China loves uniformity, even when it comes to clocks.
Although China is almost as large as the United States in land area, it has only one time zone, meaning that Beijing has the same official time as Kashgar, which is 2,130 miles away from the capital. In U.S. terms, that would be like New York and Las Vegas being in the same time zone.
The country was divided into five time zones from 1912 to 1949, when the Communists took power and created the People’s Republic of China. The one time-zone policy was part of an effort to unify the country, but some western areas have resisted. In the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China, most residents observe a local time that is two hours behind Beijing. If they followed Beijing time, sunrise wouldn’t take place until mid-morning.
China is 12 hours ahead of New York right now, though that will change to 13 hours when U.S. daylight saving time ends in November. All I know is that when I’m going to sleep, Pat is waking up and vice versa.
***
Being a boss in China has some nice perks.
Last night I was invited to play tennis by the head of Henan University of Technology, who is known as the General Secretary, a term borrowed from the Communist Party. (The president is the university’s No. 2 official.) We played in the university gym, on modern indoor courts. I was told that only top university officials can use the courts. Even teachers usually can’t play there, though as a foreign guest I was given special treatment, including a new Babolat racket to play with.
I hit with a couple of the university’s tennis coaches on one court, while the 57-year-old General Secretary played in his regular doubles game on an adjacent court. He’s a fit and youthful-looking man with a solid all-around game. No wonder, since he can practice at this nice indoor facility whenever he wants.
Though tennis isn’t a big sport in China, the country has produced a Grand Slam champion. Li Na won the 2011 French Open women’s singles title, making her the first Asian player to win a major tennis championship.
***
A fellow teacher at Henan University of Technology was attacked by a mob of drunken punks outside a Zhengzhou nightclub early Sunday morning.
He said he had just left the club when a dozen or so young men, who appeared to be Indian or Pakistani, started cursing at him in English. A couple of them rushed at him with fists flying. He managed to knock one of them down, but was punched in the face and kicked in the leg before he managed to escape.
He has no idea why he was targeted, though I suspect they were Pakistani Muslims who hate America and thought he was an American. (He’s actually Canadian.) I suggested that a bunch of us Westerners go back to the club, find the culprits and teach them some manners, but he said he didn’t feel like ending up in a Chinese jail.
