What's what in Dalian

Throughout this blog, at least while I live in Dalian, I will often refer to certain places and things. Here's a brief what's what.

Places:
Dalian (大连): Medium-sized seaside city of 6 million people, situated on the north-east coast of China. I have lived in Dalian since November 2007.
Kai Fa Qu (The Development Zone): The 'Zone', an area 40 minutes from Dalian where Deng Xiaoping (as he did with a few other places in China, the first was southern Shenzhen) invited many foreign companies to come and set up business. The result was rapid development, from a small farming town to a bustling (relatively) metropolis, complete with Starbucks. I currently rent an apartment in the Development Zone and used to work here.
Dalian Software Park: An area full of I.T. companies (Dalian's silicon valley), where I worked last year. Not much of interest here except for a few Muslim restaurants.
Lushun: A place in Dalian where foreigners are not supposed to go. Location of a military base. I will get there one day and check it out.

Other things:

"Laowai" - Chinese slang term for foreigner. Most of us find it highly annoying and I have a good story to tell about it later.
"Qing gui" - Not to be confused with the name of my friend Qing Hui, this is the Chinese word for the light train that runs between Kai Fa Qu and Dalian. Always packed to the gills and often a source of annoyance, yet still the most cost-efficient way to reach downtown.

More to be added later...