I mentioned in my old blog how some shop assistants have trouble even with basic arithmetic, the most extreme case being a CRC supermarket in Shanghai where the total was RMB95, I gave her a 100 note and she took a calculator out to determine how much change to give me back. Well, it happened again last week. I was at a cafe and we ordered a couple of drinks. The total was 3.30 and we gave a 10 note. The guy looked dazed and confused and eventually got the calculator out before hesitantly handing over some change, still unsure if it was correct. Today, I shopped at a hypermarket for my grocerries. The total was 196.40. I gave her 200.50. She look very confuse and stunned for a while, gave me back my 50 cents, and a 3.6 change!

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Introducing Van McClean, the Australian Art Director who I’m currently staying with. Van is a fun and energetic old man He speaks good Cantonese and used to stay in Hong Kong for over 40 years. The only Chinese word that he know is “??” ~ (Coca Cola!)

Back to work…

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Counterfeit notes are everywhere in China. Often, these counterfeit notes are those of bigger denominations such as RMB50 and RMB100. It’s easy to recognise as the paper feels different and the Chinese will check several times when they receive a RMB50 or RMB100 to make sure it is not a fake.

My colleague was kind enough to teach me how to distinguish a fake note – that is to rub the shoulder of uncle Mao with your right thumb, it should be slighty ridged while fake notes tend to be very smooth. Also, fake notes often have irregular printing (colors too light or dark), absence of safety watermark etc. It is not advisable to change money at small shops, strangers who want to change small notes with you or with individuals who claimed to be money changers. I’ve met a few Chinese in Bank of China who wanted to exchange foreign currency with me. Just ignore them!

Always check your notes before leaving banks, street vendors, outlets… etc. All locals do that so you don’t have to worry about appearing to be distrusting or being rude. My friend got 2 fake RMB100 from an ATM 2 days ago. What should you do if you get fake notes from the ATM? Show your serial number in front of the small camera and walk straight to the bank counter. You may need to fill out a “Receipt for the seizure of Counterfeit Currency” form. You won’t get your counterfeit notes change to a legit one if you leave the ATM.

Always prepare smaller change when taking a cab. Most of the time, the taxi drivers will ask for smaller note when you give them a 100 note. Sometimes they are not willing to change, or they will give you a fake RMB50 note.

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I was checking my designers work at her PC and I feel that the AutoCAD furniture template (we have a directory of furniture block, basically a pre-drawn furniture in plan and elevation to make our life easier) that she choose need to be changed. She’s doing a furniture layout with a Victorian concept but she pluged in a modern furniture! I’m trying to communicate with her ’bout this for 10 mins!

Althought I’m not a fluent speaker yet, but I expect I will be after a few months pass. It is not just fluent in Mandarin, but also being able to decipher the Mandarin that lurks below the thick Shanghai accents!

Popularity: 8% [?]