In response to “What tips and tricks have you learned that have made it easier to live in China?” recently asked on Quora, long-time China expat and Beijing resident Kaiser Kuo dished out some fantastic advice — his last one, quite possibly the toughest to follow, is my fav. Stay tuned after Kaiser’s advice for …Read More
I had a very what people might call “typical†Chinese-American upbringing; I spoke Chinese with my parents at home, unwillingly sat through two hours of Chinese school every week, ate moon cakes during the mid-Autumn festival and received red envelopes filled with money during Chinese New Year. I also had my phases of wishing I …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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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
The Shanghaiist just posted about a near riot in Zhengzhou, Henan, a few days ago. The spark of the unrest was that a foreigner allegedly slapped and spit in the face of a Chinese woman. A Caucasian man, appearing to be middle aged and sporting a Walmart brochure in the left breast pocket of his …Read More
Time may provide you with the skills to manage Bad China Days, but there is no cure. I’m finally home from an extremely stressful morning downtown. I had to head to the PSB to get my visa sorted out. Surprisingly this was not where the stress came in. With the exception of a small delay …Read More
A series of photographs by French photographer Benoit Cezard, imagining what China may be like four decades down the road with Westerns filling the roles commonly seen among the poorer Chinese migrant workers today, has been making the rounds.
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As a bit of a follow-up to my post the other day, Tighter visa restrictions or just more of the same?, here is a link to a guest post by Gary Chodorow at the Shanghaiist which outlines everything you need to know about China’s new Exit-Entry Law: All you need to know about China’s new …Read More
According to Shanghai Daily, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee is currently discussing a draft law that will shorten the minimum stay for foreigners who come to China to 90 days, with the residence permits ranging in validity from six months to five years. The draft law was designed with the aim of curbing the …Read More
If you’re like me, you probably perk up anytime you hear about a movie being made in or about China. Having one made about expats living in China was a first though, and so when I first heard about Shanghai Calling, a romantic comedy about American expats living in Shanghai, I was pretty keen to …Read More
I’m a week away from finishing my first academic year as what can loosely be described as a university teacher in China. Someone told me that I should write some kind of retrospective/memoir, but that sounded like far too much work. I mean, I’m on holiday in a week. I’ve begun the wind-down and I’m …Read More
For a bleeding-edge tech company, it’s sure hard not to feel Google’s been a bit slow to acknowledge and address a phenomenon that anyone in China has been witnessing for years — search results are censored. In a new video and blog post, the folks at Google illustrate the problem and explain that they will …Read More
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