Archive for August, 2011
Beijing Day Trips – Volume 2 – Shi Du (十渡) Posted by sasha on Aug 24, 2011
From the maze of skyscrapers and hazy clouds of pollution that are omnipresent in Beijing city, one merely needs to hop on a public bus (公共汽车 – gōng gòng qì chē) – number 917 to be exact – and ride out of the city 100 km to the southwest to find stunning landscapes and a…
Subway Vocab (地铁生词） Posted by Stephen on Aug 23, 2011
Even on the Shanghai Subway, it’s a struggle just to get on (上车) and off (下车) a train before a wall of people or those sliding doors say: 不可以！ As you can see from the video, riding the subway is often chaotic and hectic. It’s not the kind of place you want to be running…
Chinese Currency Revaluation (货币升值) Posted by Stephen on Aug 22, 2011
After much anticipation and coupled with foreign and domestic pressure (not to mention the US Debt ceiling fiasco), China is finally poised to begin allowing a “gradual” appreciation of its currency against the U.S. dollar. Currency revaluation or 货币升值 (huòbìshēngzhí), has been a key issue for China and the rest of the world, as China…
Chinese Websites Posted by sasha on Aug 22, 2011
It’s no secret that one of the most popular activities in China is to surf the internet (上网冲浪 – shàng wǎng chōng làng). In fact, on nearly every street corner in Beijing, you will find an internet bar (网吧 – wǎng bā), often filled to capacity with chain smoking teenagers aggresively clicking away while engaged…
“Netizen” Web Slang (网际俚语) Posted by Stephen on Aug 18, 2011
China is the single largest national population of online users, and as a result, the Chinese have gravitated towards increased web lingo. In fact, China boasts the largest “netizen” (internet + citizens) community worldwide, even with “the Great Firewall of China” restricting the flow of information. If you thought it was hard enough learning English…
Panda-monium: NBA Stars Invade China Posted by Stephen on Aug 17, 2011
NBA fever is sweeping the mainland (again). It’s Panda-monium! Due in large part to the potential 2011-2012 NBA lockout in the United States, many superstar basketball players are considering playing ball overseas. While stars like Kobe and Derron Williams want to play in Euro Leagues across the Atlantic, others have their eyes set across the…
Shanghai State of Mind (上海） Posted by Stephen on Aug 15, 2011
Imagine a city with enough fluorescent lighting and big screen LED displays to put Vegas and Tokyo both to shame. Add some classical chinese hutongs (胡同) and buildings, mix in some 19th century, stately British architecture (along the bund) and surround all that by hulking skyscrapers, many of which have shot up within the last…