Archive for August, 2015
The Old Town of Lijiang Posted by sasha on Aug 30, 2015
One of the most popular places to visit in Yunnan province (and China in general) is the old town of Lijiang (丽江 – lì jiāng). Famed for its snowy mountain peaks, vibrant ethnic minority culture, and relaxed pace of life, this Song Dynasty-era town attracts throngs of tourists, both domestic and international. The town was even…
20 Reasons to Visit Yunnan Posted by sasha on Aug 26, 2015
There’s been a lot of talk about Yunnan province here on the blog lately, and for good reason – I recently finished up a year of living, working, and traveling there. I’ve been a lot of great places across China in my half a decade here, but none has captured my imagination and inspired me…
Chinese Color Vocabulary Posted by sasha on Aug 25, 2015
One of the first things you learn when picking up a new language are the colors. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taught Chinese youngsters all of the colors in English – it’s right up there with the words for the days of the week, fruit, and other essentials. Now, I won’t make our…
Swallows Cave (Jianshui, Yunnan) Posted by sasha on Aug 19, 2015
Check out the amazing Swallows Cave (燕子洞 – yàn zi dòng) outside of Jianshui in China. Named after the millions of swallows who flock here every year to breed, this is an incredible sight to behold. Walk into the huge cave to admire the rock formations, which are illuminated in a sea of colorful lights.
5 Years of Blogging in China Posted by sasha on Aug 17, 2015
They say time flies when you’re having fun, and that old adage must be true, because it’s already been five years since I started writing and making videos for the Chinese Language & Culture Blog. Sitting here now, it’s hard to imagine going back to that place and time when I started here. At the…
Money Talks (in Chinese) Posted by sasha on Aug 13, 2015
There’s been a lot of talk about China’s currency – the RMB (renminbi) – in the past few days, as the People’s Bank of China allowed it to depreciate by 2% against the dollar. Do a brief search, and you’ll find tons of articles from financial publications all around the world speculating on the reasons…
Jianshui Confucius Temple Posted by sasha on Aug 12, 2015
Tour the 3rd largest Confucius Temple in China – located in the ancient town of Jianshui – in this short video.