China has a well-deserved reputation for being safe, and violence directed towards foreigners is usually very rare. In the four and a half years I’ve lived here, I had never encountered abject hostility from Chinese people toward me or anyone I knew due to our laowai status. Two weeks ago, though, a violent incident occurred …Read More
American-made Optima dog food that has been imported into China is being quickly and diligently recalled due to aflatoxin contamination. If you are in China and feeding your dog Optima dry dog food – immediately stop and have your dog checked out by a vet for symptoms of liver failure (yellow/orange urine, jaundice in skin/eyes/gums, …Read More
What would laowai life in China be like if it wasn’t for the plethora of fantastic blogs out there sharing knowledge, experience, humour and advice with us? Probably a whole lot more productive, but certainly a lot less entertaining and informed. It is with this in mind that we kick off a new series here …Read More
I had one thought this year when I saw China’s public holiday schedule — man we’re going to have to work a lot of Sundays this year. When I first came to China almost five and half years ago, this idea of working weekends to create a week-long holiday was one of the country’s great …Read More
I know of a man in Kunming who, after teaching English here for a period of about seven years, assumed a managerial position at a friend’s company. The job didn’t go well, as the new manager regularly turned up late, failed to fulfill contractual obligations, and did a poor job managing his staff. Eventually, he …Read More
Recently I was in Shanghai as part of the China 2.0 tour. Though much of the tour revolved around visiting local Web companies, the organizers did provide us with some high-class networking opportunities. During one such event, at Shanghai’s newest hotspot M1NT, an enthusiastic stranger came up to me and slipped a USB flash drive …Read More
Cultural understanding; it’s a lot of what this fine multi-authored blog is all about. So, in my latest missive for Lost Laowai, I’ll get straight to the point in trying to help you understand the sociological signage and semiology of contemporary Chinese male fashion. All right, I’ll come clean, that’s just an excuse for a …Read More
© Rickenbacker I was standing on the street corner the other day waiting for a taxi beside a middle-aged foreigner doing the same. This isn’t uncommon, I live in a rather laowai-saturated area of Suzhou. The corner also works as an impromptu parking spot for people looking to dash over to the bakery, or pick …Read More
Ever since seeing Beijing’s punk poster-boys Reflector at Xining’s Material Life Music Bar, I’ve been thinking an awful lot about tattoos. This Material Life Music Bar was full of inked Chinese and foreigners; it was the highest volume of tattoos I’d seen in a while and the inspiration for the following rant. There are two …Read More
By Barry M I was just leaving a comment on the always refreshingly drinkable Beijing Boyce blog when I saw one of my biggest Chinese Pinyin pet peeves – chuanr. 串儿, for those who’ve been in China for less than an hour, generally means tasty bits on a stick. Chuà n/串 (meaning to string together) + …Read More
Not sure if you’ve heard the news, but China has banned Western religious music. Well, technically, it was banned all along, but only now are the powers that be getting their red and yellow panties in a bunch. The banning news hit the wire after The Messiah, as to be performed by Britian’s Academy of Ancient Music at …Read More
Rolling into Shanghai’s People’s Square last Sunday, New Zealander Rob Thomson was met with surprisingly little fanfare. No media to greet him, no friends or family to congratulate him. A lonesome end to an amazing journey. The random Chinese man he asked to take his photo to mark the moment had no idea that Thomson …Read More
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