A pessimistic man once said “all good things must end.” In China that tends to happen even more quickly. Today will be my last day writing Daily Tea Leaves, or my first writing “China Expat Blog”. Sadly I am leaving China Expat, and we have also decided to re-name the blog in order to make its connection to the magazine and website clearer.
Congratulations to Black and White Cat, which has finally unblocked itself. The popular blog with the catchy name has long been hampered by one of the most basic problems a China blog can possibly have: it was unavailable on the Mainland. I’m not sure if it had to do with their blogging software, which had been Blogsome, apparently a free blog service, or if it was something on the site that rubbed a higher up the wrong way.
Ah, winter in Beijing. Nothing is quite like it. Although we haven't really got past late autumn yet - when the leaves of the poplars turn a glorious yellow, for two short weeks of the third season, it certainly feels wintery, and all the usual winter character starts to show.
One Chinese author is trying to attack the country’s environmental problems in an innovative way: stop printing books. As Danwei’s Joel Martinsen writes, Zhou Dedong is trading in his pen for a keyboard. In the future all of his new works will only be officially sanctioned through the popular Chinese website Sina.
Last Friday I put up a post that seemed to be nothing special. Nonetheless it ended up crashing China Expat. It was questioning whether the hype around China’s booming economic, and potential to take over the international economy, was similar to that surrounding Japan in the late 1980s. The idea was not very original, as I pointed out, and yet something crazy happened.
For years economists have wondered whether the inevitable rising power of China was similar to Japan in the 1980s. If you remember (and that requires you to be over 22), people used to think that Japan was an unstoppable beast destined to take over the world. Movies and popular media frequently made reference to this, of in now-comical ways.
As I returned back to Beijing yesterday, winter awaited me. For all of its roughness, there is something beautiful about a cold Chinese winter. Every trip to the store or subway, restaurant or market, is a fight against the whipping winds, and its cool dry air.
Across the country the sickeningly sweet smell of burning coal wafts through the cities, and even in the countryside. It is an odor that should be unpleasant, but that I somehow have come to find familiar and comforting. It reminds me of my first days in China, six years ago, and the wonder and excitement that they held.
Air China, simple enough you'd think, Beijing to Rome. I know it's tough to be sympathetic with people who fly First class, but hey I paid for it, and I've worked hard for the extras. It's also really useful with extra weights in luggage (Speaking at a conference, so a ton of China Briefings in the luggage), and priority service with baggage handling, meaning you can get away quickly and so on. Plus all the extra frills, good food, wines, films, and general attention. It's handy when you're on a ten hour direct flight, helping with the trama of long haul travel, espcially with a three day conference the other end. China's growing development would mean an Air China flight would be an OK experience. Not up to par with what I'm used to, buy hey, lets give 'em a chance.
China’s firewall seems to be showing signs of getting smarter. Weird things are happening that makes me wonder if one day the country will effectively block out most of the information that they do not want in, not matter how inane it is. How did I come to this conclusion? It’s the story of a website called Great Firewall of China.
China Expat has launched a really helpful feature on the Chinese ski scene. Now I know this is a shameless promotion, but I’m not above that. Besides, I think it’s a great tool.
Our upcoming November issue of China Expat, which will be available around the country and on our website, will be all about skiing in China. Two experts of the local scene, Christoph Mueller of Hidden China, and Tom Tillotson of China Ski Tours, put together a comprehensive overview of the national hot spots, getaways around Beijing, and a look at extreme skiing, a sport still in its early stages here. Keep an eye out for the issue.
writing “China Expat Blog”. Sadly I am leaving China Expat, and we have also decided to re-name the blog in order to make its connection to the magazine and website clearer.
t’s 
ots, getaways around Beijing, and a look at extreme skiing, a sport still in its early stages here. Keep an eye out for the issue.
