Chinese people are known for blendin in with the crowd. No one wants to stand too far out of the norm here. And for Beijing based artist Liu Bolin, it’s no different. Only he takes blending in to a whole ‘nother level. He takes a picture of a scene he
Follow the Money
When I first came to China, I didn’t have any real travel goals. After all, I thought we would be here only 6-months to a year, so I knew we couldn’t see everything. But as 6 months turned into one year and one year turned into two we found ourselves
Not Singing in the Rain
On my recent trip to Anhui I wrote about all the rain and flooding I saw. Anhui province is right next to my province, Zhejiang, and apparently we have’t been spared either. Record levels of rain have been making news all over the world (it was even on the front
Crouching Tiger, Dripping Becky
EXT. YUAN COMPOUND – DAY Security men and porters are loading wagons for a convoy. As they work, we see across the lake a lone horseman entering the village. One of the men recognizes him. WORKER Master Li is here! ANGLE ON: Li Mu Bai, thirties, powerful and handsome. In
Same Road, Different Day
There are a few epic trips in my mind in which the road was better than the destination. I don’t mean that in the symbolic getting there is half the fun way (cause let’s admit it, train, buses and planes are a pain in the ass) but literally. Seeing what
The Great Wall of Links
I read a lot of different websites related to China and travelers in China and there have been some funny/interesting stuff that I thought you might enjoy. Strange News of the Week – echinacities.com collected some of the more offbeat stories of the week and put them all together in
A Peek into the Boy's Dormitory
Between my apartment and the classroom lies the boy’s dormitory. I go by it often, daily, and sometimes see my students waving to me from their balconies. “Get to class!” I always yell up to them. “You’re going to be late!” So the buildings are familiar, and yet, I have
The Dragon Boat Fairy
Today is Dragon Boat Festival, one of the few official holidays’ here in China. Curious at what that means? Well read this post that I wrote last year about the history and culture behind it. We are right in the thick of finishing up our final exams (Thursday will be
Playing Mahjong (and not by yourself on the computer)
Mahjong. You don’t get more Chinese than that. And yet, despite being here for almost 2 years I have only played once. Shocking! Enter Color, a student who told me he and his girlfriend found a mahjong shop near our school, and would we like to play? My first thought
5 Packing Essentials for Moving to China
At this time of year, contracts are being negotiated and signed, health tests are being done, and visa’s are being issued. Newbies are planning to come to China for the very first time and are probably thinking a lot about what to bring. Before I came to China I wrote