Cost of living rises

[anonymoose]

I pay almost 6 yuan for 4L from my local supermarket.

[imron]

And you have to carry that home too! The prices I mentioned for both Beijing and the smaller city both included delivery.

[geeness]

I find it interesting nobody has mentioned the sheer volume of 'fake' water in China... if water seems too cheap, there's often a good reason for this: it's just tap water, filtered simply or otherwise, perhaps even distilled if you're lucky.

Having good tastebuds, I've noticed plenty of fake large jugs in apartments when drinking from them, and wondering how such a scam has continued for so long.

[anonymoose]

What is fake water made of? Or maybe I should ask, where does authentic water come from?

[skylee]

Have you seen Slumdog Millionaire? The water is real water, but it is just not the kind of bottled water that you think you are paying for.

PS - geeness did use quotations on the word 'fake'.

[imron]

The same could be argued for bottled water from the supermarket too though. At some point you've got to trust someone and companies selling smaller bottles have had their fair share of issues (whether founded or unfounded) too.

At the end of the day, there are usually several companies selling large water-cooler bottles in any neighbourhood, so find one that sells water that tastes acceptable.

[anonymoose]

geeness did use quotations on the word 'fake'.

Yes, (s)he did use quotation marks on the word 'fake', and (s)he also said

"it's just tap water, filtered simply or otherwise, perhaps even distilled if you're lucky."

So if the water has been filtered or distilled, then what would the source of the water have to be so as not to be considered 'fake'? Where do legitimate manufacturers of purified water source their raw material?

[jbradfor]

Personally, I make my own water via tanks of pure oxygen and hydrogen gas. Can't be too careful!

[anonymoose]

And how do you know that your oxygen and hydrogen isn't contaminated with radioactive isotopes?

[jbradfor]

Fortunately, H² is stable, and H³ is weakly radioactive, and H⁴ is so unstable that it's not an issue. Similarly for the isotopes of O, the half lives are so short that I just let it sit around for a bit.

[anonymoose]

It's good to see someone taking this issue seriously.

[amandagmu]

All I know is that I like the taste of 农夫山泉 a lot better than the water I got when I did the big neighborhood bottles thingy. We used to order 娃哈哈 and 雀巢 big bottles, but now that I live alone I just buy what I want since I don't need to worry about roommates mooching off my supply. :-)

[xiaocai]

How do you make sure the hydrogen and oxygen you use are pure? They may have been adulterated too. Don't tell me that you electrolyse them out of water first...

[imron]

I always found that 农夫's water had a slightly bitter aftertaste. I agree that some water-cooler water tastes not so good, but the one I used to order from was fine.

[anonymoose]

Don't tell me that you electrolyse them out of water first...

I think he electrolyses it out of his urine. After all, there's no better way to ensure purity than pre-filtration through the kidneys.

[geeness]

I'm very much a 'he', on weekdays...

I was referring to branded water, distilled or mineral, that is in actuality simply tap-water, or in the case of mineral, tap or distilled.

People are moaning about inflation - so I would have thought spending 14yuan on Xlitres of tap-water with a Nestlé sticker slapped on it could explain a lack of business sense ;)

My recommendation would also be NongFu branded mineral water, which is easy to differentiate when tasted in comparison to other waters.

There is a real issue of heavy metal water contamination with water in China. Keeping in mind the pollution taken into your body from the air, food and day to day life, I for one prefer to be more conscious of the future result of this over a prolonged period of time. I appreciate everybody has a different way of dealing with it, but having friends who work in this area in Beijing in the food and water supply sector means I am acutely aware of the real issues that will have a real effect on you in the future.

It is very easy to dismiss these matters, but in reality living in modern China is risky to your health over the long-term, and as such you should focus on paying that bit extra, whilst utilising your tastebuds, to ensure you are getting what you pay for.

If a quick extra few RMB can be made, with little concern of the effects upon the customer, then it is China.

[jbradfor]

whilst utilising your tastebuds

There are plenty of substances that taste bad that are harmless, and plenty of substances that are tasteless that are harmful.

[xiaocai]

I think he electrolyses it out of his urine. After all, there's no better way to ensure purity than pre-filtration through the kidneys.

Let's see, you may first take a histological section of your kidneys to ensure that there is no abnormality, and then obtain the freshly filtrated urine by direct intubation into the renal pelvis, and then start the electrolysis, hmmm, We might have gone a little bit too far...

But yes things like chlorine may taste bad but is not harmful, if not beneficial, to one's health when it comes to preparing drinking water. Distillation is a good way to remove most of the impurities in water, including heavy metals. If you don't trust the labels then you may want to have a read of this. Just remember to sterilise all the apparatuses.

And finally back to the topic. I still remember the days I paid 5 Jiao for bus fare and 121.70 Yuan tuition fee including books for one year when I was in primary school. And they don't seem to me to be so long ago, really. My parents some times will regret that they didn't buy an apartment for me back when the real estate market was not so ridiculously inflated. But I told them it's okay, because I do not need more that 20 square meters to make myself comfortable, and with my limited salary I have been so far able to afford that. The real concern is the price of food. I eat out less now and also have cut down the amount of snacks, and these can actually save me quite a bit of money after a period of time. Beef and lamb is expensive but as a southern Chinese, I can live without those. Oh, and except for a few occasions (such as tickets to Jacky Cheung's concerts, ), I always remind myself that do not buy anything which is not absolutely necessary.

[amandagmu]

I totally agree on the long-term health concerns re: pollution/quality problems in a place like Beijing (in the air, in the water, food, etc). I admit it is one of those things I will pay for here, and which I think most people should factor into their living expenses (at least in terms of water). Most people consider the measures I take to be extreme since I also have an air purifier $$$ in my (luckily small) studio apartment. (I decided I really needed the air purifier after I had one helluva nasty sinus infection that couldn't be cured with neti-pot/rest/tea/sleep etc.) I decided against the water ionizer because it had mixed reviews...and because it cost most than the air purifier (!). I did however invest in a shower head filter after my hair started turning green-ish and getting thinner. I am very happy with these investments -- my hair returned to normal within a few weeks and I sleep much better/have had no more big nasty sinus infections since I got the air purifier.

[geeness]

In the past I felt such measures were an indication of extreme paranoia, however having lived in Beijing for quite a while in the past, I did realise the harm it does. It's important to say that every developing country had this necessary phase of pollution, but Beijing's is exacerbated by the unfortunate location of various mountain ranges to the West and North.

If you are finding times tough money-wise, you could perhaps sell some of the brackets you have accumulated in your last post?