Singing is what ruins KTV... so why not sports?

I'm dying to spill the beans on a television project I've been working on, which has resulted in some fairly interesting travel. Unfortunately until we get the A-OK, nothing is confirmed and it wouldn't be right to post the details here.

As a result of this program, I spent last weekend in the seaside city of Tianjin. Despite two years in Beijing, I had never made it the hour-or-so train ride to Tianjin. I'm actually not sure how long the train takes, as I missed it that morning due to some excessive sleeping, shall we say. So I nabbed a taxi instead (schedule was tight) and made it to the resort city of Jingjin in about an hour.

Jingjin is patterning itself as a bedroom community easily accessible to both Beijing and Tianjin. It features 2 and 3 level homes with 2 car garages reminiscent of something out of Leave it to Beaver. It also had a large golf course, all the amenities, and a brand new Hyatt Hotel. I can't help but think more and more Chinese will begin moving outside of the city for some peace and quiet, and property prices in places like Jingjin will skyrocket as a result. Currently, purchasing a beautiful 260 square meter home in Jingjin will only set you back RMB 9,000 per square meter, compared to RMB 30,000 in many parts of Bejiing.

Anyway, I attended a banquet at a famous Tianjin restaurant, witnessed quite a late-night scrap outside said restaurant, and went to bed for the night. The next day, it was off to KTV...

I know KTV is big business in China, but I was unaware of how popular it was. Even some alcoholics in Beijing resist digging to deep into the beer at noon on Sunday, but not so among the thousands of young patrons at one of Tianjin's biggest KTV joints.

As part of the program, I was tasked with singing some songs and looking like I was having a good time. I'm sure most people reading this blog have, at one time or another, been roped into going to KTV with workmates, business associates, college friends, or whatever. As an extremely untalented singer, I've managed to avoid it through three years in the Middle Kingdom. So here are some thoughts on my first KTV experience:

• KTV rooms could make for the ultimate house party: they have excellent sound systems, big screen TVs, private rooms, and waiters bringing drinks and food.
• Chinese people love to sing. It seemed like the biggest competition was for who could snag the microphone first to sing the next song.
• Chinese people are talented singers (yes, I already know this is a vast generalization). Two of the girls that had the opportunity to sing love ballads had amazing voices, and two of the gentlemen were able to confidently belt out rock tunes.
• I was surprised to notice an extensive catalogue of English-language songs. Which is why I found it unfortunate that the one they selected for me to sing was Take Me to Your Heart (for those not in China, and I've never heard this song outside of China, it's an drippy English love ballad with cheesy lyrics from a one-hit-wonder band called Michael Learns to Rock).
• I am a horrible singer. Although the Chinese language song they selected for me to sing, Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo de Xin, was do-able (despite the fact I had to read traditional characters, which added to the comedy factor).

In closing, KTV wasn't that bad - as long as the microphone stays in others' hands. That being said, KTV could be much, much better: All it needs to do is utilize the big screen and big sound to showcase Vancouver Canucks' hockey games. The food and drinks would go well with that, and I, for one, would be ready to pony up for the room rental.