http://www.nba.com/kings/news/The_Kings_in_China_Diary_dayone.html
==========================
Day One
The Kings in China Diary
by Devin Blankenship
I now know what it feels like to be fully awake for more than 24 hours—it’s darn near an eternity.
Having been in Shanghai for two full days with the Kings as the team prepares to play the Houston Rockets on Thursday night in the first all-NBA preseason game in China, many of us on the trip find it hard to believe that it’s only been a few hours since leaving Sacramento and the United States.
We departed Sac International on a DC-10 airliner chartered through NorthWest around 11 p.m. on Sunday after playing the Warriors, and headed to Anchorage, Alaska. Since the trip to China is so long, the plane had to stop and refuel before crossing the Pacific Ocean.
Many on the aircraft, including the Royal Court Dancers, members of the Sacramento front office, and wives and significant others slept during the early part of the flight to Shanghai, and awoke during the latter stages as we drew closer to the Asian continent.
We ended up arriving at about 4:15 a.m. local time on Tuesday, pretty much in a daze from losing a whole day to travel and the time change. The very first thing that struck me as I got off the plane was how modern and clean the Pu Dong airport is—on top of it, almost everything is in English.
After taking the 40-minute ride from the airport to our hotel in downtown Shanghai, which included a host of paparazzi following the buses and taking pictures, we arrived at our hotel and settled in for a long day, including the team’s first practice that afternoon. By the time we settled in to our rooms later that evening after dinner, many of us felt as though it had been weeks since we left.
Having now spent an entire 24 hours in the city, I can honestly say that this place is nothing like I thought it would be. The most amazing thing about Shanghai is how it feels—not like your stereotypical communist city, but more of a thriving, lively, cosmopolitan metropolis.
It is extremely clean and modern. Bars and nightclubs line the streets, and advertisements are plastered all over the place, much like you would find in any American city. Many of us on the trip have even remarked how the city feels like just another NBA town, thanks to almost everything being in English.
There are American-style bars and restaurants all over the place, even ones that blast Snoop and the Black Eyed Peas long into the night. At night the city becomes a sea of neon, much like Times Square in New york. All of the nicest stores are here as well as the latest fashion trends. It’s really opened a lot of our eyes and changed a lot of this traveling party’s pre-conceived notion of what the country would be like.
Our hotel, the Ritz-Carlton, feels like it’s straight from the states. There are several restaurants downstairs, including a Tony Romas and a Ms. Fields cookie store—there is also a Starbucks to boot. There is also a mall next door with several high end fashion shops. It’s almost eerie how non-foreign it feels.
All of the hotel employees are extremely polite, always saying hello at every opportunity. One of the interesting things is that there is also no shortage of them. I’m not sure if it’s because of the China Games themselves, which are being treated as a major event here, but there seems to be hotel workers standing around every corner of the hotel to say hello and make you feel welcome.
I’ve heard that Beijing, where we will be on Friday, is much more traditional and not as vibrant as Shanghai. Either way, all of us are having a good time and are looking forward to the rest of the trip.
It’s going to be an interesting next couple of days to say the least.
====================================================
http://www.nba.com/kings/news/The_Kings_in_China_Diary-119828-58.html
----------------------------------------
Day Two
The Kings in China Diary
by Devin Blankenship
It’s neat to see Liu Wei in his own environment.
He is constantly being followed and hounded by autograph seekers, and is very much revered here, although not on the same level as Yao Ming.
Wei and Mike Bibby met with a host of Chinese media before practice at the Shanghai city gym on our second day in China, and some of the questions that were asked were hilarious, like “Mike, if Liu Wei asked you out to dinner, would you go with him?”
After doing the obligatory chat session, the team got down to the nitty-gritty and practiced hard, including a 40-minute scrimmage. You could see that it was good for the team to work off the travel weariness.
Later that afternoon, some of the group, including Chris Webber, Matt Barnes, Maurice Evans, and Anwar Fisher took a bus in the early evening to the Shanghai market.
It was an experience to say the least.
Imagine a normal flea market on steroids. Small shops filled with knock-off purses, shoes, designer watches, movies and pretty much anything else you can think of.
As you walk down these narrow walkways filled with people and merchandise, you are nearly assaulted by shop owners trying to get you into their little booths.
Being that our group was composed of westerners and professional basketball players, we drew even more attention as we walked the gauntlet of capitalism.
Chris was funny to watch in the market, mainly because of his case of the shutterbugs. Webb has been filming and taking pictures of the city and the people non-stop since arriving—and has caught some of the citizens here by surprise by taking snapshots of them as they take pictures of him. You won’t find him without his professional digital camera or recorder, except on the court.
Anyways, it took a while to walk the market, but all of us managed to finish and make it back to the hotel in time to catch a shuttle to the China Games’ welcome reception at a nearby hotel.
It was a neat event that included both the Rockets and Kings, plus a host of NBA greats, including Bill Walton, Clyde Drexler, and Bill Russell.
By the time things wrapped up for the evening, most of us were eager to get back to the hotel and get ready for the next day and the first game between the Kings and Rockets.
Oh, and one more thing. Note to self: try and arrange for personal police escorts with the Sacramento PD whenever in a rush. Nothing beats traffic than having your own escort. Everytime we traveled in our tour bus, we had cops on motorcycle and in police cars blocking every intersection and making life sweet.
=====================================
http://www.nba.com/kings/news/The_Kings_in_China-120110-58.html
------------------------------------
Day Three
The Kings in China Diary
by Devin Blankenship
Everyone should get to walk a red carpet in front of a sea of fans.
That’s what the Kings experienced upon arriving at the Shanghai city gym prior to their game against the Rockets on Thursday evening.
City streets leading to the arena that had been free of traffic during previous trips were clogged with fans heading to the game. As the buses pulled closer to the parking lot, throngs of people clad in Rockets’ red or Kings’ purple cheered and waved in excitement, hoping to catch a glimpse of an NBA player.
As the players debarked their bus and headed down a red carpet into the gym, the crowd would roar, scream and press against the barricades, forcing the Chinese police to lock their arms even tighter to keep the crowd back.
It was really amazing and showed how much of an effect the NBA has had in this country. Everywhere we went in Shanghai, the first thing to come out of peoples’ mouths upon seeing us was “NBA?” and the craziness seemed to hit a fervor pitch on this night.
The game itself was a weird experience. It had the feel of an NBA contest, yet at the same time it didn’t. The players were there, the dancers and entertainment were there, and the music was the same that would be played at a game in the states, yet the building was Spartan in its conditions, and the crowd was a bit different than your normal game-goers.
In the end though, I know the players enjoyed the experience of playing in this atmosphere.
To Be Continued with Day 4........
==========================
Day One
The Kings in China Diary
by Devin Blankenship
I now know what it feels like to be fully awake for more than 24 hours—it’s darn near an eternity.
Having been in Shanghai for two full days with the Kings as the team prepares to play the Houston Rockets on Thursday night in the first all-NBA preseason game in China, many of us on the trip find it hard to believe that it’s only been a few hours since leaving Sacramento and the United States.
We departed Sac International on a DC-10 airliner chartered through NorthWest around 11 p.m. on Sunday after playing the Warriors, and headed to Anchorage, Alaska. Since the trip to China is so long, the plane had to stop and refuel before crossing the Pacific Ocean.
Many on the aircraft, including the Royal Court Dancers, members of the Sacramento front office, and wives and significant others slept during the early part of the flight to Shanghai, and awoke during the latter stages as we drew closer to the Asian continent.
We ended up arriving at about 4:15 a.m. local time on Tuesday, pretty much in a daze from losing a whole day to travel and the time change. The very first thing that struck me as I got off the plane was how modern and clean the Pu Dong airport is—on top of it, almost everything is in English.
After taking the 40-minute ride from the airport to our hotel in downtown Shanghai, which included a host of paparazzi following the buses and taking pictures, we arrived at our hotel and settled in for a long day, including the team’s first practice that afternoon. By the time we settled in to our rooms later that evening after dinner, many of us felt as though it had been weeks since we left.
Having now spent an entire 24 hours in the city, I can honestly say that this place is nothing like I thought it would be. The most amazing thing about Shanghai is how it feels—not like your stereotypical communist city, but more of a thriving, lively, cosmopolitan metropolis.
It is extremely clean and modern. Bars and nightclubs line the streets, and advertisements are plastered all over the place, much like you would find in any American city. Many of us on the trip have even remarked how the city feels like just another NBA town, thanks to almost everything being in English.
There are American-style bars and restaurants all over the place, even ones that blast Snoop and the Black Eyed Peas long into the night. At night the city becomes a sea of neon, much like Times Square in New york. All of the nicest stores are here as well as the latest fashion trends. It’s really opened a lot of our eyes and changed a lot of this traveling party’s pre-conceived notion of what the country would be like.
Our hotel, the Ritz-Carlton, feels like it’s straight from the states. There are several restaurants downstairs, including a Tony Romas and a Ms. Fields cookie store—there is also a Starbucks to boot. There is also a mall next door with several high end fashion shops. It’s almost eerie how non-foreign it feels.
All of the hotel employees are extremely polite, always saying hello at every opportunity. One of the interesting things is that there is also no shortage of them. I’m not sure if it’s because of the China Games themselves, which are being treated as a major event here, but there seems to be hotel workers standing around every corner of the hotel to say hello and make you feel welcome.
I’ve heard that Beijing, where we will be on Friday, is much more traditional and not as vibrant as Shanghai. Either way, all of us are having a good time and are looking forward to the rest of the trip.
It’s going to be an interesting next couple of days to say the least.
====================================================
http://www.nba.com/kings/news/The_Kings_in_China_Diary-119828-58.html
----------------------------------------
Day Two
The Kings in China Diary
by Devin Blankenship
It’s neat to see Liu Wei in his own environment.
He is constantly being followed and hounded by autograph seekers, and is very much revered here, although not on the same level as Yao Ming.
Wei and Mike Bibby met with a host of Chinese media before practice at the Shanghai city gym on our second day in China, and some of the questions that were asked were hilarious, like “Mike, if Liu Wei asked you out to dinner, would you go with him?”
After doing the obligatory chat session, the team got down to the nitty-gritty and practiced hard, including a 40-minute scrimmage. You could see that it was good for the team to work off the travel weariness.
Later that afternoon, some of the group, including Chris Webber, Matt Barnes, Maurice Evans, and Anwar Fisher took a bus in the early evening to the Shanghai market.
It was an experience to say the least.
Imagine a normal flea market on steroids. Small shops filled with knock-off purses, shoes, designer watches, movies and pretty much anything else you can think of.
As you walk down these narrow walkways filled with people and merchandise, you are nearly assaulted by shop owners trying to get you into their little booths.
Being that our group was composed of westerners and professional basketball players, we drew even more attention as we walked the gauntlet of capitalism.
Chris was funny to watch in the market, mainly because of his case of the shutterbugs. Webb has been filming and taking pictures of the city and the people non-stop since arriving—and has caught some of the citizens here by surprise by taking snapshots of them as they take pictures of him. You won’t find him without his professional digital camera or recorder, except on the court.
Anyways, it took a while to walk the market, but all of us managed to finish and make it back to the hotel in time to catch a shuttle to the China Games’ welcome reception at a nearby hotel.
It was a neat event that included both the Rockets and Kings, plus a host of NBA greats, including Bill Walton, Clyde Drexler, and Bill Russell.
By the time things wrapped up for the evening, most of us were eager to get back to the hotel and get ready for the next day and the first game between the Kings and Rockets.
Oh, and one more thing. Note to self: try and arrange for personal police escorts with the Sacramento PD whenever in a rush. Nothing beats traffic than having your own escort. Everytime we traveled in our tour bus, we had cops on motorcycle and in police cars blocking every intersection and making life sweet.
=====================================
http://www.nba.com/kings/news/The_Kings_in_China-120110-58.html
------------------------------------
Day Three
The Kings in China Diary
by Devin Blankenship
Everyone should get to walk a red carpet in front of a sea of fans.
That’s what the Kings experienced upon arriving at the Shanghai city gym prior to their game against the Rockets on Thursday evening.
City streets leading to the arena that had been free of traffic during previous trips were clogged with fans heading to the game. As the buses pulled closer to the parking lot, throngs of people clad in Rockets’ red or Kings’ purple cheered and waved in excitement, hoping to catch a glimpse of an NBA player.
As the players debarked their bus and headed down a red carpet into the gym, the crowd would roar, scream and press against the barricades, forcing the Chinese police to lock their arms even tighter to keep the crowd back.
It was really amazing and showed how much of an effect the NBA has had in this country. Everywhere we went in Shanghai, the first thing to come out of peoples’ mouths upon seeing us was “NBA?” and the craziness seemed to hit a fervor pitch on this night.
The game itself was a weird experience. It had the feel of an NBA contest, yet at the same time it didn’t. The players were there, the dancers and entertainment were there, and the music was the same that would be played at a game in the states, yet the building was Spartan in its conditions, and the crowd was a bit different than your normal game-goers.
In the end though, I know the players enjoyed the experience of playing in this atmosphere.
To Be Continued with Day 4........
