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Decimals, Fractions and Percentages Posted by on Nov 3, 2011

As you begin to use your Chinese in stores, restaurants and shopping centers, you’ll need to know where to spot a sale, how much to tip (or not tip) your waiters, and most importantly, how much interest your credit card is charging you each month (but I NEED an IPad2!). Figuring out how to divide…

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Dunhuang (敦煌) Posted by on Oct 31, 2011

In the high desert plains of northern China, water dictates development. Nowhere can this be better illustrated than in Dunhuang or 敦煌 (Dūn huáng), one of the largest oasis-cities in Gansu Province or 甘肃 (Gān sù). Dunhuang roughly translates as “blazing beacon” in Chinese, a moniker it bestowed upon it as the terminus of the…

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Halloween (万圣节) Posted by on Oct 30, 2011

Halloween or 万圣节 (Wàn shèng jié) is fast approaching, so get your costumes or 服装 (fú zhuāng) ready! Last year everyone and their kid brother was Lady Gaga (including guys), but I got a strong feeling that there will be more Qaddafi’s than Beijing knows what to do with them. Halloween is a time to cut…

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Chinese Social Media: Weibo (新浪微博) Posted by on Oct 28, 2011

The social media movement is alive and well in the mainland, but you wont hear people raving about Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus. Unbeknownst to most American’s and Westerners, China is a nation of netizens, who take to blogs, forums and chat boards just like the rest of us. They clamor for the new Iphone5 (which is…

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Everything But the Table: Lā Miàn Noodles (拉面) Posted by on Oct 25, 2011

As temperatures continue to plummet, the prospect of finding something hot and spicy to warm your belly becomes all the more appealing. If it wasn’t for today’s elegant yet simplistic dish, 拉面 (lā miàn) or pulled noodles, I don’t know how I could weather the frigid Beijing winter as it approaches. So if you want to…

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Water, water, everywhere? China’s Water Crisis (缺水) Posted by on Oct 23, 2011

China is facing a dire fresh water crisis and it’s only getting worse. After decades of environmental degradation, desertification and pollution, China’s arable land, waterways and aquifers are drying up, adding to concerns of an eventual water shortage that could have devastating repercussions on the Chinese economy and society. Now with the approach of summer…

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Xià hé (夏河) Posted by on Oct 21, 2011

After waking up in a sand-filled bed, dehydrated and sunburnt, I figured my time spent in Dunhuang was at an end. I was continuing on my Silk Road trip to Xian and still had nearly the entire length (about 1500km) of Gansu province (甘肃) left to traverse. A series of buses and a long train…

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