TUESDAY 19 AUGUST 2014 • [email protected] • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741 Turtles tops inside again, beats COMMUNITY • Stallions cricket team end UK Guardians tour with victory at box office P | 4 P | 8-9 RECIPE CONTEST • Send in your best recipe and win a dinner voucher for two A giant 63m blue whale shark statue towers P | 6 over the world’s largest aquarium, on a Chinese WHEELS island being promoted as a testing ground • Look, no hands! Test driving a for reforms aimed at Google car encouraging domestic consumption as the P | 7 driver of economic growth. HEALTH • SoulCycle pushes you to your limits P | 11 TECHNOLOGY • Removing personal data from sites like Facebook, Google P | 12 LURING TOURISTS WITH LEARN ARABIC • Learn commonly used Arabic words GIANT AQUARIUM and their meanings P | 13 2 PLUS | TUESDAY 19 AUGUST 2014 COVER STORY China fishes for growth with world’s largest aquarium by Tom Hancock water — certified as the world’s largest by Guinness World Records when it opened giant 63-metre blue whale shark in March — held back by a cinema-screen- statue towers over the world’s sized window bathing spectators in blue largest aquarium, on a Chinese light. A island being promoted as a test- A rainbow of sea creatures from tiny yel- ing ground for reforms aimed at encourag- low croakers, blue sailfish and lumbering ing domestic consumption as the driver of sharks drifted past. economic growth. “It’s huge,” 11 year-old Wu Junfeng Hengqin island is just across the Pearl exclaimed, as his mother looked on, clutch- River from Shenzhen, the boom town on ing their 300 yuan ($50) tickets. “There’s the border with Hong Kong that was des- fish and turtles!” ignated a Special Economic Zone 35 years ago. Half-finished blocks At the time Shenzhen was a fishing vil- Local officials offering a raft of tax lage. Now foreign investment and a freer breaks say they have attracted 250bn capitalist economy have turned it into an yuan in investment since the project was export powerhouse with a population of launched in 2008. more than 10 million and miles of high-rise “We have even more special policies buildings. than the special economic zones” such as But in the face of a long term slowdown Shenzhen, Hengqin government chief Niu in growth, China is looking to refocus its Jing said. “Hengqin’s position is unique, economy to one where expansion is driven with clear advantages, being a neighbour by domestic consumption rather than of Macau and Hong Kong,” he added. infrastructure investment and overseas The British ex-colony is one of Asia’s key trade. financial hubs, while the former Portuguese Hengqin is being developed as a test enclave, just a few minutes’ drive down the Plan is to make Hengqin bed for a new kind of reform, said to coast from Hengqin, is the world’s most stretch even to punching holes through lucrative gambling centre. the first region on the the country’s “Great Firewall” of Internet It attracts millions of visitors from censorship. China’s mainland, where casinos are Chinese mainland where Now largely fields and scrubland, the banned, and has annual receipts seven local residents can island is intended as a hub for educa- times higher than Las Vegas. tion, creative industries and tourism, with But Hengqin has a long way to go. skirt the firewall and theme parks, hotels and restaurants tap- The island has fewer than 10,000 perma- ping the swelling wallets of China’s new nent residents — officials say there will be get access to blocked middle class. more than 250,000 by 2020 — and the wide websites including Twitter, The aquarium at the $5bn Chimelong highway to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom Ocean Kingdom holds a stupendous 49 passes dozens of half-finished apartment Facebook and YouTube. million litres (about 50,000 tonnes) of blocks. PLUS | TUESDAY 19 AUGUST 2014 3 Facebook, Twitter has tightened controls on civil society, the The promised reforms are also a work media and Internet in recent months. in progress. The crackdown has apparently spread Analysts say China’s tight censorship to Macau, where a French academic was system — most notable in the govern- reportedly sacked in July after he organ- ment’s blocks on foreign websites, known ised a conference on tens of millions of as the “Great Firewall” — and close con- deaths caused by a 1950s famine blamed trol of universities stifle creativity. on Mao Zedong and Communist Party So Hengqin officials claim to be relaxing policies. limits on freedom of speech to burnish the Island authorities have also promised island’s credentials as a centre for educa- reforms to China’s Communist-controlled tion and culture. legal system, where corruption has long Residents will “have unrestricted unnerved investors. Internet access, and enjoy social and Karen Kwan, an analyst for Hong-based political rights as they do in Macau”, the Kim Eng Securities who has visited the government-run China Daily said last year. island several times said she was “cau- The Global Times, which is close to the tiously optimistic” that it could cash in on Communist Party, said officials had sub- the millions thronging to Macau. mitted a plan to make Hengqin “the first Early housing sales have gone well and region on the Chinese mainland where prices have risen despite a nationwide local residents can skirt the firewall and property slowdown, she noted. get access to blocked websites including But its target customers gave it mixed Twitter, Facebook and YouTube”. reviews. But the prohibitions were still in place “We think it’s more fun than Macau,” when AFP visited and Hengqin’s govern- said Sylvia Liang, a 21-year-old advertis- ment refused to comment on the propos- ing student, as she watched white beluga al’s status. whales whistle while wetsuited attendants The University of Macau is building a balanced on their backs in an auditorium campus for 15,000 students on the island, at the aquarium complex. and says it will come under Macanese School student Wu, though, preferred to jurisdiction — which has more robust be among the high-rollers down the coast. protections for academic freedom than “My parents usually go to Macau to the mainland. gamble,” he explained. “So they leave me But under President Xi Jinping, China alone.” AFP 4 PLUS | TUESDAY 19 AUGUST 2014 COMMUNITY Stallions cricket team end UK tour with victory tallions Cricket Academy, the coaching division of Stallions Sports Services, has returned to SQatar, following the successful completion of its inaugural tour of England. The 40-strong party, comprising of a mixture of youth players, coaches, and parents, embarked on the first ever, young crick- eters tour of the UK from Qatar, playing over 12 matches in Leeds. Competing strongly against seven teams from Dubai and the UK, Qatar’s youngsters proudly secured third place overall. The Doha-based outfit also won the indoor cricket tournament that was held at the indoor nets of the famous Headingly Stadium in Yorkshire. As part of the tour, officials from the Stallions Cricket Academy incorporated a visit to the official “home of cricket”, Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, in order to build enthusiasm and awareness for the history, traditions and culture of the game. The visit included an individual indoor coaching session, where players used the latest “Hawk Eye” technology to the tour in many ways. Zed Communications Qatar individual and team performance of the children,” develop their personal style and talent. It is the first also played a small supporting role, sponsoring the he remarked. time Qatar’s young players have been exposed to players’ kit as for this historic tour. The Stallions are planning more tours in the technology of this calibre, and the players were later Commenting on the tour, Stallions Head Coach, future, with Dubai, Sri Lanka, Australia, and South mentored by professional coaches from the MCC Sidath Tennakoon said: “We are delighted that Africa earmarked by the organizers as locations for Cricket Academy. the Stallions Cricket Academy has been success- the next leg of their ambitious world tour. Officials The main sponsors behind the tour are Olympic ful in touring the UK, in what we hope will be say that in the coming months, a number of inter- Sports, Lulu Hypermarket, Doha Bank, Kanoo Freight the first of many cricket tours to England. The national cricketers will visit Qatar to participate in Services, Solution Shipping and Marine Services and touring team has been practicing for the past four Cricket Coaching Camps. Globelink Weststar Shipping Services who supported months and we are extremely happy with the The Peninsula Carnegie Mellon students volunteer in Nepal, Thailand fter final exams, most students Utthan Bachat Tatha Rin Sahakari the chance to experience a different cul- “Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s service are enjoying their summer Sanstha,” in Bharatpur. ture and get a glimpse of how others live. learning trips are well-respected and Abreaks away from university. Homelessness is one of the major Their work has also helped strengthen I can only hope to one day be chosen However, 19 Carnegie Mellon University problems in Nepal with over three relations between Nepal and Qatar.” to lead my own team,” Sheikh added. in Qatar students have chosen to spend million people still in need of hous- The students were accompanied by A second group of Carnegie Mellon time volunteering in Nepal and Thailand ing assistance. Habitat for Humanity Amy Walker, director of career devel- Qatar students travelled to Chiang this summer as part of the university’s International has contributed to tack- opment, and Kevin D’Arco, student Rai, the northernmost province of global service learning programme.