Archive for the year 2010
Wafer-Thin Margins, or Manufacturing in China Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 29, 2010
The US remains the largest 生产 (sheng1chan3 – manufacturing) nation, but few if any people I have asked have been able to answer correctly which country it is. Several days ago, I spoke with a trader who deals in appliances and power tools sourcing some components from the Mainland. I was particularly curious about one…
The Good and the Bad About Bad Goods Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 28, 2010
It was this time last year that I was en route to give a talk at a university in Wuhan. During the drive from the airport, I began to chat with the driver. Our focus soon shifted to trade between the US and China. As we built rapport, he asked very frankly, “是不是美国公司就把这些垃圾食品卖给我们中国人吃?” (Are American…
Where Does the Trash Go? Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 27, 2010
When I lived in Beijing, every day I would pass a trash compactor station where tricycle-bound trash collectors would empty the contents of the storage tank mounted on the back. I would reflect on how having a roving fleet of trash collectors could replace several garbage trucks and reduce congestion and air pollution on Beijing’s…
Mandarin Numbers 1-100 Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 24, 2010
If you’re interested in learning Chinese numbers 1-100, use the table below to help with your studies! Note that generally numbers are easy to construct. If you know the numbers 1-10 and 100, then you can express any number from 1-100! See below: *Note: Zero is 零 ling2.＊ 一 yi1 1 二 er4 2 三…
Google and The “Great Firewall” of China Posted by Stephen on Mar 23, 2010
With the recent (although a long time coming) announcement of Google shutting down its operations in mainland China, comes much debate about the reasons and justifications for doing so. While Google (谷歌）has made claims about invasion of privacy, blocking content, and security breaches (including email virus attacks to gain info on human rights advocates) as…
The “Legend” of Iron Stomach Posted by Stephen on Mar 18, 2010
Dealing with sickness is always a large concern for travelers, and is the reason why we visit costly travel clinics, take series upon series of painful injections, and get the lectured over and over again about the dangers of local food and water. Often times, our fears and concerns of a new place grow…
What Do People Eat for Lunch? Posted by Transparent Language on Mar 17, 2010
When lunchtime in China rolls around, what do people go to eat? Up north, many choose to go out for 饺子 (dumplings) or 面条 (noodles) at a local 面馆 (noodle restaurant). Other people might go to a nearby street stall and grab some 饭 (rice) with different selections of 荤菜 (meat dishes) and 素菜 (vegetable…