Archive for 'Culture'
Alibaba Breaks Singles’ Day Sales Record Posted by sasha on Nov 15, 2018
Singles’ Day (光棍节 – guāng gùn jié), China’s anti-Valentine’s Day, just happened on 11/11. While it started out as a day for single college students to go out to eat together, it has morphed into a massive day for online shopping (网上购物 – wǎng shàng gòu wù). China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba (阿里巴巴 – Ā lǐ bā…
Talking About Halloween in Chinese Posted by sasha on Oct 23, 2018
While it’s not high up on the list of holidays in China, Halloween is one of my favorites, and it is gaining popularity in the Middle Kingdom. This is especially true among the younger generation of Chinese, who learn about the holiday from their foreign English teachers or American movies and take an interest in…
Famous Beijing Landmarks Posted by sasha on Oct 8, 2018
Beijing has a lot of famous landmarks (北京有很多名的地标 – běi jīng yǒu hěn duō míng de dì biāo). The Chinese capital has a wealth of historical and cultural attractions to visit. If you’re traveling to the city, you should definitely learn the Chinese names for famous Beijing landmarks. Read on to learn 30 Chinese names…
8 Years of Videos Posted by sasha on Sep 26, 2018
After 8 years of sharing videos on Chinese language and culture, this will be my final video post on the Transparent Chinese channel. As such, I’ve put together a nice recap on 8 years of videos to share with you. It’s been a wild ride that included living in both Beijing and Kunming, working as…
10 Most Popular Videos on Transparent Chinese Posted by sasha on Sep 11, 2018
Way back in 2010, I had just moved back to Beijing after a visit home. A friend contacted me and asked if I would be interested in putting together some videos on Chinese language and culture for the Transparent Chinese YouTube channel. Since my major was Video Production (视频制作 – shì pín zhì zuò), I…
A Look Inside the Beijing Planning & Exhibition Hall Posted by sasha on Aug 29, 2018
There’s a lot to see along the Central Axis of Beijing – Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Drum & Bell Towers, and so much more. While it can be exhausting traveling that entire route in one day, there’s a much easier way to see the entire city of Beijing. Just head to the Beijing…
Postpartum Chinese Tradition: The Sitting Month Posted by Ayana on Aug 27, 2018
An old Chinese custom became controversial in recent years: the 坐月子 (zuò yuè zi) tradition. 坐 (zuò) means “to sit”, 月 (yuè) means “month”, and 月子 is the first month after giving birth. This ancient practice takes care not of the new born, but of the new mom, who have just been through a long…