Archive for 'Culture'
My Favorite Chinese Dishes Posted by sasha on Feb 19, 2020
If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you probably know by now that I really like Chinese food (我很喜欢中国菜 – wǒ hěn xǐ huān zhōng guó cài). When I first moved there, I missed my good old American food from time to time. The longer I stayed in China, though, the more I…
The Year of the Rat Posted by sasha on Feb 5, 2020
Another Spring Festival has come and gone, and we are now in the Year of the Rat (鼠年 – shǔ nián). While it’s not exactly off to a great start thanks to the coronavirus, hopefully the year will take a more positive turn sooner than later. In this post, I’d like to focus on the…
The Spring Festival Gala Posted by sasha on Jan 22, 2020
There are a few things that are synonymous with the Chinese Spring Festival (春节 – chūn jié) – red couplets hanging on doors, dumplings boiling in a pot, firecrackers going off night and day, and families plopping down in front of the TV for 4+ hours. Indeed, the CCTV Spring Festival Gala is a huge…
Where to Travel in China in 2020 Posted by sasha on Jan 15, 2020
新年快乐! I hope all of our readers are having an excellent start to the new decade so far. What are your New Year’s resolutions? (你新年的决心是什么? – nǐ xīn nián de jué xīn shì shén me). I hope one of them is “travel more!” (我希望一个是 “多旅行” – wǒ xī wàng yī gè shì “duō lǚ xíng”)…
Top 5 Chinese Blog Posts of 2019 Posted by sasha on Dec 23, 2019
It’s hard to believe, but we’re nearing the end of the decade. For me, it’s pretty wild to reflect back on the past decade. I spent over half of it in China, and I’ve been writing for the Chinese blog the entire time. It’s an appropriate instance to use the phrase “time flies” (时光飞逝 –…
Gift Giving in China Posted by Ayana on Dec 16, 2019
Relations (关系 guān xì) play an important role in today’s Chinese society. Social connections are a fundamental key to success in the Chinese community. A common way to strengthen one’s relationships is by giving gifts (送礼 sòng lǐ) to show affection, respect, or closeness. A unique Chinese traditional gift everyone loves to receive is the…
Top Chinese Songs of the Decade Posted by sasha on Dec 12, 2019
Can you believe another decade is almost behind us?! I know I sure can’t. It’s always fun looking back at the end of a decade. I love music and I love end of the year countdowns, so I’m combining both in this post! Music is a great tool for studying not only the language, but…