It’s a country in the news quite often and it is a country that I’ve lived and worked in for a few years now. At the other end of almost four years here, I’ve amassed a few posts about the country. Below I’ve listed the ones that are directly related to my time in China, the latest one being first. There are other posts but they may mention only one or two developments and are scattered throughout my Blog section.
I’ve ***starred*** a few posts that are a bit more informative in nature rather than a blog-style of post. These posts would be of interest to those who either are in China or want to come to China to visit, live or work.
***Spring Festival 2021 – The Year of the Ox – Spring Festival kicks in and we have homemade jiaozi.
Things are (strangely) quiet this year – The city prepares for Spring Festival 2021, a time when people are a little bit suspicious of a repeat of last year’s events. Travel is discouraged.
Well, that was cold – Beijing experiences a cold snap. It was cold, but mostly because Beijing’s winters are rather windy.
***An update on learning Chinese (End of December 2020) – My attempt to finish the HSK 5 textbooks by the end of the year didn’t pan out, but that’s because I was working on other study methods.
Is it Christmas already? Or, what’s Christmas like as an expat? – Christmas 2020 is unlike others as most public gatherings were discouraged and flights were few and far between (or very expensive). Some thoughts on what Christmas is and has become in the modern day.
***Speaking Chinese Class – What my spoken Chinese class is like.
***The Chinese NAT test – A look into the experience of getting a nucleic acid test done in Beijing. (With pictures.)
Back to work with contract #4 – The annual contract and renewal anxiety is done and completed. Back to work for another year.
Some thoughts on learning Mandarin Chinese – Written in October 2020, I review my progress to date from the time I declared my intent on learning Mandarin Chinese in 2018.
A change in food scene — Things seemed to have changed a little bit in the food scene here in Beijing. There are more non-Chinese, Western restaurants opening up in the capital.
***Seeing Beijing: Today Art Museum — I finally venture over to the modern art gallery just down the street from my place in an effort to see more of Beijing. I’m at first underwhelmed but then a little bit surprised by what I see.
All is quiet on China’s National Day — It probably is just me but things seem quiet around Beijing this National Day. Yes, it’s usually like this, but I don’t recall hearing many people talk about their Golden Week travel plans.
***SSP17 – TCM Specialist Nataly Ba — An episode of my podcast in which I talk Traditional Chinese Medicine, teaching ESL overseas, and what it’s like to live in China with Nataly Ba.
Three weeks of vacation — National Day Golden Week starts and I’ve got lots planned to get through before work resumes for me in mid-October.
Seeing Beijing: Burger Fest 2020 — Part of a series I aim to write over the next year in getting out and about a little bit more in Beijing and China. I attend this year’s Burger Festival in Wangjing District. Seemed like a good place to start.
September already and a change up of scheduling — A post in which I explain my new work schedule that will allow me to concentrate more on my Chinese studies.
***Stepping up to HSK 5 — Deciding that it’s now or never, I finally start the HSK 5 books. The language is getting easier, but progress still seems rather slow.
***Green Means Go: Working and Travelling after COVID — A little bit about what it’s like to travel after the lockdown was lifted. More APPs and tracking are needed to move around but, for intents and purposes, you can go where you like.
Tims咖啡 – A Review — Tim Hortons, a famous Canadian coffee chain, opens its first restaurant in Beijing.
***Back to work, and something has changed — Work finally resumes after a six month absence. Some colleagues are still left overseas while others have left. Most of all, there seems to be a change in attitude.
Beijing Resurgence – Beijing re-emerges from the COVID lockdown.
Notes on a flight from Beijing to Shenyang – A simple description of what it’s like to fly in China.
***If not China, then where? – Considering that work has been put on hold for the last six months, I start to wonder if China is still the place to be for a job. Maybe it’s time to think about going somewhere else. But where?
Finished HSK 4 Books – Finished both books for HSK 4. Considering when to take the test and now working on grammar.
***Chinese Changes – May 2020 – An annual look at some of the things that have changed over the last year in China.
***Beijing is open – Written at the beginning of May 2020, most people have returned to work in Beijing and around China. Quarantine restrictions have been lifted but flights in and out of China remained limited.
Things are turning around (in Beijing) – Stores are opening and people are returning to work in the nation’s capital.
Mall hopping in Beijing – Written at the end of March 2020, things are starting to open up so I venture out to a couple of fancy malls in Beijing.
March Madness – How crazy things got on social media… outside of China.
Spring is here, will the habits stay? – As the weather changes for the better I wonder if all of the hygienic measures put in place in the last few months will stay once the lockdown and quarantine is lifted.
Some healthy eating tips for quarantine – Some things to keep in mind on how to eat well and not just junk while staying at home.
How to deal with being in Quarantine – As other cities and countries lock themselves down in an effort to stymie the spread of the Coronarvirus, I offer some advice on how to handle the isolation and time away from “normal life”.
Looking for Coffee in all the usual places – Things are starting to open up just a little bit. Written two weeks after “An update on what’s going on”.
***An update on what’s going on – Lockdown is in full force, returnees from abroad and other cities have to quarantine for 14 days, masks, QR codes, and more.
Lockdown getting close to “home” – China basically shuts itself down.
Depends on how you look at the numbers – Another consideration of all the accusations that the Chinese numbers “don’t add up” with people demanding more proof. How? And what proof would make them happy?
A slight change of plans – Things take a major turn for the worse as flights in and out of China are cancelled including my trip to Japan for two weeks.
***What else could I do? – People start sounding the alarms about staying in China but, in reality, what else could I do in this situation? In this post I discuss some of my options and why staying put in Beijing is the most reasonable thing to do.
An Update on my Chinese Studies – January 2020 – How things are turning out for my Chinese studies as I make my way through the HSK 4 books.
***It’s official: We’re living in an outbreak – The WHO finally declares the Coronavirus outbreak around the world as an epidemic and now suggests to stop travelling and to stay at home to prevent the spread. People wonder why it took the WHO so long to state what seemed so obvious to others around the world.
Beijing has gotten really quiet – Things don’t return to normal after the Spring Festival break. The official holiday is extended and schools are told they’ll be opening later.
Be careful of the conspiracy theorists – Rumours raged all over social media about the cause and spread of the Coronavirus. This post basically says, “Don’t believe everything you read… on either side of the ocean.”
Chinese New Year 2020: The Year of the Rat – Watching the CCTV Spring Festival Gala on TV and wondering what will become of the year.
Life in the time of the Coronavirus – And then Spring Festival 2019 take a turn for the worse as it’s confirmed there is an outbreak of the Coronavirus in WuHan and it began to spread very fast.
Beijing is getting quiet – Things begin to shut down for the Lunar New Year.
Started Cycling – Share bikes are all the rage here in Beijing and I decide to take up riding around the city above ground rather than taking subways.
Vision & Color Festival 2019 in WuHan, China – Visiting an EDM festival in Wuhan city. Saw some of the big names in electronic music.
***An analysis of my Chinese studies in 2019 – Reviewing my progress in studying Chinese throughout 2019. Quite the improvement!
***Books to read about China – A short reading list that will help you develop a better understanding of the country, its people, and its current modernization efforts.
Looking for a new apartment – Debating on moving from my current place since rent keeps going up. But which part of the city is any more affordable?
Finished HSK 4 上 Book – Finished the first part of HSK level 4.
Taiwan 2019: Second Impressions – Some more impressions of the trip.
Taipei 2019: First Impressions – First couple of days in Taipei.
Taiwan 2019: Expectations – I return to Taiwan nine years after my first visit. This time, the plan was to go around the whole island.
End of Contract 2 and 4.5 Years in China – It’s amazing how time flies, but it’s almost five years total that I’ve been in Beijing, China.
They’re Preparing for the 70th! – October 1, 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.
Dealin’ With My Allergies – Having some troubles breathing in my apartment and I try to find out what’s going on.
Results are in: HSK 3 = 82% – I got my score for the HSK 3 test.
My Approach to Learning Chinese – In case you wanted to know how I integrate working full time and studying this language.
A Few Thoughts Before My HSK 3 Test – Written right before I went to my first Chinese test!
Finished HSK 3 Test Books and Looking at the Test – Finished another series of books and started considering when to the actual test.
***Chinese Changes – May 2019 – An update to my previous post about what I’ve seen changing in Beijing and China in my time in the country.
Spring Time Sakuras – All about the cherry blossoms that take over gardens and attract so many visitors to Asia in the Spring time.
From HSK 2 to HSK 3 – An update on my Chinese studies.
Spring Festival 2019 – The Year of the Pig
Spring Festival Staycation 2019
It got cold fast – About the onset of winter in Beijing.
***An Update on Me Learning Chinese… Aiming for HSK 4 or 5 in a Year – I begin my quest to finally focus on learning Mandarin Chinese and to hit a high level of proficiency within a year.
Guns N’ Roses in Hong Kong – No introduction needed. I saw GNR in Hong Kong!
Document Renewal Anxieties – About some of the things we have to do to get work visas for China and how my Chinese studies are going.
What’s it like to live in China? – A perspective on working and living in China.
***Some Things I’ve Learned While in China – Some more about living and working in China.
Looking at Chinese Phones – I was looking for a new phone in the summer of 2018 and this is some of the research I did on what was on offer.
Summer’s Cooling Off – Enjoying the cooling temperatures in the last days of August.
It’s the Fu Days of Summer – Beijing’s summers are HOT and HUMID.
Bring on the Fu and the Sound of the Cicadas – The approach of summer and that sound you’ll hear if you visit in the summer months.
***China Year 3.25 – A summary of my last few years in China.
***Christmas with Chinese Characteristics – Takes place during Christmas 2017 and describes in a bit of detail my visit to a Chinese Christian church for their Christmas service.
***Reading Chinese – Offers a look at my rather ambitious attempt to simply start reading (easy) Chinese books. This includes the Games of Thrones series that has been translated and the popular Three Body Problem (Chinese san ti 散体) along with some other sites. Since writing this post, I’ve kinda let all of that reading go by the wayside and opted instead for reading English and a simpler Chinese book with pinyin. Oops.
***Chinese changes -A highlight some of the things I see and have heard have changed in Beijing since I first came here in 2014. I do have to be a little bit careful in what I write because there are two very different views of what’s happening: the Western media view and then the Chinese view. What some people think is a bad thing is viewed as good by others while others may think a good development is really bad or indicative of sinister undertones. Such is the life we lead here in China.
Another late post but alive and well in Beijing
Quite busy, thinking what to write
***Giving up on Chinese for… Russian? – Preceding my Trans-Siberian journey through Russia in January of 2017. I say attempts because I seem to go through fits and starts of studying which, I can honestly say, is not altogether useful no conducive to really learning the language. To be fair, I do pick up quite a few words in my daily life as I need.
And so ends 2016 and onto 2017… again, and again, and… again
***A Bad Week Gone Good, Part 3: Sending Money Home – Told in three parts, talks about one particularly bad week I had in December of 2016. It was but a foreshadowing of events to come but, unlike the year 2017, these things were relatively manageable. In any event, I think these three posts are rather informative and broad in their scope.
***A Bad Week Gone Good, Part 2: Another Step into the Chinese Collective
A Bad Week Gone Good, Part 1: The Computer Breakdown
Winter is coming, and yet the mosquitos are still here
Pitter Patter, Let’s Get at ‘er! Back to School and the Mid-Autumn Festival
***A Brief Guide to Travelling in China – A collection of resources to help those interested in visiting, living or working here in China. I don’t often maintain the post so it may contain some outdated links but if you’re looking for an overall view, it’s a good place to start.
***Is Beijing Home? Probably Not. – Talks about whether or not I’ve actually settled down in China for good. The short answer is “No” and I discuss my reasons (as of June 2016). It’s another post that I could revisit to and re-evaluate my thinking.
English Grading and Chinese Reading
Week 13, Learning Chinese by Reading the Newspaper and My New Alarm Clock
***Beijing Brews: A Craft Beer Scene in the Making – This wasn’t supposed to be an advertisement for the beer companies here in Beijing but it sure could read that way. In any event, this post was written back in 2016 but was based on “research” conducted between January 2015 and May 2016. Some of the places have closed while others have had locations close yet open elsewhere. I actually suspect that some of these places might be getting caught in the cross-hairs of the current trade war between the USA and China.
***Will Chinese become a global language like English? – Discusses the idea that China and its peoples’ agreed-to standard language (Mandarin) will become the de facto language of the world within the next century. I highly doubt that in this post though, as it stands in 2018, I should revisit the issue to address some other ideas that have come up lately.
***Hot and Green – Discusses the onset of summer here in Beijing. I’ve always wanted to live in a hot and humid country, especially since I’m from Winnipeg, Canada, a renowned cold city, and I’ve always thought of my brief visits to Singapore in much the same vein: I wonder what it would be like to live here. Well, suffice it to say, whenever summer rolled around I usually didn’t stay in Beijing and instead took off travelling. So, this year, 2018, I’ll stay in Beijing and stick it out to see what it’s like. So far, I can tell you, my life involves a lot of sweating.
An Update on the Progress of Me Learning Chinese
How This Semester is Shaping Up
An Update on the Progress of My Learning of the Chinese Language
***Beijing’s AQI and The Price of Chinese Success – Talks all about the smog problem here in Beijing and throughout much of northern China. This post is by no means comprehensive but does give a “boots on the ground” view of what living in such a smoggy city entails. I covered this topic earlier in my stay in “The Beijing Haze”.
Mr. China and The Innocents Abroad
National Day Break, Books, and the 798 Art District
***What do you do in Beijing, Steve? – Talks about my (nor former) job at one of the state universities here in Beijing.
***Beijing Walking (with Illustrations) – Is probably one of my favourite posts as it discusses what it’s like to actually walk on the sidewalks (or wherever there’s room) here in Beijing. It’s funny and entirely aggravating, and something that everyone should know before they come to the city.
End of term and an update on my progress in the Chinese language
Shanghai, some updates and the return of Google?
Hello Kitty Hello Kitty; Summer Plans; Investing in China
The 2015 Beijing International Film Festival
***WeChat: Social Networking with Chinese Characteristics – Takes a look at an app that everybody in China knows but few people outside of it know or use. It’s called WeChat and it’s owned by Tencent which is run by a guy you might have heard, Jack Ma. Aside from Jackie Chan, he’s probably one of the few Chinese people who is visible and known to the larger world, and he hails from Mainland China. Anyway, WeChat, to put it simply, is one of the best Chinese inventions/combinations of modern technologies to date and runs through everyone’s life here in China.
Daily Life, Update on Learning Chinese, Winnipeg Jets, Beijing Film Festival, “Freshmen Fifteen”
I feel like my students… tired
Changdian Temple Fair in Beijing, China
***Ditan Temple Fair in Beijing, China – I wrote a few posts about the Chinese New Year’s temple fairs, particularly “Changdian” and “Ditan Temple Fairs”. Since then (2015), I’ve been to a few others which I’ll try to add to the list in due time. Complete with photos and videos of the goings on.
Back to school, shopping, books
CNY 2015 Fireworks at Qianhai Lake
Going out; Beijing Delivery; Mandarin Lessons; CPop
Chinese New Year 2015 – The Year of the Goat
Snirt, books and the Silk Route
Staycation; Goodbyes; Readings
***The Beijing Haze – Discusses the smog problem in Beijing, as noted above.
December 2, 2014: Toothpaste, tobacco, blogs…
November 25, 2014: APEC, War, and Chinese Lessons
November 18, 2014: Travel motivation, gyms, new site
October 24, 2014: Mandarin, Amazon, Hong Kong
***Beijing, China: First Impressions – Is just that, my very first impressions of living in the city.
***A Little Bit About China – Gives you (actually, it was more directed towards me) a bit of history of the country, leaving out some parts that may be viewed as a touch controversial.
***China: Expectations – Talks about what was expecting while preparing to leave. I had forgot that China is Country #24 for me and remains one of the few countries that I’ve actually lived in for a while.