China’s high-speed rail system has been a hot topic for these past few months since it was revealed that millions of dollars had been embezzled from these projects. With that revelation came some big questions over the safety of the system, which had already been constructed with a fraction of the budget used in other countries. Japanese engi [...] Keep reading »

Earlier this week we looked a little bit at food safety in China. Today we are going to look at a Chinese market (nothing comes in packages), these are where most rural Chinese prefer to do their shopping. Whenever I have visitors from the States, I enjoy taking them to the market because it makes such a visceral impact on them and leaves them with [...] Keep reading »

If you’ve been reading this blog for more than a few weeks, you probably already know that I enjoy looking at cultural differences, and like to highlight just how vast a subject culture can be. Grabby Beggars Let me start my describing a fairly typical scene here in China, which I experienced yet again just two days ago. I was walking to a resta [...] Keep reading »

I have a trip back to the US coming up, so I offered to bring a few things back for my Chinese co-workers. My pregnant friend Grace didn’t even pause to think before telling me I needed to bring infant formula back for her. I have a feeling a few of you are scratching your heads right now thinking; “Can’t you buy formula in China?” You can, [...] Keep reading »

I have been teaching in Chinese universities and middle schools for almost 4 years now as well as having observed classes at all levels in China’s educational system. So forget what you’ve read lately about China’s schools rating number one in the world, the educational system here is full of problems. Over these next few days I’ll be outli [...] Keep reading »

Qing Ming Festival is a day in which Chinese families head to the graveyard and clean the tombs of their ancestors. It is interesting because it helps us understand how traditional Chinese ideas about death survive in modern China despite Mao’s efforts to eliminate them. It can be said that the Chinese used to believe the spirits of their anc [...] Keep reading »

This week Frontline aired an in-depth look at Chinese artist/dissident (or perhaps  dissident/artist) Ai Weiwei. The full episode entitled “Who’s Afraid of Ai Weiwei” is available online here along with a profile of his online activism here. If you aren’t familiar with Ai Weiwei, it’s time for your formal introduction [...] Keep reading »

Seven’s post yesterday touched on many of the aspects of getting married in modern China. Today I’d like to look at a few of those issues closer to wrap up this five-part series (just check the archive). Seven called them “expired” but the more popular term in Chinese is “Left-over.” The following video features “Left- [...] Keep reading »

This guest post was written by the same friend who wrote – Why I didn’t join the communist party. This time he asked me if he could share his opinion on marriage, and I am so glad he did. Like arranging for a blind date, let me introduce myself first: I’m a 30-year-old single man growing up in a big city in China and I’m the only ch [...] Keep reading »