In 2007, we went on a family vacation to Shanghai. We had been there before, but only as young kids in 1997—I was in kindergarten and my sister was in second grade. Needless to say, I only have a few strong memories from that first foray: a delightful red umbrella with little ears on top,
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Life & Travel
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
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When we first came to Beijing, the idea of living in a city apartment (after years of weed-whackers, dog walking, and school buses) was exciting, to say the least. Our two girls were in college, Bill had gotten a job offer there, and it seemed like a good time to make a refreshing change. As
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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
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This is always the go-to side dish for any meal. It’s dead easy, and you can use the same method for any dark leafy green. Snow pea leaves have an amazing flavor, so we’d highly recommend trying to get your hands on some. You’ll find it at a Chinese grocery store. But if it’s unavailable,
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Have you ever traveled and woken up in unfamiliar surroundings, experiencing that millisecond-long feeling of panic when you realize you’re not at home? That happened to me the first week I relocated to Beijing for my international job assignment. But instead of being on a business trip, the realization set in that I was here
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We use these Chinese cooking tools in our kitchen every day. That said, you don’t absolutely need any of these items to cook from our blog. But if you’re interested in broadening your base of kitchen equipment, here are some of the basic tools that we use and recommend. Not everything here is specifically in
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If you’ve seen the movie The Joy Luck Club (the dinner scene anyone?), you understand that Chinese dining etiquette can be ambiguous to some. Now, the rules aren’t quite as strict as this list would have you believe. Let us remember that slurping of soup and/or noodles is totally allowed, as is very loud talking
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