This is a photo I took when I first lived in China in 2002, in the southern province of Guangdong: a bus with metal seats (more…)

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed

This is a photo I took when I first lived in China in 2002, in the southern province of Guangdong: a countdown timer on the traffic lights (more…)

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed

I recently read a post about Video Karaoke on RT’s Living in the Philippines blog, outlining the history of karaoke, which is very popular in the Philippines. Karaoke is also extremely popular in China, so I felt moved to write about Karaoke in China. (more…)

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed

Spring Festival (Chunjie) is upon us again: January 25 is New Year’s Eve, with the following day the first in the Chinese year of the Ox. There’ll be fireworks, firecrackers, reunion dinners, visits to family and friend, lucky money, the New Year’s Eve TV gala, etc. It’s a great time of year.

But what really fascinates me is Chunyun, the time around Spring Festival when everyone travels home to their hometown. It’s the largest movement of people in the world. (more…)

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed

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.

(more…)

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed

Recently, I was browsing a forum topic on the cost of living in China. I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to respond to question posed on the forum.

(more…)

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed

This is another post I wrote a little while ago and haven’t posted until now.

China’s Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu) occurs on 5th May on the Lunar calendar. This year, that equates to 8th June.

As the name of the Festival indicates, it’s famous for Dragon Boat racing! People also eat zongzi (glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves) and drink baijiu (Chinese wine) during this holiday. (more…)

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed

Image Source: Red roseLicense

I’ve never been a big fan of Valentine’s Day and not just because I couldn’t find anyone to share it with! I’ve always seen it as a fabricated ‘commercial’ celebration – more about making money than about lovers.

Living here in China, I should be able to escape such Western customs, right? Wrong! Valentine’s Day is big here in China, especially amongst the youngsters, who seem to soak up anything Western. (more…)

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed

Image Source: Blackpool Fireworks 2006 (China)License

Spring Festival, or Chunjie as it is called here, has begun! Tonight is Chinese New Year’s Eve. I thought I’d write a little bit about what happens in China during the Spring Festival. (more…)

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed

Image Source: Match smokeLicense

This is follow up to my previous post on smoking in China. I just want to highlight a related experience we just had.

Two days after my previous post, a stranger visited our house to look at something we were selling. No sooner than he’d walked in, did he produce a cigarette packet and offer me one. I refused automatically, using wo bu chou this time. He nodded and said something like “oh, bu chou, bu chou, okay” and proceeded to light up. (more…)

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed