Archive by Author
Tomb Sweeping Festival (清明节） Posted by Stephen on Apr 5, 2010
As the Easter holiday weekend passes here in the west, China is already taking part in one of it’s historic, yet newly reinstated holidays: the Qing Ming Jie (清明节）or Tomb Sweeping Festival. While a staple of Taiwanese, Macau and Hong Kong traditions, the 清明节，much like the Tet in Vietnamese culture is a holiday that falls…
Everything But the Table, Part 1: A Brief Introduction to Chinese Food Posted by Stephen on Mar 31, 2010
China truly is a gourmand’s paradise filled with delicious food everywhere you go. The food itself can be as far ranging as delicacies popularized during the Ming Dynasty or it can be as simple and down to earth as a 1 块 stick of 串 （think kebab) found on any roadside corner. Whatever the type…
Google and The “Great Firewall” of China Posted by Stephen on Mar 23, 2010
With the recent (although a long time coming) announcement of Google shutting down its operations in mainland China, comes much debate about the reasons and justifications for doing so. While Google (谷歌）has made claims about invasion of privacy, blocking content, and security breaches (including email virus attacks to gain info on human rights advocates) as…
The “Legend” of Iron Stomach Posted by Stephen on Mar 18, 2010
Dealing with sickness is always a large concern for travelers, and is the reason why we visit costly travel clinics, take series upon series of painful injections, and get the lectured over and over again about the dangers of local food and water. Often times, our fears and concerns of a new place grow…
Down on the Street (场外市场) Posted by Stephen on Mar 11, 2010
One of the most striking features of China and Chinese culture, when compared to the west, is the availability of goods on any given Chinese street. Sure, you could go to a Walmart 沃尔玛 wò ěr mǎ or a Carrefour 家乐福 Jiā lè fú, to find your daily sundries 事物 [shíwù], or even take the…
The Power of Hello Posted by Stephen on Mar 8, 2010
Upon your first visit to China as a 老外 ［lǎo wài] foreign guest , regardless of whether or not you speak the language, will almost always be an emphatic, yet English: HELLO! From school children to cabbies, random strangers to tour guide members the greeting is awkwardly pronounced, but western specific. Sometimes it would border…