When I travel, especially to new places, I like to read up on the places I am visiting. Since I’m headed to Iceland today for a short visit (IcelandAir had a package deal that was too good to pass up), here’s whats on my kindle for the trip: Iceland, Defrosted, by Edward Hancox The Little Book […]
Who’s Not Left Behind?
As the editor of ZGBriefs, I have to (get to, really) scan and read dozens of news articles out of China each week. One of the things that allows me to do is spot emerging narratives. Lately I’ve noticed a spate of stories that refer to some segment of the Chinese population being “left-behind” or […]
China Under Mao
I recently stumbled across a great new blog called Everyday life in Mao’s China. Each post is a photo or photos taken in China when Chairman Mao was in power. They are very interesting glimpses of a China that is hard to imagine these days. Here are a couple of my favorites: St. Joseph’s Church in […]
Friday Photo: Candied Fruit
I used to love taking visitors in Beijing to the Wangfujing Snack Street, where vendors sell all manners of food deep-fried on a stick — everything from silkworms to scorpions to unmentionable body parts. In the middle of it all there is one stall that sells candied fruit. Other Friday Photos: Schoolboys Blue Doors of Kashgar Reading […]
Mom! I Swallowed a Brick!
Over the weekend all of northern China was once again shrouded in eye-burning, lung-suffocating, soul-crushing smog. “Air-pocolypse,” they call it. As I scrolled through my various news and social media feeds, it was pretty much the only story that people were talking about. If I hadn’t experienced such smog during my time living there (and on my visit […]
Happy Birthday, MacDonald’s
MacDonald’s opened its first restaurant in China 25 years ago. To commemorate that event, they rolled out a new sandwich called the Power Recharger Burger: 2 all beef patties, topped with 2 hot dogs, slathered with mustard. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t look very appetizing to me! Related Posts: Of MacDonald’s and […]
