A few years back there was a popular movie called "The Accidental Tourist." I don’t remember the plot, but I remember thinking it was dreadful. In China today, there seems to be a new phenomenon–the superflous tourist. I spotted this term in a CRI (China Radio International) piece about how the Forbidden City (also known […]
Cabbage
Last weekend I spent some time exploring the old neighborhoods of Beijing. These neighborhoods are called “hutong” neighborhoods. Hutong is a Mongolian that is leftover from the time when the Mongols ruled China. Today it has come to refer to the alleys and lanes that make up the old city of Beijing. I like taking […]
The Travellator
On Friday night a friend and I were exiting the Lotus Supercenter at the Golden Resources Mall, in western Beijing. This is supposedly the largest mall in Asia, but that’s neither here nor there. The Lotus is in the basement, and we were looking for a way to get back above ground when we noticed […]
It’s a Dog’s Life…Or Should I Say, Death
Well, Beijing’s ‘crackdown of the month’ this November is swinging into high gear. After announcing the successful end of the last crackdown (a 100-day campaign against pirated DVD’s, which of course re-appeared as soon as the crackdown was over), now they’re going after dogs. This coincides with the recent announcement by the Ministry of Health […]
A Shaanxi Scrum
I haven’t posted anything lately because I’ve been busy playing host to a group of 23 college students (and their teachers) from Minnesota. They are on a 6-nation, 2-month swing through the Pacific Rim, learning about the different cultures. We of course did the obligatory tourist stuff (Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Great Wall, Acrobats, […]
