This morning I was attending a conference of business leaders in China. One of the speakers was talking about the importance of ‘localizing’ products, and gave the example of Chinese-made Buicks. “Sitting in the back seat of a Buick in China,” he said “is nothing like sitting in the back seat of a Buick in […]
The Red Detachment
“What performance did you just see,” asked the taxi driver as I hopped into his cab late one night outside of the Poly Plaza Theater. “The Red Detachment of Women,” I said. As I had anticipated, he swung his head around and let out a big “Hah!” “You, a foreigner, went to see that revolutionary […]
Bian Lian (Face-Changing)
One of my favorite traditional Chinese peforming arts is Bian Lian (变脸), which literally means “change face.” As he performs choreographed moves, the performer instantly changes masks– so instantly in fact, that it’s nearly impossible to tell how it is done. Tradition has it that the art form could only be passed down from father […]
The Sun has been Eaten
Yesterday I went out for lunch with some colleagues and we got to talking about the solar eclipse that had taken place in the morning. I missed it ( still trying to get my eyes open), but one of guy had managed to snap a photo of it. I asked the Chinese gal who was […]
Words that Describe China
Is it really possible to identify ten — and only ten — words that describe China today? In a country so vast and diverse, probably not; but that didn’t stop Chinese author Yu Hua from taking a crack at it in his book “China in Ten Words.” He uses these ten words as a backdrop […]
100 Fun Things to See and Do in Beijing
A number of years ago I put together a list of 100 fun things to see and do in Beijing for a new teacher orientation program that I was working on. This week I’m getting ready for a group of visitors to arrive from the US and UK for a week, so I thought it […]
