Jan 17, 2024 Comments(4)
Along with refraining from using bad language, visiting hospitals and cutting their hair, Chinese people are expected to adhere to some pretty rigorous superstitions over Chinese New Year. Read more>>
Jan 12, 2012 Comments(0)
Anyone who has seen a 1960s Chinese Communist Party propaganda poster will understand that the cult of celebrity is not new in the country. Mao was, is, and perhaps always will be, China's most famous face. Photo: blog.163.com However, modern Chinese market ...... Read More>>
Jan 10, 2012 Comments(2)
An elixir of immortality, a garbage-fused sheet and a feathered display of power. Can you match each one to three of China's most famous inventions? The 'what' and the 'when' may not surprise you, but the 'how' certainly will. 1) Paper Photo: ...... Read More>>
Dec 27, 2011 Comments(6)
Living abroad is hard. Living in China can be even harder. These difficulties can commonly be found in the everyday debates raging on between the pro-China contingent (the red corner) and the China-sceptic brigade (the red, white and blue corner). It is ...... Read More>>
Dec 20, 2011 Comments(2)
Few nations in the history of our planet have experienced change as rapid as that ongoing in China today. This change affects all walks of life. The beliefs held by China’s citizens can change as quickly as the Shanghai skyline - a new tower blots out ...... Read More>>
Dec 05, 2011 Comments(0)
Did you know China was once home to the world's smallest dinosaur? How about the fact that the word "China" isn't actually from Chinese, but from Sanskrit? China, vast in all senses of the word (geography, history, demographic), naturally has lots ...... Read More>>
Nov 29, 2011 Comments(4)
"Plenty Xu," the former vice mayor of Hangzhou, reportedly had dozens of affairs. An official in Shaanxi found himself accused of corruption by his eleven mistresses. Every few months, a new high-profile figure shocks China with revelations of an ...... Read More>>
Nov 22, 2011 Comments(9)
Deng Xiaoping’s ambitious One Child Policy succeeded in preventing 400 million births, and can therefore be seen as a great success. The growth promoted by Chairman Mao to build a great China was unsustainable and something had to be done. However, ...... Read More>>
Nov 12, 2011 Comments(6)
While more and more young people in China are familiar with foreign stars through pop music and blockbuster movies, one might wonder which foreigners have real name recognition throughout the country. Even more interesting is the unexpected reasons those ...... Read More>>
Nov 08, 2011 Comments(0)
The most famous archaeological sites in China are doubtlessly the Terracotta Warriors of Emperor Huangdi in Shaanxi, and the remains of the Peking Man at Zhoukoudian near Beijing. These two digs have placed China firmly on the map when it comes to ...... Read More>>
Oct 19, 2011 Comments(9)
We all have one of those China stories: you are waiting at a bus stop, or biking home during rush hour. Nothing too out of the ordinary. And then… twenty feet in front of you, somebody gets nailed by a car whose driver wasn’t paying attention. ...... Read More>>
Oct 18, 2011 Comments(1)
When heading to China, whether for a visit or to live abroad, there is a certain amount of misinformation that one will inevitably encounter. While every country endures their fair share of stereotypes and outright lies, it seems as though China is ...... Read More>>
Oct 15, 2011 Comments(1)
In most conversations about Chinese behaviour and the Chinese psyche, the discussion inevitably turns to Confucius. The wisdom of the ancient scholar is credited with (and blamed for) many of the characteristics that foreigners observe within current social ...... Read More>>
Sep 29, 2011 Comments(1)
Heard anything about the state of feminism in China today? Chances are you haven’t, as the issue is usually, well, a non-issue, shoved to the bottom of a long list of other pressing matters in China such as class inequality and internet censorship. ...... Read More>>
Sep 15, 2011 Comments(2)
Lying is probably the biggest bugbear for ex-pats in China. It's not to say that foreign people don't lie. Look at a newspaper, magazine, flip on the TV or just chat to a foreigner for a while: the odd mistruth will no doubt pop up in some manifestation and ...... Read More>>
Sep 13, 2011 Comments(0)
The subject of Western food is increasingly discussed in Chinese circles, and an increasing number of people are willing to explore the Western kitchen. After teaching cooking at the Kitchen Classroom (西餐教室) in Kunming, I’ve seen a lot of ...... Read More>>
Aug 24, 2011 Comments(0)
Editors Note: For the past few decades, China has been dealing with a new kind of “language crisis”. As a consequence of the Opening Policy of the early 1980s, along with the advent of new technology in China, Chinese people today are much less ...... Read More>>
Aug 01, 2011 Comments(5)
It used to be the case that the first question many young people (i.e. below the age of 25) were asked was "Are you married?" If the answer came back negative, the next question was invariably "Why not?" with raised eyebrows as a coda. ...... Read More>>
Jul 30, 2011 Comments(1)
You enter the gate, up ahead are a cluster of white tents. Soon the distinct smell of barbecue and beer is mixed with noisy conversations and shouts for ganbei. You take a seat with your friends and order a round of cold ones; it’s summer and ...... Read More>>
Jul 19, 2011 Comments(1)
Probably not the most reliable fortune teller. Photo: www.yzej.net In China there are many ways of “calculating one’s fate,” or “suan ming,” most of which are based on traditions that can be traced back thousands of years. ...... Read More>>
Jul 14, 2011 Comments(5)
To the outside world, China is a country without religion. Thanks to Mao’s purge of the established faiths, worship became illegal in the PRC. However, since the reforms and opening of the 1970s, religious tolerance has increased, leading to a ...... Read More>>
Jun 18, 2011 Comments(1)
Most foreigners in China who hang out with Chinese friends will inevitably have been warned of the dangers of eating certain foods at certain times of the day/year, and if you are suffering from certain ailments you may also have been privy to gems of ...... Read More>>
May 30, 2011 Comments(0)
If you only ever ate Chinese food from the multitude of Chinese takeaways and buffet restaurants that exist in the West, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Chinese food is only ever sweet, sticky, crispy and always served with water chestnuts and/or ...... Read More>>
May 19, 2011 Comments(0)
Ludwig Mies, one of the pioneers of modern architecture, once said architecture was the will of an epoch translated into space. Amongst the numerous challenges China faces today, one of them lies in plain sight in the urban skyline, as the country gropes ...... Read More>>
May 15, 2011 Comments(4)
Editor’s Note: This translated article gives readers an crash course on the intricate rules of Chinese drinking culture, particularly rules associated with toasting others. Not to be seen too lightly, toasting is a tradition that can make or break the ...... Read More>>
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