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• ChinaBlogTweets Twitter Updates for 2012-01-15

  China Business Blog

  admin

  15 Jan 2012 | 3:00 pm

  The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @greenerchina @thoughtfulchina @billdodson88 # The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @chinageeks @techrice @chrisrbrown @jameslmcgregor # RT @ChinaDailyEU: China targets 10% growth in foreign trade in '12…. http://t.co/WMeZHVYz # More Muddy Waters RT @beyondbrics: Carson Block to go long China http://t.co/LErsHc0Y # RT @China_Daily: China's forex reserves drop http://t.co/HHeQ2siR # RT @21cbhchinanews: #China 's Customs Duties Soar on…

• China’s Provincial GDP Figures in 2011

  China Briefing News

  China Briefing

  27 Jan 2012 | 2:18 am

  Two-thirds of China’s provinces report GDP figures over RMB1 trillion (US$158 billion) in 2011 By Julia Gu Jan. 27 – Preliminary statistics show that China’s GDP grew at a robust 9.2 percent in 2011 to RMB47.16 trillion (US$7.26 trillion), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said last week at a press conference. While this rate represents a drop of 1.2 percent compared to the 10.4 percent GDP growth experienced in 2010, last year’s growth rate was still 1.2 percent above the 8 percent year-on-year growth target set at the beginning of 2011. NBS Chief Ma Jiantang told reporters…

• Five reasons why China will not invade Taiwan, and an analysis of Cross-strait Relations

  India's China Blog

  Maitreya Bhakal

  24 Jan 2012 | 4:00 pm

  ‘So solidly built into our consciousness is the concept that China is conducting a rapacious and belligerent foreign policy, that whenever a dispute arises in which China is involved, she is instantly assumed to have provoked it.’ — Felix Greene, 1965. When a superpower is engaging in full hegemonic and supercilious display, another country with slowly increasing economic clout and

• China Watch: Deported Uighurs Get Life, Hating on Han Han, Imperialist Escalators

  China Real Time Report

  Josh Chin

  27 Jan 2012 | 6:52 am

  A list of what The Wall Street Journal’s reporters in China are reading and watching online. (NOTE: WSJ has not verified items in the ‘News’ section and doesn’t vouch for their accuracy.) News: * Deported from Cambodia, two Uighur asylum seekers get life in prison (Reuters) * A Chinese developer buys 16 dairies in New Zealand, anxiety ensues (AP) * One Chinese lawmaker’s idea of a “reasonable” drop in housing prices: 30% (Bloomberg) * Zhang Yimou and Christian Bale’s “Flowers of War” belly flops in the U.S. on its opening weekend (Reuters) Analysis and Commentary: * Former…

• Hanfu Movement: Cultural Revival or Awkward “Time Travel”?

  chinaSMACK

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:27 am

  The proliferation of “time traveling” in Chinese television shows in recent years has gained popularity especially amongst Chinese youth who yearn for palace intrigue and romance. At the same time, it also reached the point where the state has stepped in to crackdown on the supposedly superstitious and anachronistic themes. But part of this “time traveling” or traditional revivalism phenomenon in China has roots in the Hanfu movement where those active in the movement sought to bring back Hanfu or traditional Han style clothing to everyday life, not unlike the acceptance of the…

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  China Real Time Report

• China Watch: Deported Uighurs Get Life, Hating on Han Han, Imperialist Escalators

  Josh Chin

  27 Jan 2012 | 6:52 am

  A list of what The Wall Street Journal’s reporters in China are reading and watching online. (NOTE: WSJ has not verified items in the ‘News’ section and doesn’t vouch for their accuracy.) News: * Deported from Cambodia, two Uighur asylum seekers get life in prison (Reuters) * A Chinese developer buys 16 dairies in New Zealand, anxiety ensues (AP) * One Chinese lawmaker’s idea of a “reasonable” drop in housing prices: 30% (Bloomberg) * Zhang Yimou and Christian Bale’s “Flowers of War” belly flops in the U.S. on its opening weekend (Reuters) Analysis and Commentary: * Former…

• German Statesman the Inspiration Behind China’s State Control

  Aaron Back

  27 Jan 2012 | 5:49 am

  From WSJ’s Davos blog: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Hu Shuli More In World Economic Forum Davos: What Would You Do With China’s Foreign Exchange Reserves? Davos: StanChart Bullish on China, India Davos: Norsk Hydro CEO Worried About China's Growing Pains When Wen Speaks, Who is Listening? China Debates: Should It Save the World? A group of Chinese speakers warned in stringent tones on Friday morning in Davos that the country’s free-market reform is stalled, and China is sliding backwards towards greater state control of the economy. Hu Shuli, editor of Caixin Magazine and a widely…

• What Would it Take to Get Twitter Unblocked in China?

  Josh Chin

  27 Jan 2012 | 5:20 am

  Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Customers use computers at an internet cafe in Hami, northwest China’s Xinjiang region. China now has more than 500 million people on the Internet and nearly half use weibo, microblogs similar to Twitter. More In Internet Have You Bought Your Ticket? China Embraces 2012 Apocalypse Debate Rages in China as Death Sentence Upheld for Young Tycoon 'Buried Alive': A Dissident's Words Become a Catchphrase China Watch: GDP Red Line Rethink, Tencent vs. Sina, Viral Love Search China Watch: GDP Expectations, Baidu Builds, Internet Trends Twitter sent its digital…

• Davos: What Would You Do With China’s Foreign Exchange Reserves?

  Aaron Back

  27 Jan 2012 | 3:07 am

  From WSJ’s Davos blog: Associated Press John Zhao, CEO of Hony Capital More In World Economic Forum Davos: What Would You Do With China’s Foreign Exchange Reserves? Davos: StanChart Bullish on China, India Davos: Norsk Hydro CEO Worried About China's Growing Pains When Wen Speaks, Who is Listening? China Debates: Should It Save the World? At a panel discussion in Davos on how China should invest its massive foreign exchange reserves, moderator Rui Chenggang, a famous Chinese television personality, kicked off the discussion by complaining that he was overcharged on a restaurant bill in…

• Davos: StanChart Bullish on China, India

  Aaron Back

  26 Jan 2012 | 9:35 pm

  From WSJ’s Davos blog: Bloomberg News Jaspal Bindra Standard Chartered PLC remains bullish on the major Asian economies of India and China, encouraged by the policy outlook for the two countries this year, the bank’s Asia chief executive said. The U.K.-based lender, which focuses almost exclusively on Asia and emerging economies, also sees European rivals retreating from those markets as they are beset with challenges at home, Standard Chartered Asia Chief Executive Jaspal Bindra said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. In India last year, Standard Chartered…

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  Silicon Hutong

• Deconstructing China’s Nationalists

  David Wolf

  17 Jan 2012 | 7:44 pm

  To Screw Foreigners by Geremie R. Barmé In an essay from 15 years ago that remains one of the best background pieces on Chinese nationalism that I have ever read, professor Jeremy Barmé of the Australian National University delves into the historical and philosophical underpinnings of this rising ethos. There is a growing consensus among Beijing-watchers that nationalism has replaced economic development as the primary driver of domestic Chinese politics on the eve of a generational leadership transition. For that reason, there is no better time than now to dive beneath the surface of this…

• There is More to Tablets than Cheap vs. Dear

  David Wolf

  17 Jan 2012 | 3:35 am

    Image via Wikipedia How Apple Can Keep Control of the Tablet Market – BusinessWeek. GigaOM‘s Darrell Etherington believes that the way for Apple to sustain its dominance in the tablet market in response to challenges from the Kindle Fire is to offer a smaller, cheaper tablet. The case he makes – that a cheap tablet with a tightly integrated “content ecosystem” is the best response – is not a bad one, but it misses the wider point. The issue with tablets going forward will not be large versus small or high-end versus low-end, but general versus…

• Brands Add Value

  David Wolf

  17 Jan 2012 | 3:14 am

  Back in the Hutong Finally, blogging again 1657 hrs. As the debate over if, when, and how China will begin to produce global brands continues, someone quipped today that China will start building brands only after it starts creating products people want to buy. That’s a fair point, but I don’t think it goes far enough. As Thys De Beer wrote last year: In the 1920’s WK Kellogg said: “The purpose of business is not to make a profit. What a dreary and demeaning description. The purpose of business is to add value to people’s lives. The consequence of doing that well is that you…

• US Listed Chinese Companies: The Clock is Ticking

  David Wolf

  23 Nov 2011 | 9:30 pm

  U.S. Regulators Push Chinese to Resume Auditor-Inspection Talks – Businessweek. The U.S. is ratcheting up the rhetoric in the battle to improve the quality of auditing being done on Chinese firms listing or listed on U.S. stock exchanges.  The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCOAB) are trying to get the China Securities Regulatory Commission to require joint inspections of auditors from both the US and China for Chinese firms listed in the US. The Chinese, claiming concerns over the revelation of “state secrets” are…

• Chinese TV: App to the Future

  David Wolf

  4 Nov 2011 | 3:21 am

  In the Hutong Back from CASBAA 1307 hrs.  “China: The New Mobile App Dragon,” by Peter Farago, Flurry Analytics If one conclusion stands out after all of the panels at the Cable and Satellite Broadcasters’ Association of Asia (CASBAA) conference this week, it is that all of the broadcasters in the region see the challenge posed by New Media (even China Central Television [CCTV]), and none of them are quite sure what to do about it. As one CCTV executive told me, “we all acknowledge now that new media, the Internet, and mobile are the future, and that we want to be a…

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  Danwei

• Panic buying of water in Liuzhou – a report from the ground

  Ken Fletcher

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:32 pm

  BBC News — 26 January 2012: River pollution sparks panic water buying in China city Ken Fletcher is a British resident of Liuzhou in Guangxi Province where the panic buying is taking place. He sent this report to Danwei on January 27. Yizhou is a small city in Hechi Prefecture in the north west of Guangxi. It is a sleepy sort of place which has yet to benefit from the development being carried out elsewhere in Guangxi. It is popular with the locals in summer as it lies in beautiful karst scenery similar to that of Yangshuo, but definitely much less touristy. There are many riverside fish…

• Spring Festival in Kedong, 2012

  C. Custer

  23 Jan 2012 | 8:37 am

  I’ve never really understood Spring Festival. Sure, I know the traditions and the stories, but I must admit, I’ve never really felt it. The first year I was in China, I spent the holiday wracked with fever, hallucinating in my apartment as exuberant Harbiners bounced fireworks off my windows. That’s fairly indicative of my Spring Festival experiences over the ensuing years. Now that I’m married, though, I have the opportunity – nay, the obligation – to “return home” with my wife and celebrate the holiday in the Chinese way. The Li family home is in Kedong,…

• Serial killers in China

  Robert Foyle Hunwick

  12 Jan 2012 | 10:51 pm

  Note: As we were finishing off this story about serial killers and mass murderers in China, news broke of a massive manhunt for murderer and armed robber Zeng Kaigui. Yang Shubin looked the part: fat and rich. At nightclubs, he would say he ran a power station and buy expensive drinks. Women quickly swarmed around the flashy businessman who offered double the regular price for an evening’s company and would sometimes even bring gifts. When the long nights drew to an end, Yang had no trouble persuading a girl to leave with him. They probably thought themselves fortunate to land such a…

• The uncertain return of Beijing wildlife

  Hudson Lockett

  23 Dec 2011 | 4:49 am

  Outside a cafe in east Beijing, a small bird fluttered to the ground and hopped and pecked at the concrete. Beijing Bird Watching Society member Li Ming cracked a smile and said “Passer montanus.” A humble sparrow, which Li says is the city’s most common bird, with the magpie a close second. You can find both species in the Illustrated Guide to Wild Birds of Beijing (北京野鸟图鉴) published in 2000. The book contains photos and descriptions of 276 species, but Li says he and his fellow bird watchers reckon there are now 430 species in the city and the surrounding countryside…

• Teen digital habits in Beijing and Palo Alto

  Danwei

  5 Dec 2011 | 9:58 pm

  In August and September 2011, Danwei worked with the Stanford Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SPRIE) on a survey of the digital and media habits of high school students born in 1993 and 1994. The results were presented at the China 2.0 conference at Stanford Graduate School of Business School in September 2011. In California, SPRIE asked a comprehensive set of questions to students at a Palo Alto high school. In Beijing, Danwei worked with high school student Florence Feng to survey students at Beijing high schools. All participants were born between 1993 and 1995.

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  EastSouthWestNorth

• "Public Enemy" Han Han

  10 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am

• Sex, Lies and Fake Deaths

  5 Jan 2012 | 10:00 am

• An Analysis Of A Hong Kong District Council Election Exit Poll

  8 Nov 2011 | 10:00 am

  The Hong Kong Research Association conducted exit polls for the Hong Kong District Council election. Were they rendered useless by the pan-democrats' boycott call?

• The Missing Dead Baby In The Wenzhou Train Crash

  3 Aug 2011 | 11:00 am

  An Internet user Guo Yao said that her baby died in the Wenzhou train crash but his name was included among the list of deceased.

• Everything You Want To Know About The Wenzhou Train Crash

  29 Jul 2011 | 11:00 am

  Communication University of China's public opinion research department catalogs 41 questions from Internet users about the Wenzhou train crash.

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  China Law Blog

• China Rep Offices, Bankruptcies And The Perils Of Being Chief Representative

  Dan

  26 Jan 2012 | 7:55 am

  I know I keep reading how China's economy is just fine, but my firm just keeps getting more inquiries and more work relating to shutting down offices and companies in China.  Of those, the most heartbreaking are coming from Chief Representatives of China Representative Offices who are concerned about their own liabilities when their China Rep Office closes. Typically, the Chief Representative tells the Rep Office employees that the Rep Office is going to be shutting down. Naturally enough, the employees ask about their getting paid. The Chief Representative usually tells them not to…

• China Product Quality Problem? Here's My Template Answer.

  Dan

  24 Jan 2012 | 11:18 am

  Because I receive countless emails every day and because so many of them involve the same questions, I have developed various templates to respond.  Here's the template I use when a US company writes me with a China product quality problem and the contract they have provided me is not good at all. Much of the time the US has no contract at all, but usually when they do have one, it is usualy so bad as to work against them. Here's my "stock" answer in that situation. This is our template response when the contract calls for arbitration in a US city but is pretty much silent on everything…

• China Grammar Wiki. What A Great Idea!

  Dan

  22 Jan 2012 | 4:08 pm

  I think (and hope) this is the first time we have used an exclamation point in a blog post title and I assure you that this will not become common. I just am so impressed by the idea and the ingenuity and the hard work and the sheer helpfullness of the AllSet Chinese Grammar Wiki. I first learned of the Wiki from Ryan over at Lost Laowai, who in his post, "Chinese Grammar Wiki: Learning Chinese grammar just got easier," had this to say about it: AllSet Learning, the Shanghai-based language learning consultancy founded by long-time China blogger John Pasden, has just released what is surely a…

• China. The Full On Harvard Course.

  Dan

  22 Jan 2012 | 8:48 am

  Malcolm Riddell at China Debate just did a post noting how Harvard University has posted online (for free!) a 37 class course on China. The 37 lectures were filmed as they were given as part of a course entitled, China: Traditions and Transformations. The course was/is taught by William C. Kirby and Peter K. Bol.   Here is the course description: Modern China presents a dual image: a society transforming itself through economic development and social revolution; and the world’s largest and oldest bureaucratic state, coping with longstanding problems of economic and political…

• The End of Cheap China. Part II.

  Dan

  21 Jan 2012 | 3:28 pm

  Last week, we did a post enttitled, "The End of Cheap China, With A Giant Caveat." The point of that post was to pick up on the widespread discussion regarding the end of cheap China, but to highlight how this "end" has, and will continue to, impact foreign companies very differently. Our initial "end of cheap China" post was based mostly on a "Made in America, Again: Why Manufacturing Will Return to the United States, a Boston Consulting Group study that jump-started the end of cheap China discussion. Yesterday, i was alerted to two very recent and very good articles addressing the end of…

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  RConversation

• Now blogging on my book blog at Consentofthenetworked.com

  Rebecca MacKinnon

  17 Jan 2012 | 6:38 pm

  Please note that I have shifted my regular blogging activity over to my book's website at consentofthenetworked.com. Click here to subscribe to that blog's RSS feed, or subscribe to email updates by clicking on the link under "follow blog by email" in the right-hand column.

• Netizen Report: Fight for the Future Edition

  Rebecca MacKinnon

  11 Dec 2011 | 5:51 pm

  Meet Khaled Alaa Abdel Fattah, born last Tuesday to two Egyptian cyber-activists: mother Manal Bahey al-Din Hassan and father Alaa Abd El-Fattah, who is currently in prison. Khaled is named after Khaled Said, the young man whose violent death at the hands of police in 2010 became a symbol and rallying point for activism that brought down the Mubarak regime earlier this year." Little Khaled was born as Internet-driven activism in another part of the world, Russia, is bringing a new generation of young people - many of whom had never participated in a protest before - into the streets to…

• An open thank you letter to Global Voices, on International Volunteer Day

  Rebecca MacKinnon

  5 Dec 2011 | 10:14 am

  Today is International Volunteer Day, a celebration of the millions of people around the world who give their time, energy and wisdom to projects and causes they care about. Volunteers feed the hungry, care for the sick, comfort the grieving. We live in a world where companies and governments are responsible for producing most of the products and services we need and use. Volunteers prove that there's another way to build things - we can write encyclopedias or operating systems, we can report the news, or host a revolution. Choosing to build a volunteer community was the key decision…

• The Great Firewall of America

  Rebecca MacKinnon

  16 Nov 2011 | 12:33 am

  Last month the U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk sent a letter to the Chinese government requesting information about its censorship practices. The middle kingdom’s response: a polite middle finger. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu declared that Chinese censorship follows “international practice.” Her response is specious given that China operates the world’s most elaborate and opaque system of Internet censorship, as I describe in Chapter 3 of my forthcoming book. Yet Congress has been hard at work to bolster its legitimacy, however inadvertently. The reality is that the…

• Surveillance and Censorship in India

  Rebecca MacKinnon

  11 Nov 2011 | 2:10 pm

  Chapter 9 of my forthcoming book opens with quotes from an infamous April 2011 BBC interview with RIM's co-CEO Mike Lazaridis, in which he ends the interview abruptly after the BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones presses him to answer questions about RIM's “arguments with the Indian government and various other governments in the Middle East" over those governments' desire to gain access to Blackberry messages and e-mails. In August 2010, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia threatened to ban BlackBerry services until RIM agreed to allow a satisfactory level of government access to communications…

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  All Roads Lead to China

• Sometimes Managing People in China Sucks. Get Over It.

  Rich

  27 Jan 2012 | 10:51 am

  Just finished reading the HBR blog post Truth Without Tears in China, written by Frank T. Gallo of Aon Hewitt in Beijing, and it is a PRIME example for me of how expats managing in China need to understand a few fundamental facts about managing in China 1) Chinese(born and trained) employees expect to be managed in a way different that those born and trained in other parts of the world 2) While sometimes mangers need to be careful to understand the culture, and how people want to be managed, there are just times you have to be the bad guy At the core of the post is the interaction between an…

• Is Apple About to Bottom Out in China?

  Rich

  26 Jan 2012 | 2:03 am

  Apple is committed to driving the highest standards for social responsibility throughout our supply base. We require that our suppliers provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes wherever Apple products are made. This is the FIRST paragraph for the 2012 Apple Supplier Responsibility report (download here) . A report released after not one, but TWO, iPad factories blew up due to aluminum dust clouds igniting in the factories. Now, as many long time readers will know, Apple’s supply chain failures…

• Foxconn’s Fear Factory.

  Rich

  25 Jan 2012 | 12:51 pm

  A great clip from Jon Stewart on Foxconn, and a timely one given Apple’s recent revelations that its supply chain is still a clusterfu*k, Apple makes over a billion USD a day in profit, and in one of the last meetings with President Obama Steve jobs made it clear that Apple’s outsourced supply chain would not be returning to the US.  EVER. Personally, as I said in my first post on Apple more than 4 years ago, I am still a believer the having a supply chain that includes many suppliers who Chinese labor or environmental regulations, while trying to build out the Chinese market is…

• Twitter Weekly Updates for 2012-01-23

  Rich

  23 Jan 2012 | 5:25 pm

  [will impact more foreign firms in #China NGOs upbeat over China's #environment #transparency progress http://t.co/h310gQKt #apple # #Shanghai Delays Unpopular Tax On Foreigners fm @rflannerychina http://t.co/aYoYmkoY #expats #china # Quality in #China Is it Valuable Enough to Pay for? http://t.co/y1Nd1Tub #consumers # @ShanghaiHunter Thanks for the RT and comment! # @alex_n_stone thanks for the RT! # Very interesting (and comprehensive) interview of Gary Locke on @charlieroseshow last week. http://t.co/qsFGZhuF #China # On this day, 10 years ago, I landed in China. Wow... it's been…

• Urban Population 51.27% | Rural Population 48.73%

  Rich

  19 Jan 2012 | 7:38 pm

  It’s official.  There are now more Chinese who call home in one of China’s urban centers than those who remain on the farm.  It is a process that began in the late 70s with Deng Xiao Ping opening up China’s economy, and according to the McKinsey study “Preparing for China’s Urban Billion” it is a process that will ultimately result in over 1 billion urban dwellers in China’s cities by the year 2030.  And the graph above is all one needs to understand why the process will continue. For city planners, this is a mixed bag. In my work in China’s…

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  China Herald

• 'Flowers of Wars' better as a novel - Zhang Lijia

  Fons Tuinstra

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:15 am

  Zhang Lijia Zhang Yimou's movie 'Flowers of War' plays strongly on the nationalistic feelings in China, but is no classic propaganda movie, tells author Zhang Lijia to the BBC. But she did like the novel more than the movie. BBC: Lijia Zhang, a commentator based in Nanjing, says that when she went to see the film, the audience reaction was "very powerful".  The book was originally called 13 Flowers of Nanjing  "I wouldn't call it a propaganda film but I think it passed the censorship very easily," she said. "It's a positive story... and it puts the Chinese in a good light. It's…

• China will be a remote issue during US elections - Arthur Kroeber

  Fons Tuinstra

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:12 am

  Arthur Kroeber US President Obama made some obligatory references to China in his "state of the union", but Beijing-based economic analyst Arthur Kroeber predicts in The Newyorker China will be a non-issue in the upcoming 2012 elections. Evan Osnos in The Newyorker: After the [Obama] speech, I called Arthur Kroeber, an American who is managing director of GK Dragonomics, a Beijing-based economic research firm, for his take. He had some other numerology in mind: “China is a big issue in U.S. politics in odd-numbered years, because there is no election. In 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, we had the…

• Real internet crackdown might backfire - Tom Doctoroff

  Fons Tuinstra

  24 Jan 2012 | 2:59 am

  Tom Doctoroff Silencing the unruly voices at the internet might be high on the government's agenda, but an effective crackdown would only backfire, tells Tom Doctoroff in the Internetevolution.com The internetevolution: “The [Communist Party] leadership is very nervous,” says Shanghai-based Tom Doctoroff, author of the coming book, What Chinese Want. Fuel for anxiety is that, in midyear, China’s president and premier are scheduled to step down, and, says Doctoroff, “There is a lot of jockeying for position.”... But: “The government knows the people need ways to let off…

• Going home on Chinese new year - Zhang Lijia

  Fons Tuinstra

  22 Jan 2012 | 2:57 am

  Zhang Lijia Millions of Chinese have returned home, or are still trying to get there on time. Author Zhang Lijia feels guilty she did not make it to Nanjing this year, yet again, she tells on her website. But she is happy for those who did. Zhang Lijia: Some got lucky. In Shanghai, quite a few large factories hired coaches to drive people home and drop them. Thanks to labour shortage in Shanghai and also coastal areas such as Shenzhen, factories have tried harder than ever in accommodating and helping the workers in the hope of retaining them. Some factories offer them iphones or other…

• Inflation still a problem - Wang Jianmao

  Fons Tuinstra

  20 Jan 2012 | 3:46 am

  Wang Jianmao The debate between economists on how China should deal with its economy is running high. CEIBS professor Wang Jianmao warns in the US edition of the China Daily curtailing inflation should be high on the agenda, not loosening the financial strings on banks. The China Daily: Many economists now expect further loosening of the bank's reserve requirement ratio (RRR) in the first half of the year - allowing more credit back into the banking system - and then for interest rates to start being cut in the second half of the year.  Wang Jianmao, professor of economics at the China…

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  The China Vortex

• Links for 2012-01-27 [del.icio.us]

  28 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am

  How I Learned Enough Ruby On Rails In 12 Weeks To Launch Freelancify • Web Startup Blog Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice - Yahoo! News Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice - Yahoo! News http://t.co/9PqxcliS via @YahooNews China: The paradox of prosperity | The Economist http://t.co/O9ZZ8MZO This Former Netscape Engineer Owns The Coolest Bar In San Francisco This Former Netscape Engineer Owns The Coolest Bar In San Francisco http://t.co/eGNsPcrk via @sai Steve Jobs Kept a Letter From Bill Gates by his Bed Steve Jobs kept a letter written to him by Bill…

• Links for 2012-01-26 [del.icio.us]

  27 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am

  Google Reincarnates Dead Paper Mill as Data Center of Future | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com Google Reincarnates Dead Paper Mill as Data Center of Future | Wired Enterprise | http://t.co/ztdpDdYc http://t.co/DXOTDmdY Obama team sees Romney damaging self with independents for fall campaign - The Washington Post Obama team banking on a weakened Romney http://t.co/OpPRhqVu Google’s Python Lessons are Awesome | Hartley Brody IT: Improving Programmer Productivity (Mind Map) Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer Wags Her Finger At President Obama Tense Exchange Between Obama And Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer At A…

• Links for 2012-01-25 [del.icio.us]

  26 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am

  TODAYonline | Tech & Digital | Digital | Smartphone Wars 2012: Who will survive? TODAYonline | Tech & Digital | Digital | Smartphone Wars 2012: Who will survive?: http://t.co/XZ6HrV9w via @AddThis Fidel Castro attacks 'idiocy and ignorance' of US Republican race http://t.co/lbAKuMYI via @guardian GO FIDEL! Magic mushrooms in the neuropsychoanalytical framework | Mo Costandi http://t.co/2V7fbr5J via @guardian RealClearPolitics - Politics - Jan 25, 2012 - Castro lambasts US Republican primary as idiotic http://t.co/uEEy8F4K Portugal’s president complains about his pension cut |…

• Links for 2012-01-24 [del.icio.us]

  25 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am

  No More Résumés, Say Some Firms - WSJ.com No More Résumés, Say Some Firms http://t.co/orfMy1FC via @WSJ Lytro's light field camera technology could supercharge future iPhones http://t.co/6C2JDNR8 via @arstechnica Daily NK - Four NK Cadres Murdered Four NK Cadres Murdered http://t.co/CcbMEDFA Key Takeaways From Apple's Monster Earnings Key Takeaways From Apple's Monster Earnings http://t.co/nqGWB8dA via @BIIntelligence Paul Denlinger's answer to What are some really dumb beliefs held by exceptionally smart people? - Quora My answer to: What are some really dumb beliefs held by…

• Links for 2012-01-23 [del.icio.us]

  24 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am

  BBC News - IMF's Christine Lagarde warns of '1930s moment' http://t.co/XRLDHTHt Murmuration - Clusterfuck Nation Murmuration http://t.co/pXFucxDI Bruised Romney steps up Freddie Mac attack on Newt Gingrich http://t.co/l6ZFVSWJ via @guardian Feminism for anarchist men:http://t.co/3zk22frb People Are Awesome: The Coffee Shop Where Everyone Pays for Everyone Else's Drinks - News - GOOD People Are Awesome: The South Carolina Coffee Shop Where Everyone Pays for Everyone Else's Drinks http://t.co/LQS3Lwti (@GOOD stuff) Nokia ringtone during concert of classical music - YouTube Nokia ringtone during…

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  ChinaTechNews.com

• China Mobile's Call Center In Luoyang Formally Launched

  ChinaTechNews.com Editor

  22 Jan 2012 | 8:44 pm

  With a total investment of CNY4 billion, China Mobile's new call center in Luoyang, Henan province, has been formally launched. The new call center is reportedly the largest of its kind in the world. It marks China Mobile's new move to realize integrated management of call centers, which were divided by administrative regions in the [...]

• 360buy.com Inaugurates Pick-up Service Along Beijing's Subway Lines

  ChinaTechNews.com Editor

  21 Jan 2012 | 2:43 am

  Chinese B2C e-commerce website 360buy.com has launched a new pick-up service along subway lines in Beijing, covering 20 stations on Line 5 and Line 10. The new service is available in stations at Lishuiqiao, Datunludong, Beixinqiao, Dongsi, Tiantongyuanbei, Tiantongyuan, Chongwenmen, Anzhenmen, Shaoyaoju, Sanyuanqiao, Liangmaqiao, Nongzhanguan, Guomao, Haidianhuangzhuang, Mudanyuan, Liujiayao, and Zhangzizhonglu. The company already has [...]

• Chinese Internet Game Company Will Soon Unveil Smartphone

  ChinaTechNews.com Editor

  19 Jan 2012 | 1:58 am

  Chinese interactive entertainment media company Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited has announced that it plans to launch its own smartphone product in March or April 2012. The new smartphone product will reportedly adopt similar sales methods and channels as the company's e-book reader Bambook, and the price of this new product is temporarily set at CNY999. [...]

• Qihoo 360's Safebox Software Will Integrate With Uuu9.com

  ChinaTechNews.com Editor

  17 Jan 2012 | 5:22 pm

  Chinese Internet security software provider Qihoo 360 announced that its 360Safebox software will be integrated into Uuu9.com, a Chinese portal for gaming information. According to Qihoo 360, the new company established after the integration will be positioned as an open gaming platform that uses 360Safebox for Internet security protection. Liu Liang, chief executive officer of [...]

• Brazil Considering Import Restrictions Of Chinese-made Mobile Phones

  ChinaTechNews.com Editor

  16 Jan 2012 | 2:16 pm

  Brazil is reportedly considering restricting the import of Chinese-made mobile phone to protect its own local market. According to reports in Chinese local media, Brazilian mobile phone manufacturers accused Chinese mobile phone makers for dumping mobile phones in the Brazilian market at low prices. At present, Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade is [...]

• 

  Hao Hao Report - Published news

• Sima Nan, Mr. Anti-America, Goes to Washington (and Gets Hurt)

  dwertime

  25 Jan 2012 | 11:30 pm

  Mr. Yu Li, an essayist who writes under the pen name Sima Nan, was involved in a freak accident on an escalator at Dulles airport in Washington DC . He has since suffered a virtual pummeling on Weibo.

• NYT and Caixin Translate Key Weibo Quotes on Chinese Economy

  dwertime

  25 Jan 2012 | 10:42 pm

  In partnership with Caixin, the NYT has followed up its story on Foxconn and China's "iEconomy" by translating some of the best Weibo quotes on the subject into English.

• Chinese Slang: "Company Moths"

  alan

  25 Jan 2012 | 3:23 am

  Are you a workaholic? Or do you spend most of your life next to your office? A new Chinese slang word has appeared for this: 公司驻虫 (gōng sī zhù chóng).

• Officials punished in Chinese milk scandal given new jobs

  wantchinatimes

  25 Jan 2012 | 1:12 am

  The Hong Kong-based Sing Tao Daily reports that all officials who were punished in a toxic milk formula scandal in 2008 which poisoned 300,000 children in China have since resumed their posts.

• Maobama?!

  dwertime

  24 Jan 2012 | 8:06 am

  The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has published an apparently invented speech by American President Barack Obama praising Chairman Mao.

• 

  China Digital Times (CDT)

• Fu Baoshi: Chinese Art in an Age of Revolution

  josh rudolph

  28 Jan 2012 | 12:35 am

  The works of the famous Chinese artist and historian Fu Baoshi will be on display at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in an exhibition entitled ”Chinese Art in an Age of Revolution: Fu Baoshi (1904-1965).” The New York Times’ Art Review has published a digital gallery of his works, along with an explanation of the artist and his historical context:The painter Fu Baoshi was born in China in 1904, seven years before the Chinese Revolution brought 2,100 years of dynastic rule to an end. He died in 1965, months before China’s Communist regime unleashed the…

• Photo: Socially Illuminating II – Yangshuo, by Expatriate Games

  Samuel Wade

  27 Jan 2012 | 10:10 pm

  Socially Illuminating II - Yangshuo© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

• For China’s ‘Left-Behind Kids,’ A Free Lunch

  Samuel Wade

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:55 pm

  NPR’s Louisa Lim reports on journalist Deng Fei’s efforts to provide nutritious lunches for schoolchildren in China’s countryside. The children are caught on the wrong side of China’s wealth divide: most have at least one parent who has moved away to work, some are several inches shorter than the urban average due to malnutrition, and there is inequality even in the program set up to help them.For 10-year-old student Xie Xiaoyuan, just getting to school is an ordeal. On a recent day, her frostbitten ears are testament to just how difficult the trip is.“I get up…

• Tibetan Leader-In-Exile Speaks Out

  josh rudolph

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:51 pm

  In the midst of protests and government crackdowns in Tibetan areas of western China, deadly shootings were reported once again yesterday, making it the third time this week. Radio Free Asia reports on the most recent event in the ongoing conflict:Tibetan sources in exile said at least one man was reported killed and many more were injured when police opened fire on Tibetan protesters who tried to stop them from detaining a person who had put up a poster challenging Chinese rule.[...]Ngaba is one of several Tibetan-populated regions of western China that have been rocked in recent years by…

• Ai Weiwei: “If Twitter Censors, I’ll Leave” (Updated)

  Samuel Wade

  27 Jan 2012 | 7:28 pm

  Fearsomely prolific Twitter user Ai Weiwei has written that “if Twitter censors, I’ll stop tweeting”, following news that the microblogging service is to selectively block posts to comply with local laws.推若审查，我即停推。 RT @wenyunchao: @aiww 商人在商言商，道这东东，能像谷歌那样最好，不能也不能强求。— 艾未未Ai Weiwei (@aiww) January 27, 2012The new policy has been widely read as a concession to allow Twitter to enter China, in a similar vein to Google’s aborted censorship of search results on Google.cn. The speculation…

• 

  Sinosplice » Life

• Personal Experience with the Other Particle “ma”

  John Pasden

  24 Jan 2012 | 7:06 pm

  I remember quite distinctly the way I learned the sentence-final particle . I had only been studying Chinese for a little over a year, and thus was quite familiar with the yes/no question particle , but not this new , which seemed a bit more complex. I might have studied it before and just ignored it, but once I was on the streets of Hangzhou and hearing it all the time, I knew it was time to start figuring out what this was all about. So I broke out my trusty old Oxford dictionary (we still learned Chinese from actual books in those days), and looked up . Here’s what I found: : ma…

• A New Resource for Chinese Grammar

  John Pasden

  21 Jan 2012 | 9:45 pm

  It’s hard to believe I’ve been working on this project for a whole year, and also thinking about it, in some form or another, ever since founding AllSet Learning. Today, I’m quite happy to finally release the AllSet Learning Grammar Wiki. What is it? Well, in a nutshell, it’s a mini-Wikipedia devoted entirely to Chinese grammar. Think comprehensive, think interlinked, think referenced. I’ve felt for a while that Chinese grammar has needed its own champion online, and since forming AllSet Learning, I’ve finally got both the need and the means to make it…

• 2012, Year of the Dragon

  John Pasden

  19 Jan 2012 | 7:26 pm

  Well, it’s almost Chinese New Year, and this new one is the year of the dragon. It didn’t escape too many Chinese designers’ notice that it’s pretty easy to turn a “2″ into a dragon, so lately we’re seeing a lot of designs like these: Here’s one that’s a little different: Not as fun as last year, though! I’m still not a huge fan of this holiday, and it’s getting harder and harder for this country’s residents to go home to it celebrate it properly, but it’s still an interesting time of year. Happy Chinese New Year!

• Shanghai’s “Fake Collars”

  John Pasden

  16 Jan 2012 | 7:10 pm

  I’ve been living in Shanghai a while now, but it wasn’t until just recently that I ever heard of Shanghai’s “fake collar” shirts (). Technically, the collar is not fake at all; the collar helps to create the illusion that the wearer has on a full shirt under a sweater, when in fact he/she does not. They even have little straps on the sides to keep them in place! Naturally, this calls for pictures: According to this website, these “fake collars” are a Shanghai creation. My mother-in-law (a Shanghai native) proudly explained to me that they were…

• Dashan on Why Foreigners Hate Dashan

  John Pasden

  9 Jan 2012 | 6:57 pm

  After reading this post on Quora, I’m now quite convinced that no one has given the question of “why (western) foreigners hate Dashan so much” as much thought as Mark Rowswell, the man behind Dashan (). I should warn you: the entire answer is quite long, but it’s worth a read. Mark breaks it down into these parts: Overuse – People are sick and tired of hearing the name “Dashan”; Resentment (Part A) – Dashan’s not the only Westerner who speaks Chinese fluently; Resentment (Part B) – Being a foreign resident in China is not easy and Dashan gets all the…

• 

  China IWOM Blog- Making Sense of the Buzz | seeisee | CIC

• And so the next chapter begins…WPP’s Kantar Media to acquire CIC

  Sam

  17 Jan 2012 | 1:39 am

  I am thrilled to share the great news that CIC has agreed to be acquired by WPP’s Kantar Media. I look forward to taking social media and social business to the next level in China with our new partner. More info below         Kantar Media to acquire leading Chinese social business intelligence agency CIC Deal extends WPP unit’s capabilities in social media listening and analysis into world’s second largest ad market. Kantar Media, the media research and insights division of Kantar, has expanded its social media offer in China with the acquisition of CIC, a…

• Renren to Emphasize User Generated Content and Mobile Marketing in 2012

  Sunny Ye

  16 Jan 2012 | 8:02 am

  In 2011, we witnessed the explosion of microblogging in China. However, while most of the attention was fixed on  Sina and Tencent Weibo, China’s top SNS are quietly making advancements in user experience and commercialization, particularly in terms of social advertising. Two particularly noteworthy SNS are the now publicly listed Renren (NYSE: RENN) and Tencent’s Pengyou. However, Pengyou has yet to embrace social business so it’s Renren, who campaigned  as “China’s Facebook” on it’s IPO roadshow, which offers greatest insight into upcoming…

• IWOM Mark No.92 – A Social Reading Special

  Lewis

  5 Jan 2012 | 12:45 am

  Our insatiable appetite for information, the exponential growth of social media and the ready availability of smart mobile technologies are bringing about a whole new experience in digital reading. The popular mobile app “Flipboard” acts as a “social magazine” and helps to define the concept of “social reading” in a vivid and accessible way. So, is this the future of reading? An exquisite visual experience, similar to the glossy magazine version; content sourced from social media, aggregated, collated and recommended by a trusted group of peers; an independent subscription model,…

• IWOM Mark No.91 ( Shopbop.com Launches in Chinese; Renren.com 6.0; Police “Big Bang” Guide to Dealing with a Break-In; Launch of Luxury B2C Site 360top.com; The Information Office of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government Go Weibo; Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Go “Around the World in 30 Days, Free” )

  Lewis

  6 Dec 2011 | 4:30 am

  [1] Shopbop.com Launches in Chinese The women’s fashion store from Amazon, shopbop.com, has officially opened a Chinese edition. It sells street styles by independent designer brands, direct to Chinese netizens. Shopbop.com’s styling magazine, LookBook, is often referenced in “Vogue”, “Harper ‘s Bazaar” and “Elle”, as well as other well-known fashion magazines. [2] Renren.com 6.0 Renren have launched version 6.0, which increases voice input function and introduces a user-generated content count display. For a look at the new Renren…

• IWOM Mark NO.90 ( Douban Does eReading & eCommerce, Nokia N9 Micro-Movie “Unfollow”, Tencent Micro-Store, Group Purchase Problems, Government Launch “Beijing’s Weibo Conference Hall” )

  Lewis

  22 Nov 2011 | 1:05 am

    [1] Douban Does eReading & eCommerce The author, who’s been certified by Douban, can compose and self-publish through the Douban platform, earning real cash from their readers’ purchase. The competition goes up, the quality of written work goes up, the reading audience gets a better experience, and the authors get paid – everyone wins. http://read.douban.com   [2] Nokia N9 Micro-Movie “Unfollow” The micro-movie, “Unfollow”, featuring the popular Chinese star Fan Bingbing, is part of the marketing campaign for the new Nokia N9 smartphone in China. Although…

• 

  TechNodeTechNode | TechNode

• Qihoo 360 Launches Pinterest-like Service

  Ben Chiang

  20 Jan 2012 | 9:45 am

  With the #1 online security software (user penetration hit 83.3%), second most-popular browser (user penetration peaked at 57% in last September), largest startup-page (hao360.cn, according to iResearch report) and more than 3 million users at hand, Qihoo360 could easily take the same approach as Tencent did with QQ – to capitalize on its huge user base to diversify businesses and revenue sources. And it is doing so. After launching two aggregate services indexing daily deals sites and luxury goods sites to tap into the ecommerce mania, the company just released its own Pinterest-like…

• Come on Asia…Take More Risks!

  Jason Lim

  20 Jan 2012 | 12:29 am

  This post was contributed by Mikaal Abdulla, CEO of 8Securities, an innovative and social online trading portal based in Hong Kong.  I love risk. Not so much the bungy jumping off a bridge or telling a triad I don’t like his tattoo kind of risk, but taking real risks in business. Perhaps it is the potential that compels me as there is a simple & direct correlation between risk and reward. After spending 12 years working for someone else, I decided to take the plunge into entrepreneurship. With three small children in school and a hard to swallow Hong Kong lease, it was not an…

• Are Chinese More Willing to Pay for Online Video Content Now?

  Jason Lim

  20 Jan 2012 | 12:01 am

  China is a fascinating place since it develops and changes so rapidly. Last June I wrote an article saying “Why it’s Difficult to Make Money from Chinese Users – Online Video Example” and I posed the question at the end “Will Chinese consumers ever be prepared to pay for software or online service? When and Why? The conclusion of the article was that it is difficult because Chinese consumers like cheap things and like free things better. Willingness to pay in China is much lower than in Western countries such as America or in Europe. This was demonstrated in my analysis of online…

• TechNode Launchpad Contest: Win A Trip to Japan If Your Start-up Has the Best Potential to Expand Outside China

  Jason Lim

  19 Jan 2012 | 9:13 am

  We are proud to announce yet another awesome prize up for grabs at our TechNode Launchpad event next month. If you don’t already know, TechNode Launchpad is a start-up pitch and demo competition. Today, we have confirmed that Akio Tanaka of Infinity Ventures has generously sponsored a prize for the start-up he selects as having the best potential to expand outside China, particularly Japan. The prize is an all expenses paid flight, hotel and entry to visit the Infinity Ventures Summit, held in Sapporo Japan, valued at approximately RMB20K! This is among other hot prizes we announced…

• Top China Stories Today: 2nd Largest iPhone Partner, Xunlei Shops

  Ben Chiang

  19 Jan 2012 | 4:02 am

  China Unicom Claims 2nd Largest iPhone Partner: Li Gang, Deputy GM of China Unicom claimed that the Chinese operator has grown to be the second largest iPhone partner of Apple in the planet. China is the gadget maker’s fastest growing market, Tim said. Given the ‘Black Friday riot’ during the China launch of iPhone 4S, it is quite credible and convincing. Chinese people’s craziness for iPhone 4S made Apple issued a statement announcing it had to temporarily suspend sales of all iPhones at its five Apple Stores in China for the safety of customers and employees.   China…

• 

  The Peking Duck

• The glorious beauty of Dali

  Richard

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:20 pm

  Please take a look through the set of photos my friend Ben took on his recent trip to Dali, one of my favorite cities in all China. What is it about Yunnan that makes life so peaceful? This is an open thread.

• James Palmer’s Heaven Cracks, Earth Shakes

  Richard

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:04 pm

  It’s next to impossible to imagine what it was like on the ground at Hiroshima when the atomic bomb fell on August 6, 1945. But what if the blast had been ten times more devastating than it was? Utterly inconceivable. There is no way to visualize it. And yet the Tangshan earthquake that tore the coal-mining city into rubble on July 28, 1976 was equal in magnitude to 400 Hiroshimas. In the 23 seconds that it lasted it killed about a quarter of a million Chinese and left only about three percent of the city’s buildings standing and usable. James Palmer, in his wonderful book Heaven…

• Let’s try again

  Richard

  18 Jan 2012 | 8:48 pm

  PLEASE NOTE: This site has been hacked by our favorite commenter. I apologize for all the damage done yesterday. For a while I’ll be moderating all comments on a one-by-one basis so please bear with me, as comments may not appear for a few hours after you post them. A new thread. The last one may have been the strangest ever. To my sockpuppets and mischief-makers, I know how you work. Possible topics: Chinese New Year Apple Iphone mania Taiwan elections Alleged torture of a Chinese dissident Or, of course, the latest Forbes column by….well, you know. (Includes a swipe at James…

• Say what you will

  Richard

  12 Jan 2012 | 10:33 pm

  Because this is an open thread, no time for a new post. Can we make it kinder and gentler than the thread directly below?

• Hu Jintao: Beware of creeping Western culture

  Richard

  3 Jan 2012 | 4:32 pm

  For a minute I thought I was reading a post on Hidden Harmonies: President Hu Jintao has said that China must strengthen its cultural production to defend against the West’s assault on the country’s culture and ideology, according to an essay in a Communist Party policy magazine published this week. The publication of Mr. Hu’s words signaled that a new major policy initiative announced last October would continue well into 2012. The essay, which was signed by Mr. Hu and based on a speech he gave in October, drew a sharp line between the cultures of the West and China and effectively…

• 

  China Hearsay

• The Inevitability of Chinese Political Reform. Wait, What?

  Stan

  28 Jan 2012 | 12:31 am

  I was pleased to discover yesterday that The Economist was launching a regular China section in its weekly publication: In this issue we launch a weekly section devoted to China. It is the first time since we began our detailed coverage of the United States in 1942 that we have singled out a country in this way. The principal reason is that China is now an economic superpower and is fast becoming a military force capable of unsettling America. Good deal, and certainly warranted given China’s status in the world today. However, I would personally limit justification of that decision to…

• The Daily Twit (@chinahearsay Twitter feed) – 2012-01-27

  Stan

  26 Jan 2012 | 9:59 pm

  Paul Krugman: Jobs, Jobs and Cars http://t.co/KBpoDx0p Apparently everyone at NYT is on the Apple/Foxconn beat -> All Roads: Is Apple About to Bottom Out in China? http://t.co/3H02DTMr @allroads -> China Dialogue: Chinese waste: the burning issue http://t.co/9ffZEMRv -> Economist: Another big noodle http://t.co/IlN0xVT1 re: East Asia FTA -> Stephen Roach: China’s Connectivity Revolution http://t.co/mJ2wNNm7 and yet PRC still has huge federalism problems -> @gadyepstein No one is doing anything constructive with the name "Hidden Harmonies" these days. Might as well…

• But I Thought Chinese People Are Not Litigious

  Stan

  26 Jan 2012 | 1:21 am

  Over the course of my China law career, I’ve heard an endless series of statements from both foreigners and Chinese insisting that the “sue first, ask questions later” attitude in the U.S./UK just doesn’t apply to the PRC’s harmonious society. I learned early on that this conclusion is rubbish. Here’s more evidence to back me up: China accepted 2.65 million legal cases in the last five years, with the number growing each year by an average of 23.5 percent, and provided legal advice for 20.78 million people, the number growing 12.8 percent each year on…

• The Daily Twit (@chinahearsay Twitter feed) – 2012-01-26

  Stan

  25 Jan 2012 | 9:59 pm

  Al Jazeera: Chinese lessons in leadership http://t.co/ZPPidtWa @melissakchan -> Asia Times: INTERVIEW : Power grew out of Zheng He's gunboats http://t.co/9fL1dJFq This guy is hopped up on goofballs. -> WSJ: Have You Bought Your Ticket? China Embraces 2012 Apocalypse http://t.co/qJnVamT3 @lburkitt -> Economist: The zero-sum president http://t.co/GKfKNLzy re: State of the Union and trade -> Wired: Who Sent That Sex-Toy E-mail? Your Friendly Chinese Spamufacturer http://t.co/n5dMg1Hg -> NYT Magazine: Come On, China, Buy Our Stuff! http://t.co/OdRneARx -> Beyond Brics:…

• Obama, SOTU and U.S.-China Policy {Yawn}

  Stan

  25 Jan 2012 | 1:04 am

  Last night was the State of the Union address, the constitutionally-mandated report to the nation by the President of the United States. These days, the SOTU (as the cool kids call it) is focus grouped, scripted, and pretty much devoid of anything interesting. A couple of items from this year’s SOTU involved China, either directly or indirectly. Cognizant as I am that many of my readers are still trying to enjoy their New Year holiday and probably would rather avoid a lengthy post on trade issues, allow me to apologize at the outset. (Thanks to Tom Lasseter for posting the text of the…

• 

  China Rises: Notes from the Middle Kingdom

• The Chinese Communist Party as fire extinguisher

  Tom Lasseter

  17 Jan 2012 | 10:23 pm

  (Image from: http://hexiefarm.wordpress.com/) As I've begun to pay more attention to the Google+ platform, the work of an anonymous political cartoonist has caught my attention. The cartoonist posts at a blog named Hexie Farm -- or river crab farm. River crab is a term common to Internet users here who are critical of the government's push for all things "harmonious," a word that sounds like river crab in Chinese. (For more on that turn of phrase and others in the Chinese netizen lexicon, a great link is here.) The cartoon above, an apparent reference to ongoing…

• "Rationally handling group incidents" in China

  Tom Lasseter

  5 Jan 2012 | 3:20 am

  Just a quick note: This upcoming year will see a shuffling of the deck (probably seven of nine seats) at the Politburo Standing Committee, the very core of power in China. Against that backdrop, the Global Times, a state-run tabloid, carried an editorial yesterday about the prospect of incidents of social unrest in China during 2012. More specifically, it offered guidance on how we should think about such matters. An excerpt: "China's group incidents are characterized by reasonable requirements as well as extreme demands. It's hard to generalize. Various reforms are proceeding…

• Video postcard: After the rally, a march in Wukan

  Tom Lasseter

  17 Dec 2011 | 6:02 am

  When the rally was done today, the entire crowd stood up and began to march through this Chinese village that has rebelled against local police and officials. They stretched into a line that was longer than the eye could see. Reviewing the video, I noticed that many people glanced over their shoulder, to something off camera when they passed by. They were looking at the barricade erected at the mouth of the village, where a jumble of downed trees keeps the police out, but a Chinese flag waves atop a tall bamboo pole.

• China video postcard: A rally in Wukan

  Tom Lasseter

  17 Dec 2011 | 2:54 am

  Leaders of the local uprising in Wukan held a rally in downtown today -- a regular occurrence since police and officials abandoned the village in the face of local anger over allegations of massive land grabs. I shot a quick video of the crowd doing call and response before the main speakers took the microphone. The crowd made sure to praise the Communist Party of China and ask for help from the central government. It also screamed that local officials are corrupt and demanded that their land be returned. It's not at all clear what will happen here. For the time being, the fact that an…

• China postcard: Checkpoint Wukan

  Tom Lasseter

  16 Dec 2011 | 10:02 pm

  Am just back from a trip to a couple checkpoints here in Wukan, the Chinese village in open revolt against local officials and police, and wanted to pass along some photographs. (My stories from the past two days can be founding by clicking here and here.) Journalist moped convoy People from nearby villages bringing food Chinese flag, tied to bamboo pole, flaps above villagers' checkpoint

• 

  Global Voices » China

• China: US60,000 Per Month Postpartum Recovery Service

  Oiwan Lam

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:56 pm

  Jing Gao from Ministry of Tofu translated a local report and netizen reactions on Shanghai's postpartum recovery service which costs around US60,000 per month. Written by Oiwan Lam · comments (0) Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

• China: Girl and Boyfriend Rental for Chinese Lunar New Year

  Oiwan Lam

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:39 pm

  Jacky Huang from ChinaHush introduces a shopping item, girl/boyfriend rental for Chinese New Year, in Taobao, a most popular online shopping website in China. Written by Oiwan Lam · comments (0) Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

• China: Redpad for Government Official Only

  Oiwan Lam

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:23 pm

  China Bubble Watch blogs about the introduction of Red-pad, an electronic device similar to i-pad but sold at a price (RMB9,999) twice as high as an Apple i-pad exclusively to Chinese government officials. Written by Oiwan Lam · comments (0) Share: Donate · facebook · twitter · reddit · StumbleUpon · delicious · Instapaper

• China: Not Worried About Twitter's Decision to Self-Censor

  John Kennedy

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:50 am

  Twitter's announcement Thursday that the site will begin censoring content according to the relevant laws, regulations and policies of each country in which it has users was followed not only by American netizens, but discussed as far away as China. Although Twitter remains blocked in China, the site's Chinese-language users, an assorted bunch, moved quickly to source people to translate [zh] the company's statement and figure out what it might mean—a Twitter.cn, for example, or, as Ai Weiwei wonders, if the time has come to move on in search of a new platform with more respect…

• Taiwan: 2012 Election Sets Example for Mainland Chinese Democratization

  I-fan Lin

  27 Jan 2012 | 3:32 am

  Taiwan's presidential and legislative election was held on January 14, 2012. Incumbent Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang (KMT) was reelected as President with 51.6% of the vote. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) challenger Tsai Ing-wen resigned her post as chairperson of the DPP following her election defeat. Chinese communities around the world were closely watching the results, as Taiwan is the first among the Chinese societies to transition from authoritarian to democratic governance. Many people from mainland China and Hong Kong travelled to Taiwan to observe the political process; they…

• 

  ChinaDialogue Latest Articles

• China's carbon tax is very real

  Lin Mingche, Yang Fuqiang

  27 Jan 2012 | 2:30 am

  An incendiary Wall Street Journal article has accused Beijing of trying to dupe the world with a smokescreen carbon levy. The author is plain wrong, write Yang Mingche and Yang Fuqiang.The news that China may very soon introduce a carbon tax has caused a stir. Of the many articles to address the topic, John Lee’s Wall Street Journal commentary “China’s Fake Carbon Tax”, published earlier this month, is particularly striking. In this confusing diatribe, Lee puts forward his personal theories about China’s motives. But these have no foundation in reality. Why…

• Chinese waste: the burning issue

  Yu Dawei

  26 Jan 2012 | 2:56 am

  The state remains unprepared for the pollution and protests its ambitious garbage-incineration plans could generate, writes Yu Dawei.Since early 2008, China has seen a frenzy of investment in controversial garbage-incineration plants. In the words of Zhang Yi, head of the Shanghai Environmental Sanitation Engineering Design Institute, the sector is experiencing an eight-year golden era, set to continue through the 12th Five-Year Plan period, which ends in 2015. China creates more than 360 million tonnes of domestic waste each year, of which 150 to 160 million tonnes is generated in cities,…

• Food versus water in Colorado

  Brett Walton

  25 Jan 2012 | 12:32 am

  High commodity prices are complicating aquifer protection in the San Luis Valley, which – like northern China – faces a groundwater crisis. Brett Walton reports. This article was first published by Circle of Blue. It is used here with permission. At an average altitude of 2,350 metres, Colorado’s San Luis Valley, in the western United States, is the nation’s highest agricultural region and one of its top potato producers. Almost by definition, water dictates the patterns of life and land. With it, valley farmers have turned this sunny, high-desert…

• Living landscape

  Michael Pawlyn

  24 Jan 2012 | 3:51 am

  As the need to reduce the amount of energy and materials used in manufacturing processes becomes more urgent, architects and engineers should look for inspiration in nature, writes Michael Pawlyn.At the start of the industrial revolution, people were scarce and resources were abundant. Today, the opposite is the case: we have a burgeoning population and dwindling resources. This shift, along with the growing challenge of climate change, suggests that we should develop design approaches that use fewer physical materials and more human resources. Biomimicry achieves radical reductions in…

• Dominating the urban horizon

  Edwin Heathcote, Ed Hammond

  23 Jan 2012 | 2:43 am

  Skyscrapers are costly to erect and permits are tough to get, so why do architects keep trying to go higher? Tall buildings have always been about ego, say Edwin Heathcote and Ed Hammond.Cass Gilbert, architect of New York’s early 20th-century Woolworth Building, called skyscrapers “machines for making the land pay”. But skyscrapers were always more about ego than profit. At the southern end of London Bridge, early 2012 will bring the topping out of the US$1.1 billion Shard, the tallest building in the European Union. Across the river Thames, The Pinnacle, the loftiest tower…

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  Shanghaied Weblog

• Waiheke – Island of Wines

  Marc van der Chijs

  24 Jan 2012 | 4:40 am

  Today we visited Waiheke, New Zealand’s Island of Wines, located just half an hour by ferry from Auckland. I had read a lot about the island over the past weeks, so I was very excited to see it with my own eyes. I expected a nice island, but nothing too special. But I was wrong, this island is a dream come true. The island is quiet and has a real holiday feeling to it. It is very green (the recent rains certainly helped), and when you drive along one of the few roads on the island you often have fantastic views of the sea. There are lots of beautiful beaches, many very quiet despite the…

• A strange Chinese New Year’s Eve

  Marc van der Chijs

  22 Jan 2012 | 8:09 am

  It’s Chinese New Year Eve, a time that you normally spend with family eating a huge dinner and then watching the CCTV New Year Show. But not this year. I am sitting in the lounge at Guangzhou Baiyun airport with a small group of friends, among others Gary and Grace, waiting to board a flight to Auckland right after midnight. When we booked this flight I did not realize it would be Chinese New Year Eve – but it probably was no coincidence as we only booked a few weeks ago and all other flights were fully booked. We flew from Shanghai this afternoon and things did not really go the…

• One week in Holland: wines, meetings and a lot of fun

  Marc van der Chijs

  21 Jan 2012 | 9:37 am

  I am writing this on the plane from Amsterdam to Shanghai after spending a week in The Netherlands. I was here for business reasons, but I decided to go a few days earlier to visit my parents as well. I flew to Amsterdam on Friday afternoon and had an excellent flight from China, working a bit on the plane, having good food and even better wines (KLM always has a good selection in business class), sleeping for an hour of two, reading newspapers and magazines and even watching the movie De Ontvoering (a movie about the kidnapping of Freddy Heineken – I hardly ever watch a full movie on…

• Unitedstyles launches in Russia & CIS

  Marc van der Chijs

  18 Jan 2012 | 9:50 am

  Russia is a key global market for fashion and luxury items, and unitedstyles has taken the strategic decision to make Russia & CIS its first non-English market. Not only has the website been localized for Russian-speaking consumers, but the company is offering Russian-language customer service and support through its Moscow-based partner, Interstice Consulting. Moscow-based customers will even have an opportunity to personally visit the local unitedstyles office and examine samples of finished garments, should they so desire. Although the plan is to serve most global markets with our…

• WPP acquires CIC – congrats to Sam Flemming & the team!

  Marc van der Chijs

  17 Jan 2012 | 9:11 am

  I am very happy to announce that Chinese leading social business intelligence provider CIC was officially acquired by WPP’s Kantar Media. The deal took quite some time to negotiate, but I am very happy for founders Sam and Vennie and the rest of the team that the deal has now officially closed. I have been on the board of CIC since 2007 when I led the angel round for the company. It was a great ride over the past couple of years (like every young, growing company with ups and downs), and I am impressed by what the management team and the rest of the CIC family managed to achieve over…

• 

  China Business Blog

• Happy Chinese New Year!

  admin

  23 Jan 2012 | 2:21 am

  Happy Chinese New Year to all our readers! This is a picture from a trip to Yangshuo, over Chinese New Year, in 1992. The trip that set this (occasional) blogger off on a long and happy China adventure… With best wishes for a fantastic Year of the Dragon. We are delighted to continue our festive tradition of sending no greetings cards, and of supporting China-related children’s charities. • The Peach Foundation: “To help children from the poorest parts of China with an opportunity to complete a college education. To help break the vicious cycle of poverty and to raise…

• ChinaBlogTweets Twitter Updates for 2012-01-22

  admin

  22 Jan 2012 | 3:00 pm

  The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @gadyepstein @jonathanwatts @chinabeat # The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @sagebrennan @thomascrampton @fonstuinstra # Chinese art bidders named in payment dispute – http://t.co/Srblc70e – Asia-Pacific http://t.co/Zkuwh3X4 # Happy Chinese New Year! (with memories of Yangshuo 1992) http://t.co/lE1PDGRq # ODI RT @ftchina: Europeans welcome Chinese investors http://t.co/AwWzfd0Z # The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸…

• ChinaBlogTweets Twitter Updates for 2012-01-15

  admin

  15 Jan 2012 | 3:00 pm

  The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @greenerchina @thoughtfulchina @billdodson88 # The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @chinageeks @techrice @chrisrbrown @jameslmcgregor # RT @ChinaDailyEU: China targets 10% growth in foreign trade in '12…. http://t.co/WMeZHVYz # More Muddy Waters RT @beyondbrics: Carson Block to go long China http://t.co/LErsHc0Y # RT @China_Daily: China's forex reserves drop http://t.co/HHeQ2siR # RT @21cbhchinanews: #China 's Customs Duties Soar on…

• ChinaBlogTweets Twitter Updates for 2012-01-08

  admin

  8 Jan 2012 | 3:00 pm

  The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @leonacraig @sinosourcing @chinasmack @maxhenry # The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @sinosplice @adamminter @danwashburn # The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @tomlasseter @fuzheado @chinasmack @amcham_china # RT @TheEIU_China: New energy superministry for #China Good idea in principle, but don't hold your breath… http://t.co/f4sF0JAt # GDP RT @BullishChina: China to put GDP target below 8 pct…

• ChinaBlogTweets Twitter Updates for 2012-01-01

  admin

  1 Jan 2012 | 3:00 pm

  The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @ge_anderson @veterantraveler # The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @greenerchina @peterschloss # The china-business-tweeps Daily is out! http://t.co/xkyWjQ4I ▸ Top stories today via @niubi @chrisrbrown @chinaccelerator # http://t.co/415kL0Sf # 2011 RT @CDTimes: CDT reviews the top China news stories from 2011: http://t.co/iyERSm8I Which ones did we miss? # 2012 RT @forbesasia: Chinese policymakers face difficult economy in 2012 http://t.co/8WPo9klm # FDI…

• 

  Top News

• Railway readies as post-holiday travel rush begins

  28 Jan 2012 | 1:07 am

  Chinese railway authorities said Saturday that the country's railway system has geared up for the upcoming post-holiday travel rush in addition to snow and rainfall in the southern regions.

• Fireworks send air pollution to 5 times safe level

  28 Jan 2012 | 12:06 am

  Pollution soared to five times the safe level as Shanghai residents welcomed the God of Fortune with a citywide fireworks display, officials said yesterday.

• S China cadmium pollution no threat to HK and Macao

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:59 pm

  Water and environmental authorities in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region are working to control cadmium pollution in a local river, while ruling out the possibility that water sources for Hong Kong and Macao have been contaminated.

• Philippines eyes US military ties, no bases

  27 Jan 2012 | 10:50 pm

  The Philippines would conduct more joint military drills with the United States, and not bring back the American military bases in the country, a senior official said on Friday.

• UN Security Council meets on Syria crisis

  27 Jan 2012 | 10:33 pm

  The UN Security Council on Friday met behind closed doors to discuss a draft resolution on Syria amid a surge in violence across the crisis-laden country that have claimed the lives of dozens of people this week. • Russia voices willingness to 'engage' on Syria draft

• 

  Wangjianshuo's blog

• Long Long Road Ahead - G40

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:42 pm

  G40 is the code for Shanghai - Shaanxi National Expressway. It starts from Shanghai and run about 1500 km and goes from about 31.23°N, 121.5°E to 34.27°N, 108.9°E. That is almost one time zone difference (15 degree). It is pretty handy to get back to Wendy's home town Nanyang from Shanghai. Along the way, we started from G42 and went across G15 and G2 in Shanghai, G25 and G3 in Nanjing, G35 in the middle of no where and G45 near east of Xinyang, G4 at Xinyang and finally G55 in Nanyang. That is basically the traverse of the China National Highway System. This shows the benefit of…

• Why We Like Hotels

  27 Jan 2012 | 7:30 pm

  We finally arrived at hotel at Nanjing, after 7 hours of driving. "We love hotels" Wendy and I agreed, not to mention our little hotel lover, Yifan. He just started to run around and play with all kinds of things. Here is the question: why we love hotels? It is empty. There are drawers but nothing in it. There are enumertable number of items even in the washroom: soap, shampoo, lotion, tooth brush. There are desks, but basically nothing is readable on it. There are TV - yes. If they remove the TV, it can bring more sense of emptiness. Emptiness brings peace in mind. There are so little…

• Visiting Bay Area in Mid January

  25 Dec 2011 | 9:16 pm

  Travel news! I am visiting the bay area from January 13 to January 19, 2012. I want my readers to know the news, and if you want a meet up, please drop an email to me at jianshuo at hotmail.com

• Drove to Hangzhou and Back, in a Day

  5 Nov 2011 | 11:16 am

  To have a travel companion is very important to long distance driving. I drove to Hangzhou, 2 hours, this morning from 9:30 to 11:30 am (well, in Hangzhou, it took another 30 minute in traffic), and back in two hours (7:00 to 9:00 pm) with Jim, Jack, and Jiangfeng. The trip was nice with a car full of interesting people. :-) P.S. It is OK not to speak Cantonese.... :)

• Jian Shuo, Yifeng, and Keso in Same Photo

  5 Nov 2011 | 11:11 am

  Finally, one of the three very similar Chinese IT bloggers got into the same photo, for the first time. It is also my first time to meet Yifeng in person.

• 

  Lost Laowai China Blog

• Photo: Reality

  Lost Laowai

  26 Jan 2012 | 9:13 pm

  I was looking for a more upbeat photo that captured a bit of that Spring Festival snap, crackle and pop. But when I saw this photo it grabbed my attention and reminded me of the excesses of the season (which this year has been pretty much a month-long Western-Chinese celebration hybrid). The Nanning-based photographer, Sun Suri, is (I believe) our first Chinese featured in this spot. Check out her photostream for a fantastic collection of street photography. Submit Your Photos Every week(ish) we’ll feature an interesting, funny, beautiful or otherwise noteworthy photo here. If you have…

• Chinese Grammar Wiki: Learning Chinese grammar just got easier

  Ryan

  21 Jan 2012 | 10:21 pm

  AllSet Learning, the Shanghai-based language learning consultancy founded by long-time China blogger John Pasden, has just released what is surely a boon for any mandarin learners who aspire to achieve better Chinese grammar — the Chinese Grammar Wiki. From the AllSet Blog: Web-savvy learners of Chinese have known for some time that there’s no single comprehensive grammar resource for Chinese grammar on the entire internet. Sure, there are some very helpful pages out there, but they’re not comprehensive or interlinked, or at least not publicly available. We initially created the…

• 春节快乐 from Lost Laowai

  Ryan

  21 Jan 2012 | 6:18 pm

  H/T Shanghaiist

• Unemployed in China: A response to “Go East, Young Man”

  Guest Laowai

  12 Jan 2012 | 1:20 am

  This is a response to Jonathan Levine’s article on working in China, “Go East, Young Man“, published on January 8. After writing this response, I found that someone had written an insightful blog post at the singularly named dontmovetochina.com (written about a month before Jonathan Levine’s). I highly recommend reading said post for more details about what I describe below. Jonathan Levine has been in China for almost a year teaching American studies in an English-speaking Tsinghua University class. According to him, China is a treasure trove of jobs for Americans, as…

• Seventy Six Trombones Led the Big Parade

  Marian

  11 Jan 2012 | 12:22 am

  Seventy six trombones led the big parade in the Music Man. One hundred and ten cornets were following right behind. All of them were delivered by the Wells Fargo man. It’s a shame that Wells Fargo doesn’t have their act together as well as they did back in River City. Maybe if they did, my parents would still have access to their bank account. Of course “parents” starts with P and that rhymes with T and that stands for “trouble” so it’s possible that something would have still gone wrong. I religiously keep track of my expenditures as a matter of…

• 

  bezdomny ex patria

• adventures in Huailaihua

  wangbo

  27 Jan 2012 | 3:42 am

  As in every year, we spent Spring Festival up in the village eating jiaozi, visiting relatives and blowing things up. Well, as family fuselighter in chief (i.e. the only one dumb enough to approach explosives of dubious origin with a naked flame (or lit cigarette, usually – ciggies don’t blow out in the wind). I have noticed my father in law is quite happy to lay fireworks out for me, but retreats quite a conspicuous distance when I light the fuse) while my wife, daugther, mother in law, brother in law and his wife, stayed inside, safe. And the fact my brother in law got married…

• three notes

  wangbo

  19 Jan 2012 | 9:45 pm

  1: I just had Firefox eat my language bar. That was weird. I’m pretty sure it was a Firefox problem, because I opened up Maxthon, logged in to Weibo, and the language bar worked. But in Firefox, the language bar vanished and I could not switch to Chinese. Well, I could type all I liked, but only in English-style diacritical free Latin script. I closed Firefox, reopened, problem gone, language bar back and functional, proper toned pīnyīn and 汉字 allowed again. 2: Via Language Log, the benefits of being bilingual. There’s lots of goodness there, but I must admit this paragraph…

• rou

  wangbo

  18 Jan 2012 | 10:11 pm

  Another word I’ve heard a lot since my daughter’s birth – well, no, since she learnt to throw, sounds to me like ròu and it’s very clear from context that it means ‘throw’ (hence me hearing it a lot since she learnt to throw). I mention it now because I heard it the other day from a woman working in a photo studio in the 718 art and media park. Now, I have no idea where she was from, but she was speaking very standard Putonghua and there was no comment on my mother in law’s accent, which normally happens when people from Yanqing and Huailai meet, so…

• frustration

  wangbo

  16 Jan 2012 | 4:03 am

  Sometimes I’m tempted to think you can get just about everything in Beijing. Sometimes the only exceptions to the “Beijing has everything” rule I can think of are limited to things specific to little known island countries in the Pacific. But every now and then Beijing manages to throw a solid brick wall topped with shards of glass and razor wire at you. We bought my daughter a carseat, the smallest of a Japanese brand’s range. It was supposed to last until she’s three – at least, that’s what the advertising said. All I can say is Japanese three year…

• shai

  wangbo

  5 Jan 2012 | 11:49 pm

  A Chinese word that has grabbed my attention of late is shǎi. I don’t know why I just noticed it now, but my wife and mother in law have been using it a lot, especially when discussing the colour or propensity to dye the water of baby clothes. At first I couldn’t quite figure out if it should be spelt shěr, shǎr, or shǎir, as the vowel in their pronunciation seems to fall somewhere in between those three, and I’ve never been much good at phonology. I also got to wondering if it was an alternate pronunciation of 色 (sè) or a different character. So, now that I’ve…

• 

  China Post Online - Taiwan , News , Taiwan newspaper

• US Army chief lays out Army cuts in Europe

  28 Jan 2012 | 12:22 am

  (ChinaPost.com.tw) - The Pentagon's decision announced Friday to take two heavy armor brigades out of Europe in 2013 and 2014 will not necessarily force NATO allies to shoulder more of the load if ground forces are needed for a large-scale conflict in the region, Gen. Raymond Odierno, the Army chief of staff, said Friday.

• Suicide bomber kills 33 at Shiite funeral in Iraq

  28 Jan 2012 | 12:12 am

  (ChinaPost.com.tw) - A suicide car bomber has struck a Shiite funeral procession, killing 33 people as suspected al-Qaida militants stepped up apparent efforts to provoke a counterattack by Shiite militias on Sunnis that could pave the way toward open sectarian warfare now that U.S. troops have left Iraq.

• Hillary Clinton aims to dodge political 'high wire'

  27 Jan 2012 | 10:22 am

  (ChinaPost.com.tw) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says she wants to step off the “high wire of American politics” after two decades and is again tamping down speculation that she might stay in government if U.S. President Barack Obama wins a second term.

• Sean Chen to replace Wu as premier: KMT

  27 Jan 2012 | 10:22 am

  (ChinaPost.com.tw) - A high-ranking Kuomintang (KMT) official has confirmed that current Vice Premier Sean Chen (陳and#20914;), who has been tipped as premier for weeks, will be appointed to the position on Jan. 31.

• EU, US economic leaders spar over solution to crisis at Davos

  27 Jan 2012 | 10:22 am

  (ChinaPost.com.tw) - Key policymakers from Europe and the United States thrashed out ideas for pulling the eurozone out of its debt crisis at the Davos forum on Friday, days ahead of a key European summit.

• 

  3Q2U

• Hipster store front on Shaanxi Road

  24 Jan 2012 | 1:47 am

  Strolling down Shaanxi Rd on the first day of Dragon year, being mindful of the spirit of life and a little smile comes to my face as I see a King Curtis LP in a store front window.

• 碧雲寺

  24 Jan 2012 | 1:41 am

  Biyun Temple in Tainan, Taiwan.

• Bite Me

  24 Jan 2012 | 1:15 am

  Raffles City Mall, B1, Shanghai

• Lower tier graffiti

  28 Dec 2011 | 1:13 am

  Noticed this pretty cool graffiti in a small 4th tier city, Jiaxing, while out and about...

• 10 Lessons American Schools Can Learn from China

  23 Dec 2011 | 2:57 am

  I received a nice note from a woman named Kaitlyn Cole who asked me to pass this information along. Interesting reading, and hopefully helpful to someone looking at education and China. Go learn something today! 10 Lessons American Schools Can Learn from China

• 

  Simpson's Paradox

• Occupy The Desk!

  Meg

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:51 am

  Caitlin was out today, so Financial (Nash) and Creative (me) collaborated to redecorate her desk. We left this for her to find on Monday! (We have it on good authority that Caitlin is moving today and doesn’t have internet access!)   From the blog Simpson's Paradox, please comment here:Occupy The Desk! Tweet this!

• The Thorn and The Blossom By Theodora Goss | Dialect Magazine

  Meg

  23 Jan 2012 | 11:35 am

  New post up on Dialect, where I talk about a gorgeously constructed book and admit to just a tiny fraction of how much reading I do on the train. I do 90% of my reading on an ereader, which is convenient for commute reading, easily brings me the sequel to the novel I’ve just finished, and fits neatly into my purse. So I was struck by the physical form of Theadora Goss’ new book, The Thorn and the Blossom,  an accordion folded, double-sided story, in a heavy cardboard case for a package deceptively like a hardcover book. The book can be opened from either side, creating a physical book…

• Tiger Eye – Mechanique

  Meg

  21 Jan 2012 | 5:52 pm

  So Genevieve mentioned that she’s guest posting over on Marjorie Liu’s blog, and as I start reading a really hilarious piece on Couples Who Should Totally Have Gotten Together In Movies (Note: Not actually the title), I’m also wondering why Marjorie Liu sounds kinds of familiar. Genevieve is an amazing writer, who was my classmate at Cambridge, and then my cheap-theater buddy in London. I will condense her super-impressive list of works down to last year’s Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti and Geek Wisdom.  (Oh, and hey, if you’re ever wondering where…

• Thanks, Office Poltergeist!

  Meg

  21 Jan 2012 | 4:26 pm

  Purple and Alive, by Simpson’s Paradox After an escalating series of office pranks, Chip warned me by text that the office poltergeist (the unseen force with a penchant for redecorating desks and hiding Hello Kitties and Domomons) had left something purple on my desk. The following text told me to hurry into work, because it’s alive! From the blog Simpson's Paradox, please comment here:Thanks, Office Poltergeist! Tweet this!

• Console Game Dating

  Meg

  18 Jan 2012 | 5:55 pm

  My friend Matt has an awesome new post up on Nitrobeard about hanging on to game systems.  The whole article is worth a read, whether it’s a scarily accurate peek into your own rationale or insights into why your gamer boyfriend won’t trash hardware that’s been collecting dust for years, but this one line is brilliant: The internet has made it harder to tell how old a person is – but a quick and easy way to figure it out is to ask which console is their all-time favorite. Whatever that console is, that’s when that person was roughly 13-15 years old. Via Nitrobeard…

• 

  Absurdity, Allegory and China

• Contradictions

  jg

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:11 pm

  A few months back (October 14, 2011) Rem Koolhaas, brand architect behind OMA, the architectural firm that has been involved with the design and building of the iconic CCTV Headquarters Building on the East Third Ring Road, was the subject of an article in Bloomberg’s BusinessWeek: Pritzker Star Koolhaas Frets Over EU, Tops Giant Beijing Tower. How does he deal with a country where democracy is a work in progress? “I’m happy you use the term ‘work in progress,’ because I think that is the essence of China,” he says. “It’s not a perfect situation, but what is important is…

• Christmas in the CBD

  jg

  25 Dec 2011 | 1:23 am

  I had to make a quick trip to Guomao this morning, so, of course, I brought along my camera. I wanted to follow up on a story from a couple of days ago. Late Friday morning, December 23, 2011, during the demolition of a building near the CCTV Headquarters Building, a part of said building collapsed into traffic, damaging four cars, but miraculously not killing anyone. Wang Yu, a Chaoyang District police officer said, “We received a phone call saying a building had collapsed in the Chaoyang district. We immediately dispatched more than 20 policemen to keep order there.” This was…

• Civilized Chaoyang 2011

  jg

  5 Dec 2011 | 7:27 am

  Here’s a shot from late last week in Beijing when the air was somewhat clear, the man was somewhat short – though longer than the bed of his trike – and the Hyundai Elantra was max shiny. And the CCTV Bldg was the CCTV Bldg., since it’s hard for it to be anything else. (click the pic for a larger version.) Waiting for the lunch crowd  (11:03 AM)

• Holding Our Breath

  jg

  4 Dec 2011 | 9:38 pm

  This morning I’m in pain. I take little comfort in knowing that I’m not the only one in Beijing suffering from the same symptoms: pounding headache, sore throat and burning eyes. It’s the air pollution that’s got us down, physically, spiritually, mentally and every other -ally I can possibly think of. I have my curtains drawn and my office door shut and an IQAir filter cranking away. But that’s still not enough to keep the filth of Beijing air out. Periodically I look out the window, but then quickly draw the curtains again. I just don’t want to look at…

• End of November, Beijing

  jg

  30 Nov 2011 | 9:22 pm

  Below are some shots I’ve taken over the past 8 days. When a friend comes to Beijing you find yourself going to places you normally wouldn’t go, though many of the sites are too good to pass up for a one time trip to the Jing. I also ended up taking a couple of spins around the CCTV Bldg. Two of the photos below reference the former Mandarin Oriental Beijing, aka Television Culture Center (TVCC), which is the the northern sibling to the larger CCTV Headquarters Building. The TVCC building was nearly completed in February 2009 when an illegal fireworks display, organized by the…

• 

  China Bystander

• The Men On The Moon

  China Bystander

  26 Jan 2012 | 10:09 am

  The call by Newt Gingrich, the American politician who is seeking the Republican party’s presidential nomination, for the U.S. to establish a Moon base “by the end of my second term”, which, if it happens, would be 2020, throws down … Continue reading →

• IMF Sees Sharp Dip In China’s Growth

  China Bystander

  26 Jan 2012 | 12:02 am

  The International Monetary Fund has sharply cut its forecasts for China’s growth this year and next. In its latest half-yearly update to its World Economic Outlook, the Fund has reduced its forecast for 2012′s GDP growth to 8.2% from the … Continue reading →

• Little Imminent Prospect Of Peace Along China’s Myanmar Border

  China Bystander

  25 Jan 2012 | 3:49 pm

  Slow progress is being made at the truce talks China is hosting between the Myanmar government and the autonomy-seeking Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). Two more days of talks were held last week in Ruili, a border crossing town on the … Continue reading →

• Tang Dynasty Redux

  China Bystander

  23 Jan 2012 | 8:44 am

  This Bystander’s eye was caught by an assertion that modern-day China aspires to be a latter-day incarnation of the Tang dynasty. It was made by a serious figure. David Daokui Li is a worldly and respected academic economist, well-known in … Continue reading →

• Still Water

  China Bystander

  20 Jan 2012 | 2:46 pm

  The acquisition by China Investment Corp., China’s sovereign wealth fund, of an 8.7% stake in Thames Water, which supplies water to 14 million consumers in southern England, may prove in time be a precursor to more Chinese investment in European … Continue reading →

• 

  The China Teaching Web

• Are we teachers or entertainers?

  Robert Vance

  15 Jan 2012 | 8:37 am

  Or can we be both? Most of my university students hate their Chinese teachers. I don’t blame them. And I don’t blame their Chinese teachers either. I blame the system. In China, classes are taught around exams which means that they are predictably boring and sleep inducing. That’s why foreign teachers in China are lucky. We can prepare lessons that are more creative and imaginative. We can push students to think critically and form their own opinions – something which rarely happens in Chinese classes. “We are actually entertainers”, complained one of my…

• January 2012 China Visa Update

  Robert Vance

  12 Jan 2012 | 9:03 pm

  It’s time for an update on the current visa situation in China. This post is based on emails that we receive here at the China Teaching Web as well as conversations that I have had with teachers and schools around China. Choose carefully before you come to teach here. Due to the increased difficulties of obtaining a visa to teach in China (and finding teachers), schools are not just going to let you walk away from your contract.  I have a friend who tried to break his contract recently (for what I thought was a pretty compelling reason) but his school threatened to take all sorts of…

• Teaching Western Etiquette in China

  Robert Vance

  11 Jan 2012 | 1:25 am

  Next semester, I have a unique opportunity. I will be teaching a class called ‘Western Etiquette’ and I am free to create the lessons myself. The stated goal of the class is to familiarize students with manners and customs in the West and help them to understand how they should behave if they go abroad. This should be fun. After living here for a few years, we should have plenty to talk about class. I especially look forward to teaching about some of the DO’s and DONT’s in Western countries — but especially the DONT’s. Those are more fun because I can draw…

• Breaking your ESL contract in China

  Robert Vance

  1 Jan 2012 | 10:14 pm

  Obtaining a work visa in China has become considerably more difficult during the past few years. It is no longer possible in most places in China to have a tourist visa (L-visa) converted into a working permit. And while it used to be possible to have this processed in Hong Kong, the Chinese government is now requiring teachers to obtain the mandatory Z-visa in their countries of origin. In other words, the days of coming to China to have a look around first before deciding where to work are over. The most important consequence of this ‘tightening up’ is that most teachers now…

• Five random lessons I’ve learned teaching in China

  Robert Vance

  8 Dec 2011 | 9:38 pm

  Here are a couple of random lessons that I have learned while teaching in China. I have learned most of them the hard way: – Don’t let the school get away with being vague in your contract – A few years back, I signed a contract which stipulated that the school would pay me extra for working over time. The exact amount,however, was not specified and I found out too late that the overtime rate was way to low.  Just remember, if the school has any leeway in your contract, they will generally use it to your disadvantage. Make sure that everything in your contract is crystal…

• 

  Asia Sentinel: Alice Poon Blog

• An Estranged Hong Kong

  19 Jan 2012 | 1:49 am

  I’ve just learned from the HK Golden Forum that my favorite wonton noodle haunt Sum Kee (森記) on Percival Street has just closed shop. The reason? The shop landlord has asked to increase the monthly rent from HK$100,000 to HK$400,000, the last straw on the camel’s back. For a modest wonton noodle and congee shop like Sum Kee, which has been selling a bowl of wonton noodle for HK$21.00 for the last three years, paying HK$100,000 rent is already quite ridiculous, not to mention four times the amount. Only I didn’t realize that my last visit in December would be…

• Voltaire's Fight Against Dogma

  9 Dec 2011 | 3:36 am

  Voltaire was a French national hero who was among those whose thoughts blazed a trail for the world-impacting French Revolution and for developing philosophical ideas for the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, especially that relating to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

• Can the Monster be Caged?

  22 Nov 2011 | 10:13 pm

  I came across an excellent speech on HaoHao Report by a Chinese writer Murong Xuecun (慕容雪村). Just as I'm beginning to lose all hope in the strong nation, Mr. Murong's speech has swayed me a little bit in the direction that there is perhaps still a silver lining. Or is there?

• Belated Farewell to My Beloved Cousin

  26 Oct 2011 | 9:09 pm

  The day before yesterday I was shocked and pained by a piece of heart-rending news: my beloved cousin G had passed away in September, shortly after undergoing a second round of chemotherapy. The regrettable part is that I hadn’t even had a chance to communicate with her while she was fighting for her life, as I had had to feign ignorance in order to respect her wish that the news of her sickness be kept strictly confidential, though I had known by chance for some time. I only learned of her death when I emailed her younger sister GG on Monday to ask how G was doing. This post is to bid…

• Cote d'Azur, Land of Reveries (2)

  12 Oct 2011 | 7:41 pm

  While in Marseille and Antibes, I had a chance to communicate with some locals, which gave me a refreshing perspective on how the French folks are influenced by Asians.

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  旧书店

• Russia and NATO - An absence of trust

  旧书店

  28 Jan 2012 | 1:03 am

  Why Russia is no closer to working with NATO on missile defence THE hopes at NATO'S 2010 Lisbon summit that Russia might be a partner in the missile-defence system meant to protect Europe from a nuclear-armed "rogue" state are looking increasingly forlorn. NATO governments had promised "to explore opportunities for missiledefence co-operation with Russia in a spirit of reciprocity, maximum transparency and mutual confidence." But at his Valdai dinner on N ovembernth, Russia's prime minister, Vladimir Putin, claimed that the Russian ambassador toN ATO, Dmitry Rogozin, had been told by an…

• A self-sufficient Isle of Wight - Green and pleasant island

  旧书店

  25 Jan 2012 | 8:53 am

  The Isle of Wight wants to become self -sufficient in energy ECOISLAND is a group so green that the invitations it sent to an event at Britain's House of Commons were printed on recycled paper embedded with meadow-flower seeds Gust plant, water and watch them grow). Its aim is to make the Isle of Wight, off Britain's south coast, energy-independent by 2020. The island is often viewed as a quaint place a decade or so behind the times. But if the project, launched on November 15th, comes off, the Isle of Wight could be in the vanguard of an environmentally friendlier future. Ecoisland plans to…

• Regional drink and drug trends - Sober London

  旧书店

  21 Jan 2012 | 8:41 am

  Why young people in the capital shun drink and drugs "TOP BOY", a drama shown on Channel Four earlier this month, depicted a London housing estate awash with guns, gangs and illicit substances. Almost every young person who was not selling drugs seemed to be buying them. As television, it was rather good. As sociology, it was questionable. Compared with other English youngsters, Londoners are oddly abstemious. Surveys by the National Health Service show that Londoners aged between nand 15 are less likely to smoke than are youngsters in every other English region. They drink alcohol much more…

• What dinosaurs ate - The belly of the beast

  旧书店

  17 Jan 2012 | 10:20 am

  A chance discover y from China suggests some dinosaurs lived in trees WHAT dinosaurs ate is, of course, a question as interesting and illuminating as what ate dinosaurs. In the case of one particular dinosaur, Microraptor, the matter was addressed in a presentation to the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology by Jingmai O'Connor of the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology, in Beijing. Microraptor (see photograph) is one of many small, feathered dinosaurs found in what is now China that were alive during the Cretaceous period more than 66m years ago.

• What ate dinosaurs? Old crocs

  旧书店

  13 Jan 2012 | 10:08 am

  Even in their heyday, dinosaurs were not quite as dominant as popular myth makes th em out to be 0NE answer to the question, "What ate dinosaurs?" is, obviously, "Other dinosaurs." Theropod predators like Tljrannosaurus and Allosaurus loom large in the imagination of every lover of prehistoric monsters, and their animatronic fights with the likes of Diplodocus and Stegosaurus are the stuff of cliche. Science, though, tries to look beyond the obvious, and at this year's meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology, held in Las Vegas, some of the speakers asked whether the top predators…

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  chinaSMACK

• Ningxia Prisons Allow Male & Female Inmates To See Each Other

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:27 pm

  From NetEase: Ningxia holds “family meetings” for inmates January 17th, Ningxia Yinchuan Prison and Ningxia Women’s Prison cooperated to hold the “2012 family meetings for prisoners event”. 69 inmates from the Ningxia Women’s Prison walked into the Yinchuan Prison and met with loved ones who were also serving prison sentences. At the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Yinchuan city Yinchuan Prison, inmate Xiao Yang leans forward as close as possible to his wife to hear her weep. Five years ago, Xiao Yang was sentenced for drug trafficking, while his wife was…

• Hanfu Movement: Cultural Revival or Awkward “Time Travel”?

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:27 am

  The proliferation of “time traveling” in Chinese television shows in recent years has gained popularity especially amongst Chinese youth who yearn for palace intrigue and romance. At the same time, it also reached the point where the state has stepped in to crackdown on the supposedly superstitious and anachronistic themes. But part of this “time traveling” or traditional revivalism phenomenon in China has roots in the Hanfu movement where those active in the movement sought to bring back Hanfu or traditional Han style clothing to everyday life, not unlike the acceptance of the…

• Hunan Suicide Bomber Blows Up Family on Chinese New Year Eve

  26 Jan 2012 | 2:24 am

  From NetEase: Suicide bombing kills 5 and injures 6 in Hunan on Chinese New Year’s Eve Summary: Jan. 22nd noon, an explosion occurred in a rural home in Tielu Village, Qixingjiezhen, Lianyuan City, Hunan Province resulting in 5 dead and 6 injured. According to reports, the victims were eating their Chinese New Year reunion meal. The suspect Liao burst into the victims’ home and detonated the explosive strapped to his body. Through investigation, Liao and the victims’ household may have had a conflict arising from land disputes several years back. From NetEase: Man in Hunan…

• Cadbury: Dancing Buddhist Monks Commercial

  25 Jan 2012 | 7:51 am

  Things are a little quiet in China during its New Year celebrations, so here is an advert that although filmed entirely on location in the Mainland was actually devised by a South African based ad agency. The commercial is another ‘Glass and a Half Full‘ production (famous for the ‘Gorilla‘ ad) promoting Cadbury chocolate. The setting is a Buddhist monastery, but things turn slightly surreal when purple helium balloons start flying around. See it for yourself below: On Vimeo On Tudou Shooting took place in both Sichuan and Zhejiang provinces respectively. But since…

• “Sleeping Sister” in Spring Festival Gala Audience Goes Viral

  25 Jan 2012 | 1:33 am

  From iFeng & China.com: Spring Festival Gala’s “Sleeping Sister” goes famous on microblogs, sleeping soundly at the show As the Spring Festival Gala for the 2012 Year of the Dragon was being held in an festive atmosphere, netizen microblogs [on Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo exploded with a Spring Festival Gala "Sleeping Sister". In the midst of an audience engrossed in watching the Spring Festival Gala, a female audience member was sound asleep in her seat. In the above video, currently one of the most popular on leading Chinese video sharing website Youku, the host…

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  China Briefing News

• China’s Provincial GDP Figures in 2011

  China Briefing

  27 Jan 2012 | 2:18 am

  Two-thirds of China’s provinces report GDP figures over RMB1 trillion (US$158 billion) in 2011 By Julia Gu Jan. 27 – Preliminary statistics show that China’s GDP grew at a robust 9.2 percent in 2011 to RMB47.16 trillion (US$7.26 trillion), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said last week at a press conference. While this rate represents a drop of 1.2 percent compared to the 10.4 percent GDP growth experienced in 2010, last year’s growth rate was still 1.2 percent above the 8 percent year-on-year growth target set at the beginning of 2011. NBS Chief Ma Jiantang told reporters…

• China Overtakes Japan as World’s Top Coal Importer

  China Briefing

  26 Jan 2012 | 4:32 am

  Jan. 26 – While China has long been the world’s top producer and overall consumer of coal, the country also became the largest importer of the resource last year, overtaking a position held by Japan since at least 1975. Customs data compiled by the International Energy Agency show that strong domestic demand boosted China’s coal imports by 10.8 percent in 2011 to 182.4 million tons. Japan’s imports of the fossil fuel dropped by 5.1 percent to 175.2 million tons over the same period due, at least in part, to the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country’s northeast…

• China-India Business Update: Jan. 25

  China Briefing

  25 Jan 2012 | 2:55 am

  Jan. 25 – Welcome to our China-India round up in which we examine the latest bilateral news and commentary affecting foreign investment in the two countries. Here we provide a list of recent India news of interest to China-based business individuals who may be considering doing business in, or with, India. New Issue of India Briefing: FDI and Manufacturing Electronics in India In this issue of India Briefing Magazine, we walk you through the National Manufacturing Policy, the draft National Policy Electronics, and other related policies and schemes key to foreign investment in the sector.

• International Sanctions on Iran Put Pressure on Chinese Diplomacy

  China Briefing

  24 Jan 2012 | 3:42 am

  Jan. 24 – Recent sanctions placed on Iran by the United States and European Union, aimed at pressuring the Iranian government into halting its nuclear weapons program with a trade embargo, have caused a serious diplomatic dilemma for China – a major importer of Iranian oil. The United States has introduced new legislation which will allow for punitive sanctions on foreign banks and businesses facilitating the Iranian oil trade. In a move that demonstrates the conviction of the U.S. authorities for upholding the new law, oil firm Zhuhai Zhenrong has been the first Chinese business placed…

• U.S. to Investigate Wind Tower Imports from China, Vietnam

  China Briefing

  24 Jan 2012 | 12:52 am

  Jan. 24 – The U.S. Department of Commerce (USDoC) announced last Thursday that it was launching a probe into the country’s wind tower imports from China and Vietnam, a move that could lead to an escalation of the clean energy trade disputes between the world’s two largest economies. The Chinese and Vietnamese wind tower producers may face steep anti-dumping duties if they lose the case. The Wind Tower Trade Coalition – a group of U.S. wind tower companies including Broadwind Energy Inc. and DMI Industries – filed a petition last month and said it was seeking anti-dumping duties of…

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  2point6billion.com - Foreign Direct Investment in Asia

• Norway May Halt China’s Arctic Council Ambitions

  2point6billion.com

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:13 am

  Jan. 27 – Norway could block China’s attempts to gain permanent observer status on the increasingly relevant Arctic Council due to a souring of relations between the countries over the last few years, according to a report on Wednesday in Aftenposten – Norway’s largest newspaper. “As long as the Chinese authorities refuse to speak to their Norwegian counterparts, it will be difficult for Norway to say yes to a (Chinese) candidacy to become a permanent observer on the Arctic Council,” an unidentified “highly-placed diplomatic source” told the paper. Neither…

• ConocoPhillips, CNOOC Agree to Pay US$160 Million for Bohai Bay Oil Spill

  2point6billion.com

  26 Jan 2012 | 3:06 am

  Houston-based ConocoPhillips and CNOOC have reached a financial settlement agreement with China’s Ministry of Agriculture to compensate for the damage caused by the June 2011 Bohai Bay oil leaks. Under the agreement, RMB1 billion (nearly US$160 million) will be paid as compensation to settle public and private claims of potentially affected fishermen in relevant Bohai Bay communities, according to a January 24 press release issued by ConocoPhillips. Continue reading →

• India Foreign Investment Regulations and Limitations

  2point6billion.com

  25 Jan 2012 | 1:26 am

  A look at foreign investment access to the Indian market as relates to several key sectors By Ankit Shrivastava Jan. 25 – India has recently liberalized foreign investment regulations in many of its key sectors, opening up commodity exchanges, credit information services and aircraft maintenance operations. The foreign investment limit in public sector unit refineries has been raised from 26 percent to 49 percent and an additional sweetener is that the mandatory disinvestment clause within five years has been done away with. In a major relief to financially distressed airline companies, the…

• China, India Keen to Access the Arctic Circle

  2point6billion.com

  20 Jan 2012 | 12:26 am

  Despite harsh weather conditions, the Arctic is becoming a global hot spot, with non-Arctic countries like China, India and Brazil pursuing “observer” status on the Arctic Council – an intergovernmental body promoting cooperation and environmental protection among countries that have territories in the Arctic area. Continue reading →

• Euro Zone Crisis Endangers Asia-Pacific Credit Ratings

  2point6billion.com

  19 Jan 2012 | 12:41 am

  The financial crisis in the Eurozone may affect credit ratings in the Asia-Pacific region, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services recently warned. Photo: Bloomberg Continue reading →

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  ChinaTravel.net Features

• Taming the Dragon: Chinese New Year

  20 Jan 2012 | 3:14 pm

  Chunyun (Chūnyùn, 春运) has begun. The full force of its plaid-polyurethane-suitcase gale has yet to swoop down on the train, bus and plane infrastructures around the country, but you can feel it; it's almost as though the earth were rumbling in anticipation. Chunyun, the annual migration of the general Chinese populous in anticipation of and during the weeks after Spring Festival, begi ...

• The Suzhou Creek Sex Toy Market

  10 Jan 2012 | 10:28 am

  Whether you're a collector, new to the world of erotic accessories or just an amused bystander, a day trip to the Suzhou Creek Sex Toy Market in Shanghai will no doubt hold at least a few surprises, and who knows—maybe even a few Christmas gifts. At first glance, the four-story market looks just like any other urban stall-stuffed specialty market. The first three floors are primarily made ...

• Shanghai's Fake Markets

  21 Dec 2011 | 10:33 am

  If you visit Shanghai, no doubt you're going to want to check out some of Shanghai's markets—if you've got the time and patience. Yup, it all comes down to patience. Though the days of old Xiangyang market's crowded stalls and grasping hands are long gone and a megalithic glass and concrete tower now rises up from the ashes of thousand upon thousands of watch-bag-DVD-stalls, if you are ...

• Escape to Hainan by plane, train, bus or boat

  15 Dec 2011 | 2:50 pm

  Hainan Island is one of the cheaper destinations to travel to this Spring Festival, and that's good news for those of us who want to escape the dreary cold weather that reigns almost everywhere across central and northern China. On my search for China destinations for under RMB 5,000, I found a round-trip flight to Sanya for about RMB 3,500, which made me want to repeat an arduous yet awesome trip ...

• Get some: Insurance and medical care in China

  2 Dec 2011 | 5:31 pm

  Traveling in China can be a thrilling, eye-opening experience for even the most weathered world traveler. The vastness of the country, the breadth of its cultures and the many thousands of years in which it has thrived all make for some of the richest, most beautiful landscapes and historical relics this great world has to offer. But there are many things traveling in China is not: easy, pred ...

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  China Expat - All Around China in One Website

• The Five Elements and You

  Ernie

  19 Jan 2012 | 10:18 pm

    by Ernie Diaz   “Ooh – a dragon year! That’s lucky, right?” Wrong. It’s not unlucky either. It’s all relative, not least to what you make of the new year, moment-to-moment. There are other factors. We could tell you that if you’re born in a dog year, to keep your tail down, and that the rats and monkeys among you will find favor with the dragon. We also know you’d be highly unlikely to give it any serious consideration.   Why? The moon has invisible but irresistible influence on the tides. At the atomic level, you’re made of the same stuff as the stars.

• Waist-Drumming, A New Year Ritual

  Ernie

  17 Jan 2012 | 9:00 pm

    by Ernie Diaz   Turn around and wave goodbye to your youth if you look forward to the Spring Festival, or holidays in general, as you look forward to an easy-chair after a long day on your feet. If, on the other hand, you look forward to holidays as being freed from a cage, you’ve still got it, tiger.   Do not discount the power of that difference, the friction it can create. In suburban strata, that difference can lead to having to get off the couch and deal with neighborhood kids knocking over garbage cans.   In less alienated strata of society, and older, the…

• China Moments

  Ernie

  12 Jan 2012 | 11:30 am

    from Chinese Lessons, by John Pomfret   My first impression of the Chinese at the Beijing Languages Institute was how skinny they were. Foreigners studying at the institute were not allowed to live with Chinese, so for me the best way to meet them was to play pickup basketball, introduced to China in 1896 by American missionaries. Despite its imperialist pedigree, Mao loved basketball; it was the only Western sport not banned during the Cultural Revolution.   Courtside, the Chinese students would peel off layer after layer of clothes; a blue or green Mao jacket, a brownish…

• Kunqu Cliff Notes

  Ernie

  12 Jan 2012 | 6:57 am

    by Ernie Diaz   No one rational is going to deny that Beijing Opera and its mother, Kunqu Opera, is hopelessly dated. The high-pitched caterwauling, the body-language semaphore, play to sensibilities dulled by motion pictures. But there is a reason it’s still around after centuries – the moral kernels that still pop, if heated with some patience and imagination.   So no one’s asking you to sit through Kunqu Opera performances, which have been known to go hours with nary a car chase or sex scene. We will first kindly ask you to conjecture if the solipsistic dilemmas…

• Things to Do in Harbin When It’s Cold

  Ernie

  10 Jan 2012 | 8:32 am

    by Ernie Diaz   Just to be clear from the outset: no one on this side of your screen is actually recommending you go to the Harbin Ice Festival. We’re a little long-in-the-tooth to play the hipster, who scorns the good just because too many normal people like it. But we are contrarians, and busy trying to give you perspectives of China not available on your next China Travel bookmark.     OK, maybe vacationing in a clime designed to kill mammals without a natural pelt and thick layers of blubber is contrarian. We’ll evaluate the festival, and other fun to be had in…

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  Xinjiang: Far West China

• Kashgar’s Old City – The Old Becomes New

  Josh

  19 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am

  It’s no secret that the local government in Xinjiang has been systematically getting rid of Kashgar’s Old City over the past few years. Many parts are being completely demolished while others will be receiving a “face lift”. What’s not very well known is how they plan to rebuild Kashgar’s iconic city centre. While flying from Xinjiang to Beijing a little while back, I ran across an article in the China Southern in-flight magazine that addressed this very topic. The author obviously put a positive spin on all the changes, but what caught my attention the…

• The Underground “Great Wall” – Uyghur Karez

  Josh

  16 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am

  It is considered one of the greatest Uyghur engineering feats and has been nicknamed “The Underground Great Wall”. It is the reason that cities like Turpan exist and is still a primary source of water for many Taklamakan Desert towns. Uyghur Karez (坎儿井) are a modern marvel, but because they are located meters below the ground they often don’t receive the credit they deserve. It’s a shame, really, because I would dare to say that the karez are more impressive than it’s above-ground brother – The Great Wall of China. How to Get Water in the Desert…

• Camel Meat, Anybody? Xinjiang Pic of the Week

  Josh

  12 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am

  In Xinjiang, camels aren’t just for riding! Thanks to Alex Blackwelder, a Xinjiang enthusiast and faithful FarWestChina reader, for submitting this photo! Below is an excerpt from her website about the photo: I was in Hotan, West China exploring one of the city’s awesome weekly markets. Hotan citizens are mainly Uyghur, a Muslim ethnicity that you would never think lives in China. When I passed the butcher, I saw these two camel heads. Such an odd thing to see on the ground. I set up my composition & right before I took the photo, that man turned around & looked at me.

• Xinjiang Documentary on the Karamay Fire [Video]

  Josh

  9 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am

  Charred bodies. Burned shoes without owners. A locked door ominous claw marks on one side. All horrible images that most parents would soon rather forget. Nearly two decades have passed since the worst fire in Xinjiang’s history claimed the lives of 325 people, 288 of them school children. Up until December 8, 1994, Karamay was just a quiet oil town in the northern part of the Xinjiang province, but news of this disastrous theater fire put Karamay on the international map. In 2010, a documentary was released about this event aptly titled “Karamay”. It was premiered at Hong…

• Photos of Kashgar, circa 1983

  Josh

  5 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am

  Back in 1983, it wasn’t quite as easy to get around Kashgar as it is today. Travelers had to brave more that 24 hours on a dirty bus because the train didn’t yet reach the city. Movement around the province and within the city was severely restricted and foreign tourists were still rare. I received an email from a lady a while back whose kids were going to travel through Kashgar. She had been there as a student back in the late 1970′s and later worked there in the 1980′s. She shared with me these pictures she took in Kashgar that I thought were absolutely fascinating.

• 

  China concerts

• Tue May 22nd: Lawrence Collins Band at Southern Belle china

  28 Jan 2012 | 6:38 am

  Lawrence Collins Band china : Southern Belle on 2012-05-22

• 

  The China Observer

• Different Values for Different Generations of Chinese Consumers

  Joel

  25 Jan 2012 | 9:19 pm

  The graphic above summarizes key findings from a recent report conducted by CIC and GroupM about marketing to Chinese youth. For those of you interested in learning more about marketing

• Nike: Leveraging Online Video to Attract Female Chinese Consumers

  Joel

  18 Jan 2012 | 7:42 pm

  Nike entered China in the early 1980s by relocating its manufacturing facilities from South Korea and Taiwan. However, Nike was not content solely producing its goods in the Middle Kingdom. The company set out to

• E-Commerce is Booming in China Says Alibaba Head of Marketing

  Joel

  10 Jan 2012 | 10:03 pm

  Linda Kozlowski heads marketing and customer experience globally for Alibaba.com the world's leading business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform. Alibaba.com is headquartered in Hangz

• Armani: Expanding Customer Reach from Retail to E-Tail in China

  Joel

  5 Jan 2012 | 7:47 pm

  The Armani Group designs, manufactures, distributes and retails lifestyle and fashion products around the world. Armani first entered China with its 1,100 square meter Shanghai flagship store in 2004, and has sinc

• Chinese Women’s Role in Household Consumption Increasing

  Joel

  3 Jan 2012 | 9:07 pm

  Female consumers in China have an incredible amount of influence over their family’s purchasing decisions – especially when compared to that of women in previous generations. Modern women in China’s urban centers possess relatively high levels

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  Tai Shan

• Northward Bound

  sbryant

  27 Jan 2012 | 7:09 am

  I’ll be heading back up to Shanghai next week. This spring should be an exciting one as Penguin launches Sheng Keyi’s novel Northern Girls, which I spent a good portion of last year translating. I hope to be able to update you soon about events I will be at in conjunction with the promotion of the book. If we’re in your area, I hope you’ll be able to stop by and join us!

• Hello Dragon

  sbryant

  23 Jan 2012 | 3:55 am

  Happy New Year! We are at the beginning of the Year of the Dragon, which is considered an especially auspicious year in the Chinese calendar.   Children born in the Year of the Dragon are thought to have very bright futures.  Typical characteristics include:  magnanimous, stately, vigorous, strong, self-assured, proud, noble, direct, dignified, eccentric, intellectual, fiery, passionate, decisive, pioneering, artistic, generous, loyal. On the down side: can be tactless, arrogant, imperious, tyrannical, demanding, intolerant, dogmatic, violent, impetuous, brash. The order of the zodiac is…

• Goodbye Rabbit

  sbryant

  21 Jan 2012 | 2:39 am

  The Year of the Rabbit is on its way out this week. It’s been a good year for me, and I hope for Tai Shan readers as well. During a recent outing a couple of weeks ago, my friend’s daughter was pointing out abandoned rabbits  that people bought during the last New Year holiday.  Having gotten tired of the rabbits before the year was out, many families released them in public parks and similar places.  She said she was a little concerned about what would happen with the upcoming New Year, since it’s the Year of the Dragon.  If the same trend continues, we might have to…

• Todd Williamson Exhibition

  sbryant

  18 Jan 2012 | 2:31 am

  I first came across Todd Williamson’s work when it was featured at an exhibition in Shanghai several years ago.  I was very impressed by the work.  I see that he has an exhibition coming up in LA, and thought it might be of interest to others who might have come across him in China in the past (as well as those who haven’t yet had the pleasure of seeing his work).       Todd Williamson  ”Always on My Side” 60×60 oil 2012 Los Angeles Art Show  January 18 – 22, 2012 Opening Party: Wednesday, January 18th, 7-10pm Los Angeles Convention…

• Crosstalk: Rip Van Winkle

  sbryant

  14 Jan 2012 | 7:54 am

  This is the first “Crosstalk” post to appear at Tai Shan.  The aim of these posts, as described last month, is to show some connections or parallels between English/American literature and Chinese culture (mostly pop culture).  The notes are compiled by Lily Sun, who has for many years been using this sort of activity to help her undergraduate and postgraduate students get a grasp of English/American literature.  I appreciate her allowing me to post these thoughts at Tai Shan.  We hope to see a similar entry each month, with each post focusing on a different text. The full…

• 

  jensjaeger.com

• Hibernate relations and event listeners

  Jens

  24 Jan 2012 | 3:07 am

  In my current project I work on a Java EE application with a hibernate backend. The applications supports two databases MSSql and Oracle. The development started with MSSql. One of my tasks was to migrate the application to Oracle. We expected some problems with Spring ACLs which uses SQL instead of OR Mapping. To fix that I just had to write some custom SQL for Oracle. After handling the ACLs I got transaction problems with oracle, we hadn’t with MSSql. After some tests and research I found out that to fix this I had to add a entityManager.flush(); to the persist and merge method of…

• 4Gewinnt Vanilla for iOS

  Jens

  18 Jan 2012 | 4:34 pm

  Christoph just released his first iOS game. A awesome iOS implementation of connect four called 4Gewinnt Vanilla. On the strongest game level there is almost no chance to win against the computer. But in the middle levels it’s a perfect entertaining game. The app is designed for both iPhone and iPad and available in the app store: 4Gewinnt Vanilla in the app store

• Article published in OBJEKTspektrum

  Jens

  17 Jan 2012 | 3:55 pm

  Together with André I wrote an article for the german computer journal Objektspektrum. The article with the name “Code-Flavours: Nützliche Java-Idiome” is published in the current issue. A code flavour is the opposite of a code smell. Similar to anti-pattern v.s. design pattern. In the article we discuss some useful code flavours for the java programming language. The concepts might work for other languages to. You can order the issue of object spectrum here or just buy the article as a pdf version here.

• It’s all about the user interface

  Jens

  14 Jan 2012 | 2:53 pm

  To get better at developing user interfaces, I decided last year to learn more about javascript. Like most developers I already used javascript for years, but never invested the time to “really” learn the language. Studying a language works best for me when I have a serious project to develop. After surfing around I came up with the idea to extract the travel map I developed for journizer.com to a Autobahn81 product for sale. The new version of the google api is not compatible with the old one. So the new travel map item was developed nearly from scratch. The guys at google did a…

• Ruby based backend for PEP

  Jens

  13 Jan 2012 | 4:26 pm

  Last year I developed a nice and small ruby based backend for the new website of Pieger Electronic Publishing. It’s a small design company based in Grafenau, Germany. If you need your next design job to get done. Feel free to contact them. I really recommend there work. Now there new website is finally online. They have this awesome parrot in a different situation on every sub page. It’s really worth to click trough all of there pages. Just awesome!

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  ChinaBizGov

• GM Wants its 1% back. Good luck.

  G. E. Anderson ---

  11 Jan 2012 | 2:48 pm

  GM announced yesterday (again) that it wants to repurchase a one percent stake in its joint venture with Shanghai Auto (SAIC) that it sold for a handful of magic beans a few years ago.Back in December of 2009, GM and SAIC announced a major change to their partnership which involved GM selling one percent of the SAIC-GM joint venture (JV) to SAIC for $85 million.  This announcement also included details on a new Hong Kong-registered joint venture through which GM and SAIC would partner to conduct business in other countries, primarily India.The net result was that GM and SAIC were no…

• End of the Road for Foreign Automakers in China?

  G. E. Anderson ---

  4 Jan 2012 | 4:38 pm

  Last week a story emerged that China's industrial planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), has announced that it will stop supporting foreign investment in its auto industry. (News stories may be found here, here and here.)This bit from a China Daily article explains a little about why these restrictions were being put in place:China...has removed industries from the list of those it encourages foreign companies to invest in. No longer part of that group are automakers, large coal-to-chemical operations and manufacturers of polycrystalline silicon."The restrictions…

• Will India Challenge China? Not yet.

  G. E. Anderson ---

  31 Dec 2011 | 2:18 pm

  Last month my wife and I took our first ever trip to India. Since that time I have struggled to put into words what I learned on our trip – not only about India, but also about China. Since today is the last day of 2011, I have determined that my latest thinking on this topic, however crudely formed at this point, is going up on the blog today.India Gate, DelhiSo what does China have to do with India? More importantly, you may be asking, how could one hope to learn anything about China by visiting a completely different country?Why India?Aside from the fact that I thought India would be an…

• Hold on to your lugnuts! It's time for a Trade War!

  G. E. Anderson ---

  14 Dec 2011 | 12:11 pm

  The Wall Street Journal is reporting today that China is preparing to levy duties on certain autos imported from the US. This would be on top of the 25 percent duties that China is still allowed to levy under its WTO commitments.China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement late Wednesday that it will levy antidumping and antisubsidy duties on imports from the U.S. of some vehicles with engine capacities above 2.5 liters beginning on Thursday and lasting through the next two years. ...The ministry said several U.S. companies, including General Motors Co., Chrysler Group LLC and the U.S.

• China, without all the paranoia

  G. E. Anderson ---

  5 Nov 2011 | 9:00 pm

  I recently returned from a trip to Taiwan as part of an American Young Scholars' Delegation. Pretending that I could still qualify as “young,” I joined ten other American scholars as a guest of Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) for a week of meetings and sightseeing.The purpose of this trip was for Taiwan to introduce itself to a handful of foreign scholars who previously had little contact with Taiwan, but who were interested to see the country up close. About half of our delegation were China scholars, with the rest having interest in aspects of Taiwan's culture, politics or…

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  Digital Marketing Inner Circle

• Chinese Migroblog Infographic

  Lorena Marangoni

  19 Jan 2012 | 11:27 pm

  Social media has become an effective medium for influencing our ideas and views andhas drastically changed the rules of an effective Brand Marketing campaign. Due to the growing importance of e-commerce and online activities, reaching customers through digital means has become an essential part of marketing plans globally.    In times when social media influence is flourishing, new technologies and ideas can be embraced and adopted with astonishing speed, instigating significant and often unpredictable consequences.  Recent evidence of this is the unexpectant rise of…

• Digital Jungle gets Festive (and a little crazy)

  Matt McDougall

  17 Dec 2011 | 8:52 pm

  Around this time of year, many lucky or depending on how you look at it, unlucky people are attending their awkward, alcohol-fueled office holiday parties.   For this year, Digital Jungle went with a 'talent show' theme. Where the various groups got the opportunity to show us their 'talent' ! Within the various 'acts' there were some party games played- mostly because is it fun to watch your colleagues do crazy things in the name of Christmas but the Digital Jungle crew got out in full force and showed  the world that we have many more talents beyond 'social media' 'search…

• 5 Best Practices for an Effective Weibo Presence

  Matt McDougall

  9 Dec 2011 | 8:21 pm

  With many Western Brands wanting to create a voice in the Chinese social media world it is not surprising that most turn to Weibo. With over 200+ million users on Sina Weibo alone (not including the Tencent Weibo users), this rapidly growing microblogging social networking platform offers an easy way for businesses to stay in front of and stay engaged with customers on a daily basis.   Unfortunately, many businesses struggle with optimizing this opportunity, not fully understanding the full potential of the tool. Here I have put some simple practices that should help your business…

• How to traverse Chinese Social Media jungle

  Matt McDougall

  7 Dec 2011 | 8:17 am

  Expert Interview with Dr. Mathew McDougall, CEO & Founder of Digital Jungle Social Media is widely known to be an effective medium for influencing our ideas and views which makes it an obvious channel for tourism and destinations marketers to use in promoting their hotels, airlines, and countries tourist destinations.     Social Media serves as an effective marketing tool. The idea is not new, but it has reached new horizons in China. China is growing its Internet users. Everybody wants to get on this train of promising perspectives, especially global brands and celebrities…

• Sina Weibo... Super Hot for Marketers

  Matt McDougall

  9 Nov 2011 | 7:21 pm

  When I explain to people about the rapidly changing social media landscape in China I simply bring this point to a sharp point by conveying the Sina Weibo story. Twitter clone come China Internet Superstar. From microblog to Entertainment and eCommerce hub.   These are all part of the remarkable journey that this platform has taken over these past few years. Today, my praise of this platform has be amplified by the Sina corporate news that advertising revenue hit $101 million in the latest quarter thanks to a 200 million and growing user base on Weibo. Wow!  

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  China Private Equity

• Happy & Healthy Dragon Year

  admin

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:40 am

  www.chinafirstcapital.com/blog Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous Chinese New Year. This is a Dragon Year, which many consider the most auspicious in the duodecennial Chinese lunar cycle. The vigorous dragon above is a “Kesi” embroidery from the Ming Dynasty, Wanli Emperor period.  

• China’s Porous Glass Ceiling – How Women Entrepreneurs Compete and Succeed in China

  admin

  16 Jan 2012 | 4:03 am

  www.chinafirstcapital.com/blog “Women”, in Mao Zedong’s memorable phrase, “hold up half the sky”. While not strictly the case in the business world, Chinese women do play a far more prominent role, both in starting and running big companies in China, than their sisters do elsewhere, particularly in the US and Europe. According to a study last year by accounting firm Grant Thornton,  women hold 34% of the senior management positions in China, compared to an average of 20% elsewhere in the world. The percentages are also moving in opposite directions, with a greater proportion of top…

• Is Huawei a Paper Tiger?

  admin

  3 Jan 2012 | 4:20 am

  www.chinafirstcapital.com/blog No large Chinese company is more scrutinized, criticized, ostracized and demonized than Huawei, the Shenzhen-based manufacturer of telecommunications equipment. With revenues of $28 billion in 2010, and 110,000 employees, Huawei is the second-largest telecom equipment company in the world, along with being the largest and most prominent private technology company in China. It is also said to enjoy significant behind-the-curtain support from senior figures in the Chinese government and military. Not much is known about the secretive company. But for all its size…

• In China, Newspapers Can Still Thrive

  admin

  19 Dec 2011 | 4:49 am

  www.chinafirstcapital.com/blog Newspapers, as everyone knows by now, are a crummy business, being slowly but surely pounded to death by two major forces they can’t control. First, news is now available for free, instantly, online. So, no need to wait for – and pay for — tomorrow’s newspaper to find out what’s happened today. At the same time, Google and Craigslist have created a far more efficient, and generally far cheaper,  form of advertising online than traditional print advertising. On the whole, it’s a very gloomy picture. But, there is one new newspaper business model…

• Song Dynasty Deal-Sourcing

  admin

  5 Dec 2011 | 6:05 am

  www.chinafirstcapital.com/blog I get asked occasionally by private equity firm guys how CFC gets such stellar clients. At least in one case, the answer is carved fish, or more accurately my ability quickly to identify the two murky objects (similar to the ones above) carved into the bottom of a ceramic dish. It also helped that I could identify where the dish was made and when. From that flowed a contract to represent as exclusive investment bankers China’s largest and most valuable private GPS equipment company in a USD$30mn fund-raising. It’s in every sense a dream client. They are the…

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  Jing Daily :

• Week In Review: January 23-27

  Jing Daily

  27 Jan 2012 | 3:18 pm

  Jing Daily’s Top Posts for the Week In case you missed them the first time around, here are some of Jing Daily’s top posts for the week of January 23-27: Patrik Ervell Chinese Shoppers Putting Premium On “Made In USA” Labels By this point, it’s well established that China’s shoppers are fans of American brands like Coach, Ralph Lauren, Levi’s and Tiffany & Co., are buying Buicks and Cadillacs at an impressive rate, and are slowly but steadily coming around to Californian wines. But for smaller brands, particularly those made on a more limited scale in the US, opportunities…

• Dragon Week Gives China’s World Travelers A Taste Of Manhattan High Life

  Jing Daily

  27 Jan 2012 | 2:04 pm

  Visitors Took Part In Events At Bergdorf Goodman, Empire State Building, Ralph Lauren, Montblanc Mayor Michael Bloomberg gives a speech at the special lighting ceremony held at the Empire State Building Over the last five days, the inaugural Dragon Week brought retailers and luxury brands in New York face-to-face with some of China’s emerging outbound tourist-shoppers, a highly sought-after but poorly understood demographic. Organized by the membership-based network Affinity China, which plans to hold upcoming Dragon Week events in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, the week of events was…

• First Chinese Owned & Operated Gallery In Europe Opens In Berlin

  Jing Daily

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:25 am

  Zhong Gallery Founded By Beijing Art Collector Zhu Gaowen Zhong Gallery's first exhibition, “Dawn: New Art from China,” runs through March 31 Opening its doors just in time for Chinese New Year celebrations, this week Zhong Gallery — the first Chinese owned and operated gallery space in Europe — made its debut in Berlin. Unlike other collector markets like the US, Europe has so far been without a Chinese contemporary art gallery displaying works hand-picked from a native collector, and as Blouin Artinfo Germany notes, Beijing collector and Zhong Gallery owner Zhu Gaowen…

• Edinburgh Zoo Unveils Special Tartan To Welcome Giant Pandas

  Jing Daily

  26 Jan 2012 | 1:50 pm

  Tartan Commemorates Arrival Of Pandas Tian Tian And Yang Guang Kirsty Franey models the special tartan (Image: Edinburgh Evening News) This week, Scotland’s Edinburgh Zoo debuted a special tartan designed to commemorate the recent arrival of two giant pandas from China, the culmination of a five-year effort. As the zoo noted in a statement, the new tartan, produced by the renowned local designers Kinloch Anderson, “reflects the huge cultural significance of Tian Tian and Yang Guang’s arrival on Scottish shores.” Echoing in many ways the Gillespie Tartan — in honor of…

• Filmmaker Zoe Cassavetes Directs Johnnie Walker Blue Label “True Rarity” China Campaign

  Jing Daily

  26 Jan 2012 | 10:39 am

  Cassavetes Known For Commercial Work With Louis Vuitton And Miu Miu Continuing its strong push to foster a new generation of Chinese whisky drinkers, the Diageo-owned whisky maker Johnnie Walker recently signed the Manchester-based ad agency Love to promote its Johnnie Walker Blue Label in the China market. Directed by the American filmmaker Zoe Cassavetes, who has previously worked with luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Miu Miu, Drum notes today that Love developed the concept, wrote the script and provided the creative direction for the 60 and 30-second “True Rarity”…

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  China Internet Watch

• China’s B2C Market Exceeded 240 Billion Yuan in 2011

  CIW Team Staff

  22 Jan 2012 | 8:18 pm

  Total transactions of China’s B2C market reached 240.07 billion yuan (USD 38.03 billion) in 2011, with an increase of over 130% compared to 2010. Source: EnfoDesk, Analysis International Copyright © 2011 China Internet Watch Subscribe to CIW Whitepaper Newsletter here. (Digital Fingerprint: ce3119404a5ce2598bdc0ba364f770c3)Original URL:China’s B2C Market Exceeded 240 Billion Yuan in 2011Also read:: China Q1 Online Payment Exceeded 212 Billion Yuan

• China Internet Advertising Spend Bypassed Newspaper in 2011

  CIW Team Staff

  18 Jan 2012 | 8:25 pm

  According to iResearch, China internet advertising total revenue reached 51.19 billion yuan (USD 8.11 billion) in 2011, up 57.3% from 2010 and exceeding total newspaper print ad revenue by 45.36 billion yuan. iResearch forecasts total internet advertising revenue would exceed 100 billion yuan next year (2013). Copyright © 2011 China Internet Watch Subscribe to CIW Whitepaper Newsletter here. (Digital Fingerprint: ce3119404a5ce2598bdc0ba364f770c3)Original URL:China Internet Advertising Spend Bypassed Newspaper in 2011Also read:: China Online Advertising Summary in Q1 2010

• China Search Engine Market Summary for 2011

  CIW Team Staff

  17 Jan 2012 | 1:14 am

  Total revenue of China search engine market last year reached 18.78 billion yuan, up 11.7% from 2010. Baidu leads search engine market with a market share of 76.1% by revenue while Google’s down to 19.8%. Sogou and Soso expanded their market share to 2.3% and 1.4% respectively. Copyright © 2011 China Internet Watch Subscribe to CIW Whitepaper Newsletter here. (Digital Fingerprint: ce3119404a5ce2598bdc0ba364f770c3)Original URL:China Search Engine Market Summary for 2011Also read:: Charts: China 2011 Q2 Search Engine Market Update

• Third Party Payment in 2011 Exceeded 2 Trillion Yuan

  CIW Team Staff

  11 Jan 2012 | 8:03 pm

  China Online Payment Market Size 2006-2015e China’s third party online payment continues to maintain strong growth in 2011 with an estimated total transaction exceeding 2 trillion yuan (2,203.8 billion yuan or USD 349 billion), up 118%. China Online Payment Market Share in 2011 Alipay is still the dominant player in China’s online payment with 49% market share, followed by Tenpay and China Pay. Online shopping in China continued rapid growth in 2011, reaching 800 billion yuan. Copyright © 2011 China Internet Watch Subscribe to CIW Whitepaper Newsletter here. (Digital…

• Baidu Integrating Social Into Search Results Similar to “Google +1″

  Rocky Fu

  10 Jan 2012 | 8:02 pm

  Social Feature in Baidu Search Results Baidu is found been testing Google +1 like features in its search results pages, like the screenshot shown above. A thumb up icon is displayed with a number in SERPs beside the display URL, like the Facebook Like box. Visit this link (“Baidu”) or this one (“Guge”, Google’s Chinese brand name) or this (“Sogou”) to have a live view. I tested some keywords and only found keywords related to search engine brand terms that triggers this social icon. You must be wondering where this number comes from. Baidu does not…

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  China Hope Live

• Those aren’t Chinese New Year’s fireworks; they’re “recreational munitions”

  Joel 大江

  22 Jan 2012 | 7:48 pm

  From Nankai Rob’s Chinese New Year 2012 post “Spring Festival Time. . .Lock and Load“: “…parties are held on a scale so massive that Caligula would have nodded in approval, and enough recreational munitions are set off to make the Battle of Waterloo feel like a suburban bar mitzvah. You’ll notice my careful word choice here: “recreational munitions” rather than “fireworks.” “Fireworks” as a term carries with it more celebratory, even innocent connotations, but you can’t define Chinese celebratory fireworks by the intent behind them. Certainly…

• Eaves-dropping on Beijingers in Vancouver

  Joel 大江

  14 Jan 2012 | 6:22 pm

  Last Friday I started teaching a month-long EFL “Winter Camp” program for nine Beijingers aged 8-13 who arrived the night before. We have English class in the mornings and field trips in the afternoons. They’re all staying with Canadian families and it’s a shocking cultural adventure for them. Almost everything is different. It’s rare to get a group this “fresh”, and I plan to have fun with it. We’re using a classroom in a posh local private school that is pretty impressive even by Canadian standards, so the facilities and grounds are really…

• Tension rising with Mainland students in American universities

  Joel 大江

  11 Jan 2012 | 2:55 pm

  Interesting observations at China Law Blog about how Mainland Chinese students studying in the USA — in contrast to Chinese from other countries — are apparently generating a lot of anger among the American students: Chinese Students In America. It’s Bad Out There. It seems that Mainland Chinese attitudes toward education don’t play well among their American classmates. For example: “They cheat all the time. It is pretty unbelievable how often I have seen them cheating. I am always complaining to my professors about this, but they usually just act like they are…

• Chinese “evil cult” propaganda in our Canadian mailbox

  Joel 大江

  9 Jan 2012 | 12:29 am

  As soon as I saw this in our mailbox today, it reminded me of something I’d read in the news a couple years ago. A certain religious group in China, famous for being brutally persecuted by the gov’t in the late 90′s, was apparently squandering Western public sympathy by selling tickets to Chinese cultural stage performances that contained explicit (but unadvertised) political and spiritual messages. This was making some Euro-Americans feel deceived. People felt ripped off that they’d come for a family show and got explicit politicking and proselytizing. I didn’t…

• Japanese apologies

  Joel 大江

  30 Dec 2011 | 1:41 pm

  Unremarkable at first glance, this is a photo of a Japanese colleague who serves in the charity org we’re connected with in China. She’s placing flowers at the memorial to Eric Liddell (the “Chariots of Fire” guy) in the Japanese internment camp where he died during the brutal Japanese invasion of China during WWII. Of the Japanese I’ve met in China, it’s been the three Japanese Christians (two more plus the one pictured, all serving in the same NGO) who’ve gone out of their ways to personally and symbolically apologize for the actions of their…

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  ChinaHush

• Renting a girlfriend to celebrate Spring Festival in China becoming popular

  Jacky Huang

  27 Jan 2012 | 12:50 pm

  “Don’t talk about relationship, it’s just a deal.” That is not only a dialogue in the new released Hong Kong film Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, but also the description of a recent phenomenon that single men and women rent a girlfriend/boyfriend to go back home with them to celebrate Chinese Spring Festival. For young bachelors, the seven days Spring Festival means not just the reunion with families, they need to face the pressure driven by relatives to take a girlfriend/boyfriend home, especially for those who is working far away from home. However, there’s always a solution to…

• Peking University professor says some Hong Kong people are dogs

  Key

  25 Jan 2012 | 8:38 pm

  The incident of Mainland visitors eating on Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway caused much extensive discussions on the Internet.  On January 19, 2012, claiming to be the 73rd generation descendant of Confucius, Peking University professor Kong Qingdong commented on the matter on a Internet TV show called “Kong Monk Has Something to Say” (《孔和尚有话说》), saying “some Hong Kong people are dogs”, and “A place needs the law to maintain order reflects the (low) quality of people at such place” The 7-minute long video clip spread on the Internet like wild fire since the…

• Mainland visitors eating on Hong Kong train causes huge fight

  Key

  21 Jan 2012 | 7:07 pm

  Recently, a dispute between Mainland visitors and Hong Kong residents caused by Mainland visitors eating on a Hong Kong MTR train was captured on video.  Video was then viewed extensively on the Internet and caused heated discussions amongst Hong Kong and Mainland netizens. This video captured the incident happened on January 15, 2012, on a Hong Kong MTR (Mass Transit Railway) East Rail line train departing from Hung Hom, Hong Kong to Luohu, Shenzhen, Guangdong.  Carrying their luggage, eight Mainland visitors including children were departing from Hong Kong.  30-year-old Hong Kong…

• Retraction

  Key

  21 Jan 2012 | 5:32 am

  On July 1st ChinaHush published an internet article written by author by the pen-name Wayne Bruce, stating that Mr. Jamie Shorter was deported from China in May for Internet stalking. Mr Shorter was not deported from China nor was he dealt with by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau for any internet or telephone activity. We apologize to Mr Shorter for any inconvenience caused.

• Shanghai Airline to broadcast announcements in Shanghai dialect starting New Years Eve

  Key

  19 Jan 2012 | 8:21 pm

  Starting from Chinese New Year’s eve (falls on 1/22 this year), Shanghai Airline will try to broadcast inflight announcements in very “rich flavored” Shanghai dialect (Shanghainese) on the returning flights from Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan 6 cities.  Airline launched “Shanghai Dialect broadcast in the cabin” service, in order to make the passengers on the plane to feel the deep flavor of Shanghai, let the Shanghai-born travelers to feel the warmth of home.  Official said, if the trial results were good, we would broadcast in Shanghai dialect on every…

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  China Quality Control

• The use of Gantt Charts in Production Monitoring

  Dhruv

  10 Jan 2012 | 4:25 am

  Example Gantt Chart Being involved in a wide range of production monitoring projects in China, it’s important that we’re efficient and use the right tools, in order to manage the projects effectively.  One tool that we use, especially in the fabrication of industrial projects (but with applications for commercial and consumer products as well) is called a Gantt chart. A Gantt chart is like a GPS for manufacturing projects. It shows what elements are involved in the project from start to finish, where the production is supposed to be what point of time, and if the project is on…

• Performing Final Inspection at less than 100% Packed

  Andrew

  22 Dec 2011 | 11:29 pm

  I often get asked by my clients: “at what point should we have an inspection of the goods in the factory?”.  This is a good question.  In this post I am referring only to what we call a “Final Inspection”.  This generally indicates that the majority of goods have been produced in the factory (in China), and this will be the last QC check before the goods are shipped to the client. The most common time to inspect the goods is when they are 100% completed and packed.  This is the safest choice; right for a buyer who has serious concerns about the quality of the…

• Andrew Reich, InTouch CEO and Quality Wars author, Speaks at AmCham Shanghai and Shanghai CHAINA Conference

  Andrew

  14 Nov 2011 | 6:54 am

  InTouch CEO, Andrew Reich, has been busy this month, participating in several events in the Shanghai area. On November 2nd, Andrew spoke at the 3rd annual CHaINA conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in Shanghai. Andrew led the workshop entitled Quality Control in the Supply Chain – The Long-term Play through 2020 which was attended by over 65 of the total 350+ attendees at the conference. This workshop was well attended by executives from major firms such as Carrefour, Adidas, and Overstock.com. On November 4th, Andrew again hosted a lecture on Quality Control in Shanghai at the…

• China Buying – The Advantages and Disadvantages of working Factory Direct

  Andrew

  27 Oct 2011 | 6:16 am

  Buyers of China-manufactured goods generally have a few choices when it comes to what “type” of entity they want to do business with. While it can be hard for those new to the industry to tell sometimes what kind of outfit they are working with (more on that later), it’s important to understand the benefits and downfalls of working with different different kinds of companies here. In this post we’ll examine the benefits of working factory direct, as compared with a buying agent or trading company. Working Factory Direct – You’ve probably heard it from your…

• Product Inspection in China and Having the Right Equipment

  Andrew

  7 Apr 2011 | 2:35 am

  One thing we have learned from doing product inspections in China is that you cannot rely on the factory to have the necessary test equipment when you are going to perform an inspection.  It’s important that as an inspector you’re well prepared with the basic inspection equipment, and also any specialized equipment you might need to inspect a particular item. Two important things to consider are 1.  Ensuring that you have written down on your QC Checklist what inspection equipment should be brought by the auditor, and what should be provided by the factory. and 2.  Having a…

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  GoChengdoo

• 2011: The Year in Review

  26 Jan 2012 | 3:05 am

  When we look back, 2011 saw lots of changes in the city: There might still be a general construction and business-opening frenzy in Chengdu, but the region is also seeing a more mature phase of development focused on culture, preservation, and environmental awareness; at the same time, Chengdu solidified its intent to become a global car center, replete with automobile production and a car culture of its own. Lastly, the 2008 earthquake is still in the minds and hearts of the Sichuanese; January Chengdu showed a remarkable number of signs of development on many front in January. The city made…

• CHENGDOO 2011 Annual Readers' Poll: and the winner is ...

  25 Jan 2012 | 10:35 pm

  The new year means a look back at the eateries, party places, and watering holes of 2011. This year's readers' poll gave us a few surprises—unexpected upsets, unforeseen wins—but given the relative paucity of new places opening in 2010, plenty of winners of polls in years past maintained their positions on this list. As always, we'd like to thank everyone who took time to vote in our poll, and we'd like to extend a warm congratulations to all the winners and nominees that appear on these pages and on the online survey. Results of this and every year's poll are chosen by voters and not the…

• Chengdu's Spring Festival in the past

  21 Jan 2012 | 2:40 am

  Just in time to ring in the lunar new year, QQ features photos from Spring Festival in decades past, as well as a write-up of older Chengdu residents' memories of Spring Festival during those times. We've loosely translated excerpts below: From doing the New Year's shopping, making sausages, making the preparations to cure the meat to lighting the furnace, sweeping the floor, posting New Year's banners, and even after New Year's day passes, setting off firecrackers, visiting temples, performing lion and dragon dances, and going to see the lantern festivals—combine this all with the…

• Spring Festival, Lion Dance and Lantern Festival

  20 Jan 2012 | 10:15 pm

  Spring Festival Spring Festival (春节)in China usually lasts for 15 days, starting on the first day of the lunar year and ending with the Lantern Festival. The holiday is supposed to welcome a new beginning and drive off any inauspiciousness of the previous year—but while Spring Festival traditionally embodied many rituals, today, most people see the holiday as little more than a few days off from work or school to dine with their extended family members. Traditions such as setting off fireworks, which are said to bring good fortune in the new year, or sweeping one's room and purchasing a…

• Chinatown Los Angeles

  19 Jan 2012 | 12:00 am

  chinatown 唐人街 thank you have a nice day The Chinese are known for having traveled far and wide starting a long time ago, and as a result there are Chinatowns—known in Mandarin as 唐人街 (tángrénjiē)—on six continents and in nearly every country. In Europe, notable Chinatowns are in London, Antwerp, Paris, and Amsterdam. Pockets of Chinese immigrants and their descendents exist across Australia and New Zealand with proper Chinatowns in many of Australia's larger cities. Asia too has some of the world's most famous Chinatowns, including Bangkok's, Yokohama's, and Dubai's, and…

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  Quality inspection and sourcing advice in China & Asia

• How to reduce the frequency of quality inspections

  Renaud Anjoran

  23 Jan 2012 | 9:42 am

  Over the last month, I received several messages from readers on this topic. So I tried to think of a few ways to reduce the frequency of QC inspections without taking high risks. 1. Two methods I approve of The two most common solutions are: Reducing the inspection severity (i.e. checking a smaller number of samples by choosing the “reduced” severity); Skipping some lots randomly. But then, how to select which orders can receive a “lighter dose” of quality control? In the words of one of the importers who wrote to me: We write PO’s to many factories and my gut…

• Training for QC inspectors: Q&A with an expert

  Renaud Anjoran

  17 Jan 2012 | 6:24 am

  I recently had the opportunity to work with Hubert Delelis Fanien, founder of Aka Outspring. He has set up a training center for QC inspectors in Shenzhen, China. He also helps local companies hire and evaluate their inspectors. I was impressed by his unique teaching approach and by his experience in managing Chinese staff. He was kind enough to respond to my questions. Q: Can you tell us a little about your background and how you developed the methods you use to teach QC inspectors? In my 16 years working for a major French multinational — including 12 years as a Business Unit…

• Understand the Chinese side in your negotiations

  Renaud Anjoran

  15 Jan 2012 | 11:17 pm

  There are frequent misunderstandings between importers and their Chinese suppliers, and they could be avoided if the purchaser placed himself in his supplier’s shoes from time to time. Andrew Hupert came up with an excellent reminded in American Negotiating Culture – Through the Eyes of the Chinese Counterparty. He describes the American style, but most of his points are also valid, to some extent, for Europeans and Australians. Here are a few differences that are often shocking to Chinese negotiators: Americans believe that negotiations end. To Chinese, the negotiation is…

• Supervising production in china

  Renaud Anjoran

  11 Jan 2012 | 9:51 am

  If you import from China, you are probably frustrated by the lack of updates about production advancement. Not only that, but you must have been shocked by the lack of reliability of any update or forecast that your suppliers give you. Simple reporting from the supplier For those of you who purchase from a trading company, or who have a very good relationship with a factory, you should request at least a weekly update about each of your running orders. It can take the shape of the below table, for example. The most important is to keep this reporting really, really simple. With a bit of color…

• The 2 types of inspection companies

  Renaud Anjoran

  7 Jan 2012 | 6:07 am

  Let’s say you are an importer, looking for a provider of QC inspection services in China. You will evaluate candidates on how serious they look, on their size, and maybe on their knowledge of your product line, right? Well, you’ll be missing one important question: are they focused on flexibility or on reliability? Inspection firms be both very flexible and very reliable. I distinguish two types of companies in the industry. Note: I excluded the largest companies from this analysis, because they are more focused on serving big retailers, and they make most of their money from…

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  Joop.in China

• Holiday in the Netherlands

  admin

  27 Jan 2012 | 5:24 pm

  During Chinese New years, Suna and I visited my parents in the Netherlands, a week packed with activities. It started with an early Finnair flight to the Netherlands right after Chinese new years in Shanghai (Can’t recommend to fly this day due to late night fireworks the previous day), we arrived Monday evening at my parents house in the middle of the Netherlands. The holiday started with a welcome home dinner with Cheese fondue and champagne. Ofcourse we were still in Shanghai time so we slept early and woke up at 4AM Dutch time the next morning. Whilst all of us were up, we went for…

• Year of the dragon! (Fireworks video)

  admin

  22 Jan 2012 | 10:56 am

  Since it’s Chinese new year’s tonight, I thought I’d put on some footage on my blog. This is taken in our compound, close to Hongqiao airport, Shanghai. You will see the same all over the country though.   Airquality:   Shanghai Daily reported the air pollution was a ’102%’ (not sure what) but the article mentioned the already polluted air was likely to get worse over night. Some readouts from Beijing sky show nothing too extreme compared to last year.   The fireworks will continue for the coming weeks but ofcourse tonight will be most. Check…

• Multibooting OSX Lion & Ubuntu Linux on Macbook 4,1 without CD

  admin

  22 Jan 2012 | 8:38 am

  Ubuntu 11.10 screenshot running unity desktop manager on macbook pro     Linux was a hobby of mine about ten years ago. A hobby you say? Yes, I don’t know why I got involved with it, but Linux just pulls you in, if you like computer science. Actually, I developed a bad habit of tweaking and patching Gentoo to fit my laptop at the time, until I was frustrated with driver support and time to get things done. Then I switched to OSX Tiger, which just worked, but had a simular feeling. Recently i’ve been familiar with Linux once more, in a work related matter: Besides server…

• Find the people who tell your product sucks

  Joop Dorresteijn

  5 Jan 2012 | 9:11 am

  In 2008, I wanted to start a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) consultancy service. The idea was viable but it was terrible from the start. Now, happy I didn’t continue with it! At the time I helped helped a lot of people in my environment with running their webshop or e-service. I earned some cash on the side but one day decided to approach it in a professional matter. “I got it! “ I’ll find new customers and write a ‘SEO’ report about their site, then I can attach an invoice to that! At the time I was very enthusiastic about my idea, so I wrote a businessplan and discussed…

• Horseback riding in Suzhou

  admin

  2 Jan 2012 | 6:45 am

  After a good few months in Shanghai, we finally got some time in the nature again as we went horseback riding in tge mountains of Suzhou, a city close to Shanghai. Thank you, Dirk Jan, for arranging this! For the people living in Shanghai: it’s worthwhile the effort. Suzhou is close to Shanghai. (30 minutes by high-speed train) a horseback ride for about 2 hours will cost you 200 rmb which is a fair price. If you can ride, you are free to gallop as you wish.

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  MyBrownBaby

• French Elle Thinks Michelle Obama Taught Black Women How To Dress—And Other MyBrownBaby Fresh Links

  Denene@MyBrownBaby

  27 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am

  If French Elle fashion writer Nathalie Dolivo is to be believed—and she is not—African-Americans weren’t stylish until the Obama family came into office. ”For the first time, the chic has... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• If Terrell Owens Thinks He’s “In Hell,” Imagine How His Kids Feel

  Denene@MyBrownBaby

  26 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am

  I’m no Terrell Owens fan and I have no interest in kicking a brother when he’s down, but the former NFL wide receiver known as T.O. isn’t winning any points after revealing in this month’s GQ cover... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Police Officers in School? A Recipe for Student Failure

  Denene@MyBrownBaby

  26 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am

  By NICK CHILES Educators have known for a long time what kind of environment children need to learn: They need to feel safe and supported. Without these two elements, they will never perform at their... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Birthing While Black: This African American Mom’s Experience Was Anything But VIP

  Denene@MyBrownBaby

  25 Jan 2012 | 10:43 am

  There are a ton of things I’ll never forget about the first time I gave birth—showing up with a Donny Hathaway CD in one hand, a beautiful pink and white-striped “going home” dress and a white... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• MyBrownBaby Respect: Maya Angelou

  Denene@MyBrownBaby

  25 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am

  There is, I hope, a thesis in my work: we may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated. That sounds goody-two-shoes, I know, but I believe that a diamond is the result of extreme pressure... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• 

  Speaking of China

• Ask the Yangxifu: Chinese Men, Sex and Prostitution

  Jocelyn Eikenburg

  27 Jan 2012 | 3:08 am

  After her recent dating experiences in China, a woman wonders, should she expect Chinese men to have higher numbers of sexual partners and/or experience with prostitutes? (photo, a still of a sex scene from "Lust, Caution," from http://www.guardian.co.uk) Anonymous asks: I read your piece about dating pasts and Chinese men, but I have been having the opposite experience. I have dated some Chinese men in China. On each occasion as I became closer with the respective guy I was dating at the time, discussion of sexual history came up. Each had a fairly sizable number of partners (into…

• There’s No Vacation for Chinese New Year in America

  Jocelyn Eikenburg

  23 Jan 2012 | 3:08 am

  My Chinese father-in-law was surprised to hear we had no time off -- but he's never known a world without Chinese New Year, like I have. “Will you have time off for Chinese New Year?” Even though my father-in-law had retired more than 10 years before, he asked this question to us this past Saturday night with all of the wonder of a young child during the holidays. “No, the semester already started,” John said. “They gave us vacation for Christmas, not for Chinese New Year,” I added. “Christmas is the big holiday in America.” “Oh,” my father-in-law said, with a voice…

• Ask the Yangxifu: Chinese New Year Red Envelopes For Boyfriend?

  Jocelyn Eikenburg

  20 Jan 2012 | 3:08 am

  Red envelope, hongbao, lai see -- whatever you call them, remember, at Chinese New Year, these are more for kids, not your boyfriend or girlfriend. D asks: I’m dating a cute Cantonese boy, although he was born in Canada himself (along with his brother), his parents are from China. His parents are pretty strict about him dating period, never mind dating a white girl like myself. Chinese New Year is coming up, and I know it’s a time where the older give to the younger. As I’m older than my boyfriend by a few years, would it be odd if I had gotten him one of the special lai…

• Getting Personal When Buying Condoms at Watson’s China

  Jocelyn Eikenburg

  16 Jan 2012 | 3:08 am

  At Watson's in China, a little personal shopping got too personal when I decided to stock up on condoms. (photo by Calvin Teo from wikimedia.org) “Your Personal Store.” That’s the tagline for Watson’s, the most popular pharmacy/drugstore shop in Asia and my go-to in China for so many health and beauty items I need. But after my experience this summer, I began to wonder if Watson’s wasn’t becoming “Your A Little Too Personal Store.” Last summer, I lived mostly with my in-laws and visited Hangzhou or Shanghai only a few times. For me, that meant no Watson’s conveniently…

• Follow Me On Sina Weibo

  Jocelyn Eikenburg

  14 Jan 2012 | 9:15 pm

  I'm finally on Sina Weibo/新浪微博, so what are you waiting for? Follow me. Okay, it’s taken me long enough — and a little prodding from fans — but I did it. I now have an active account on the microblogging site Sina Weibo, also known as 新浪微博 （xīnlàngwēibó). My username is speakingofchina, and you’re welcome to follow me here. Besides content from this site, I also hope to share Chinese-language news related to love, family and relationships. I’m a complete newbie here, so I welcome any suggestions too. See you on Sina!   Possibly…

• 

  Hidden Harmonies China Blog

• The Economist, it is time for a new editorial overhaul

  DeWang

  26 Jan 2012 | 7:07 pm

  The Economist recently announced a dedicated weekly section on China.  It said, China is the second country for them to have done this for, followed only by their singling out the United States since 1942.  In my view, the extra attention they give to ‘China’ as a topic is hardly going to help Westerners’ understanding of China.  Their editorial staff really needs an overhaul, as one of their reader observes: You need an editor and staff with some personal background in China (and I don’t mean expats with Chinese spouses). You need better academic resources. And…

• Five reasons why China will not invade Taiwan, and an analysis of Cross-strait Relations

  Maitreya

  24 Jan 2012 | 4:07 pm

  ‘So solidly built into our consciousness is the concept that China is conducting a rapacious and belligerent foreign policy, that whenever a dispute arises in which China is involved, she is instantly assumed to have provoked it.’ — Felix Greene, 1965. When a superpower is engaging in full hegemonic and supercilious display, another country with slowly increasing economic clout and rising international status can raise apprehension. When countries are used to a bigger country that is settled for some years in a bullying position, someone starting to come close to that bully’s…

• Happy Chinese New Year

  raffiaflower

  23 Jan 2012 | 1:27 pm

  (This Chinese New Year greeting came via raffiaflower, and I took the liberty in sharing it.  DeWang) Various ways of writing '爱' - photo by raffiaflower at Huang Shan (黄山) Hi, there! Every language has a word for love. But Chinese is probably the only language that has so many possible written variations of the emotion. This has been the way, even since before Qinshihuangdi unified China and imposed standardized measures, including the universal script. Yet the writing variations of the old kingdoms are still known today. In a park on the way to Huangshan (one of the five…

• How Bad or Good is Chinese TV?

  Ray

  22 Jan 2012 | 1:51 pm

  Today also happened to be the day before new year (除夕)in the lunar calendar. I would like to wish everybody a happy, healthy and prosperous dragon year. Instead of the usual heavy subject matter, I would like to talk about something more light hearted. I am in a holiday mood today so I will address some concern about the lack of creativity in TV broadcasting in China. Instead of using academic discussion I will simply provide a link to a hot TV series that has taken my sister by storm. She is the one that actually sent it to me. In fact she considered this love/history drama so good that…

• Human Rights Revisted

  melektaus

  21 Jan 2012 | 7:57 pm

  This blog will be a continuation of the interesting dialogue started by Oli on human rights and China. I agree with Oli that Chinese culture does have considerable resources to take into account concerns raised by many human rights discourse. The value of human rights is universal and ancient. Many such values, though implicitly already there in Chinese culture, may be accounted within a modern Chinese cultural framework. I also respectfully disagree with Oli about how the more explicit and formal rights framework (the “formalization” of rights in his words) evolved in the west. I believe…

• 

  Shanghai > Articles

• Where to Celebrate Australia Day in Shanghai

  clairebared

  25 Jan 2012 | 8:25 pm

  Date: Jan 26th 2012 10:28a.m. Contributed by: clairebared Happy Australia Day, Shanghai! If you’re Australian (or an admirer of) and stuck in town celebrating sans sun and surf, here are a couple of places where you can don your green and gold today. After you’ve spent the morning streaming Triple J’s countdown of the Hottest 100, head along to The Shed. They’re hosting a bender all afternoon with free-flow Australian beer, house pours and all-you-can-eat barbecue for just RMB250. Kakadu is hosting a barbie with RMB150 all-you-can-eat barbecue (includes one free drink). The bash…

• Tom Cruise and Brad Bird Team Up For Surprisingly Good MI:4

  thewooster

  24 Jan 2012 | 3:25 am

  Date: Jan 24th 2012 5:29p.m. Contributed by: thewooster If you’re going to venture out to one movie this winter, go see the latest Mission Impossible. Plenty of action series lose steam by the fourth installment, but Mission Impossible―Ghost Protocol actually makes for a spectacular cinematic experience that happens to be the franchise’s best so far. Tom Cruise reprises his role as Ethan Hunt, and he’s accompanied by a new team on their most intense mission yet: to exonerate the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) that’s been shut down following its implication in the bombing of the…

• A Couple of Lucky Wines for Chinese New Year

  winechi

  19 Jan 2012 | 11:44 pm

  Date: Jan 20th 2012 11:43a.m. Contributed by: winechi Chinese New Year is around the corner, and I’ve got a few “good fortune” wines to share. Rumor has it that the fabled dragons depicted in books and paintings in ancient China were in fact lizards. So let’s celebrate the Year of the Dragon with D’arenberg The Lucky Lizard Chardonnay 2008 from Summergate (under RMB400) a wine full of stone, tropical fruit and butterscotch flavors with a creamy aftertaste. The Chasse Spleen 2006 from Ruby Red (RMB445) is a Bordeaux red with scorched earth and blackcurrant character. The name of the…

• Weibo Weekly: What Are Netizens Saying about Ye Haiyan’s Free Sex Service?

  amberwoo

  19 Jan 2012 | 9:53 pm

  Date: Jan 20th 2012 10:44a.m. Contributed by: amberwoo In Weibo Weekly, City Weekend takes a look at the most talked about topic circulating China's biggest microblogging site. This week everyone is talking about blogger and activist Ye Haiyan, who posed as a prostitute for a day to speak up for sex workers. How did Chinese netizens react? Blogger, feminist and activist Ye Haiyan (叶海燕), after organizing the first rally to legalize prostitution in China in 2010, has again triggered debate by posing as a prostitute and offering free sex for migrant workers in a sex shop. Although the…

• The Last Ticket Home: Shanghai's Migrant Workers Scramble for Tickets Home Ahead of CNY

  emmadong

  19 Jan 2012 | 4:05 am

  Date: Jan 19th 2012 5:46p.m. Contributed by: emmadong “There are 130 million migrant workers in China. They go home only once a year during Chinese New Year. This is the world’s largest human migration.” This somber narrative from Fan Lixin’s award-winning 2009 documentary Last Train Home vividly illustrates the plight of hundreds of thousands of migrants who line up for weeks, struggling to get a ticket back to rural hometowns for Chinese New Year. This year, Shanghai introduced a number of initiatives supposedly designed to ease the ticket crush, including online and phone booking.

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  Foreign Entrepreneurs in China

• A China Joint Venture Survival Guide. 22 Facts and 22 Practical Tips (II)

  Clara Muriel Ruano

  19 Jan 2012 | 2:37 am

  This is the second post of the series entitled “A China Joint-Venture Survival Guide” based on Mike Smith´s experiences as his company’s representative in a Chinese joint venture. If you have not read our previous post with the first set of facts and tips you can read it here: A China Joint-Venture Survival Guide (I). A Joint Venture Survival Guide (II).(Tips 9-15) “The Danger Zone” 9. Your Potential Partner is Well Connected … Maybe Good, Maybe Bad Experience: It is quite common to be taken on the “big tour”, introduced to the city mayor, the bank’s president, and all…

• Buying Out Your Chinese Supplier?

  Clara Muriel Ruano

  11 Jan 2012 | 3:23 am

  China Law Blog has published a post about foreign companies that try to buy out their Chinese suppliers. Dan Harris makes very enjoyable reading out of a very serious topic. You can read his post entitled here: “Buying A Chinese Company. Why China Deals Don´t Get Done” This is what you will learn from his article: Very common practises for Chinese companies are: -to under report employee wages to the government -to underpay taxes -to pay the rent under the table. Which may be easy to get away with as a Chinese company but not as a WFOE. So, if you are considering buying out your…

• A China Joint Venture Survival Guide. 22 Facts and 22 Practical Tips.

  Clara Muriel Ruano

  8 Jan 2012 | 3:16 am

  Joint-Ventures (J-V) in China can go well, and can also go very wrong. When the latter is the case, problems come up from where you less expect them. “Mike Smith” (not his real name) spent two years in rural China supervising his employer’s interest in a Chinese joint venture where they were the majority partner (deal signed before he landed there). His case falls within the second category I’ve mentioned (I would in fact say that all that could go wrong went wrong) but that has given him invaluable lessons on how to ensure things are done right. He has also met on the way a number of…

• Christmas Wishes and China Business Books

  Clara Muriel Ruano

  13 Dec 2011 | 9:52 am

  Christmas is here so in case anybody is looking for books to add to the Christmas wish list, these are a couple of recommendations (both of them really good China business books): “China Entrepreneur. Voices of Experience from 40 International Business Pioneers” by Juan Antonio Fernandez and Laurie Underwood Insights and anecdotes based on in-depth interviews to successful expatriate entrepreneurs. “Business Leadership in China. How to Blend Best Western Practices with Chinese Wisdom” by Frank T. Gallo Based on interviews and the author´s own China experience, brings a lot of…

• When Doing Business in China Means Doing the Right Thing : Helping the Little Ones in Need.

  Clara Muriel Ruano

  4 Dec 2011 | 4:02 pm

  Olivia’s Place is a paediatric therapy clinic in Shanghai that offers occupational, physical, and speech therapy as well as educational psychology and learning support services. Olivia’s Place has also set up a charitable foundation in order to provide access to therapy for families in need of such services. I have unfortunately needed their paediatric therapy services but was extremely fortunate to find them. And as the three founders, Quynh Chow, Nelson Chow, and Maggie Tai Tucker are foreign entrepreneurs (from the U.S.) in Shanghai, I could not help but devote an article to them.

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  Nicely Made in China

• NLGX DESIGN – STREETWEAR

  lionel

  26 Jan 2012 | 10:53 am

  Every day thousands of brands are launched onto the world market, among them, an increasing number from emerging countries. This week Nicely Made in China (NMiC) is happy to give centre stage to NLGX, a new Chinese street-wear brand. Created in 2008 by Michel Sutyadi and Ed Hung, NLGX recently opened a store at Beijing’s Capital Airport Terminal 3 and is about to open another one. Quite an achievement for such a young brand, and so to help NMiC learn more, we interviewed Michel Sutyadi. Michel, how did you start NLGX and what does it mean? Our brand comprises of the letters NLGX which…

• HAPPY NEW YEAR OF THE DRAGON! 新年快乐!

  lionel

  24 Jan 2012 | 9:13 am

  Dear friends and partners of Nicely Made in China (NMiC) Our team would like to wish you a very Happy New Year of the Dragon! We hope it will bring you and your loved ones good health, success and prosperity! Keep watching this space for more articles on people who’ve placed quality and passion at the centre of their lives to bring you some of the best products China has to offer! If you know a company you think should be featured on our website, please feel free to let us know about them! Don’t forget that you can also follow us on our Facebook page.

• SMARTWOOD – FLAT PACK FURNITURE

  lionel

  4 Jan 2012 | 11:24 am

  China’s export-led economy is slowly becoming more of a local consumer-led market. Evidence of this can be found in the growing number of consumer products with Chinese brands appearing in the shops all over China. Today, at Nicely Made in China (NMiC), we’re happy to introduce Zhao Lei – based in Hangzhou – and his Chinese furniture brand Smartwood. Zhao Lei, when did you create Smartwood and what is it? Two years ago, I was working in an architectural firm but I did not like the atmosphere there so I decided to give up this profession. I then spent about a year exploring my own…

• MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!

  lionel

  23 Dec 2011 | 11:23 am

  Goodbye 2011, hello 2012! 2011 has been an eventful year for Nicely Made in China. 51,000 people visited the website to read our stories on quality Chinese products: watches, travel, carpets, porcelain, yak wool knitwear, children’s clothes, outdoor equipment,  high end design, handbags and more. 2011 has also been a year of firsts for Nicely Made in China: we received our first mention on the CNNGo website, we registered our first e-commerce sales, we launched our Expert’s page, put our first video online (thank you Jade & Ali), featured our first recycled products and…

• TANG’ROULOU / CHILDREN & BABY CLOTHES

  lionel

  28 Nov 2011 | 6:45 am

  If you live in Northern China, chances are that on a cold winter’s day you’ve bought ‘tang hu lu’, those little skewers of toffee smothered fruits. But there’s another ‘tang hu lu’:  Tang’Roulou (written phonetically), is a Chinese company created by French-born Amélie Peraud in 2004 which has in 7 years become synonymous with ‘made in China’ quality children and baby clothes and accessories. At Nicely Made in China (NMiC) we thought it appropriate to put the spotlight on this promising new Chinese brand, which Amélie runs with Pierre-Yves Babin who joined…

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  Red Luxury

• Aston Martin Opens Shanghai Flagship, More Showrooms For 2012

  Red Luxury

  27 Jan 2012 | 2:14 pm

  Aston Martin continues to invest in China growth. The company is making significant investment with the opening of its largest flagship showroom located in Shanghai’s Pudong district. The showroom has space for nearly 18 Aston Martins and includes a lounge, café, fully equipped service center, Aston Martin sales area and merchandise display and more. The new showroom [...]

• Making Chinese Tea Posh in Paris

  Red Luxury H

  26 Jan 2012 | 3:43 pm

  “Right now everyone is talking about the rise of China. In my opinion, Chinese tea should be the symbol of that rise, much as Louis Vuitton bags and Porsche or Ferrari sports cars are,” said Lin Rongxi, deputy general manager of Eight Horses Tea Co Ltd. The company, along with four other tea producers from [...]

• Ferragamo to Enter 7-8 New Cities, Remains Confident in China

  Red Luxury H

  25 Jan 2012 | 10:44 am

  China’s economic growth is poised to weaken to 8.5 percent this year from about 9.2 percent in 2011, according to the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg News survey. In the fourth quarter of last year there appeared to be a “gradual softening in consumption” in China’s luxury industry, Bain [...]

• Luxury Banks on The Dragon

  Red Luxury H

  24 Jan 2012 | 9:39 am

  The Year of the Dragon roared into China on Monday. To celebrate the Chinese New Year, luxury companies the world over have created exclusive pieces that can be considered nothing short of art. Western luxury goods makers, ranging from watches and handbags to cars and mobile phones, are hoping the auspicious Dragon will bring [...]

• Happy Year of the Dragon

  Red Luxury

  21 Jan 2012 | 3:21 pm

  Wishing You A Happy and Prosperous New Year Red Luxury

• 

  Dragon Business Network's China Blog

• Essential Reference Guide to China Sourcing - New Pricing

  20 Jan 2012 | 4:36 pm

  Looking for a quick way to get up to speed on the essentials of China sourcing? Then this 300-page book by sourcing expert Mike Bellamy might be for you. "The Essential Reference Guide to China Sourcing," based on the operations manual of a successful sourcing agency, offers strategies, templates, procedures and best practices. New pricing has made this book an affordable, practical resource. The hardcover book sells for $150. Digital templates are also available. Also, you can preview parts of the book and view the author's video introduction before you buy. Here's a link to the more…

• Top 20 China Business Posts This Week (CBX)

  20 Jan 2012 | 3:05 pm

  Every week we highlight the top 20 China business opportunities, contacts and news stories from CBX. These are sent exclusively to Dragon Members, then later published to our blog & RSS for wider public distribution. Subscribe to CBX Newsletter Framework to Register a Business in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China (WFOE or JV) Here are the ten steps you will need to follow to set up a wholly foreign owned enterprise (WFOE) of joint venture (JV) Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. S by Robert Sun, Unitrue Consulting Looking for quality fashion brands who want to promote their fashion through our Looking for quality…

• Video: 3 Things Companies Need To Know About Outsourcing to China

  20 Jan 2012 | 2:43 pm

  In this video, David Alexander of Baysource Global discusses a few basic, essential concepts related to China outsourcing. Note that this video is embedded from YouTube. If you are located in China, you may need to use a vpn to unblock it. Reference: www.baysourceglobal.com

• Framework to Register a Business in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China (WFOE or JV)

  17 Jan 2012 | 2:27 pm

  Here are the ten steps you will need to follow to set up a wholly foreign owned enterprise (WFOE) of joint venture (JV) Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Step 1: Approval by “Development & Reform Commission” (Fa Gai Wei) Requires a feasible business plan, identification of investor, environment assessment . Here you will get “Foreign Project Approval Paper”. Step 2: Approval and filing with “Foreign Trade & Economic Bureau” (Wai Jing Mao Ju) Requires articles of association, work space rental, audit of fund. Here you will get “Foreign Business Approval Certificate”. Step 3:…

• Webinar: The Talent Management Challenge in China & How to Overcome It, 19 Jan 2012

  17 Jan 2012 | 11:03 am

  The following key points will be covered during the webinar: - The current business market in China and the opportunities for companies to grow - The most common hiring and promotion mistakes in China and how to avoid these mistakes in the future - Key pointers that will improve the organization’s ability to hire and retain top talent in China Guest speaker: Michelle LaVallee Michelle LaVallee is an international business leader with expertise in developing mutually beneficial relationships between customers and clients. She has worked within the Asia Pacific region since 1995 and offers…

• 

  This is China! blog

• The Dark Side of Solar Power Manufacturing

  Bill :D

  16 Jan 2012 | 2:38 am

  It was September, and an angry mob of 500 villagers were breaking through the chain-link fence of a solar cell factory belonging to Jinko Solar Holding Company, intent on ransacking the premises. A torrential rainfall had flooded the company’s mismanaged vats of toxic waste and carried the contaminated water into a nearby stream in Haining, Zhejiang province. On the day after the deluge, residents in the area reported seeing dead fish floating in the surrounding waters for hundreds of square yards. The problem was a result of both government ineptitude and corporate inaction. Though the…

• Shards of Jade: Piecing Together Expat Lives in China

  Bill :D

  23 Nov 2011 | 9:09 pm

  I recently had a conversation with a young(er) American expat who has been living in China nearly ten years. I had told him about the talk – The Warlord and the Engineer – the Royal Asiatic Society (Suzhou branch) had hosted a few weeks before. The remarkable thing about the talk was how the Danish Engineer Robert Christensen and adviser to the warlord Zhang Zuolin had meticulously recorded his life in journals while he lived in China during the 1920s, had cataloged hundreds of photos and had captured the times on film, as well. The expat and I agreed those of us living in China…

• China’s Property Development Sector: What’s the Hurry?

  Bill :D

  21 Nov 2011 | 8:34 pm

  The past month here on the ground in the Yangtze River Delta has seen activity that runs counter to macroeconomic measures in the property development sector. By all accounts, construction sites are supposed to be grinding to a halt and new projects deferred indefinitely. Instead, what I and Western friends are seeing is an acceleration of construction activity. Where for the last two years we’ve only had to bear incessant noise, dirt and dust from sunrise to sunset, now we are hearing construction activity 24/7 the past three weeks (whenever I became conscious in the shift of pace of…

• Chinese Officials Canned for Building Bridges with Trash

  Bill :D

  15 Nov 2011 | 9:21 pm

    FinanceAsia recently reported that officials in the northern province of Jilin were fired for permitting construction teams to fill bridge with garbage instead of with concrete. China has fired at least 10 railway officials over a sub-standard Rmb2.3 billion ($360 million) construction project that involved bridges filled with trash instead of concrete, and builders without any relevant experience, including one team led by a cook. I wrote about this sort of padding two years ago in an article for CHaINA magazine, when there was a rash of bridge collapses. Though officials were…

• Not Well Drawn: China’s Animation Services Industry

  Bill :D

  13 Nov 2011 | 7:52 pm

    A Canadian acquaintance and I recently had a discussion about the state of China’s animation industry as part of the services outsourcing platform China has been promoting to the world. Mark has been an animator based in China for more than twelve years, mostly for Western productions. This year he took up a long-term project with a Chinese production company, which is creating a 3D animated movie. Mark was seeing that the animation industry in China had almost completely turned to create productions for the domestic market. “Costs are simply no longer competitive,”…

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  Gadgets From China

• The Octopus Chair

  Gadgets China

  28 Jan 2012 | 2:15 am

  “Release the Kraken!” Now that is definitely coming out from my mouth, should my bank balance and accountant agree to be enlightened by as much as £35,000 for The Octopus Chair. Yes sir, you read that right — this uniquely shaped piece of home furniture is perfect to set the proper tone at your next dinner party, as you hold a Pirates of the Caribbean theme, while you comfortably park your rear end on this giant octopus. Exquisitely detailed to the extent that you might even think it moved a wee bit (this tends to happen when you get a little tipsy from all the merry making…

• Latest Premium Waterproof Flexible Multi-Color LED Light Strip

  Gadgets China

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:36 pm

  This 5M LED strip light is the latest technology 5050 RGB strip light, which will make you have a more colorful LED display choice. It is more beautiful than the common 5050 RGB LED strip. the common one you only have 3 diplay choice. but this one you will have 9 display choice. , it is 54 LED lights/ Meter, and has 10 control line for controlling the color which is different from the 4 line LED strip light. For more information,please visit: cgi.ebay.co.uk Powered by www.ugadgetsbuy.com Online shopping cool gadgets at right price just on www.ugadgetsbuy.com ugadgetsbuy.com provides free…

• Scrubbing Windshield Wiper Blade

  Gadgets China

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:15 pm

  Most of us would think that the ordinary wiper blade is good enough to get the job done — that is, ensuring the windshield is clean of debris whenever it rains, or if a pigeon or two decide to poop on your car. Well, the $ 16.95 Scrubbing Windshield Wiper Blade goes the extra mile in a sense that this patented wiper blade is capable of scrubbing through windshield debris when the situation calls for it, leaving a clear, streak-free view of the road so that your vision will not be betrayed by something as simple as some bird poop that strategically landed right in front of your eyes.

• The Nabi – Not your Daddy’s Tablet

  Gadgets China

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:15 pm

  I guess everybody expects that I’m a gadget geek. It would come as no surprise that I have a multitude of electronic devices in every corner of my home. I have smart-phones and laptops, desktops, movie players, movie streamers, recorders, set top boxes, iPods, iPads, Android stuff galore… and an 8 year old child that we affectionately call “the crusher” So it is certainly my pleasure to introduce you to “the Nabi” . Finally, a 200 dollar kid-friendly android tablet that has a responsive touchscreen, large size app buttons, access to a huge variety of kid…

• The Smartphone ECG- You Knew it was Coming

  Gadgets China

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:15 am

  Okay, so it used to be that smartphone healthcare applications were simply novelty items that were fun to play around with but served no place in mainstream medicine, but didn’t we suspect that someday your phone or tablet might actually help physicians to save lives and reduce the cost of care?  Welcome Everist Genomics, a relatively new, but fast growing medical technologies company, that has just successfully integrated smartphone and tablet computer technology with truly innovative and finally, medically valuable diagnostics in the areas of cardiovascular disease, metabolic…

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  Bikedan in Asia

• New Zealand: Cycling in Taranaki

  Bikedan

  5 Jan 2012 | 12:43 pm

  I am about to leave cold Hangzhou, China next week bound for some warmer climates in New Zealand for several weeks and I am looking forward to exploring a ‘forgotten corner’ of New Zealand: Taranaki! The reason its a forgotten part of New Zealand is that its not really on the way to anywhere, its quite off-the-beaten track and the the only real reason to go there is when the National Park Highways slicing through the center of the North Island are closed by snow. Taranaki Tourism has been doing a very good job at promoting their region and have a very cool website that inspires…

• Rapha Festive 500 Submission

  Bikedan

  3 Jan 2012 | 11:27 pm

  I thought I’d take the opportunity to do some artwork as I had not been doing some lately and its something that I would like to do more of for this 2012 year. During my travels around the world, before my ‘serious cycle racing’ days, I would do sketches of various old character building and sell them to the owners. I had quite a good success-rate with this and my sketches have been sold in America, St Helena Island, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and some here in China.  If you are interested in commissioning me to do a sketch for you, contact me with your request. I…

• Rapha Festive 500: A Global Challenge

  Bikedan

  2 Jan 2012 | 4:57 am

  The 2011 Edition of the Rapha Festive 500 Challenge was truly a global one with cyclists from all regions stepping up to embark on the journey of epic riding before the curtains of the year drew to a close. The Rapha Challenge hosted by Strava saw a stunning 3,030 cyclists sign up to do the challenge. It appeared to have inspired a great deal of people, however when you calculate the total miles world-wide against the numbers that signed up – it was a paltry 29.3kms per person for the entire week. I think that most people would have liked to complete the challenge but keeping the…

• China: Rapha Festive 500 Challenge

  Bikedan

  1 Jan 2012 | 10:19 pm

  Some of you who followed my blog last year will remember my Rapha China cycling adventures. This year, I still managed to do many of the similar rides but did not take as many photos – simply because if I did, I would have been taking photos of the same places. This year, I also acted as an ‘impromtu’ commentator on the Rapha Festive 500 Challenge as it unfolded. Some very competitive people out there who are dead serious about clocking up the mega-miles! My personal goal for this year’s Rapha Festive 500 was to surpass my 2010 total of 726kms while clocking up some…

• Bikedan’sTop Five Highlights of 2011

  Bikedan

  31 Dec 2011 | 12:30 pm

  2011 has been a big year for me in terms of traveling, seeing new places, meeting new people and exploring by bike. I had many rich and amazing experiences, too many to list here. So, I will name my top five cycling experiences of the year…. No.1 IRAN This has to rank no.1 for me as it was a fulfillment of a lifetime dream to visit Iran. I had made friends with the Tabriz-Petrochemical Cycling Team at the Qinghai Lake Tour the previous year and they invited me to go to Iran to cover some of their big races in Azarbaijan and Tehran. Even though, I was in the middle of preparing for the…

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  The China Observer

• Different Values for Different Generations of Chinese Consumers

  Joel

  25 Jan 2012 | 9:19 pm

  The graphic above summarizes key findings from a recent report conducted by CIC and GroupM about marketing to Chinese youth. For those of you interested in learning more about marketing

• Nike: Leveraging Online Video to Attract Female Chinese Consumers

  Joel

  18 Jan 2012 | 7:42 pm

  Nike entered China in the early 1980s by relocating its manufacturing facilities from South Korea and Taiwan. However, Nike was not content solely producing its goods in the Middle Kingdom. The company set out to

• E-Commerce is Booming in China Says Alibaba Head of Marketing

  Joel

  10 Jan 2012 | 10:03 pm

  Linda Kozlowski heads marketing and customer experience globally for Alibaba.com the world's leading business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform. Alibaba.com is headquartered in Hangz

• Armani: Expanding Customer Reach from Retail to E-Tail in China

  Joel

  5 Jan 2012 | 7:47 pm

  The Armani Group designs, manufactures, distributes and retails lifestyle and fashion products around the world. Armani first entered China with its 1,100 square meter Shanghai flagship store in 2004, and has sinc

• Chinese Women’s Role in Household Consumption Increasing

  Joel

  3 Jan 2012 | 9:07 pm

  Female consumers in China have an incredible amount of influence over their family’s purchasing decisions – especially when compared to that of women in previous generations. Modern women in China’s urban centers possess relatively high levels

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  The Bergstrom Group

• Behind the Scenes of Goth in Shanghai

  Bergstrom Trends

  10 Jan 2012 | 1:46 am

  One of the hospital theme party held in Fee Café. Alice works at a gothic-themed hangout tucked into a quiet street in Shanghai. We were keen to share her impressions of the sub-culture and understand how the cafe helps to build a community. The Bergstrom Group: What products and services do you offer besides coffee and drinks? Alice: We also sell Gothic style clothes, do Tarot cards readings, organize themed events, and host a weekly movie night. TBG: Could you tell us more about the Gothic style clothes? Who are the designers or brands? Alice: There are more and more original Goth or…

• Menswear Brand Testing the Waters of Gothic Fashion in China

  Bergstrom Trends

  29 Dec 2011 | 1:42 am

  Jack & Jones experience show (on the left), gothic style (in the middle), Jack & Jones promotional photograph on its international site (on the right) Danish menswear brand Jack & Jones’ gothic-themed tour came to an end in Shanghai this December. The tour was named “Gothicise Your Wardrobe 2011, Jack & Jones Brand Experience Show” and hit many cities across China including Dalian, Beijing, and Jinan. On the site of the event, Jack & Jones lured attendees with stickers of a human skeleton, virtual fitting rooms, free installation of Jack & Jones smart…

• Tibetan Designs from a Student-Run Fashion Show

  Bergstrom Trends

  16 Dec 2011 | 2:02 am

  Yuerong (in the middle) and the model with her design on (on the left) Creating a collection to be sent down the runway, students got a taste of what pursuing a career in fashion would be like.  In her junior year as a fashion design major, our trendspotter Yuerong was enthusiastic to share her experience with us: This is the first time that students in our year held a fashion show by ourselves. The theme is Tibet and my inspiration is Tibetan patterns, prayer wheel, and garments made from llama. We all took it very seriously but because we don’t have very much experience, the show…

• Online Shopping Gets Social

  Bergstrom Trends

  4 Dec 2011 | 9:31 pm

  Mid-November marked the height of online shopping in Shanghai with the rise of “social” shopping websites, such as Mogujie, Meilishuo, and Duitang. This new breed of online shopping sites combines e-commerce and social networking by allowing users to share fashion photos. Users can sign up via a Sina Weibo or a QQ account, which makes it easier for them to share new fashion and fashion items they like on Sina or Tencent Weibo or Qzone. These “social” online shopping communities facilitate the online shopping experience for their users by including item sharing and recommendation…

• Environmentalism Hits Fashion Mainstream

  Bergstrom Trends

  24 Nov 2011 | 8:37 pm

  An “eco-friendly” concept is being introduced by fashion brand Me&City (a brand launched by Metersbonwe to target Chinese consumers at a higher end). The line claims to be made from recyclable material – right down to the label!

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  East Asia Student

• 10 popular misconceptions about Chinese

  Hugh Grigg

  28 Jan 2012 | 4:29 am

  The Chinese language is increasingly appearing on people’s radar, and with that comes the spread of various myths and misconceptions.I’ve gathered the ten that I come across the most, and ranked them on how prevalent and how wrong they are.10. Chinese is the hardest language in the worldThis comes up all over the place (e.g. on HTLAL and in David Moser’s famous article), but  as more people attempt to learn Chinese it’s becoming apparent that it can be done in a reasonable amount of time.Spoken Mandarin really isn’t much harder to learn than other languages. A…

• A in hiragana

  Hugh Grigg

  25 Jan 2012 | 9:21 pm

  The syllable ‘a’ in hiragana is written あ. あ ‘a’ hiragana stroke orderあ has three strokes:A horizontal left to right stroke.A vertical stroke that cuts through the first one.A looping stroke that starts cutting to the left through stroke #2, back up through it to the right, and then loops back around to the left again. あ ‘a’ hiragana mnemonicSee also: Making mnemonicsThis image should help you to remember how to write ‘a’ in hiragana by associating the letter a with the shape of あ. Remember that the English words used here are not a…

• Soushenji 387 translation: Death in Childbirth, a Dot on the Face

  Hugh Grigg

  23 Jan 2012 | 11:19 pm

  This is a translation and annotation of text No. 387 in 搜神記 (Soushenji – ‘In Search of the Supernatural’), a collection of strange happenings compiled by 干寶 (Gan Bao) in the 4th century C.E.In order to be useful to people studying the text, this translation aims to be literal and close to the original.  Chǎn Wáng Diǎn Miàn [childbirth] [death] [dot] [face] Death in Childbirth, a Dot on the Face  Zhū Zhòngwù yī nǚ Xiǎnyí, [Zhu] [Zhong] [Wu] [one] [daughter] [Xian] [Yi] Zhu Zhongwu had one daughter, named Xianyi; jià wéi Mǐ Yuánzōng qī, [marry]…

• The Chinese Grammar Wiki

  Hugh Grigg

  21 Jan 2012 | 10:00 pm

  The world’s best resource for Chinese grammar is now available.I’m very excited to announce the launch of: The Chinese Grammar Wiki This project has been a long, long time in the making. As the name suggests, it’s a resource for Chinese Grammar. It’s by far the best resource for Chinese grammar on the Internet, in fact.The project has been led by John Pasden for his company AllSet Learning. In his own words:I realized that there’s no single resource on the entire internet which does a good, comprehensive job of covering the grammar of Mandarin Chinese.

• TE in hiragana

  Hugh Grigg

  20 Jan 2012 | 10:03 pm

  The syllable ‘te’ in hiragana is written て. て ‘te’ hiragana stroke orderて has just one stroke:It starts left to right, then curves down to the left and back out again. て ‘te’ hiragana mnemonicsSee also: Making mnemonicsThis image should help you to remember how to write ‘te’ in hiragana by associating the letters te with the shape of て. Remember that the English words used here are not a pronunciation guide. They help you to remember how to write て, not how to say it.To learn pronunciation you need to get a lot of listening and speaking…

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  ChinaMusings.com

• The Silicone Sage in Shanghai

  danielkgardner

  12 Jan 2012 | 9:09 am

  Confucius is back again and, at 10 meters tall, is bigger than ever.  Why the continued preoccupation with the ancient Sage (551 B.C.E.-479 B.C.E.) in today’s China is still unclear (see here and here).  Only time will tell whether the current interest in him has real staying power.  In this particular incarnation, Confucius is a statue constructed of silicone and steel, complete with pulsating heart, submerged from the waist down in a pool of water.         Q Confucius No. 2, as it is called, is but one piece in Zhang Huan’s solo show, Q Confucius, now on display…

• Is Occupy Wall Street Preoccupying Beijing?

  danielkgardner

  10 Nov 2011 | 1:05 pm

  Occupy Wall Street protests have not spread to China, but Beijing’s crackdown on media coverage and Internet activity related to OWS isn’t surprising. What’s less predictable are ways that Occupy protests could shake up China’s internal politics, especially among neo-Maoists. Occupy Wall Street protests have not spread to the People’s Republic of China. But word of the protests has, and the Chinese authorities are trying to figure out how to respond. Their reactions have run the gamut: from gloating denunciations of American capitalism, to a crackdown on all media…

• Mao, Confucius, and Louis Vuitton in Tiananmen Square

  danielkgardner

  5 Jul 2011 | 9:25 am

  The Setting: Tiananmen Square The Time: January 2011-June 2011 The Players: Mao Zedong, Confucius, Louis Vuitton Sounds almost like a Tom Stoppard play.  But, no, Mao, Confucius, and Louis Vuitton have been mixing it up lately on China’s most renowned stage. For decades now, Mao’s portrait has hung over the Tiananmen Gate at the far north of the Square, even as his embalmed body lies in the mausoleum built immediately after his death in the center of the Square.  Mao, the Great Helmsman, founder of the People’s Republic of China, looms mightily over the Square reminding the Chinese…

• Confucius on Today’s Food Scandals in China

  danielkgardner

  17 Jun 2011 | 1:26 pm

  There are times when the remarks of a long-dead sage can seem especially relevant. More than 2500 years ago Confucius gathered around him a group of dedicated disciples who listened fervently to his teachings and then passed them on to later generations in an edited volume known as the Lunyu, conventionally translated in English as the Analects.  I’ll be teaching the text this coming fall and so was re-reading it yesterday afternoon. Earlier in the morning I had been browsing China news on the internet and came across a video report from Al Jazeera, claiming that when you eat beef in China…

• China’s One-Child Policy: What Does the Future Hold?

  danielkgardner

  27 May 2011 | 6:27 pm

  The preliminary 2010 China census figures are in—and they are eye-opening. Some numbers (Science): 1. Total population in 2010: 1.34 billion   Total population in 2000: 1.27 billion 2. Percentage of population 14 years-old and younger in 2010:  16.6%   Percentage of population 14 years-old and younger in 2000:  22.9% 3. Percentage of population 60 and over in 2010: 13.3%   Percentage of population 60 and over in 2000: 10.4% 4. Sex ratio of boys to girls in 2010: 118.1 to 100   Sex ratio of boys to girls in 2000: 116.9 to 100 I’m not a demographer or a statistician, so the…

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  Notes From Xi'an 西安随感

• Pàomó (泡馍), Xiǎochǎo (小炒) And A Few Lantern Festival Yuánxiāo (元宵) – In Xi’an

  Richard.李志.

  25 Jan 2012 | 2:48 am

  It was only recently that I stepped away from my 10 years of vegetarianism, so it is only now that I am able to start savouring Xi’an’s local meaty delicacies. I enjoyed my first Roger Moore (ròu jīa mó/ 肉夹馍) not so long ago, while just before heading back to Britain recently a local friend of [...]

• Back In The Village With Spring Festival In The Air

  Richard.李志.

  15 Jan 2012 | 11:49 am

  After being away from Xi’an for a week over Christmas, we returned to Xi’an for a week before happily setting off again – it is always good to take a break or two from city life. This time it was down to my wife’s village for a pre-Spring Festival visit. It was an especially important [...]

• 6 Xi’an City Wall Images To Start The Year With (And A Couple Of Cultural Revolutions)

  Richard.李志.

  2 Jan 2012 | 7:43 pm

  We will see if starting the year with these city wall shots has any symbolic significance, though, if we take Hu Jintao at his word there is a good chance they will. See here [China's New Cultural Revolution], here and here. These ideas taken together with those outlined in the following article  [Global Unrest: How the Revolution went [...]

• 6 China Articles To End The Year With

  Richard.李志.

  29 Dec 2011 | 5:31 pm

  I will end the year here by simply including the opening extracts from 6 China related articles that I have found – in the last few days – to be worth dwelling on. The articles offer more than just a closing down of the year in review; they add a bit of context to what [...]

• Another Nod Towards The Ubiquitous New Year Calendar, This Year From Xītáng (西塘)

  Richard.李志.

  26 Dec 2011 | 7:20 pm

  This time last year I offered a “Contemporary Chinese Nod Towards the Ubiquitous New Year Calendar“. This year, I will continue in a similar vein but this year the images will come from a recent trip to the small canal town of Xītáng, which is located not far from Hángzhōu. We took a Christmas break [...]

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  Notes From Xi'an 西安随感

• Pàomó (泡馍), Xiǎochǎo (小炒) And A Few Lantern Festival Yuánxiāo (元宵) – In Xi’an

  Richard.李志.

  25 Jan 2012 | 2:48 am

  It was only recently that I stepped away from my 10 years of vegetarianism, so it is only now that I am able to start savouring Xi’an’s local meaty delicacies. I enjoyed my first Roger Moore (ròu jīa mó/ 肉夹馍) not so long ago, while just before heading back to Britain recently a local friend of [...]

• Back In The Village With Spring Festival In The Air

  Richard.李志.

  15 Jan 2012 | 11:49 am

  After being away from Xi’an for a week over Christmas, we returned to Xi’an for a week before happily setting off again – it is always good to take a break or two from city life. This time it was down to my wife’s village for a pre-Spring Festival visit. It was an especially important [...]

• 6 Xi’an City Wall Images To Start The Year With (And A Couple Of Cultural Revolutions)

  Richard.李志.

  2 Jan 2012 | 7:43 pm

  We will see if starting the year with these city wall shots has any symbolic significance, though, if we take Hu Jintao at his word there is a good chance they will. See here [China's New Cultural Revolution], here and here. These ideas taken together with those outlined in the following article  [Global Unrest: How the Revolution went [...]

• 6 China Articles To End The Year With

  Richard.李志.

  29 Dec 2011 | 5:31 pm

  I will end the year here by simply including the opening extracts from 6 China related articles that I have found – in the last few days – to be worth dwelling on. The articles offer more than just a closing down of the year in review; they add a bit of context to what [...]

• Another Nod Towards The Ubiquitous New Year Calendar, This Year From Xītáng (西塘)

  Richard.李志.

  26 Dec 2011 | 7:20 pm

  This time last year I offered a “Contemporary Chinese Nod Towards the Ubiquitous New Year Calendar“. This year, I will continue in a similar vein but this year the images will come from a recent trip to the small canal town of Xītáng, which is located not far from Hángzhōu. We took a Christmas break [...]

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  Speaking of China

• Ask the Yangxifu: Chinese Men, Sex and Prostitution

  Jocelyn Eikenburg

  27 Jan 2012 | 3:08 am

  After her recent dating experiences in China, a woman wonders, should she expect Chinese men to have higher numbers of sexual partners and/or experience with prostitutes? (photo, a still of a sex scene from "Lust, Caution," from http://www.guardian.co.uk) Anonymous asks: I read your piece about dating pasts and Chinese men, but I have been having the opposite experience. I have dated some Chinese men in China. On each occasion as I became closer with the respective guy I was dating at the time, discussion of sexual history came up. Each had a fairly sizable number of partners (into…

• There’s No Vacation for Chinese New Year in America

  Jocelyn Eikenburg

  23 Jan 2012 | 3:08 am

  My Chinese father-in-law was surprised to hear we had no time off -- but he's never known a world without Chinese New Year, like I have. “Will you have time off for Chinese New Year?” Even though my father-in-law had retired more than 10 years before, he asked this question to us this past Saturday night with all of the wonder of a young child during the holidays. “No, the semester already started,” John said. “They gave us vacation for Christmas, not for Chinese New Year,” I added. “Christmas is the big holiday in America.” “Oh,” my father-in-law said, with a voice…

• Ask the Yangxifu: Chinese New Year Red Envelopes For Boyfriend?

  Jocelyn Eikenburg

  20 Jan 2012 | 3:08 am

  Red envelope, hongbao, lai see -- whatever you call them, remember, at Chinese New Year, these are more for kids, not your boyfriend or girlfriend. D asks: I’m dating a cute Cantonese boy, although he was born in Canada himself (along with his brother), his parents are from China. His parents are pretty strict about him dating period, never mind dating a white girl like myself. Chinese New Year is coming up, and I know it’s a time where the older give to the younger. As I’m older than my boyfriend by a few years, would it be odd if I had gotten him one of the special lai…

• Getting Personal When Buying Condoms at Watson’s China

  Jocelyn Eikenburg

  16 Jan 2012 | 3:08 am

  At Watson's in China, a little personal shopping got too personal when I decided to stock up on condoms. (photo by Calvin Teo from wikimedia.org) “Your Personal Store.” That’s the tagline for Watson’s, the most popular pharmacy/drugstore shop in Asia and my go-to in China for so many health and beauty items I need. But after my experience this summer, I began to wonder if Watson’s wasn’t becoming “Your A Little Too Personal Store.” Last summer, I lived mostly with my in-laws and visited Hangzhou or Shanghai only a few times. For me, that meant no Watson’s conveniently…

• Follow Me On Sina Weibo

  Jocelyn Eikenburg

  14 Jan 2012 | 9:15 pm

  I'm finally on Sina Weibo/新浪微博, so what are you waiting for? Follow me. Okay, it’s taken me long enough — and a little prodding from fans — but I did it. I now have an active account on the microblogging site Sina Weibo, also known as 新浪微博 （xīnlàngwēibó). My username is speakingofchina, and you’re welcome to follow me here. Besides content from this site, I also hope to share Chinese-language news related to love, family and relationships. I’m a complete newbie here, so I welcome any suggestions too. See you on Sina!   Possibly…

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  Seeing Red in China

• The Misty Poets: An introduction

  Tom

  27 Jan 2012 | 1:03 am

  This great guest post comes from my friend Hannah Lincoln. Over the next few days she’ll be introducing her research on the Misty Poets. If you are a grad student working on a China related topic please contact Tom about the possibility of introducing here. “Misty”is the title conferred upon a group of poets known during the Democracy Movement （1976-1980）for their unique style. Some, such as Ai Qing, Ai Weiwei’s father, called their work “obscure” (古怪), even poisonous.[1] At the very least, it was certainly daring. So daring, in fact, that three of the leading Misty…

• China has too many people and none of them have any manners

  Tom

  24 Jan 2012 | 8:29 pm

  “I don’t like Chinese people. When I visited Guangzhou a few years ago everyone was cutting in line. They would use their elbows just to push past you. They didn’t even care if you had been standing there a long time, they always had to go first. In Malaysia people always line up, even when they are in a hurry. China has too many people and none of them have any manners. Like when you go into the bathroom and nobody has even bothered to shut the door. You see everything and I just can’t stand it. I don’t want to see your penis and I definitely don’t want to…

• A Month or So in the House of Twitter

  Yaxue Cao

  22 Jan 2012 | 7:33 pm

  I registered a Twitter account two months ago, but didn’t start actively using it until my Sina Weibo was blocked in mid-December. Since then, I have made 600 plus tweets (including a lot of retweets and some replies) and been following over 200 people as of now. Every so often, I feel like sitting in a bustling tea house, the southern kind where all windows are flung open and a steady stream of people come in and out of the door, alone at a corner table, occasionally joined by one or the other of the two friends I have, listening to conversations twirling around me and, over time, getting…

• Heard on Weibo, 01/21, sentences, and the list everyone wants to be on

  Yaxue Cao

  20 Jan 2012 | 8:48 pm

  This week, Chinese citizen Li Tie ( was sentenced in Wuhan to 10 year prison, while another,  Zhu Yufu (was charged in Hangzhou, both for “inciting to subvert the state power,” namely, for promoting freedom and democracy. News like these doesn’t fly on Weibo because, censorship aside, most people shun such topics out of fear. Meanwhile, all over Weibo many are talking about the case of Wu Ying (), a young business woman in Dongyang, Zhejiang (), who was sentenced to death for “illegal fund-raising and financing.” The public overwhelmingly opposes not only the sentence but also the…

• Girl criticized for calling it “China”

  Tom

  19 Jan 2012 | 6:40 pm

  The following is a guest post from my friend Hannah on the latest story buzzing around the Chinese internet. Twenty-four-year-old Liu Lili recently appeared on a Chinese job-hunting TV show. She was halfway through saying, “I was in New Zealand for three years. After those three years, I came back home, and realized, ‘Wow, China’s been through a lot of changes!’ Now if it had been New Zealand—”, when the host, Zhang Shaogang,  scolded her for using the word “China” rather than “my country” （我国) or “my ancestral homeland” (祖国). He said that using the word…

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  Digital Marketing Inner Circle

• Chinese Migroblog Infographic

  19 Jan 2012 | 11:27 pm

  Social media has become an effective medium for influencing our ideas and views andhas drastically changed the rules of an effective Brand Marketing campaign. Due to the growing importance of e-commerce and online activities, reaching customers through digital means has become an essential part of marketing plans globally.    In times when social media influence is flourishing, new technologies and ideas can be embraced and adopted with astonishing speed, instigating significant and often unpredictable consequences.  Recent evidence of this is the unexpectant rise of…

• Digital Jungle gets Festive (and a little crazy)

  17 Dec 2011 | 8:52 pm

  Around this time of year, many lucky or depending on how you look at it, unlucky people are attending their awkward, alcohol-fueled office holiday parties.   For this year, Digital Jungle went with a 'talent show' theme. Where the various groups got the opportunity to show us their 'talent' ! Within the various 'acts' there were some party games played- mostly because is it fun to watch your colleagues do crazy things in the name of Christmas but the Digital Jungle crew got out in full force and showed  the world that we have many more talents beyond 'social media' 'search…

• 5 Best Practices for an Effective Weibo Presence

  9 Dec 2011 | 8:21 pm

  With many Western Brands wanting to create a voice in the Chinese social media world it is not surprising that most turn to Weibo. With over 200+ million users on Sina Weibo alone (not including the Tencent Weibo users), this rapidly growing microblogging social networking platform offers an easy way for businesses to stay in front of and stay engaged with customers on a daily basis.   Unfortunately, many businesses struggle with optimizing this opportunity, not fully understanding the full potential of the tool. Here I have put some simple practices that should help your business…

• How to traverse Chinese Social Media jungle

  7 Dec 2011 | 8:17 am

  Expert Interview with Dr. Mathew McDougall, CEO & Founder of Digital Jungle Social Media is widely known to be an effective medium for influencing our ideas and views which makes it an obvious channel for tourism and destinations marketers to use in promoting their hotels, airlines, and countries tourist destinations.     Social Media serves as an effective marketing tool. The idea is not new, but it has reached new horizons in China. China is growing its Internet users. Everybody wants to get on this train of promising perspectives, especially global brands and celebrities…

• Sina Weibo... Super Hot for Marketers

  9 Nov 2011 | 7:21 pm

  When I explain to people about the rapidly changing social media landscape in China I simply bring this point to a sharp point by conveying the Sina Weibo story. Twitter clone come China Internet Superstar. From microblog to Entertainment and eCommerce hub.   These are all part of the remarkable journey that this platform has taken over these past few years. Today, my praise of this platform has be amplified by the Sina corporate news that advertising revenue hit $101 million in the latest quarter thanks to a 200 million and growing user base on Weibo. Wow!  

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  Oli's Shanghai Blog

• Move It

  Oli D

  13 Jan 2012 | 11:31 am

  I had a big delivery of plasterboards at my house this morning, around 10am. Plasterboards are the material that walls are made out of, and unfortunately we had to move more than 100 of them up into the barn where I am building a house (if you want to see more of it, have a look at BuildAHouseWithMe.com). The whole place looks pretty full now (a mess), but I have enough materials for the next four months of building (AT LEAST). So anyway it took about 6 hours to shift them, and it would have been a lot longer if there wasn’t an EXPERT TRACTOR DRIVER on hand to help: Just as we were…

• That’s a lot of turf

  Oli D

  9 Jan 2012 | 1:40 pm

  Some people emailed me recently asking what I do. I have no good answer for this, so let’s just say that I dig holes and move the turf to other places. Today I did that, for five hours NON STOP. That’s a lot of turf. The good news is that in future I’ll be able to use the new hole for a chili pepper garden! Sweet! Or spicy. If you want to learn about how to grow chili peppers then you can look here! Hot! Here are some pics: So after the soil and grass was dug up it was moved to here: That’s unholey! What turf!

• Raw deal

  Oli D

  19 Nov 2011 | 11:35 am

  Since I’ve been in France, I’ve started eating a lot more beef. There is something very traditional about living in the countryside and eating farm-fresh meat, however I had previously never felt the urge. Now, however, it seems that I’ve turned into some sort of wild animal. A week ago I had a pretty MAN-SIZED steak, cooked medium… Then a couple of days later I decided to try (for the first time in my life) rare beef… And last night I hit a new life-milestone. Raw beef (boeuf tartare), which I previously thought was some sort of myth. Do you know why it looks…

• Big Brother is watching

  Oli D

  15 Nov 2011 | 10:13 am

  I saw this on the wall in the self-service café on a Brittany Ferries boat. Skynet 2011. Scary stuff!

• Pizza time

  Oli D

  8 Nov 2011 | 11:50 am

  One of the highlights of summer (well, the end of summer) was buying an outdoor pizza oven. I could give a ‘How-to’, but I think you can work it out from these pics… Further pizza oven based food experiments to come!

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  China Debate

• Training Elite Cadres: ‘Central Party School’ Of The Chinese Communist Party

  Malcolm Riddell

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:48 pm

  Xi Jinping at graduation Hu Jintao was president of the Central Party School from 1993 to 2002. His likely successor, Xi Jinping, has been president since 2007. Even Mao Zedong served as president, in a much less grand institution, from 1942 to 1947. I started looking a little deeper after I watched ‘Inside a Communist Party School’ from AlJazeera via the Shanghaiist. Watch it below. Before this, I had not focused on the Central Party School or its roughly 2,700 lower-rung schools. Apparently, I am not alone as this abstract from the 2008 article, ‘Training China’s…

• VIEs: How Foreigners Invest In China’s ‘Prohibited’ Industries–And The New Risks

  Malcolm Riddell

  25 Jan 2012 | 11:02 pm

  ‘For years, big Internet companies in China, like Alibaba and Baidu, have raised billions of dollars by effectively skirting Chinese regulations that ban foreign investors from acquiring stakes in companies operating in restricted industries, like energy, telecommunications and the Internet.’ But, now foreign investors are worried that their lawyers’ weren’t all that competent, their analysts a tad optimistic (or myopic, or just clueless about China), and their Chinese chickens may be coming home to roost. Here’s our first look at the risks they so blithely…

• Watch Today’s RMB Webinar And Visit The ‘Khan Academy’: Great Sources About Chinese Currency, U.S. Debt, And Much More

  Malcolm Riddell

  25 Jan 2012 | 10:17 pm

  If you missed today’s webinar,   ‘The Opportunities And Challenges of RMB Internationalization,’ alerted in the previous post, you can watch it here. Ron Schramm, the presenter, and Russell Flannery, the moderator, were exceptional. Very informative and enlightening. Afterwards I founds 8 great lessons about the RMB, the U.S.-China debt loop and much more at the extraordinary Khan Academy. Find the links below.After the webinar, I looked for sources and came up with lessons at the Khan Academy lessons. Have a look: Currency Exchange Introduction Currency Effect on Trade…

• Alert: ‘The Opportunities And Challenges of RMB Internationalization,’ Free Webinar, Wednesday, January 25, 9am EST

  Malcolm Riddell

  24 Jan 2012 | 2:50 pm

  Ron Schramm Watch ‘The Opportunities And Challenges of RMB Internationalization,’ a free webinar tomorrow, Wednesday, January 25, at 9am EST. Register here. Continue reading about the presenter, Ron Schramm, and the moderator, Russell Flannery. I recommend it first because the pace of RMB internationalization will affect everything from the structure of trading regimes to whether or not Shanghai has a credible chance of becoming an international financial center. And, second, because of the high quality of the presenter and the moderator. The presenter, Ron Schramm, is the real…

• ‘Special Report: The Rise Of State Capitalism’ In The Economist

  Malcolm Riddell

  23 Jan 2012 | 10:30 pm

  The latest issue of The Economist features ‘Special Report: The Rise of State Capitalism.’ China, as the largest and most successful state capitalist, occupies center stage. Even if you go no further, enjoy another great Economist cover. More sources and a few of my thoughts, below. (Note: I believe you can open up to 5 articles a month without a subscription.) Here’s what might be the summary of the ‘Special Report‘ regarding China: In the 1990s most state-owned companies were little more than government departments in emerging markets; the assumption was that,…

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  Mark Tanner's Chinese Adventures

• Chinese Year of the Dragon – The Top-6 Reasons to go Shopping

  Mark Tanner

  4 Jan 2012 | 6:01 pm

  The new moon on 23 January 2012 will welcome in the Year of the Dragon and see another round of the largest human migration on the planet, billions of boiled dumplings, gargantuan fireworks and enough red decorations to plaster the Great Wall of China 87-times over.   While doomsayers have been stocking up on tinned asparagus in preparation for the world-ending catastrophe of 2012, the Chinese have been preparing for the biggest of their 12 zodiac years.  The Year of the Dragon is the most auspicious year of the Chinese lunar cycle and the one that is associated with wealth and power.

• China’s One-Child Policy Shaping the Cars of the Future

  Mark Tanner

  6 Dec 2011 | 9:29 am

  While most of the world’s major economies splutter along, China’s blistering economic growth has the businesses everywhere salivating for a piece of China’s increasingly wealthy middle class.   Everyone peddling something from adventures down the Nile River to skin-whitening face cream are redefining their strategies to get a piece of the Chinese pie. Even Porsche chose Shanghai for their world debut of the 4-door family wagon Porsche Panamera – its biggest launch in years.   Launch of the Porsche Panamera in Shanghai   But it seems ads with backdrops of Chinese…

• Art and Culture – China’s Missing Link?

  Mark Tanner

  24 Nov 2011 | 9:29 am

  With a history spanning 5,000 years, China is rich with cultural and artistic treasures – albeit not nearly as wealthy as it should be.   There’s no arts and culture killjoy quite like a Cultural Revolution. In just 10 years from 1966-1976, innumerable works of splendid art, antiques, architecture, books and paintings spanning millennia were destroyed by Red Guards. Countless Chinese artists were persecuted and people were encouraged to criticise their cultural institutions. Arts students, or any students for that matter, were shifted en masse from their universities, to raise pigs…

• Trincomalee – Home to Sri Lanka’s best beaches

  Mark Tanner

  9 Nov 2011 | 4:56 am

  Trincomalee on Sri Lanka’s east coast is my new favourite beach.  There are more dramatic bays, and seaside spots serving tastier margaritas, but something about Trincomalee’s beaches hit my sweet spot.   What makes it my favourite beach?  It’s raw, rustic and the first cheap, sunny, beautiful place that I’ve been to in a long time where the locals aren’t trying to peddle their wares.  Its people are wonderful, architecture charming, history fascinating and it ticks every box that I love to tick when I’m travelling…   Tamil fisherman overlooking the Indian Ocean…

• The Chinese Rugby Strategy

  Mark Tanner

  25 Oct 2011 | 3:50 am

  Congrats to the mighty All Blacks on their final, hard-fought victory at the Rugby World Cup – a Monstrous effort.  Let it be an inspiration to budding Chinese rugby players.   But let’s take it one step at a time.  At this stage, it’s better to look at the grit of the 2nd Tier nations and their upsets as the true exemplars for aspiring rugby nations like China. Ireland beating Australia and the even more beautiful trouncing of the French by Tonga should show countries like China that with the right spirit, even the underdogs are in with a chance.   Yet even with the right…

• 

  Ministry of Tofu 豆腐部

• Photos: Center for Zuo Yue Zi, Chinese tradition of postpartum recovery, charges US$60,000 per month in Shanghai

  Jing Gao

  27 Jan 2012 | 12:39 am

  From Sina It is common sense that women after giving birth need rest and nutrition among other things to regain strength. In China, the postnatal recovery is a rite of passage that no woman skimps. A long list of dos and don’ts widely believed to be wholesome for new mothers, based on Chinese folk medicine and superstitions, are to be strictly followed, and in extreme cases, can be as debilitating as the pregnancy and labor. She is to spend all of her time indoors, much of it in bed, and is prohibited from bathing or showering, brushing her teeth, eating raw fruit and enjoying any cool air.

• Photos: Chinese police seize 10 bear paws from smuggler

  Jing Gao

  20 Jan 2012 | 8:40 pm

  From NetEase An illegal shipment of bear paws was intercepted at the airport of Chongqing on January 19. Altogether 10 bear paws were found in two styrofoam cartons. On the morning of January 19, a man in his 30s got off from a van at the cargo services of Chongqing’s Jiangbei Airport with 7 cartons. “Please ship these to Shenzhen,” the man said to the staff, claiming that it was seafood inside. According to Chinese regulations, all shipments by air travel must be opened and inspected. When a security screener examined the content of the black plastic bags inside two of the cartons,…

• Photos: Upcoming Chinese New Year creates backlogs for courier companies

  Jing Gao

  19 Jan 2012 | 11:20 pm

  From Sohu and NetEase If you are an online shopper in the United States, you must be very familiar with the phrase “Order before 12/23…Guaranteed Christmas delivery” advertised by most U.S. online retailers. But in China, last-minute shopping for the Spring Festival is a no-no. On the hugely popular e-shopping website Taobao, act at least eight days in advance, or you will very likely be told by the seller as early as eight days ahead of time that “We no longer accept orders until after the holiday,” or “Expect delay,” despite that unlike in the U.S., no courier service in China…

• Extinction of the Tiger Mom and Rise of (Not So Little) Emperors

  Emma

  14 Jan 2012 | 8:36 am

  Last year, the article “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” drew global attention to the “maternal ruthlessness” of Chinese moms, and ultimately popularized the term “Tiger Mom.” Now, almost exactly a year later, a new Times article “Tiger cubs on the prowl” by Mark Clifford pointed out the shift in these tiger cubs. (Read our story on Tiger Mom) Their elders have given them many names, mostly pejorative: Japan calls them the “herbivore generation” in contrast to the workaholic salarymen who preceded them, and those still living at home are parasito shinguru…

• Video: China completes 30-story building in 15 days

  Jing Gao

  13 Jan 2012 | 1:04 am

  From Daily Mail China is nowadays known to the world as a huge construction site where superlative and larger-than-life skyscrapers spring up faster than anywhere else. At the end of 2010, a video in fast motion documenting the completion of a 15-story building within merely 6 days left most viewers’ jaws drop. This time, the same company broke its own record, by erecting a 30-story building from scratch in 15 days, or 360 hours. The Ark Hotel was built on Dongting lake, in south China’s Hunan Province, by Broad Group, a Chinese construction company which specializes in sustainable…

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  China Marketing Lab

• Putting the Smile back on Service in China

  Troy H

  13 Jan 2012 | 11:17 pm

  My expectations in terms of service have probably been recalibrated in the years since I first moved to China. I’ve been disappointed many times. No doubt it will be a long road towards improving overall service quality, but generally the efforts to promote better awareness of service standards are to be commended – particularly during the Beijing Olympics and Shanghai EXPO. I often wonder what types of expectations Chinese consumers truly have towards service, and two recent experiences got me thinking more about the service culture in China. Firstly, on a recent trip to Sanya, I was…

• China’s Marketers can help themselves by helping their consumers to ‘beat the system’

  Troy H

  7 Jan 2012 | 11:16 pm

  Everyone loves a bargain and none more so than the Chinese. I’ll often hear my neighbours comparing the price of their freshly bought vegetables from the nearby wet  market as they make small talk in the elevator, and at work the conversation among colleagues often turns to how to get the best price for something. This all adds up to a well ingrained ’system beating’ mentality, with regards to getting the best price. I read a great post about ‘System Beaters’, on Joel Rubinson’s market research blog. The post highlights how deals are increasingly guiding our path to…

• China’s Solar Industry Stars Kick Off in Germany

  Troy H

  7 Aug 2011 | 8:04 am

  The German Bundesliga football season kicked off this weekend, and this season sees a number of China’s leading solar energy companies using the Bundesliga to take their brands to the lucrative European market. The German market for solar panels represents a big prize for many of China’s burgeoning solar companies. German homeowners spent about US$6.7 billion on solar panels in 2010 according to recent reports, so it’s no surprise that the battle is intensifying. Interestingly, the marketing platform that has been chosen to play out this fight for market share in the lucrative…

• Luk Fook Fail To Strike Gold With Poster Campaign

  Troy H

  17 Jul 2011 | 9:23 am

  I saw this subway poster ad last week (see picture on left) and felt it worthy of a post, I don’t know about the background of the ad, I’m guessing that it might be some kind of joint initiative between Luk Fook Jewellery and The World Gold Council. Although the ad is eye-catching, I think it fails on a number of counts. The model and actress Lynn Xiong and her colourful groceries really do stand out and definitely grab your attention as you pass the poster. However, the reason I thought this particular ad worthy of note, is that it is not immediately clear what this is for, and it was…

• Selling China to the US – Tough Brief, Tough Audience!

  Troy H

  29 Jan 2011 | 7:08 am

  A quick post on the Chinese ad that ran in the US last week (see it here). The ad had heavy airplay on CNN, as well as a huge outdoor billboard display in Times Square. There seems to have been some negative reaction to this ad, mostly concentrating on the fact that it  was not appealing to a US audience; 1) because it was introducing such a large number of new Chinese people in such a short time, and also 2) because it did not allow an introduction to many of the famous Chinese faces on display (not easy in 30 seconds). Furthermore, it was criticized for generally not offering up a more…

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  Asia Healthcare Blog

• US Hospitals Continue to Explore Ways to Work with China

  Benjamin

  23 Jan 2012 | 9:52 am

  Across the United States, hospital executives are eagerly seeking out ways they can tap into the lucrative China market.  As we shared in late 2011, the prestigious Wharton Business School published an article which suggests that the opportunity for western expansion into the Chinese hospital market may finally be opening; however, the shifting sands that constitute China’s healthcare policies – which sectors the government is most concerned in, those it most needs outside help for, and yet others where it is reluctant to accept outside help in the form of private operators – still…

• NextLevel Pharma Event

  Benjamin

  20 Jan 2012 | 5:18 pm

  If you are active in the Asian pharma, medical device or general bio-sciences markets, make a point of visiting the NextLevel Pharma site to learn more about their upcoming “Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Market Access in Key Asian Markets”.  The panels look extremely interesting, and the panelists who will be leading and participating in the conference makes for an impressive “who’s-who” of the industry.  I’m looking forward to attending and hope you will make a point of heading over to the site to learn more and to register here.  An overview of the…

• Bag of Links – the pace of change is speeding up

  Damjan Denoble

  17 Jan 2012 | 1:56 pm

  The China healthcare theme these days is change. China’s population is becoming more affluent and healthcare providers are having a hard time keeping up. For government officials and public health planners this presents a problem. For businesses this presents an opportunity. Stuck in the middle are consumers who have to both hustle to find adequate care and to watch their backs so as not to be taken for a ride by the most opportunistic healthcare providers. For some the solution is to simply leave the country. China’s Urban Population Outnumbers Rural Population for the First time…

• The Evolving Eldercare Models in China

  Benjamin

  16 Jan 2012 | 2:10 pm

  Bloomberg’s recent BusinessWeek article on the looming eldercare crisis in China reinforces many of the points industry watchers already know:  the demographic need is immense and the list of interested people who want to get into the market grows longer every day.  Established eldercare operators of almost every stripe and flavor from around the developed world are eager to find a model that will work in China.  Many pivotal questions need to be answered about what the right model for China is, not least of which is the role retirement communities versus in-home care will play in…

• Selling Into, Raising Capital From, or Looking for Partners in China?

  Benjamin

  10 Jan 2012 | 3:47 pm

  If you are looking to sell into, raise capital from, or identify partners for your healthcare business in China, then you owe it to yourself to add OneMedPlace’s China Forum to your list of future conferences to attend.  In a market as dynamic as China, with the sort of volatility one must expect when working in an emerging economy, having the opportunity to learn from industry leaders in the Venture Capital, Private Equity and general healthcare market has to be a priority.  Fortunately, OneMedPlace has made that easy for you to do. A couple of key themes came out from Monday’s…

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  Chengdu Living

• Tang Wugang: The Armory of an Artist

  Tabitha

  5 Jan 2012 | 1:18 pm

  As an emerging artist, Tang Wugang doesn’t aim to rise to a level equal to his luminaries overnight. But he does sport the now proverbial bald crown and saintly expression of a contemporary master as he walks around his brightly lit studio stacked with paintings of armored and embattled souls- examples from the latest collection he’s been working on. Once tutored by our previously featured artist He Duoling, Tang began his study at Sichuan Pedagogical Academy (Oil Painting department) in Chengdu. He encountered the works of Caravaggio, Tiepolo, Rembrandt, Rubens, Velazquez,…

• Raising a Child in China: Mama Groups

  Sascha

  27 Dec 2011 | 6:59 am

  Being a Daddy has given me some perspective on the importance of community. When Hillary Clinton once famously said that “it takes a village” to raise a child, I remember people finding that funny, or even chauvinistic. I wasn’t sure then why, but now I am sure that Hillary was spot on. Anyone with little ones knows that look in their eyes when they spot another little one. The curiosity is just short of longing. Even through the fights over toys and scraps and screaming, the bond that forms so quickly with the so very young is so very, very vital. I wish I could retreat…

• Performing in China: Confessions of a White Monkey

  Elias

  15 Dec 2011 | 10:04 am

  In China, the image of white skin still pays dividends. Especially dancing white people. Promoters for real estate opening parties spend tens of thousands of RMB to set the stage for potential homeowners. Magicians and mini-skirt wearing violin players are commonplace, but none earn even close as much as the coveted Anglo-Saxon musician/clown. The “White Monkey,” as some call the foreign performer, is the ultimate showpiece for any Grand Opening, be it for a multi-billion RMB high-tech zone or an apartment villa in the cabbage-picking boondocks. Paid in Full I’ll never forget my…

• Portrait of a Chengdu Artist: He Duoling

  Tabitha

  8 Dec 2011 | 5:09 am

  This is the second in an ongoing series highlighting artists in Chengdu. For the first installment, please go here.  When I came across the painting Wild Garden, I thought, Pop Surrealism. The colors fit. The pastel frock has a rotundness against the painting’s muddled and blended background, similar to Mark Ryden’s use of pastel, and the whole thing treats of nature in a deliberately mocking way. The woman recalls the elegant nymph-like muses of Degas, however; she is not in the least grotesque. A vaguely Asian-looking person isolated against a desolate wilderness, she creates…

• Premium Housing & Chengdu’s Come Up

  Sascha

  5 Dec 2011 | 9:23 am

  More than a year ago we published a post on the Chengdu government’s new development for foreigners in the south side of the city, entitled “A Home of Our Own?” The development garnered a lot of unfavorable press in the Chinese blogosphere with many netizens angry over what seemed to be preferential treatment for foreigners. One quote that summarized a lot of the sentiment was from Gen Zhai who wrote an essay on the subject: “One look and this smacks of the old concessions during the Qing Dynasty, but there is one big difference. Back then the foreigners made us do it;…

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  India's China Blog

• Five reasons why China will not invade Taiwan, and an analysis of Cross-strait Relations

  Maitreya Bhakal

  24 Jan 2012 | 4:00 pm

  ‘So solidly built into our consciousness is the concept that China is conducting a rapacious and belligerent foreign policy, that whenever a dispute arises in which China is involved, she is instantly assumed to have provoked it.’ — Felix Greene, 1965. When a superpower is engaging in full hegemonic and supercilious display, another country with slowly increasing economic clout and

• The Soccer Mocker: The Economist gets a kick out of ridiculing Chinese football

  Maitreya Bhakal

  17 Dec 2011 | 1:27 am

  As I discussed in my previous post, The Economist has published two special articles about China as part of its special Christmas-holiday double issue. I discussed the first of the two in my last post, and intend to discuss the second one here. In "Little Red Card", The Economist mocks China's attempts at becoming a proficient footballing nation, and, no pun intended, gets a kick out of

• The Economist and China's Soft Power: Et tu, Sun Tzu?

  Maitreya Bhakal

  17 Dec 2011 | 12:57 am

  A pathetic attempt to discredit Sun Tzu as an instrument of Chinese Soft Power As part of its Christmas-holiday double issue, The Economist has published two articles about China: one about its Soft Power and another about the dismal state of Chinese football. John Micklethwait, the Editor-in-Chief, describes the double issue as one in which "Journalists write about odd subjects, pet subjects,

• India v/s China: We've got Facebook! What've you got?

  Maitreya Bhakal

  1 Dec 2011 | 2:00 am

  An interesting analysis in TIME magazine, to the extent that it tries to be an analysis: The ChIndian Century And don't forget to check out these two accompanying arguments, one for India and one for China: The Case for India: Free to Succeed The Case for China: The Power of Planning I plan to blog about this general issue sometime soon. Right now however, I just can't help

• China, Libya, and Political Bullshittery from The Economist

  Maitreya Bhakal

  15 Nov 2011 | 7:32 am

  The Economist, my favorite newspaper, has been engaging in its own peculiar style of political bullshit reporting about geopolitics and Chinese foreign policy nowadays. Take a look at this: It is not just in Sri Lanka that the hypocrisy of Western attitudes has rankled. In China, a commentary in Global Times, a Beijing newspaper, highlighted another aspect of it: “The more urgent

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  Daily Posted @ The China Perspective

• TCP on Holiday Jan 23-29 in Observance of Chinese New Year

  22 Jan 2012 | 10:17 am

• 

  ChinaShmina

• Chinese Nationalism as the Ideological Substitution of Communism

  Augis

  24 Jan 2012 | 5:26 pm

  I’d like to start the second part of this post referring to interesting comments that Fili left for the previous part. Fili doubted whether democracy would benefit China more than the current (authoritarian) regime. As a proof of the contrary he brought examples of India vs. China and semi-authoritarian Singapore. I think that Fili is right about it. There is no guarantee that democracy automatically brings better life quality. And he is also right calling such thinking naive. But when I say to be disappointed that internet didn’t bring freedom and democracy to China, I don’t…

• China and Animals – A Troubled Relationship, Getting Easier?

  Nick

  21 Jan 2012 | 10:56 pm

  This morning as I was walking down to my local coffee shop, I passed a Chinese restaurant gearing up for the New Year. On the pavement outside where meat is usually delivered, lay the carcasses of three dogs. Because while the official line is that the Chinese no longer really eat dogs, the truth is that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) recommends consuming dog meat in the Winter because it warms the blood. A little later with this distressing sight gone from my mind, I found myself sat outside Starbucks surrounded by Chinese ladies and their pet dogs. A pet dog here in Shenzhen seems to be…

• Chinese Online Nationalism and Culture Shock Theory

  Augis

  20 Jan 2012 | 1:12 pm

  In 1999 George W. Bush said something smart and almost visionary: “Imagine if the Internet took hold in China. Imagine how freedom would spread.” He was wrong. Few months ago the number of Internet users in China crossed the startling mark of half billion. But to dismay of Western observers, when discussions on Chinese internet come to politics they are mostly dominated by nationalist voices of so-called “fenqing”.  The question is – “Why didn’t the expansion of internet bring the Western style democracy to China?” Recently I stumbled upon an article “Internet Opening up…

• Interview with Chinese Middle-Aged Sex Workers

  Augis

  16 Jan 2012 | 5:17 pm

  Han Yan Yuen is reporter focusing on women’s problems. In this interview she talked with few middle-aged Chinese sex workers about their circumstances. Follow Han Yan Yuen on Twitter. Augis Barkov If you liked this post and want to be notified of new publications on ChinaShmina – consider subscribing to it via RSS or e-mail. And if you follow Chinese blogosphere, you might want to subscribe to my newsletter and every week get recommendations of 10 posts from best Chinese blogs.    Interview with Chinese Middle-Aged Sex Workers is syndicated from ChinaShmina

• Is Corruption Really the Reason Why China Fails in Team Sports?

  Augis

  15 Jan 2012 | 5:40 pm

  About a month ago “The Economist” published an interesting article about the failures of Chinese national teams in football and team sports overall. Authors of this article assumed that the situation in football reflects the general tendencies in Chinese society – namely corruption. They concluded that corruption in Chinese football damages the quality and integrity of the game and is responsible for poor performance of the players. Although this conclusion is very intriguing, I tend to disagree with it. [In Beijing Olympic Games] Chinese women performed better than men in every team…

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  eWallstreeter

• facebook will put forward ipo application on february 1

  28 Jan 2012 | 1:22 am

  Facebook will put forward IPO application on February 1January 27, citing an anonymous source as saying , Facebook will be made the long- anticipated IPO (initial public offering ) applications on Wednesday, February 1. The IPO is expected to be sold to banks , so that Facebook received nearly $10 billion worth of funds and [...] Related posts:Facebook will launch in a few weeks, the official iPad application Facebook will launch in a few weeks, the official iPad applicationJune 17 , according to CNET reports, Facebook officially launched iPad application in the next...Skype to submit a…

• US reverse merger promoter raided

  27 Jan 2012 | 1:21 pm

  Benjamin Wey and his firm New York Global Group specialise in helping Chinese companies acquire US-listed shell companies - Selected by eWallstreeter.com -

• CGA, HSOL, CEO, ACH ready for pullback

  27 Jan 2012 | 7:56 am

  January 27, 2012 (Chinavestor) China Green Agriculture (NYSE:CGA) took the lead on the overbought screen since yesterday. But investors should be concerned with small solar maker Hanwha Solarone (NASDAQ:HSOL) as well as CNOOC Ltd. (NYSE:CEO), Cogo Group (NASDAQ:COGO) and China Gerui Adv. Material (NASDAQ:CHIOP) as well. Downside risk exceeds upside potential for Aluminum Corp. of China (NYSE:ACH) at this point but internet stocks, including Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ:SOHU) has more upside left. - Selected by eWallstreeter.com -

• China stocks await Italian bond sale

  27 Jan 2012 | 7:47 am

  January 27, 2012 (Chinavestor) China stocks kicked off a strong start after the Chinese New Year Celebrations in Hong Kong. The Hang Seng Index (INDEXHANGSENG:.HSI) rose 62.5 points or 0.3% after a 328.8 points advance a day before. ZTE Corp. (HKG:0763) bounced back up 2.6% after a 5.6% dive a day before. But most stocks traded in a narrow range before Monday's 10-year Italian bond sale, a barometer for investor's appetite for risk. Trading will resume in Shanghai on Monday. Under appreciated Chinese telecoms were outperforming among components of the Xinhua 25 Index. Given their large market…

• republican representative said the u.s. postal service need to lay off 260,000 people

  27 Jan 2012 | 7:29 am

  Republican representative said the U.S. Postal Service need to lay off 260,000 peopleU.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee member , Republican Congressman Darrell – Isa (Darrell Issa) , said in a serious plight of the United States Postal Service (US Postal Service)， it must lay off 260,000 people and terminate weekend delivery service , [...] Related posts:The state will fund the establishment of universal postal service The state will fund the establishment of universal postal serviceMa Junsheng of the National Post Office, said yesterday that the establishment of the…

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  Welcome To China

• Fenghuang of Hunan Province – an Escape from Modernity

  Rod

  11 Jan 2012 | 3:14 am

  Possibly one of the most beautiful cities in China, Fenghuang of Hunan Province features all the ancient charm of traditional Chinese architecture, a rich history and culture, all staged along either side of a beautiful river with lush green mountains as a backdrop. It’s otherworldly compared to China’s booming mega-cities. Fenghuang, often referred to as Phoenix town, dates back to [...]

• Maanshan and the Tang Dynasty Poet Li Bai

  Rod

  23 Dec 2011 | 1:12 am

  The city of Maanshan is located in Anhui Province alongside the Yangtze River and only 30kms from Wuhu and 40kms from Nanjing the capital of Jiangsu Province. The city is home to well over 1 million people. The city is mostly known for it’s steel and automotive industries, although it remains a city with a [...]

• The Presidential Palace Nanjing

  Rod

  2 Dec 2011 | 2:45 am

  The Presidential Palace could be thought of as Nanjings version of the Forbidden City in Beijing with it once being home to emperors and political leaders. The palace was also the base for Dr Sat Yun Sen when he led the Kuomintang party to power in China. It was also the KMT’s headquarters from 1927 to 1949 from [...]

• Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall

  Rod

  30 Nov 2011 | 5:32 am

  In 1937/38  Nanjing was witness to one of worlds haunting events, being the massacre of some 300000 people at the hands of invading forces. At that time Nanjing was the capital of China and Japanese forces had taken control of the city and during the first six to eight weeks of their occupation had performed indescribable atrocities. The memorial was [...]

• Nanjing Museum

  Rod

  28 Nov 2011 | 6:32 am

  The Najing Museum is quite famous having had many exhibitions abroad and well known for holding some quite rare and valuable peices of Chinas history, so, better take a look. The museum features several halls all with different themes including a anceint chinese jade exhibit, anceint Chinese silk, ancient Chinese copper and bronze works, Ming [...]