The Mid-Autumn Festival is almost here! It falls on September 13 this year. I hope you’re ready, but in case you’re not, we’re sharing 10 traditional Mid-Autumn Festival Foods served during this holiday!  Mid-Autumn Festival Memories The Mid-Autumn Festival can get lost in the American mainstream, but it’s an important Chinese holiday, and one that […]

So while traversing the streets of Beijing or Shanghai, you may find yourself in a situation when someone will ask you a question in Chinese. Being Chinese American, there were a lot of situations when I was first studying abroad when locals would come up and ask me something, and I would either have no […]

So previously, we discussed how to use Chinese to reference beverages of an…alcoholic nature.  Well if that’s not your thing, then we’ve got the next best one, at least in China. Tea.  Natch.   喝茶 Pinyin (i.e. the transcription of the Chinese words into Latin script): he1 cha2 The numbers indicate what tone each word […]

Okay, so today: A word on Chinese tones. Thus far in these Chinese Lesson posts, you may have seen these little numbers that I’m putting next to the pinyin of each word. What’s up with that? Well, each number (from 1 to 4) represents the tone in which each word is spoken.  What’s up with […]

This back alley Beijing place apparently has some fxxking good mojitos. Also, the coordination of Kaitlin’s shirt in this picture is completely by accident. So what do you say to get some of your new Chinese friends to go out and have a drink? Two words: 喝酒 Pinyin (i.e. the transcription of the Chinese words […]

This picture was taken in one of the little hutongs, or old alleyways of Beijing, where they have little storefronts and cool shops selling knick knacks and souvenirs. The last two characters on the sign above the shop in this photo are： 商店 Translation: store Pinyin (i.e. the transcription of the Chinese words into Latin script): shang1 […]

They’re cute. They’re cuddly. They sneeze and over 160 million people flock to YouTube to watch it happen. They’re the most spoiled animals at every Chinese zoo. 熊猫 Pinyin (i.e. the transcription of the Chinese words into Latin script): xiong2 mao1 (the numbers indicate what tone the words are said in.) Pronunciation: “shee-ong” (say it […]

So here we are (Dad and Kaitlin) in Beijing last summer, perusing assorted dish ware balanced precariously on the back of a wooden bicycle wagon. Putting aside the feat of sheer luck that none of the merchandise was broken, it was time to get busy looking for much needed bowls, plates, and cups. You’ll find a lot […]