Category: China
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Postcard from Hangzhou
I spent the weekend in Hangzhou, a pleasant “small” city of almost 9 million people, which sits an hour away from Shanghai by train. I had been to Hangzhou before—during the summer of 2006, I attended the CET language program there to work on my Chinese—but this trip was far better for several reasons. Two…
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Nanjing in One Day
I lived in Nanjing for two years, from 2006 to 2008. During those years, the best thing that happened to the city, as far as I was concerned, was the introduction of high-speed rail service that cut the travel time between Nanjing and Shanghai in half. Nanjing is a fine city, and there are certainly…
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China in One Word: Mafan
Two years ago, Chinese author Yu Hua published a book called China in Ten Words. Each chapter is a short essay on contemporary China, the theme of which comes from the chapter’s title (“The People,” “Grassroots,” “Copycat,” etc.). It’s a wonderful book and has resulted in a party game of sorts for China academic types,…
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Hong Kong: The Snacker’s Paradise
I had a pretty simple itinerary for my weekend in Hong Kong: I wanted to relax; I wanted to see some new things; and I wanted to eat good food. There are plenty of high-end fine-dining restaurants here, but my gastronomic interests lay at the other end of the spectrum—snacks. Hong Kong might be the…
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Hong Kong Has Me a Little Off-Kilter
If you haven’t been to Hong Kong, I can now say with twenty-four hours’ worth of confidence that I highly recommend it. Excellent food (more on that soon, I promise), summery weather well into October, and plenty to see and do, even if you’re not a high-roller. There is much more to Hong Kong than…
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LA Review of Books: Troubled Waters
The LA Review of Books blog has a spiffy new layout, and they’ve also promoted me to co-editor of the China Blog. My latest post is now up at the site—a discussion of new writing on the Empress Dowager Cixi, who has long been blamed for all of China’s troubles in the late nineteenth and…
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In Praise of Pleco
A few weeks ago, I was in Beijing having dinner with a group of people that included journalist Christina Larson. The table’s conversation turned to our unanimous love of Pleco, which is an incredibly powerful Chinese dictionary app. Christina called me a few days later to interview me about my own use of Pleco, and…
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Chinese Fluency: The Green Light in the Distance
A couple of weeks ago, I took myself to dinner at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. After a few rotations of the belt, I realized that some of my favorite types of sushi weren’t being offered, so I called the waitress over and asked for a caidan (menu) so I could order them directly. She…
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China: A Land Without Left-Handers
Yesterday, August 13, was International Left-Handers’ Day, and no one here even noticed. After running out to my mailbox to check for cards and gifts (I’m sure they’ll arrive soon; China Post is slow) and waiting around the apartment all day for flower deliveries (none, but I’m allergic to most flowers anyway), I finally placed…
Maura Elizabeth Cunningham 