Archive for 'News'
The Disappearance of Fan Bingbing, China’s Most Famous Actress Posted by Ayana on Nov 13, 2018
A Chinese proverb says: 人怕出名猪怕壮 (rén pà chū míng zhū pà zhuàng). It means “people fear of getting famous just like pigs fear of getting fat”. Everyone wants to enjoy the benefits of fame like every pig wishes to enjoy unlimited food. But both publicity and binge eating are risky. Fan Bingbing (范冰冰), the number…
阿土勒尔: A Small Sichuan Village Posted by Ayana on May 7, 2018
阿土勒尔 (Ā tǔ lēi ěr) is a remote Chinese village located in the south of Sichuan province. The village is excessively small, with only 72 households (as of 2016), all belonging to the Yi minority, one of the 56 recognized ethnic groups of China. Ā tǔ lēi ěr is located on the shoulder slope of…
A Guide to the Internet in China – Intro Posted by sasha on May 13, 2014
Back in 1987, China sent out its first e-mail, an exchange between scientists in Beijing and Germany: “Across the Great Wall, we can reach every corner of the world.” 越过长城，走向世界 – yuè guò cháng chéng, zǒu xiàng shì jiè A few years later, in 1994, China was officially online. On April 20th, some nerds from China’s…
China’s Ghost Cities Posted by sasha on Oct 6, 2013
We’ve all heard of Beijing and Shanghai – China’s massive mega-cities that are known around the world. Millions of Chinese people live in these metropolises, and even millions more would do just about anything in their power to join them. In short, more people want to live there than actually can; as a result, home…
Chinese Currency Revaluation (货币升值) Posted by Stephen on Aug 22, 2011
After much anticipation and coupled with foreign and domestic pressure (not to mention the US Debt ceiling fiasco), China is finally poised to begin allowing a “gradual” appreciation of its currency against the U.S. dollar. Currency revaluation or 货币升值 (huòbìshēngzhí), has been a key issue for China and the rest of the world, as China…
The Coast with the Most: Income Inequality (收入不平等) Posted by Stephen on Apr 13, 2011
Much like inflation, housing speculation and unemployment, income inequality is becoming a hot topic issue in China, stoking nationalist sentiment and prompting social movements and protests. For a supposed communist nation (although we know better), such a divide in wealth foments anger and fosters reactionary sentiment. As income inequality grows, so does the 800 pound…
Inflation and Interest Rates (通货膨胀跟利率) Posted by Stephen on Oct 21, 2010
If you’ve been following news out of China recently, issues of inflation or 通货膨胀 (tōng huò péng zhàng), have been making most major media network headlines. Just a few days ago, China’s Central Bank, in an surprise announcement, decided to raise interest rates or 利率 (lì lǜ) by .25 percentage points in an effort to…