{"id":17066,"date":"2022-07-26T09:00:47","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=17066"},"modified":"2022-07-21T15:52:34","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T19:52:34","slug":"chinese-blog-greatest-hits-volume-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/chinese-blog-greatest-hits-volume-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Blog Greatest Hits: Volume 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s an old Chinese idiom that goes “Time flies like an arrow<\/strong>” (\u5149\u9634\u4f3c\u7bad gu\u0101ngy\u012bns\u00ecji\u00e0n). I can totally relate to that one at the moment. It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago that I moved to Beijing the day before the start of the 2008 Summer Olympics<\/strong> (\u590f\u5b63\u5965\u8fd0\u4f1a xi\u00e0j\u00ec \u00e0oy\u00f9nhu\u00ec). Not too long after that, I started contributing here on the blog. Well, here we are in 2022 – the year that Beijing became the first city to host both the summer and winter games – with my final post. It’s been a great ride, and I’m excited to cap things off with the Chinese Blog Greatest Hits: Volume 2.<\/p>\n

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At the Beijing Olympics in 2008.<\/p><\/div>\n

Speaking of Chinese idioms<\/strong> (\u6210\u8bed ch\u00e9ngy\u01d4), I always enjoyed learning them. While they’re not always that easy to incorporate into your everyday life, Chinese idioms provide great historical and cultural insight. I’ve shared a lot about them over the years on the blog, including “5 Awesome Chinese Idioms<\/a>” where you can learn about the common “people mountain, people sea<\/strong>” (\u4eba\u5c71\u4eba\u6d77 r\u00e9nsh\u0101nr\u00e9nh\u01cei) idiom and more.<\/p>\n

One thing I always tell people about my many years living in China is that it was a bit of a love-hate relationship<\/strong> (\u7231\u6068\u5173\u7cfb \u00c0i h\u00e8n gu\u0101nx\u00ec). I brought this topic to the blog, and my dueling posts “10 Things I Hate About China<\/a>” and “10 Things I Love About China<\/a>” remain the most commented on many years later. To be clear, the good far outweighed the bad. I look back fondly on my years there and wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.<\/p>\n

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A tasty plate of dumplings.
Image used with permission by Sasha Savinov.<\/p><\/div>\n

Take a look at the other posts and videos I contributed over the past decade and you’ll see that I thoroughly enjoyed my time in China. There was that time I wrote a love letter to Chinese dumplings<\/strong><\/a> (\u997a\u5b50 ji\u01ceozi), for one. I miss eating dumplings – and all Chinese food, for that matter – every single day.<\/p>\n

What I wouldn’t give for a tasty jianbing<\/strong><\/em> (\u714e\u997c ji\u0101nbing) from a street vendor for breakfast, a piping bowl of la mian<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (\u62c9\u9762 l\u0101mi\u00e0n) for lunch, and a communal hot pot<\/strong> (\u706b\u9505 hu\u01d2gu\u014d) with friends for dinner.<\/p>\n

I had so much fun eating my way across China and sharing it with you here and on the YouTube channel. Here’s one of my favorite videos, titled “Scenes From a Chinese Restaurant” where I show you everything from Beijing roast duck<\/strong><\/a> (\u5317\u4eac\u70e4\u9e2d b\u011bij\u012bng k\u01ceoy\u0101) to street food:<\/p>\n