Archive for 'Culture'
A Long Journey Home Posted by sasha on Feb 16, 2015
The Spring Festival is fast approaching, and millions of Chinese people are heading home to ring in the New Year with their loved ones. For many, it’s a long and tiring journey home. Trains are packed to the brim, airports are bustling, and roads are full of cars, trucks, and buses all across the country…
Chinese Names for 50 Famous Foreign Companies Posted by sasha on Feb 10, 2015
Whenever I introduce myself to Chinese people, I usually get a nice laugh for my silly name – it literally translates as “Happy Field” (田乐 – tián lè). This is fine for a goofy English-teaching, blogging, backpacking hippie such as myself, but for foreign companies looking to do business in China, you probably don’t want…
Understanding Chinese Names Posted by sasha on Feb 9, 2015
Choosing a Chinese name is tough, even for Chinese people. Just read this article about a young couple’s struggle to choose a proper name for their baby girl. Many things must be taken into consideration when naming a child and it can get quite complicated. This is why plenty of people are happy to pay…
Exploring the Fujian Tulou Posted by sasha on Jan 16, 2015
On our recent trip to Fujian province, we started off with a short beach vacation in Xiamen. While we had a good time exploring Gulangyu island and wandering through the night market, the main reason for coming to southeast China was to get out and see the famed tulou (土楼 – tǔ lóu) villages. These…
A Chinese Beach Vacation in Xiamen Posted by sasha on Jan 12, 2015
It’s so cold in a lot of places right now, especially my hometown of Detroit. As many of us will spend the next few months bundled up in layers of winter clothes, I figured we’d at least take a vacation here on the blog. For a Chinese beach vaca, one of the most popular destinations is…
Streets, Beats & Eats – Xiamen Posted by sasha on Jan 8, 2015
Explore Xiamen in this short travel video highlighting Gulangyu island, a cool night market, and a bit of the nightlife of this coastal vacation city in China. 厦门 – xià mén Xiamen 福建省 – fú jiàn shěng Fujian province 鼓浪屿 – gǔ làng yǔ Gulangyu 夜市 – yè shì night market 中国茶 – zhōng guó…
Better Know a… Province (Fujian) Posted by sasha on Jan 6, 2015
Our journey across all corners of the Middle Kingdom continues down in the southeast in Fujian province (福建省 – fú jiàn shěng). The name comes from the combination of Fuzhou and Jianzhou (now known as Jian’ou), two cities in the province. History Fujian has a history going back thousands of years, as recent archaeological discoveries…