Hot Pot Column

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Stuart Beaton

To Aussies, this zodiac seems mad as a March hare

When I told my friends in Australia that it was the "Year of the Rabbit" for the Chinese, they were horrified.
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Stuart Beaton

Rabbit hops in to 'lasers' and ravioli jiaozi

Spring Festival this year saw my wife Ellen and me traveling back from Australia to Tianjin. We spent a cold night in Hong Kong's airport, with Ellen sleeping peacefully on a couch, while I kept an eye on our luggage.
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Debbie Mason

Longqing's an ice spectacle to rival Harbin

On arriving in Beijing in August 2001, I was so desperate to cram everything in that by winter I had been to most of Beijing's famous sites, and many in the surrounding districts.
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 Erik Nilsson

Celebrating the Rabbit's arrival in a rainforest

The fiery spider legs of a bottle rocket radiated from the source of the concussion above. It was as if the sky was responding to our disapproval of its leadenness.
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Stuart Beaton

When creativity is the art of making excuses

Following that, my syllabus now has been appended to include the magical words, "not based on anything else. Even Chinese TV shows or movies. It must be YOUR work!"
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My bike keeps me in touch with Shanghai

I never anticipated the liberating sense of freedom that was ignited by two wheels, a shiny red frame, an oversized front basket and a mismatched but completely essential pink bell.
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Stuart Beaton

They're called wait staff for a reason

I took my wife, Ellen, to a lovely looking restaurant. I'd often passed it on my walks around the neighborhood, and decided we'd give it a try.
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Sandra Lee

Travel bug bites and I get ready to follow the flag

It's time to make plans for the Chinese New Year travel adventure. I try to go somewhere warm but don't really care where as long as I haven't been there before. The only thing I know for sure is that I will be joining my fifth Chinese tour.
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Time to get a grip on Chinese handshakes

The handshake is a worldwide form of greeting but in China this friendly custom is sometimes practiced in a different kind of way.
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Sandra Lee

Rare snowfall turns West Lake into winter wonderland

Snow in northern China is nothing out of the ordinary but in Hangzhou its appearance caused a great deal of excitement.
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