I’ve spent Christmas in China three times: 2002 in Zhaoqing, Guangdong and 2006 and 2007 in Langfang, Hebei. That doesn’t make me an expert on the topic by any means, but as the festive season arrives, I feel moved to share some of the insights I’ve picked up about Christmas in China.
Flickr Picks: My favourite China related finds from Flickr, the photo sharing website. Click on the image to visit the photo's home page on Flickr.
Stas Kulesh posted a couple of photos of the Shenyang Coin Building, known in Chinese as Fang Yuan Da Sha. The distinctive feature of the building is that it’s shaped like an old Chinese coin (round with a square hole in the middle).
Stas’ first photo shows the building from the side and front:
The second photo appears to be from the back of the building (ie you cannot see the square center of the coin). It’s still a pretty impressive building though:
It’s an amazing building, at once both modern and traditional, a real fusion of Western and Chinese design. Also, I believe that building’s shape has good Feng Shui for attracting money, so it incorporates Chinese beliefs as well.
Shenyang is the capital of Liaoning province, which is situated in north-east China. The Coin Building (also known as the Circle Building) is just south of the North Train Station in Hui Gong Square. According to Synotrip.com, the coin building is home to the Shanghai Bank.
Disclaimer: This photo was not taken by me. It was shared by a third-party on Flickr, under a Creative Commons license. For details on the license, see the photo's home page on the Flickr website.
With global markets in recession, jobs are disappearing in most countries. This is also true in China, where factories have been closed and workers laid off – but it does not appear to be affecting expats, who can still find a job in China.
gwydionwilliams posted a photo containing a large block of Chinglish, but which also mentions Matteo Ricci:
Although I enjoy posting examples of Chinglish, I prefer short memorable examples, rather than long blocks such as this. These are all to common in China and don’t do much for me. Maybe it’s something to do with my attention span!
However, I chose to feature this example because as well as the large dose of Chinglish, it also mentions Matteo Ricci (pronounced Richi). Who’s Matteo Ricci you ask? He was an Italian Jesuit priest and missionary, who was the first person to introduce Christianity into China (in the 16th century).
How do I know this? Well, I used to live in Zhaoqing, where Matteo Ricci lived for 6 years (from 1583 to 1589). There are a few monuments / historic sites scattered throughout the city.
Also, Fr John Wotherspoon who was the head foreign teacher at the school I worked at in Zhaoqing, is a big fan and even has a Matteo Ricci website. Quite understandable, as John is also a Christian missionary working in China.
So I have a soft spot for Matteo Ricci too (and for Chinglish!).
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