Archive for the year 2010
History of the PRC – Part Six Posted by sasha on Nov 7, 2010
In 1921, the Chinese Communist Party (中国共产党 – Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng) was founded in Shanghai. The momentum from the May Fourth Movement, the popularity of Marxism, and the workers’ movement all came together to form the CCP. Obviously, this is a crucial development in the story of modern day China. With the Zhili Clique now in…
History of the PRC – Part Five Posted by sasha on Nov 3, 2010
Welcome back to our Chinese history lesson! If you are just joining us, you might want to go back and catch up a bit. For some reason, Part Four posted somewhere way back on the blog, so HERE is the link. Parts One-Three can easily found by going back in the blog a little ways…
Taste of a Mule Posted by sasha on Oct 31, 2010
For a delicious, cheap snack in Beijing, look no further than a donkey meat sandwich, or 驴肉火烧. Although it may seem like a strange choice, put your fears aside and just dig in. You’ll find that donkey meat is quite flavorful, especially in this Chinese version of a submarine sandwich (which tastes surprisingly like a…
Shi Du (十渡) Posted by sasha on Oct 29, 2010
When you live in a massive, crowded city like Beijing, you just have to get out of the hustle and bustle every once in a while. Thankfully, doing so is easy and convenient, thanks to the excellent public transportation system. Hopping on bus #917 for 2 hours will bring you 100 km southwest of Beijing…
Inflation and Interest Rates (通货膨胀跟利率) Posted by Stephen on Oct 21, 2010
If you’ve been following news out of China recently, issues of inflation or 通货膨胀 (tōng huò péng zhàng), have been making most major media network headlines. Just a few days ago, China’s Central Bank, in an surprise announcement, decided to raise interest rates or 利率 (lì lǜ) by .25 percentage points in an effort to…
History of the PRC – Part Three Posted by sasha on Oct 21, 2010
In case you’re just joining us, here are the links to the first two parts of our history about the People’s Republic of China, founded in 1949: Part One Part Two After the failed reign of the self-proclaimed Emperor Yuan Shikai and his subsequent death in 1916, China was basically in complete disarray. The policies…
Working on Tones with Tongue Twisters Posted by Stephen on Oct 18, 2010
Many non-native Chinese speakers find that proper pronunciation and use of tones are the most difficult aspects of learning the language and gaining fluency. This is because there are a plethora of sounds that don’t exist in both English and Chinese, meaning you have to train your tongue for the verbal somersaults. Whether it is making…