Here in China we’re gearing up for the big May Holiday (May 1 is International Workers Day), which officially begins on Monday. In 1999, the government decreed that henceforth this holiday would include 7 days off, not the 3 that it had been for ages. All government offices, schools, factories, and most businesses (not retail) […]
A Bad China Day
Sometimes we all have "bad China days," — days when the will and capacity to manage the cross-cultural differences wane, and things here sort of "get to you." Suddenly the spitting makes you mad, or the traffic, or the lack of lines. Things that you’ve long come to accept (if not always appreciate) just get […]
Forests and Grasslands
We’ve officially had ten (yes TEN!) sandstorms this spring here in Beijing. Naturally, with the Olympics coming up–just over two years from now—there is a bit of rising anxiety over what might happen should a sandstorm hit the city during the games. This has been a topic of concern and conversation in the media here […]
Boom! Then Rain
Last week the AP reported on the government’s plans to seed the clouds in Beijing to clear the air of dust: Beijing was preparing on Tuesday to use artifical rain-making to clear the air after a choking dust storm coated China’s capital in yellow grit, prompting a health warning to keep children indoors, state media […]
The Guyuan Gang
This week I had the wondeful opportunity to travel to Ningxia Autonomous Region in western China. Ningxia is a Chinese province that gets "autonomous region" status because of it’s large population of the Muslim Hui minority. It’s a small, desolate region that sits on the edge of several deserts, including the famous Gobi. The Yellow […]
Sand, Round Two
Shortly before I hopped my bike to ride home from work this evening, another sandstorm blew into town. This one I saw coming, as the sky to the northwest turned a very strange orange-brownish color right before dusk. Then the wind hit, and the dust fell! On me, as I was riding home. As for […]
