It is 6am in Shanghai. Jet-lagged yet drowsy, my kids are up. They are peevish and bored. My elder daughter, 16-year-old Ranju, inserts her headphones and prepares to disappear into her iPad. My younger daughter, 12-year-old Malu, settles down in front of the television. It doesn’t seem right. Why are we travelling all the way to one of the world’s great cities only to do what we do at home on a Sunday morning?
“Come on kids,” I say chirpily, “let’s go for a walk.” They protest. The Fairmont Hotel is warm and comfortable. Later, they say. I will have none of it. The excuses that work at home fall flat in Shanghai.
We step out of the hotel and walk towards the Bund. A few steps up and we are on the long pedestrian boardwalk that overlooks the water. Men are flying kites. Some women are jogging and walking dogs. Most people, however, are standing together in loose formations and practicing tai chi. They are young and old, men and women, fit and fat. They move together slowly as if dancing to a silent song that only they can hear.
Curious, we stand and watch a large group moving their hands and legs in movements that are both simple and prescribed. They do the same movement once, then again, then again. We walk on.
The next group is more advanced. Even we can tell. They are standing on one leg like a crane and then jumping forward, pulling back and whipping out their hands. The movements are familiar to us, having watched martial arts films as preparation for coming to China. “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon,” Ranju mutters.
The sun comes up and warms our back as we walk on in companionable silence. We aren’t squabbling. I am not lecturing them about having a sense of adventure in a new city. Nobody asks if we are done yet. Further up, another group does the same movements as the first beginner group that we saw. We stop. The movements are simple enough for us to delineate into beginning, middle and end. Unconsciously, Malu begins to imitate their swaying dance. We are in the back. Nobody sees us. We aren’t dressed in white but maybe they won’t mind. I join in, as does Ranju. We finish the movement and join the group as it goes back to the beginning crouch. Sway to the right, lunge forward, lift hands up slowly, turn sideways, hold the pose and bring the arm back. And again. We follow the group as it repeats the movements, becoming increasingly confident with each round.
Malu grins. “Happy?” she asks.
“Certainly beats watching TV at home,” I reply with a grin.
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'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
MATCH INFO
Arsenal 1 (Aubameyang 12’) Liverpool 1 (Minamino 73’)
Arsenal win 5-4 on penalties
Man of the Match: Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Poacher
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The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.