Archive for 'Uncategorized'
The Fragrant Hills (香山) Posted by sasha on Dec 18, 2010
The northwest corner of Beijing is home to the beautiful Fragrant Hills, or 香山. It’s a great place to visit in the fall. That is, of course, if you can deal with the throngs of Chinese tour groups who make it the most crowded place in all of Beijing on the weekends. Forget taking the…
History of the PRC – Part Ten Posted by sasha on Dec 12, 2010
For Part Ten of this history lesson, we’re going to divert from the story a bit to focus on an especially important character in this saga – Mao Zedong (毛泽东 – Máo zé dōng). These days, you still see the Chairman’s face just about everywhere you go in China. From massive statues of the man…
History of the PRC – Part Nine Posted by sasha on Dec 6, 2010
With China “unified” under Chiang’s rule and the capital relocated, the Nanjing decade (南京十年 – Nán jīng shí nián) commenced. The Nanjing government quickly received international recognition as the legitimate leader of China, and the Nationalists set about following the policies of their former leader – Sun Yat-sen. As stage one (military unification) had already…
History of the PRC – Part Eight Posted by sasha on Dec 3, 2010
When we last left off, Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the KMT, was preparing his soldiers for the Northern Expedition (北伐). Only July 9, 1926, he delivered a speech to over 100,000 soldiers of the National Revolution Army. The aim of the Expedition was to unify China under the KMT and disspose of warlord leadership. As…
Beijing Roast Duck (北京烤鸭) Posted by sasha on Nov 30, 2010
Without a doubt the most famous dish in all of China, Beijing Roast Duck (北京烤鸭 in Chinese) has been around since the days of the Ming Dynasty. These days, everyone can eat like the Emperor in Beijing’s countless upscale restaurants (for a price, of course). A visit to one of these fine dining establishments is…
Green China pt. 8: Transportation (交通工具) Posted by Stephen on Nov 30, 2010
China boasts some of the most creative, diverse and downright ridiculous forms of transportation or 交通工具 (jiāotōng gōngjù) that I have ever seen. While I love crashing in hard sleeper trains, getting lightheaded in the back of tuolaji three wheelers (拖拉机), and taking cheap crosstown taxi rides, I am aware of the large amounts of…
Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Video – Part Two Posted by sasha on Nov 29, 2010
For Part Two of the Golden Week trip, we head out on a three-day tour of the desert and grasslands for some peace and quiet, fun with animals, and the experience of sleeping in a traditional Mongolian yurt. 沙漠 – shā mò desert 骑骆驼 – qí luò tuo ride camels 沙漠排球 – shā mò pái…