Archive by Author
Culture Shock in China (Part One) Posted by sasha on Apr 16, 2013
Before coming to China on the day of my 23rd birthday, I had lived my entire life in the US. I had traveled to a few other countries in my youth – Italy, Greece, and Canada with my cello group, Mexico with a friend, and both the Netherlands and Jamaica to attend music festivals –…
20 Hilarious Chinglish Signs Posted by sasha on Apr 14, 2013
What happens when you mix Chinese and English? Well, you end up with Chinglish (中式英语 – zhōng shì yīng yǔ). Sometimes, Chinglish is just formed by using Chinese grammatical structures in English. Trying to translate Chinese directly into English will give you sentences such as “I very like play basketball” (我很喜欢打篮球 – wǒ hěn xǐ huan dǎ…
Harbin – China’s Ice City (Part Two) Posted by sasha on Apr 10, 2013
In case you missed out on all the fun during the daytime in Harbin, you can find that video here. This new video takes you on a stroll of Harbin’s famous Central Avenue in the evening, with a stop at the beautiful St. Sophia Russian orthodox church and a cool night market. A hearty meal…
An Old, New, Old City – Datong (大同) Posted by sasha on Apr 7, 2013
In the northern part of Shanxi province, not far from Inner Mongolia, you’ll find the city of Datong (大同 – dà tóng). Thousands of years ago – during the Han Dynasty circa 200 BC – it was known as Pingcheng (平城 – píng chéng), and it would eventually become the capital of the Northern Wei…
China’s Top 10 Universities Posted by sasha on Apr 5, 2013
China has well over 2,000 universities (大学 – dà xué) and colleges, with a total student body population in excess of 20 million. Between 2002 and 2008 alone, the number of higher education students in China quadrupled. In Beijing alone, there are 82 institutions of higher education – a list that includes a police academy, a sports…
Harbin – China’s Ice City (Part One) Posted by sasha on Mar 31, 2013
Usually when people take a vacation, they opt for some place tropical. Sunshine, relaxing on the beach, and swimming in the sea are the preferred activities. Earlier this year, we chose instead to take a short trip to one of the coldest places in China – Harbin. The “Ice City” plays host to a massive…
All Things Sichuan Posted by sasha on Mar 31, 2013
Chances are you’ve probably munched on a dish labeled “Szechuan” in a Chinese restaurant at some point. Where does that delicious, spicy chicken come from? Well, it’s from Sichuan province (四川 – sì chuān), located in southwest China. Famous for its mouth-numbing food, cute and cuddly pandas, and stunningly beautiful landscapes, Sichuan is a fascinating…