putting

Greetings and Making Friends
Sounds of the Letters
Songs with Colors and Animals
Simple Nouns
Simple Verbs
Simple Sentences

Students will have a good basic understanding of golf and basic English sentences and pronounciation.

Transportation: While the location is easy to get to make sure you ask about transportation when you register. The Hotel is just opposite the Yang Guang Xiao Qu. That location is served by several busses. 

There are several different facilities in Guiyang that may be available to students for specialized instruction. For future classes Raymond will make arrangements for future classes at a driving range or golf simulator.

Please note: When registering make sure to let us know your age, how many years of English you have had, and what special English practice you feel you need.

Contact the Raymond at 13984086686 for details. 

Guiyang’s Brutal Weather Forecast

One of Guiyang’s most attractive features is its moderate weather, except sometimes in the winter it is downright freezing. A good friend from Montreal has about the same weather as my home town, Traverse City (TVC). He said he has never been as cold as in Guiyang in the winter.

It seems that the occasional brutal weather is a combo of rain, snow, wind, and humidity. If you look at this forecast, note the humidity and wind. It can take your breath away. I live about at the 45th parallel in Traverse City, but no Traverse City winters have prepared me for this stuff.

I just checked Traverse City (Northern Michigan). . . Wind and rain is about the same, temperature is about the same too (Dec 27, 2018). There are two differences: humidity is in the 60s and 70s in TVC while it is in the 80s and 90s in Guiyang. The other difference is we walk more here and wait for buses outdoors. In TVC cars seem to get you much closer to your destination. Oh well, it’s a cold snap, about as bad as it gets here. TVC gets a lot colder . . . 20 below zero is not that uncommon.

Guiyang’s elevation is about 3600 feet compared to TVC elevation of about 650 feet. Even though Guiyang’s latitude is about the same as Miami, Florida, it gets a lot colder here than in Miami because of the mountains. Guiyang’s weather during three seasons is quite nice. The mountains moderate the subtropical climate. From Christmas to the middle of March the weather can be just so, so.

Living on the Great Lakes in Northern Michigan has it’s attractions. Sometimes cars parked by the water get sprayed so bad with water that ice piles up on them. Sometimes the cars get so heavy that it pops the tires. Also, the ice on the lakes can be fascinating. . . http://www.tourguizhou.com/northern-michigan-sometimes-miss/

Wedding of a Dermatologist with a Gynaecologist in Guiyang. Why Doctors only marry Doctors

Syed Saalim Hashmi and Nargis with renowned Dermatologist from Guizhou People’s hospital Dr. Jeremiah and Dr. Lu Joao, a senior IVF expert from Department of Obs & Gynae during their wedding reception. 

Fifty years ago, it was very uncommon to find doctors married to other doctors. Why? To answer that question, we need to explore the sociology of the time. Fewer women went to college, which meant fewer female doctors. Many couples married early, right out of high school or right after college. If the wife had career aspirations herself, these were often put aside in order to help her husband get through medical school.

 

Today, men and women often delay marriage until their late twenties or early thirties for a variety of reasons. For many, they want to achieve career success before adding the demands of family. Others simply don’t feel ready to settle down at 22 years old, the way their parents did.

Given the rigor and all-consuming nature of medical school and residency, this is particularly true for doctors. As many more young doctors enter the final stages of their training still single, there is more opportunity to find the perfect mate among their colleagues.

When doctors marry doctors

The epitome of office romance, flirtation between young residents or between nurses and doctors may seem like something straight out of an ER or Greys Anatomy script. But who would better understand the stress young residents face than another resident (or nurse)?

Think about who you spend most of your time with and the social circles you find yourself in. Likely, you are mostly surrounded by other doctors and health professionals by necessity; there is not much time for outside pursuits, right? When young doctors spend 60 to 80 hours per week at the hospital, and the rest of their free time studying, the bonds that form among fellow residents and hospital staff become very important.

 

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, around 47 percent of medical school graduates in the United States are female, and in some states, that percentage creeps even closer to 50 percent. It is very likely for doctors to be attracted to and pursue a relationship with someone they spend a lot of time with. AMA Insurance reports in the 2014 Work/Life Profiles of Today’s U.S. Physician that 40 percent of doctors marry other doctors or health care professionals.

The benefits

There are several obvious benefits to the formation of romantic attachments between doctors and their peers or colleagues. Probably the most obvious is that another doctor or health professional knows what you are going through. They understand the stress, the guilt, the sleep deprivation, the grief, the fear. They also understand the passion for healing and the desire to care for others, and that the duty and responsibility often comes before self or the relationship.

While this is not to say that someone outside the health profession can’t be supportive (remember, over 50 percent of doctors also marry outside the field, with often successful results), it can be very affirming to know you can cut loose without fear of being misunderstood.

Communication between health professionals is often easier. The medical shorthand and complex jargon is sometimes difficult for people outside the health fields to understand. Since doctors live and breathe medicine 16 hours/day, it can be difficult to turn that off when you come home and frustrating to constantly explain terminology.

On the other side of the examination table, it may also be difficult for a doctor or health professional to relate to career challenges and office politics a spouse may face in non-health-related careers, which can be frustrating for the spouse. For this reason, shared experiences, common language, and similar priorities of couples who both practice in the medical profession can be beneficial in developing strong marriages.

The challenges

While there are many benefits to choosing a partner from within the healthcare profession, there are certainly challenges. The practice of medicine tends to attract certain strong personality types. Medical schools train doctors to be decision makers, often in life-or-death situations. It’s very difficult to turn off that intellectual authoritarian persona when you arrive home. If you are also married to a doctor, then inevitable clash of who gets to be the decision maker could be epic. While marrying another doctor may benefit you in terms of easier communication and shared experience, you may both need to work hard to cultivate a different set of skills at home: compromise and humility.

But what if your spouse or partner is not a doctor but another member of the health care profession (nurse, physical therapist, administrator, etc.)? Doctors and nurses (and other health care professionals) may share common experiences and communicate on a similar level, but they view their roles and contributions through different lenses. Neither is right or wrong, just different. Being able to view the world through your partner’s lens may not only help you be a better spouse, but may also give you insights that will help you be a better doctor. While extremely worthwhile, this task isn’t easy.

Other challenges that may face couples in the health care professions revolve around work-life balance. This is true for many people in demanding careers, but few careers are as all-consuming as health care. It’s not only the work hours, but health care providers pour so much of themselves into their work — their passion, their devotion, even their emotions — that there is often little left at the end of the day for outside pursuits and for putting effort into relationships. If both partners are consumed in this way, it makes relationships all the more challenging.

Exacerbating the emotional challenges are the logistical ones: competing work schedules, reliable child care, etc. Some couples even find it difficult to schedule time off or vacation time together, especially if they work in the same hospital.

A growing trend

Statistics seem to indicate that the trend of doctors choosing lifemates from within the medical community will continue to grow. Like any relationship, these marriages can be happy and fulfilling with a little work and effort. These marriages don’t require more effort than the typical marriage, but doctors typically have much less left to give at the end of the day. To make marriages between health professionals work, understanding the challenges you will face and developing coping mechanisms early in your relationship will be helpful

 

Story of a Young Champion in Guizhou who is bracing himself for UFC

As the whole world is going gaga over Khabib Nurmagomedov who yesterday fought the perfect fight. Too bad it was overshadowed by his antics after it was over. … Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov admitted he would have to be cautious initially before taking McGregor to the ground and mauling him.

As I try to get over this bizarre  propaganda & cacophony about UFC, I bumped into a 19 year old Teenage heartthrob, who is currently the heavyweight boxing champion in Guizhou and aspire to fight in UFC within the next 4-5 years. Here’s how he describes his journey in this beautiful article penned by him.

Hello to all the lovely people out here reading this article,
My name is Urison Kokulbekov and I was born and raised in a Muslim family that comes from the beautiful and picturesque valley of Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan 🇹🇯

 I was born on 15th of May 1999 in Roshtqala, Pamir, Tajikistan. I took admission in school in 2006 . I studied in a small primary school where I got my first experience of life.
When I was in middle school, I was unsure what I wanted to do in life because I enjoyed all kind of sports. I decided, I could only do one sport for a living that I truly enjoyed. The two things that I have enjoyed the most in my life are boxing and studying. So I started training in 🥊 boxing and kickboxing.

These sports are very popular in my country just like soccerl in the USA and Cricket in India, England and Australia. From my middle school till now, I participated in many competitions such as Boxing, Soccer ️ and Science Olympiads.

In future I want to combine Boxing as a passion and studies as my career. I graduated from my high school in 2017. After passing high school, I came to People’s Republic of China for my college degree. Now I am here studying Chinese language and want to make career in either medicine, engineering or business administration.

China is the most interesting country on the globe and it always welcome international students and make them feel like a celebrity and provide them bestvamenities and conditions. China is an excellent place to study and make a good career.

In 2017, I participated in boxing competition in China and won, I became the Heavyweight Champion of Guizhou and was presented a beautiful belt by the organisers. Now I am preparing myself for another competition which will be held soon .

CLICK HERE for more information.

World Premiere of the movie ‘Love is a Legend’ held in Guiyang.

Poster of the movie ‘Love is a Legend’

World Premiere of a Chinese movie ‘Love is a Legend’ was held at Wanda Cinemas in Downtown Guiyang.  Movie Starred a beautiful girl from Lithuania Ana Mordynskaja who currently resides in Guiyang, It was produced by Mr. Huo Zhi Wen.

Ana Mordynskaja, a beautiful Lithuanian Guiyang Expat who starred in the movie.

Mr. Huo Zhi Wen, the producer during the premiere.

I had the honor of attending the world premiere of Love is a Legend! To be completely honest when I got the invitation with ‘world movie premiere’ written on the card, I thought they had me confused with someone else. They couldn’t possibly want me to cover an event in the same room with Jennifer Lawrence hahaha, however instead of Jennifer Lawremce, I was ecstatic to meet my celebrity turned old friend Ana who was besieged with Chinese fans for a photograph.

Guizhou TV broadcasted the premiere

Syed Saalim Hashmi posing with Ana Mordynskaja

Foreigner guests with Chinese Viewers during the event.

 

 

 

2018 Big Data Expo of Guiyang

2017 Big Data Expo

The 2018 Bid Data Expo of Guiyang is now history. It closed Tuesday after four days of successful events and exhibitions. Details of the event, along with participants and exhibitors can be found at the Big Data Expo website: BIG DATA CENTRAL WEB SITE.

2018 Big Data Expo rocks according to Jack (aka_ John_ S._Porter)

2018 Big Data Expo rocks according to Jack.

There were many similarities to the 2017, but also a surprise. It was beyond even my wildest overactive imagination. I wasn’t shy about my disappointment in the 2017 Expo because it was so lacking in robotics, motion control, and automated vehicles. I consider this to be central to our future as humans . . .  see: 2017 Big Data Expo.
Though I was unsatisfied with the robotics, motion control and automated vehicle coverage in the 2017 Expo, I was MORE THAN SATISFIED with it’s prominence in 2018.  Artificial intelligence (AI) was everywhere in the Pixmoving presentation. The highlights were the coffee robot, the donkey car race, and the driverless car. The coffee robot demonstrated the fine detail, proving how far robotics and AI has come. The donkey car competition showed how difficult it is to drive a car, even in fairly predictable environments and situations.

The robot that serves the coffee was impressive, but it had no eyes. No wives or children moved  the coffee pot, or the cups. Nevertheless, this demonstration was very good. You can tell by the audience reaction. This display got everybody’s attention.

The Donkey Car is a car  that drives itself, but with very limited intelligence. It has a small on-board computer,  some rule based controls, and a camera. The camera helps the car stay between the white lines. It looks like a toy “remote control” car, but there is no (human) controller when the race begins.  All the decisions on direction and speed are made by the on-board computer. It is dumb, like a donkey.

The driverless car was also a big hit. There were so many people that wanted to ride around the circuit that I heard a man complain that he waited two hours to get on the car. The driverless car has a Lidar navigation sensor (on top) which is a newer product for machine vision. It uses lasers to judge objects and distances, many, many lasers to gather active data about the road. This car highlights several of the “drive by wire” products marketed by Pixmotion. Pixmotion is promoting open source coding for Automated Vehicles and has it’s own line of hardware that they are seeking to install, not only on cars, but many kinds of vehicles, from freight moving trucks to coffee serving robots on wheels.

Other Things at the Big Data Conference

The Exhibition Hall was open from the 26th to the 29th and there were also classes and presentations on the 25th. This conference was similar to prior conferences in that special tickets allowing more access were available.  One impressive presentation was about the use of Big Data to expedite the permitting process for businesses. Rather than using staff time and a complex permitting process for each department, more departments are being merged and application forms are being populated by the government’s Big Data database. This eliminates fees and long waiting periods while applications are processed.  If your registration with the government is in order, you get your permit — quickly. This kind of cost cutting and convenience to citizens is a big deal.

The exhibits seemed less expansive than in the past, with a bit of a push from a few vendors expanding presence. Of course Pixmoving was the biggest. Google and Facebook were also well represented, along with many of the other big names. Smart City software, mapping software, and health care were big. Of course virtual reality and the  “whole body” virtual world devices were present as well. Here are some sample photos.

It was fun  talking to vendors with various levels of English. It was fairly simple to stop and talk, especially with people that are working on their English skills. Alex Lau of Sefonsoft was very kind to me .  .  .AlexLau