Experiencing the sound and fury of development
[2009-11-17 10:48]
Every morning at 6:30, a man passes by our place, yelling something like, "Paperbackwriterrrrryahhh". The ritual is repeated three times throughout the day.
Barefaced cheek
[2009-11-13 11:40]
Hu Huakai bolted out of a blue Ford sedan, wearing nothing but a white loincloth. He ran through a throng of students for about 50m and removed the cloth before dashing back, said "thank you" to the crowd and disappeared into the waiting car.
Is there such a people as Chinese-Chinese?
[2009-11-12 11:12]I realized then that what we considered to be "Chineseness" now must have been different from that of our forefathers. So any romantic concept of deep-rooted Chinese Chinese-ness appears to be a myth.
Do the talking so your camera can do the shooting
[2009-11-11 11:10]Taking photographs of people is never easy.
So how is that RMB in dollars, er, pounds, no Euro?
[2009-11-10 14:54]While life in Beijing has turned out to be better than I dared hope before I got here six months ago, one little issue that has been with me since day one still niggles - my incomprehensible inability to get to grips with the money.
In defense of pajamas
[2009-11-06 10:22]Shanghai is cracking down on its most tenacious fashion trend. In preparation for the 2010 World Expo, the municipal government has launched a campaign to eradicate running red lights and wearing pajamas in public.
Getting a fix of fitness at city's open gyms
[2009-11-05 11:46]When I first moved to Beijing almost a year ago, I was greeted with several new experiences and sights that I was unaccustomed to living in Vancouver, Canada - jam-packed streets with motorized tricycles and rickshaws, street vendors selling sweet potatoes and the omnipresent squat toilet.
Roses - Love blossoming or a blooming nuisance
[2009-11-04 10:47]On my birthday a bunch of 99 roses was delivered to my door by the express man.
Cashing in on culture
[2009-10-30 10:48]Nobody should be surprised about the best-selling author making headlines, but what's different this time is he's in the business pages.Yu represents the establishment not because he is an official appointee, but because he distills from cultural sources that form the bedrock of China. He is cheered and jeered for the same reason.
Distance makes heart grow fonder when it's football
[2009-10-29 11:12]Anyone moving to a foreign country for the first time is bound to be a little nervous.
Penny-pinching tips from veteran of the game
[2009-10-28 11:22]Recently my colleague Young Zhou returned to the office to fetch something he had left behind. He was scared witless when he saw a light in the dark building, thinking it was a thief with a flashlight.
How some bumps in the road made us switch gears
[2009-10-27 11:10]I had only two choices - crash or splash.
