With American Thanksgiving just past, Christmas will be here before you know it. Instead of running around the Chinese countryside like crazy trying to find that perfect vintage Mao poster to mail home as a Christmas gift, consider donating to a China-focused charity on your loved one’s behalf this year. Here are some charities that …Read More
They roamed the streets of her hometown, knocking their sticks along to lay a path in that endless shade. What they could not see with their eyes the cards showed them by touch. Lu Jun was little when her mother made them show her her future. They rambled on for awhile, illshapen words boiling down …Read More
This week FluentU (who changed their name from Fluent Fix – which personally, I liked a bit more) announced that they now have over 300 videos available for Chinese study on their site. 308, at the moment actually, and more all the time. Congratulations to the FluentU team on all that hard work! But what’s …Read More
Growing up on the Great Lakes in Southern Ontario, surfing was always an abstract thing. It was something you did in video games, or watched in movies. It was exotic and a bit magical. This past weekend the family and I had an opportunity to attend China’s longest running surf competition, the 2012 Skullcandy Surfing …Read More
I thought I had seen all the wacky Chinglish translations there were, but this one grabbed my attention. From Weibo, the picture has quite different ways of telling its domestic and foreign patrons how to use the urinal. For the English, it makes a rather crude joke about the size of one’s member. For the …Read More
Surfing Hainan Open, China’s longest running surf competition, hits the shores of Hainan’s picturesque Riyue Bay this November 4-5. For the first time ever, competition organizers are expecting the lion’s share of the 40 competitors to be Chinese nationals; a big milestone for the sport, which is just starting to come into its adolescence in …Read More
Much to the chagrin of my dear hubby, I’ve been watching at least one Gangnam Style parody video a day. Hey, it keeps me happy. A Gangnam Style a day keeps the bad China days away! Here’s my new favorite: Laowai Style!Read More
The debate initiated by Mark Kitto’s article for Prospect Magazine, “You will never be Chineseâ€, is showing little sign of dying down. Over the last couple of months we have seen more articles by well known expats explaining why they too are leaving the Middle Kingdom and replies by other expats explaining why they are …Read More
Tragic news out of Beijing today. A bus carrying a German tour group was engulfed in flames after rear-ending a truck on a highway near Beijing. Current reports indicate that six people have died, and a further 14 are injured. While the identities of the victims have not yet been released, five of the dead …Read More
Things are certainly escalating in regards to anti-Japanese protests due to China’s ongoing dispute with Japan over the contested Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. I’ve heard mention from a few people that more protests are likely planned for this weekend, and no doubt continuing after that. The following is a warning from the US Embassy for its citizens to avoid such events, as they can quickly turn violent.
In light of news of ongoing and likely further protests in China related to a territorial dispute in the East China Sea between China and Japan, the United States Embassy and Consulates General in China remind U.S. citizens that even gatherings intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence. U.S. citizens are therefore urged to avoid areas of demonstrations if possible, and to exercise caution when in the vicinity of any demonstrations. U.S. citizens should stay abreast of media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times.
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Here’s a little late-week fun — a vid using old PLA red song troupe footage mixed with the meme-inducing Gangnam Style by Korea’s PSY:
And if you’ve not seen it, check out this equally awesome vid of the same Red Army footage using MJ’s “Beat It”.
h/t to Tea Leaf NationRead More
Banking in China. Topped only by shopping the week before Spring Festival and pretty much any time spent at a post office; China’s convoluted and largely archaic banking system is, at best, a torturous experience. Long lines of clientele that seem downright surprised (and thus appropriately unprepared) to be banking at all; service with a …Read More
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