Whether you're a current student or you have studied before, we are all too familiar with trying to study and get some work done while being distracted by pretty much anything. These distractions can be disguised in many ways. Whether it be annoying siblings, nagging moms, friends or Netflix, it all results in us trying [...]
It is that time of the year where every Chinese person seems to be on the move. The Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring festival i.e. the Lunar New Year. This year's Chinese New Year will take place between the 4th and 10th of February to prelude the year of 'the pig'. As [...]
Hemu (禾木) is a village in the mountains of Altai, the area in the north of Xinjiang set between Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia. The valley where the village rises is crossed by the river Hemu, which is not far from where it mixes waters with the river Kanas. The inhabitants of Hemu are of Kazakh [...]
“Where’s floor number 4?” Every country has its own superstitions, often closely related to cultural events and holidays. In many western countries, the superstitions stem from folklore, and are not specific to any country. We all know that breaking a mirror gives 7 years of bad luck, or a black cat crossing the [...]
It’s hard to imagine daily life in a far-away country like China, especially if you have never been to Asia before. This might cause some difficulty when packing your suitcase. But not to worry, this blogpost will tell you the 8 essentials you’ll need for your trip abroad. 1. Backpack Let’s start [...]
Beijing off the Beaten Track Once you've seen the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, 798 and Nanluoguxiang, you'll probably want to dive a bit deeper into all that Beijing has to offer. With that in mind, this week we present a list of 10 lesser known Beijing attractions you should definitely [...]
So you’ve taken the exciting step of learning Mandarin Chinese. You’ve got all your tools lined up: your phrasebook, dictionary, learning app, Youtube channels...the works. For the first couple of days, you rush headlong into your learning, and it seems to pay off quickly. You get a few words or basic phrases under your belt [...]
The Nakhi (also spelled Nashi or Naxi) first came to the attention of the Western world in the 1950s with the publication of Russian explorer Peter Goullart's travelogue "The Lost Kingdom". In it, Goullart describes his time living in Lijiang, the traditional cultural center of the Nakhi, during WWII. Of course, the region and [...]
Shanghai off the Beaten Track So you've been to the Bund for a mandatory skyline picture and fought the crowds at Yu Gardens and Tianzifang. You strained your neck looking at the skyscrapers in Lujiazui, dutifully marched through five floors of bronzes and ceramics at Shanghai Museum and pretended to understand contemporary art at [...]
Making Every RMB Count If you are currently pursuing higher education in China, then being restricted in spending is probably not new to you. Food, clothing, apartment/dorm, public transport, parties, holidays – these are the things learners spend the most of their money on. Add to this some costs you have to [...]
