TV
In our Shekou apartment our cable came hooked up with a bajillion channels. Certianly most of them were CCTV and other provincial and city channels. We had a few out of Hong Kong as well, some in Engligh, some in Cantonese with occasional Manadarin programming. I was surprised at the number of English and other foreign language channels. We had CNN International, BBC News, Star World, HBO International, ESPN International, as well as some other channels in French, Spanish, Korean, and Japanese. We also had Cartoon Network out of the Phillipines which was beyond awful. The commercials were in the style of high-80s consumerism with most of them being Bratz or related toys. That channel was almost all English-language, though.
I really took for granted that this was a fairly common television package for anyone in Shenzhen, and places that did not have the full complement of channels (like the foot massage parlor I love) just didn't pay for them. However, moving out of Shekou and into the area called Hou Hai has taught me differently. When we first moved in, we were able to get all the normal Chinese-language channels as well as the Hong Kong channels that have programming in English. We could see that the cable company offered CNN, BBC News, etc., but we couldn't receive them. The landlord tried to get them hooked up for us, but these channels were only available for foreigners. She had to prove that the occupants of the apartment were waiguoren in order to have them turned on. I even spoke to the cable people on the phone to assure them that yes, I wanted these channels. They still aren't on, and we are guessing I might actually have to present myself at the building management office, passport in hand, to prove that yes, we are allowed to have these channels.
Even with the foreigner-allowed system, a lot of foreigners find the channel selections and the DVD selections woefuly inadequate. Over Christmas I was re-spoiled with the 24-hour Sprout channel with its Thomas the Tank Engine and Kipper all day long. We just don't have that or anything like that here, which is fine. Like Trader Joe's chocolate, I don't absolutely need it, but they do make any given 15 minutes that much better. But some foreigners do miss their favorite channels. Many use a Slingbox, partnered with a friend or family member in the US. They can live-stream American television. Another option is a small satellite dish. These dishes can come from the Philipines or Thailand or other Asian companies. You buy the dish and receivers and then every month or so you buy a new card with the codes This gives access to many American networks as well. These aren't exactly legal, though.
I really took for granted that this was a fairly common television package for anyone in Shenzhen, and places that did not have the full complement of channels (like the foot massage parlor I love) just didn't pay for them. However, moving out of Shekou and into the area called Hou Hai has taught me differently. When we first moved in, we were able to get all the normal Chinese-language channels as well as the Hong Kong channels that have programming in English. We could see that the cable company offered CNN, BBC News, etc., but we couldn't receive them. The landlord tried to get them hooked up for us, but these channels were only available for foreigners. She had to prove that the occupants of the apartment were waiguoren in order to have them turned on. I even spoke to the cable people on the phone to assure them that yes, I wanted these channels. They still aren't on, and we are guessing I might actually have to present myself at the building management office, passport in hand, to prove that yes, we are allowed to have these channels.
Even with the foreigner-allowed system, a lot of foreigners find the channel selections and the DVD selections woefuly inadequate. Over Christmas I was re-spoiled with the 24-hour Sprout channel with its Thomas the Tank Engine and Kipper all day long. We just don't have that or anything like that here, which is fine. Like Trader Joe's chocolate, I don't absolutely need it, but they do make any given 15 minutes that much better. But some foreigners do miss their favorite channels. Many use a Slingbox, partnered with a friend or family member in the US. They can live-stream American television. Another option is a small satellite dish. These dishes can come from the Philipines or Thailand or other Asian companies. You buy the dish and receivers and then every month or so you buy a new card with the codes This gives access to many American networks as well. These aren't exactly legal, though.
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