Writing in the Guardian, Timothy Garton Ash makes an important point about international media coverage of China: Hard though many Chinese may find this to believe, since their own media reflect the policy of their party-state, western governments have almost nothing to do with it. The main cause lies in the economics and professional dynamics [...]
There have been a number of interesting responses to my recent post at Lost Laowai that asks this question: does location within China matter when attempting to learn Mandarin? My view, unsurprising for a Yunnan resident, is that it does not. There are exceptions, of course- parts of rural Xinjiang or Tibet would present few [...]
The New York Times discusses the growth of retirement facilities in China (link via TPD‘s Facebook feed), though notes with a caveat that these remain viable options only for the upper class living in or near major cities. Over the years I’ve had several conversations with Chinese friends in which the subject of retirement homes [...]
I’ve been tracking this “tea party” movement back in the US with a combination of bafflement and mild amusement. As has The Washington Post, who actually attended the DC party: Without the spectacle of a 1773-style tea-bag dump in the square, the handmade signs became the focus of the event. Though ostensibly an anti-tax protest, [...]
Most expats who move to China follow a similar pattern. First, there’s the shock and euphoria of actually living in China. Then, there’s a protracted struggle to carve out a life despite linguistic and cultural misunderstandings. Finally, one finds his stasis in China; though while there still may be issues with understanding and occasional frustrations, [...]
I spent the weekend attending the Dali Music Festival, an event co-sponsored by a local guesthouse business supposedly interested in purchasing and developing land in the Dali old city. Several of my favorite Kunming bands, as well as a couple of acts I hadn’t seen before, played in front of an old temple on Friday [...]
A piece I wrote over a year ago about “kite jumping” in Kunming, as an example of the sort of lifestyle choices available in this city, is the feature travel story on the Chinatravel.net website. The link to my piece is here, as well as a few photos contributed by friends of mine here in [...]
Apologies for the recent sucky blogging, or rather non-existent blogging. I do have a very good excuse, though. Last Saturday I fell off my bicycle while going downhill on a slippery mountain and injured my right arm and hand to an extent that typing became physically impossible. After four days the injury hasn’t healed completely, [...]
It isn’t often that flipping through the pages of a week-old China Daily provides a moment of delight. But it was so, when notified by a friend, I found that in a narrow column called “Your Say”, snippets from this Lost Laowai post I wrote about a month ago were used. Of course, being lumped [...]