United Nations Day

To celebrate UN Day, October 24th, the different UN orgs in Beijing were all invited for a ceremony and lunch. We heard some words to remind us of why we are here, as well as some more specifics about the different agencies' projects in Beijing. I thought it was interesting that they spoke not only about UN success throughout history, but also failures. Another topic that was brought up was why the UN continues its presence in China; the answer was similar to what I had explained to those who questioned why industrial development was necessary in China. By all measures, China is still a developing country and still needs assistance with continuing its development without compromising social equity or environmental sustainability. The UN role in China has evolved based on China's position and needs, from facilitating technology transfer, to focusing on social and economic development, to assisting in sustainability development. Currently the agencies are working on everything from minority group rights to creating legislation to protect women against domestic violence to food safety to protecting cultural heritage to improving the inevitable problems associated with rapid urbanization. 

Overall I was left with a clear idea of the UN's role in China and also how they work in collaboration with the Chinese government and its agencies. And on a larger scale, I was able to understand both the successes of the UN but also its limitations, and why we continue to dedicate our time to this organization. 

Happy UN Day!

my first Beijing autumn weekend

I spent practically the entire last weekend with R, my friend from my master who's doing her thesis research in Beijing Institue of Technology. On Saturday we went to Xiangshan (Fragrant Hills Park) along with two of her Spanish friends B and V who live in the same dorm. Xiangshan is famous for its red autumn leaves and also there's a great view over all of Beijing from the top. Unfortunately the entire city of Beijing decided to go on Saturday afternoon as well. The first Xiangshan bus was totally packed and we decided to wait for the next. The next one was also totally packed, but somehow R and I managed to cram ourselves on (and not fall off or get stuck between the doors). B and V weren't able to get on and ended up taking the next bus. So we were awkwardly crammed in that bus for about 45 minutes, and  as we were nearing Xiangshan there was a huge gridlock that most of the passengers got off and walked the remaining 2-3 km to the park. En route and inside the park, it felt like we were in some kind of amusement park because of all the crowds! This is definitely one of the biggest downsides to traveling in China. Inside the park, by chance we found B and V and then we climbed up the mountain together. It wasn't an easy hike, but at the same time I think we've all done worse. Along the way, we saw some interesting displays of Chinese culture... for example, a guy climbed onto a persimmon tree inside the park, broke off a large branch, and all the by-standers rushed over for the up-for-grabs persimmons. As always, there were women climbing the mountain in crazy stiletto heels. And of course, everybody came super prepared and everywhere I looked, people were snacking on fruit, chips, popsicles, whatever!

The next day, we met up to visit the Beijing Underground City. There's a huge network of tunnels and rooms that Mao built in case of nuclear warfare with the Soviet Union, and apparently the tunnels lead all the way to Tianjin and there were huge storerooms and even a movie theatre. This was definitely well thought-out, and perhaps a tad more extensive than UCLA's. The lonely planet told us where to go, but when we finally reached the unassuming grey house in a hutong, it was closed. I guess the government has been closing many of the tunnel entrances. We were disappointed but determined to not let that get us down, so we continued exploring the little hutongs in that area. In the end, the rain forced us to go shopping in the shopping centers.

first week in my (supposed) last internship

"Industrial development in China? They need help in that? They should be helping US develop!" This was a response I received about my internship with the UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) Regional Office in Beijing. And my response? Obviously China can get by just fine without support, but the purpose of UNIDO is to provide external assistance in sustainable development that is not locally available, and make sure that their policy and technology in energy efficiency, renewable energy, environmental protection, and carbon emissions catch up to the development. 

I've finished my first week of work and so far, so good. The first project I'll be working on is increasing energy efficiency in industrial heat systems. This project will work with several agencies within China to improve how the government inspection of heat exchangers and boilers, as well as train companies to better manage their energy consumption and optimize their heat systems. Another project is the Taiyuan GHG project which helps the local government reduce emissions. A main component of this project is monitoring, reporting and verification of emissions, and creating a network for companies to benchmark their emissions.  Capacity building is a very important concept in UNIDO and for all development projects- basically, helping the local organizations increase their own capacity for improvement. UNIDO partners with local agencies or organizations to provide resources and support that they otherwise wouldn't have.

I'm excited about this internship because these projects incorporate a little of everything from my background- the boiler and heat exchanger design from cheme, development project experience from ewb, carbon emissions from both my undergrad and masters, and even measurement and verification methods from my masters thesis. 

Now for the downside, because it's inevitable... in my case, it's the commute. I live in Haidian on the west 3rd ring of Beijing, and UNIDO is located between the east 2nd and 3rd rings in the Chaoyang District near all the embassies. It seems like there's an infinite number of ways that I can make the commute, and I'm still trying to figure it all out. So far, I've been taking bus-metro-bus. Anyways, "urban jungle" does not suffice the ruthlessness and chaotic nature of Beijing's buses and subways. All I can say is there's always people-watching to do, and I make use of my one hour+ commute to read on my phone. I finished the rest of Picture of Dorian Grey, read Metamorphosis, and in the midst of Treasure Island right now.