Archive for the year 2011
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…
Days, Weeks, and Months (Video) Posted by sasha on Aug 12, 2011
Learn the vocabulary necessary to talk about days, weeks, and months in Chinese with this short, easy to follow video.
Useful Travel Phrases Posted by sasha on Aug 11, 2011
Having just returned to Beijing after a month and a half back in the States, with a friend who is here in China for his first time and speaks no Chinese, I figured a post with some useful travel phrases would be a good idea. If you are a total China n00b like my friend…
Everything but the Table: Fast Food (快餐） Posted by Stephen on Aug 10, 2011
To say that city-life in China is busy would be a huge understatement. Nothing ever seems to close, cars never seem to leave the streets and crowds only thin out when inclimate weather rears its ugly head. Cities are crowded concrete jungles filled brimming with people. Yet the hustle-bustle of Chinese metropolises stands as a testament to the vast…
Proverbs: Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other (諺語) Posted by Stephen on Aug 7, 2011
Proverbs or 諺語 (yànyŭ) provide invaluable insight into understanding both a language and a culture. They are a window into the very history and nature of language. Our euphemisms, insults, lessons and catch-phrases are all part of the immense dialogues that have progressed and lasted for decades, centuries, (and in Chinese’s case) millennium. Count the number…
Chinese Valentine’s Day – Qi Xi Festival (七夕节) Posted by sasha on Aug 4, 2011
In China, the seventh day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar is known as the Qi Xi Festival (七夕节 – qī xì jié). This ancient Chinese festival goes by many names, including: the Night of Sevens, the Magpie Festival, and in the more modern sense of the word, Chinese Valentine’s Day (情人节 –…