Building 3, Xingfu Port, 1029 Zhongshan Nan Lu, near Duojia Lu
中山南路1029号幸福码头3号楼, 近多稼路
+ 86 21 3331 0202
www.havenshanghai.com
Open to public on the first Saturday of every month from 9 p.m.

A vampire venue down on the South Bund? One of the far far club/bar on the South Bund. It’s 10 blocks from the Cool docks.  Staged as Dracula’s secret residence, HAVEN is hidden in a warehouse in Dream Harbor, a motorcycle factory turned creative garden near the Cool Docks. Behind its heavy bronze doors lies a Gothic church inspired space with ten-meter-high ceiling and lancet windows. You also walk pass the elevator that is only used for the special V.I.P’s to the VI.P room on the second floor.  Let’s not for the beautiful vampire in the Purple Velvet coffin when you walk in.  Watch out for the vampire-summoning symbol on the floor, and be careful when you order a drink from the vampire bartenders.

A decadent private room is reserved for Dracula’s very important guests upstairs. It comes with a big swimming pool, separate KTV system.  The pool runs into the bar in the V.I.P room.

HAVEN is open to the public only once a month (every first Saturday of the month); it’s mostly a space for event booking, such as fashion shows, company events and even weddings. It will close down after hosting 666 events, so make sure you check it out next time it opens to everyone. A final note: two vampire inspired cocktails are on the menu for the blood-thirsty ones, namely Victoria Passion and A Bite From Vampire. – Stella Shu.  Yup, they served either Taittinger champagne or those drinks of Stella.

“Twilight” fans take note: Shanghai’s very first vampire-themed club will open its doors in a week’s time to satisfy your fantasy of socializing with blood-sucking vampies.

Haven, the luxury club is situated inside Shanghai’s Xingfu Port complex (幸福码头), a new creative zone on the South Bund inside a converted motorcycle factory once owned by Du Yuesheng (杜月笙).  The biggest Shanghai mafia back in the days.

Elma Ji, Haven’s brand ambassador, told us that the Gothic club would offer a variety of services, from high-end clubbing — open to public on the first Saturday of every month with a RMB 500 entrance fee — to tailor-made event planning to offbeat wedding ceremonies.

“We don’t want to be considered as another nightlife spot because we also open during the day [for events] and provide a head-to-toe planning service,” said Ji.

And when Haven boasts a vampire decor, it means it.

Designed by Lime, a firm hailing from France, the former factory building’s interior has been re-styled into a castle.

The whole space is lit up by bat-clinging ceiling lamps, equipped with blood-spattered lifts, served by demon-like waiters and dotted with vampire badges sourced from around the world.

And don’t scream if you come across a pile of skulls out of the blue, they are just telephones.

Several secret tunnels are embedded in this five-story venue to shield any celebrities or socialites longing for a vampire night out from paparazzi.

More mysterious than the ambiance is the identity of the club owners. Ji refused to give more information than referring to them as several American-Chinese who preferred to be known as Earl Drakial.

“Vampire stands for mystery, high privilege and classiness,” explained Ji, when asked about the motivation behind Haven’s vampire theme.

“[Haven] is targeted at those on top of the spending pyramid and willing to burn bucks to buy a good memory.”

Anyone who is tempted by this high-end Dracula lifestyle better go as soon as possible as Haven won’t stand forever.

According to Ji, the club will be totally demolished after hosting 666 events because “we want to leave our impression to people when it is the best.” Ji estimated Haven will operate for two to three years.  A hidden door, small crawl space and a ladder leads to another private room for people seeking a more private setting. They’re only planning to do 666 events and then close.

I definitely want to arrange a bikini party in the V.I.P room, off the walls in Shanghai.

Shanghai Tourism Memorabilia Fair, “Jiuzi” Popular Sport Competitions, Kite Gala, Shanghai Backstreet Tour and Food Festival, and the likes. The opening ceremony will take place at the newly completed Shanghai International Fashion Center which sits on the former site of a state-run factory. The Shanghai Tourism festival is full swing and will take all around Shanghai.

The Floats Parade has been an enthusiastically cheered signature show and the biggest highlight of the event over the years. “City’s Celebration” is the theme that runs through this year’s procession of floats which come from nearly 20 countries and regions including, among others, the United States, Japan, Russia, Australia, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Spain. The march will be a true visual feast. Even though the floats are on opening day, their are so many events to follow. Shanghai traffic was a mess during the parade. The opening ceremony will feature a parade of 22 elaborately decorated floats. The main route is Qianjing Avenue in the Shihua area. Visitors don’t need to hurry because the floats will be displayed on the avenue for several hours.

This year’s event will be very easy on wallet – major attractions, Cruises of Huangpu River, eateries and boutique shops will reel in customers with big markdowns and twenty-one upmarket hotels will offer pocket-friendly stay+fare package rates, guaranteeing visitors a genuine taste of Shanghai’s most tempting culinary, shopping and sightseeing experiences. Come see the sights and sounds of Shanghai and let’s not forget the taste of Shanghai.

Welcome to Shanghai Tourism Festival 2011 in this beautiful season of autumn!

Shanghai Tourism Festival was opened on September 10 at the newly completed Shanghai International Fashion Center.

The evening of the day was spiced up by the trademark Floats Parade on Huaihai Road, which featured 21 floats and 30 square arrays of performers cheered enthusiastically by visitors and the locals. The events is one of the big days in shanghai where most of Huai Hai road is shut to traffic. The Shanghai streets were lined 10 deep just to see the parade and the marching bands from all over the world.

This year’s event will be very pocket-friendly. Major attractions, operators of cruise liners on Huangpu River, eateries and boutique shops will reel in customers with big markdowns, guaranteeing visitors a genuine taste of Shanghai’s most tempting culinary, shopping and sightseeing experiences.

The opening ceremony will be followed by 40-plus signature events including, Shanghai International Music Fireworks Festival, Wedding in River Town, Colored Boats Parade on Huangpu River, Jiading Confucius Cultural Festival and Songjiang Shanghai’s Root Tourism Culture Festival and the likes, which will turn Shanghai into a city of jubilation.

The Jinshan Tourism Festival will feature a parade, kite flying, a seafood fest, Buddhist temple culture, fruit picking, a group wedding and trips to inhale the fragrance of sweet osmanthus. More than 100 couples will get married at one time. shanghai like things big and what is bigger than a Shanghai wedding.

The festival, which runs from Sunday through October 8, is part of the Shanghai Tourism Festival.

Titled “Romance on the Beach, Fun in the Sea,” the festival will cover the districts famous scenic spots and ancient towns, such as the City Beach on Hangzhou Bay, the 1,000-year-old water towns Fengjing and Zhujing, the fruit orchards of Luxiang Town and the seafood-lovers’ destination Shanyang Town.

A seafood gala will be held at Jinshanzui fishing village on the Hangzhou Bay, offering urban gourmands a rich variety of fish, shrimps, crabs, clams and other treats from the ocean.

During the National Holiday week, kite flying matches will be held on City Beach.

One of the highlights of the tourism festival is the group wedding that has been held each year in the water town Fengjing and last year at the Shanghai Expo Park. This year the event moves to West Lake in Hangzhou, a scenic spot famous for love stories.

Throughout September and through the end of the national holiday, Donglin Temple will hold a Buddhism Culture Festival.

In addition, Jinshan’s various cottage inns and home-style village bistros are offering abundant authentic local cooking and snacks. Visitors can make traditional dumplings with the local aunties and roll up their sleeves to be one-day farmers, picking fruits in orchards or the fields or herding ducks by a lake.

Float parade

The gala parade presents folk arts and cultures from China and abroad. It includes flowery floats with pretty girls from Shanghai’s Yuyuan Garden, Chongming county, Fengxian district, and Shandong province, the Tibet autonomous region, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Macao, as well as some floats from Indonesia and Japan. The Indonesian float features its mascot garuda, and the Japan float is a giant bowl of ramen noodles.

Fruit picking

Date: September and October

Venue: fruit gardens in Luxiang and Langxia towns

Luxiang Town is the country’s largest area for growing peento peaches (the “squashed” saucer-like peach) that’s famous for intense flavor and lots of juice. Visitors can pick peaches in the orchards, with help of the local farmers.

Grape planting has been expanding. Along Jinlang Road from Luxiang to Langxia towns, there are orchards and fields of strawberries, cherries, watermelon, cantaloup, kiwi and jujube.

The two towns are like Shanghai’s “back garden.”

Group wedding

Date: September 28

Venue: Fengjing Town and West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province

Every year the ancient water town hosts a traditional group wedding party for couples who are interested in Chinese folk culture and want their big day to be different. The party now has become a classic in the Shanghai Tourism Festival.

Brides dressed in red satin and bridegrooms will take a boat ride in the town’s crisscrossing rivers.

This year the wedding party goes to West Lake, renowned for the love story about the white serpent sorceress Bai Suzhen and mortal scholar Xu Xian.

Twenty couples will tie the knots.

Seafood Festival

Date: through October 10

Venue: Jinshanzui fishing village

Located on Hangzhou Bay and the East Sea, the village is famed for its seafood among city diners. People in China to love to eat. Come try the local flavor and see what you think!. Shanghai has so many sights and sounds and foods to taste. On holidays and weekends, many people drive from the city centers to the beach to enjoy the mouth-watering fresh seafood. They choose their own dinner and direct the many cooks.

Procedure of Getting The Chinese Driving License:

1. We will translate your foreign driver license in the government translation center.
2. We will accompany you to do a simple medical checkup for you in the traffic dept.
3. We will make an appointment for you for the shanghai traffic rule’s written test. (We will provide a disc with all the question’s and answers, it’s about 1500 question’s, and also we will give you a mock test link, you can test yourself before to make sure you prepare well)
4. We will accompany you for the test, if you can get 90+ scores in the exam. Then we will arrange the driver license for you at the same day.

For the Chinese driver license, we have following services:

D0. Hold any kind of 3 month valid visa now. Want to get 6 years Chinese Driver’s License

You can check other visa services at right side menu or click here to get all of our visa services list.
Paperwork list of China Driving License service

D0 Service: Hold any kind of 3 month valid visa now. Want to get 6 years Chinese Driver’s License:

1. Valid Foreign Country Driver’s License
2. Passport with >= 90 days stay visa (L, F visa issued from any cities all can be qualified)
3. Shanghai Registration Form Of Temporary Residence( up to date )

From 1st Sept 2009, There are 1500 questions and answers of our Shanghai traffic rules, you can download here: English Version ; Chinese Version ; French Version ; Russian Version ; Japanese Version ; Spanish Version (if you using our service, then you don’t need to download it, we will provide you a DISC with all question’s and also will provide you a mock test link). Please memorize and review it. During the exam, the traffic police will random pickup 100 questions. if you can get 90+ scores in the exam, then you can pass and get the Local Driver’s License.

*Registration Form Of Temporary Residence
When you come to Shanghai with a valid visa, you have to go to the local police station near your living space (if you are living in hotel, just go to the hotel reception, But don’t forget to ask the hotel put their stamp on the form! ) to register your information in detail within 24 hrs.It’s easy and free. Then you can get this Registration Form. If you don’t know where is the correct police station you have to go, Please give us a call, we will help you to find it out for free. (As the policy of Shanghai immigration bureau, we strongly recommend you to register and get this form. and also for the foreigner who live in Shanghai, please notice when you leave China and come back or move to a new living place or change a new passport, you have to renew this form)
Tips: If you register yourself too late, maybe the police will charge you fine. Please notice as the regulation, the fine is from minimum 50RMB up to maximum 500RMB. You can negotiate about it to reach a lower amount.

Foreign student studying in Shanghai

II. Formalities:

1. Submitting the Foreigner Visa and Residence Permit Application Form completely filled up and one recent 2-inch half-length, bareheaded and full-faced photograph;

2. The original of the certificate of check-in in Shanghai (issued by the police substation of the area where the lodging takes place, if lodging outside the campus);

3. Handing over the originals of the valid passport and visa for examination;

4. Submitting the original of the Health Certificate issued by Shanghai health quarantine department (15, Jinbang Road, Changning District);

5. Foreign student in China should provide the originals of the letter of application of the school where the student is studying, Form JW201 or JW 202 and the Matriculation Notice;

The foreign student studying in Shanghai can apply for the residence permit for the same period as the student’s period of learning, but no more than 5 years.

An applicant under the age of 18 or above the age of 70 or an applicant, who extends the Residence Permit within 3 months as of its expiration, can be exempted from submitting the Health Certificate.

The applicant should go through the formalities in person for the first application; the school where the applicant is studying or a family member of the applicant can do it on behalf of the applicant for the second one.

III. Business Hours and Place:

Monday-Saturday 9:00-17:00

Note: Credentials are handled alone on Saturday.

1500, Minsheng Road, Pudong New Area

IV. Time Limit of Handling and Winding Up a Case: Within 5 working days, if application documents are complete

V. Fee Standard: For details, see the Visa Fee Standard of Reciprocal Countries and Non-Reciprocal Countries, the State Development and Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance [J. J. G. (2003) No.392]

VI. Information Telephone: 28951900

VII. Supervision Telephone: 68547109

China Eastern Airlines is working with the state Department of Transportation to establish nonstop twice-weekly Shanghai-to-Honolulu service beginning Aug. 9.

The flights would represent the first regularly scheduled service between China and Hawaii. The new service is projected to bring about 82,000 Chinese visitors to Hawaii this year, an increase of 24 percent, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

“This significant milestone is outstanding news for China Eastern Airlines and Hawai’i's visitor industry,” HTA said in a statement.

The HTA estimates Chinese visitors’ average spending per day is $368, bringing the state up to $60 million in annual visitor spending and stimulating job growth.

“The new route is an exciting opportunity, as it will be the first regularly scheduled flight between China and Hawai’i,” HTA said.

HTA said that China Eastern Airlines ran three charter flights between Jan. 30-Feb. 10, 2011, which provided 777 air seats and generated an estimated $1.7 million in direct visitor expenditures. The first 50 flights of the new route will run from Aug. 2011-Jan. 2012, and are being sold through CTrip and U-tour travel companies, HTA said.

“This new route creates ease and availability for those who travel between Hawai’i and China,” HTA said. “Prior to this, travelers from China were routed through Korea or Japan. Shanghai is a major Asian hub and we anticipate that visitors from all over China and other parts of Asia will utilize this route.”

“The HTA is committed to increasing airlift to and from China in collaboration with Hawai’i Tourism China and Hawai’i's visitor industry to ensure the long-term success and continuation of the new route,” HTA said.

It should be a 9 hour flight between cities, if I’m not wrong. It’s 4950 miles from Shanghai Average 747 travels about 550 miles per hour. So about 9 hours.

Shanghai Jinshan City Beach, the favourite beach of Shanghai locals, will open to the public for free this summer, excluding days with special events or major sports competitions.

Shanghai’s only coastline with a view of the cityscape, the beautiful beach in Jinshan stretches along the north coastline of Hangzhou Bay and is a National 4A level scenic spot. It has held the World Beach Volleyball Game for 8 years in a row and its magical combination of seascape, leisure, pleasure and charm has made it a popular sightseeing destination.

This overcrowded (as typical in China) “beach” takes over 2,5 hours to get from Shanghai centre. Imported sand, artificial cleaned water and no swim rule will probably dissatisfy you. But to see Chinese to step into water full dressed will entertain you in other hand.

金山城市沙滩，作为一个人工修建的沙滩，景观制作得还是有一点异国风情的！曾经在韩寒作品里提到的那个全都是芦苇的沙滩，经过改建之后的风景，说实话是变得很特别的！
很长的海岸线上有遮阳棚的走廊，还有全木板铺设起来的台阶，很有东南亚的味道，种植的植物也是十分的漂亮，据说这条走廊很人性化的设计在于，顶棚是可以收起来的，因为上海也是一个夏季经常会有台风经过的地方，顶棚收起，就可以很大程度上防止发生意外，很有爱的设计呢！
另外是城市沙滩，就很有必要讲讲这个沙滩了。这个沙滩举办过很多次的沙滩排球赛，在沙排界还是小有名气的！在这里打沙排是不大可能的，不过在这里骑一下沙滩摩托还是不错的选择呢！
这里的海水是蓝色的，不远处用围墙将外围的海水堵住了，将里面的海水沉淀后，就是漂亮的蓝色了，这个在长江入海口还是比较难见的，这么蓝的海水！
夏天的傍晚，这里会有附近的居民还有特地赶来的游客，在这里纳凉。很是和谐，每年的风夏音乐季都会在这里举办，这个时候这里是音乐的海洋，人潮拥挤，很是壮观呢！

Tests on the product, Jia Yi Jian, revealed huge doses of two drugs prescribed on the NHS for obesity and impotence.

Sibutramine, marketed as Reductil, is an appetite suppressant while tadalafil, commonly known as Cialis, treats erectile dysfunction in a similar way to Viagra.

The levels are said to be high enough to cause serious side effects, including heart and blood pressure problems. Adverse reactions could also occur with other prescription drugs, such as those used to treat blood pressure and heart disease, and some antidepressants.

An MHRA spokeswoman said an investigation was on-going and could not give details about how and where the product was seized.

She said Jia Yi Jian was sold both for weight loss and erectile dysfunction and widely available at stores selling traditional Chinese medicines.

The product, manufactured by Hunan Aimin Pharmaceutical Ltd, based in Hengyang, Hunan Province, China, is advertised as 100 per cent herbal.

‘The pharmaceuticals are deliberately included to make it work,’ said the spokeswoman. ‘People think they are getting something completely herbal but it contains up to four times the dose of pharmaceuticals found in legally prescribed medicinal products.’

The MHRA has its own intelligence and enforcement officers and  the power to raid premises and seize products.

Selling a herbal product containing unlicensed pharmaceutical medicines could result in a criminal prosecution.

Richard Woodfield, MHRA Group Manager for Herbal Medicines, said people should consult their GP before taking any herbal medication, particularly for serious conditions.

Anyone taking Jia Yi Jian was advised to stop immediately and seek health advice.

‘This product, adulterated with large and uncontrolled amounts of pharmaceutical substances, presents a clear risk to consumers,’ said Mr Woodfield.

‘There is continuing evidence that some so-called ‘herbal’ products on the UK and international markets are nothing of the kind.

‘Often, such marketing claims about the supposed natural ingredients in these unlicensed products are simply an attempt to divert the consumer’s attention away from very low manufacturing and ethical standards.

‘The MHRA has issued warnings previously about adulterated products supplied by some TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) outlets, but the problem is by no means limited to that sector.

‘The safest method to obtain medication is to see a health care professional and have a proper diagnosis, especially as sometimes conditions such as erectile dysfunction can be the symptom of something more serious.’

Life after the Shanghai expo. The crowds leave and Shanghai starts up again. The city has been shut down to major building for the last 7 months. Now the Shanghai ends and the building in Shanghai starts again.

The city suspended work at factories and construction sites and kept vehicles off the streets to ensure clean air for the six-month, multi-billion dollar expo, at which Shanghai presented itself to the world as China’s most developed city.

But since the expo ended on October 31, a blanket of brown haze has settled over the city and pollution is more than triple levels of a few weeks earlier.

Media, including the state-owned China Daily, have reported that air pollution in November has been the worst for five years.

“During the Expo, the government was very conscious about our air quality and wanting to give foreign visitors a good impression,” said Lisa Jin, a student at East China Normal University in Shanghai.

“But after the Expo they have become lax and do not seem to care about the air quality.”

Recent foul smelling air in part of the city, caused by a gas leak at a nearby oil refinery, according to the Shanghai Daily, has compounded the pollution woes.

The problem could threaten to scupper the hopes of city officials and residents who proudly see their city as a fast-growing global financial centre.

“After the expo, pollution levels have increased phenomenally. This really could be a major limitation in Shanghai’s plan to be a global financial hub and attract key business people,” said business consultant Nigel Shroff.

Shanghai’s environmental protection agency, in a statement to Reuters, blamed the pollution on cold weather from the north and said the months of November and December always bring bad air.

While an increase in coal burning during the winter, and winter weather patterns, contribute to pollution, industry experts say the resumption of factory work after the expo and the increase in vehicle emissions are the biggest culprits.

“The extreme measures the government takes are temporary measures aimed at a particular event for a short period of time. They are not realistically sustainable,” said Mike Murphy, chief executive of clean technology firm IQAir China.

“I don’t believe that in the near term that the air pollution in Shanghai is going to be reduced by any measurable amount. Even as older factories are shut down or relocated, there is still a large number of vehicles entering the road every day,” he said.

Many residents look back wistfully at the clean air this year and wonder if they’ll see it again.

“Will we see the blue skies days again in the near future? I seriously doubt it,” Marc van der Chijs, co-founder of China’s No.2 online video website Tudou, said recently on his blog.

There’s always a particular smell of burning incense when one walks through the gates of a Buddhist temple. The smoke looms around in a mist-like form. The air is difficult to breathe and some of the people’s eyes burn from the ashes around. The faithful continue to add more to the already huge amount of incense of all shapes and sizes—the little flames on the top of the incense glows through the misty smoke. Before these incense lays the deities, to whom some ask for divine guidance for their cause.
Today, a girl was burning something else in the temple. I looked down at what she was burning—some form of paper money? It appeared so. She was dropping them into the flames one by one. I had seen something like this before—somewhere in a Chinese movie, a man was dropping paper money in a makeshift grill for his brother who had died. Curiously, I approached the girl.

“May I see one of those?” I asked
“Of course,” the woman replied.
I looked at what the paper money said. “Hell money,” it read on the bottom.

—
The use of spirit money (also known as hell money or heaven money) in observing different rituals is deeply rooted in Asian culture. Archaeological evidence of “fake/spirit money” can be seen as far back as circa 1000 B.C. Imitations of money in the form of stones and bones (along with cowrie shells) were found in tombs. In the Spring and Autumn periods, archaeologists have found evidence of imitation metal money. The imitation metal money was thin and fragile, made of lead and bronze. There were also imitations in clay of gold plaques. Initially, archaeologists believed that imitations were for the poor; however, that belief changed when they discovered imitation money in the tombs of the wealthy
—

“What is Hell Money?” I asked.
“It’s heaven money. My dad got mad at me for calling it hell money. Heaven Money is just money you burn so the person can spend it in the afterlife. It’s regular-shaped bills with faces on them. They smell like incense, and we burn them.” the girl said. She continued tossing them into the flames. We continued talking.
“You know any history about Hell Money?” I asked
“I’m not really sure about the history other than that I think people used to actually burn real money instead of what they burn today which is just fake or somewhat as just symbolic money. I have no clue; all I know is that it has been around for a long time.”
“So where did you get this money to burn?”
“I got it from a mortuary or temple place. We bought it from them…You can also buy them at an Asian supermarket.”
“How much would you say heaven money is worth to you or your family?”
The girl thought it over. “It’s really hard to put a value to it,” she began, “I personally don’t believe in heaven money and all the other stuff that goes along with it, but I know it meant a lot to my Grandma, so I was mainly doing it for her and other members of my family. All I know is that my mom made me do it, and she told me the money floated up to heaven to grandma to use to live. I just know that this kind of stuff can mean a lot to some people, so when I do it, I just try to remember that.” She was not alone. I talked to three other people her age—they agreed that it was part of tradition and not of religious identity—out of respect for their elders rather than a serious belief that people would go to the afterlife.
—
Spirit money itself has many different uses; however, it is used generally as a symbol of transformation, increase in reproduction, and payment of spiritual debts. The notes used as “money” are transformed to spirit money when they are used as symbolic offerings to ghosts, gods, and ancestors. The burning of spirit money allows for it to be transferred to ghosts, gods, and ancestors to be used as real currency in the other world. Furthermore, spirit money serves a vital role in association with the offering of food to some ghosts, gods, and ancestors. The offering of food serves to bring our ancestors and other beings in the other world closer to us. It serves as a bonding tool to bring both worlds together. This can be seen in cultures all around the world where feasts, dinners, and other social events use money to bring the community together. Spirit money on the other hand serves to separate the living world from the world of ghosts, gods, and ancestors. It is not natural to have both of these worlds in close connection with each other. The use of spirit money is very similar to how we use money in our society today. It is generally used as a tool to maintain a certain level of distance between two parties during a transaction. The concepts of food and money correlate directly to the offerings to ghosts, gods, and ancestors. We use food to bring them close to us and money to separate them from us.

—

“So you just burn it? There’s no other use?”
She smiled a little. “No. We only use paper money for burning. We use real money (the American dollar) on an altar or Buddha.” The girl meant a tradition to put real money (or money that the living used) on an altar or a Buddha statue for blessings and good fortune.
At this point, another woman came into my view. She was a lot older, perhaps the girl’s mother. The mother spoke quickly to the girl in Vietnamese, pointing at me, and girl spoke back to her in Vietnamese. Although I did not understand, I was sure she was asking about who I was and what was my business with the girl.
Then the girl turned back to me. “This is my mother” she said calmly.
“Hey, I’m sorry, am I interrupting anything?” I quickly suggested
“Hello. No, not at all,” was her reply.
“Do you mind me asking a few questions about this hell money?” I needed a perspective one generation older on hell money. At this point, I turned my attention on the mother.

—

Spirit money is used in many differing activities. For example, the critical role of spirit money is to repay the debts of our ancestors. The spirit of the ancestor must obtain a body and a fate to pursue it karmic course. However, in order for it to do so, it must pay its mystical debt that accumulates over a person’s life. According to McCreery, “It is, however, the burning of large quantities of spirit money that makes the difference in how severely a person is punished when, having died; he once again faces the courts of Hell. This rationale explains why people burn such large amounts of spirit money at funerals, for no one ever complete succeeds in repaying his celestial debt. His descendants must pay for him.” (p.5). The living person attempts to pay off this debt by praying and making monetary donations to the gods and temples. However, no one pays off their debts entirely while alive, so their remaining family burns spirit money which is transmitted to their deceased family member. The deceased family member uses this money to pay down the remainder of his debt and embarks on his karmic journey.

—

“I’ve been burning money since I was a kid. My mom told me it was for my grandmother in heaven. I was very young, maybe twelve? My parents explained what it was and how when I burn it, it will help…in the afterlife. I remember my mom giving me a bunch of the money and told me to throw it into the flame in the grill, like a bbq grill. I threw the money into it a big cylinder, heavy, and made of metal or something like that. We put that outside the house, and that is where my parents burned the paper money and paper clothes. Inside the house we have the altar where we burn incense, and pray to the dead. They burned the paper clothing and money after the incense finished burning. Since then I have only done this a couple of times, and have not done it recently.”
I quickly wrote it down on my notepad. “I see. So you would consider this more of a religious act rather than a cultural or ethnic group thing?” I asked.
“Burning money, I think, is mostly religious. It falls more under religious than the other groups, but it can be somewhat of a cultural thing also.”
“And what do you think your daughter thinks?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, right now it does not seem that way. She has never participated in the actual burning of it before but she does know what it is.” The mother replied. “I know that my daughter doesn’t really believe in it the same way as my parents do or how my grandparents used to. I think living in America has somewhat changed the way my daughter looks at things like this.”
“You know any history about it?” I inquired.
“I do not know how long people have been doing this. All I know is that I have done the same thing my parents and their parents did before. Ages ago, generations and past lives ago. We burn the paper money for the dead, and the smoke floats on to the dead people and the dead use the money in their afterlife.
“Then we pray for the dead person to give us good luck, and good health. We burn paper money, and paper clothes on the anniversary of the death of the dead person. I do know now that they have different stuff you can burn now. We also have paper gold, and clothes. We use this to give to the dead when we pray for them. I’ve even heard about fake credit cards you can burn also.”

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Spirit money is also used in activities outside of funerals. Spirit money can used to cast away foul spirits that interrupt offerings to the gods or ancestors and create problems in one’s life. This type of ritual is performed by hoat-su. These are specialists in performing rituals for clients who seek their help with illness or other personal problems (p. 8). The hoat-su writes, Heaven and Earth, the Lord of Thunder, and all the gods of China’s three religions command with all their power the god of the year and the gods of the months and hours to dispel whatever evil powers threaten here, on a paper charms in order to expel the evil spirits. The hoat-su then stamps the charm, burns it, dissolves the ashes in a cup of water, sips water, and spurts it out. Spirit money can also be used as a bribe to keep ghosts away. Burning spirit money serves as purification which separates the living from spirits

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Now I knew about physical part. “Ok,” I asked, “can you tell me more about what you believe in?”
“When you burn the money it goes to the dead relative in the afterlife. They use the money to buy like a Prada suit or something, and in return for your good work, they give us good fortune, and their blessings. So, we do it to get good fortune. I think people have been burning money for a long time, ever since I can remember.
“We only burn out of consideration for our family. The money is almost like real money. We cannot use, but they can use. It is real important, and has a lot of value. If they died old and naturally, they go to heaven or hell depending on their actions in life. But, we can still give them money and things as if they were still alive. They are like real people, just not right here with us, and they use different money.
“If a person died unexpectedly, or untimely, they do not go to heaven or hell, but go in between. I do not know where, but it is a place in between, because they did not live long enough to determine how good they were, or who bad they were. And even though they are in this middle place, they can still receive gifts from us like normal people. Right, it does not matter where they go, or what happened to them, the dead can still receive gifts as if they were still alive.”
It was time to go. I walked with them out of the temple and to their car. The slight breeze made the air more refreshing, as I asked the girl and her mother if they had any last words before I ended the interview.
The mother went first. “I just know that the money is supposed to help my family members in the afterlife and that is important to me. I think my family values it a great deal especially my parents who still burn the money on the anniversary of their parents’ death. It is the thought of giving for our dead. It does not matter what they are, Chinese or whatever, it is important to people who burn the paper money for the dead.”
The girl went last. “I think the “heaven money,” makes everybody who uses it feel better about the people who have died and it shows that we still care and think about them. I guess its part of tradition and their religion, that’s why this money is important to them.”
Works Cited

Gates, Hill. “Money for the Gods.” Modern China 13.3 (1987): 259-277.
McCreery, John. “Why Don’t We See Some Real Money Here?: Offerings in Chinese Religion.” Journal of Chinese Religions 18 (1990): 1-24.