History and Customs of Tomb Sweeping Day Posted by sasha on Apr 4, 2017
Today is the Qing Ming Festival (清明节 – qīng míng jié)) in China. More commonly referred to in English as Tomb Sweeping Day, it’s a day to honor the deceased by visiting and cleaning tombs as well as leaving offerings. As with most Chinese holidays, there’s an interesting story behind the Qing Ming Festival and…
Book Review: Shanghai Girls / Lisa See Posted by Ayana on Apr 3, 2017
Shanghai Girls is a 2009 novel by Lisa See. As the title suggests, the book is composed of two protagonists: a girl named Pearl and the city Shanghai. The narrator of the book is Pearl, and while she is telling the story of her and of her sister, Shanghai embodies the story of all China…
Better Know a… Municipality (Tianjin) Posted by sasha on Mar 30, 2017
China is a massive country composed of provinces, autonomous regions, Special Administrative Regions, and municipalities. If that sounds confusing, that’s because it is. We’ve been working our way around the country one area at a time here, introducing each and every single one. There are four municipalities in China, and we’ve already covered the two…
Chinese Vocabulary for Seafood Posted by sasha on Mar 28, 2017
Going out to eat in China can be intimidating – no English on the menu, strange-looking dishes all around, and a very noisy atmosphere can scare many visitors away. Rather than head to the tourist-trap restaurant with burgers and fries, learn some Chinese food vocabulary and eat with the locals. In this lesson we’ll learn…
Peking Opera Posted by sasha on Mar 23, 2017
The Chinese capital is famous for lots of things – the Great Wall, roast duck, and of course, Peking opera (京剧 – jīng jù). It has a long history and is thought of as a cultural treasure of China. Performers wear elaborate and colorful costumes and face paint and put on an impressive show featuring…
Chinese Vocabulary for Meat Posted by sasha on Mar 22, 2017
Learning food-related vocabulary is always one of the first tasks when studying a language. This is especially important in places like China, where you won’t commonly find English on the menu. Plus, when you do it’s usually hilarious Chinglish that’s hard to decipher. Never fear, because we’re here to help you learn how to do…
Baozi vs. Jiaozi Posted by sasha on Mar 20, 2017
Life is full of difficult choices. Tea or coffee, chicken or fish, but most of all, baozi (包子 – bāo zi) or jiaozi (饺子 – jiǎo zi). Both are cheap, delicious little bundles of joy, so you really can’t go wrong either way. Let’s take a closer look at these two famous Chinese dishes and try…