The sublime chaos of Chongqing
Of all the places in China that I’ve gotten lost in, my favorite might be Chongqing. More specifically, its central district of …
Mythbusting the Chinese Megacity
“A vastness you only expect to contemplate in science fiction.” Is the media overhyping China’s latest regional development plan?
From slums to moonscapes in Baotou
Late one February night, with temperatures nearing zero degrees Fahrenheit, I walked beyond the limits of Baotou’s old imperial town to explore one …
Mapping Chinese Stereotypes of Europe
What’s with the British habit of wearing wigs? And why are they so fond of talking about the weather? These are just some of the common queries that Chinese web users have about the United Kingdom.
Is Ordos’ old town China’s most American city?
Ordos’ Kangbashi ghost town gets a lot of press. The old downtown of Dongsheng, relatively little. That’s a bit of a pity, …
Chinese cooking school with Teacher Hong
All the classes in my weekend Chinese cooking course are taught by Teacher Hong, a great master of Chinese cooking. How do I …
What prospects for Uber and its Chinese rivals?
A private driver told me “Didi Dache is still new, so who knows if the government might ban it later?” It’s a line that illustrates the difficult relationship that firms on the cutting edge of business innovation often have with Chinese authorities.
Day trip to Jiading
Shanghai is a big city, and the political boundary that defines the municipality is so big that it extends far beyond the …
Why we need a Chinese “Wolf of Wall Street”
It took a manager in a Chinese state-owned enterprise asking me to help double-team his mistress in a Shanghai hotel for me …
A foreigner joins a Red Song choir in Bo Xilai’s Chongqing
The first thing I noticed when I emerged from the airport was a billboard glowing high in an otherwise dark parking area. …