{"id":7788,"date":"2012-07-17T01:32:29","date_gmt":"2012-07-17T05:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=7788"},"modified":"2012-07-17T01:32:29","modified_gmt":"2012-07-17T05:32:29","slug":"two-year-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/two-year-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Year Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

These days Chinese is my 2nd language, but back in high school I was a Latin scholar. Of course, there are only a few Latin phrases that I remember to this day, one of which being “tempus fugit,” or “time flies” in English. This phrase is a little longer and more complicated in Chinese –\u00a0\u65f6\u95f4\u8fc7\u5f97\u771f\u5feb (sh\u00ed ji\u0101n gu\u00f2 de zh\u0113n ku\u00e0i) – but oh how time has flown by here. Looking back on old posts, I just realized that I’ve been a member of the Transparent Chinese team for two years as of this month. It’s been an incredible experience sharing my travel stories, language tips, and cultural insights with our many dedicated readers over that time, and I’d like to take this opportunity to say “Thank you very much<\/strong>” (\u975e\u5e38\u611f\u8c22\u4f60\u4eec – f\u0113i ch\u00e1ng g\u01cen xi\u00e8 n\u01d0 men) to all of our readers all over the world! I have thoroughly enjoyed writing articles and making videos to help you all learn a little bit of Chinese language, and more importantly, get a glimpse into life here in the Middle Kingdom by discussing the food, holidays, music, history, and much more. To celebrate two wonderful years here and look forward to many more, here are some of my favorite articles and videos from the past 24 months:<\/p>\n

Poor Man’s Chinese<\/a>\u00a0– Where it all began – my very first post to the Chinese blog back in July 2010.<\/p>\n

Travel:<\/strong> Qingdao Beer Festival<\/a>\u00a0– What happens when a couple of \u5916\u56fd\u4eba venture out to a Chinese beer festival equipped with very little Chinese and too much booze? Hilarity, of course!<\/p>\n

Camping on the Great Wall<\/a>\u00a0– Most tourists get sucked into going to one of the over-developed sections of the Great Wall, packed full of other travelers and pesky vendors. Escape from that nonsense with an overnight stay on the scenic Jinshanling (\u91d1\u5c71\u5cad\u957f\u57ce) section of the Wall.<\/p>\n

Yangshuo<\/a> – I’ve traveled to many places in China, but Yangshuo (\u9633\u6714) is by far my favorite. From the natural beauty of the karst mountains, to the famed Li River scenery that inspired the back of the 20 yuan note, this place really is heaven on earth.<\/p>\n