Marc Graells, inspired by animals with natural defenses like an armadillo, proposes a new type of protection and anti-theft alarm for the scooter: Protect 486. Protect 486 is an anti-theft armor with burglar alarm, and also protecting your scooter from sunshine and rainwater. It would certainly be an interesting site to see multiples of these […]
My friend Sally, a Master’s in psychology exchange student from Taiwan, is studying at Peking University (Beida) this semester. I’ve been happy to help her with some translations and she’s kind enough to contribute one of her stories here: “北大洗澡記” 每天晚上校園都有不少人手提著塑膠袋或是小提籃，裡面放著盥洗用具，在寒冷的夜晚裡，走向公共浴室洗澡。我則是和室友走向更遠的浴室，因為那裏洗澡的地方有門可以關上。我來到北大最讓我驚訝著的兩件事，第一件事宿舍裡沒有洗澡的地方，第二件事是洗澡的地方沒有門可以關上。我聽我室友說在公共浴室洗澡，大家彼此可以看到對方的裸體。不過後來拿到港澳台學生用的洗澡證，我的心情好許多。因為港澳台辦公室知道台灣、香港和澳門的同學不習慣這樣的洗澡方式。有了這張卡，我們可以被允許進入留學生公寓的浴室，保全人員會先檢察我們的證件才讓我們進去洗澡。 我的大陸朋友說，這樣的洗澡方式都常在北方比較常見，所以南方人到北方求學，常常會很不習慣。不過她說，她們得習慣環境，因為這樣的生活習慣在北方已經很久了，即使跟行政單位反應也是沒有用的。我聽完不能理解為什麼反應是沒有用的，於是我只好點點頭。 “Taking a shower at Beida” Every evening there are many students walking through campus, bringing their plastic […]
These men work really hard… especially when there’s 3 of us in the back！ As a passenger, the view is very different from this angle compared to biking on your own or in a taxi or bus. It’s totally enjoyable to be a passenger on the back of a bicycle.. your attention doesn’t have to […]
The 59 room Pantone Hotel uses 7 different color palettes, making each room unique; I quite like the idea of having a somewhat individualized room within a hotel. Designed by Belgian interior designer Michel Penneman and Belgian architect Olivier Hannaert, each of the hotel’s seven floors are enlightened by different color palettes to complement guests’ […]
Wow. What a colorful and lively culture! In Pakistan, one would rarely see a truck not decorated. Trucks are painted and decorated with many colors and chimes are hung from the trucks to create jingling sounds. The tradition of painting trucks in Pakistan is long and colourful. It started out as a way for truck […]
During the long weekend of QingMing back in early April, I camped and hiked on the Great Wall (长城, Chángchéng) with schoolmates. Yup, camped. We stayed overnight in one of the barracks/watchtowers which is rented out by a local businessman from the Great Wall. He provided us with a delicious feast for dinner cooked by his wife, […]
I’m used to the squatting toilet by now, but on the train is a different story. That hole goes strait outside… to the train tracks underneath. There’s still flushing water though, to wash down anything that may have gotten left behind..
I was just reflecting on a recent trip I took with some schoolmates to Hangzhou during the May 1st holiday. And here’s one of many photos from the trip, though as always, looking to find the time to edit and post the remaining photos… Our trip to Hangzhou was oddly perfectly (un)planned… trying to save […]
When I first think of ‘Chinglish,’ I imagine a language that uses both English and Chinese words to communicate, but a recent article from the NewYork Times discusses ‘Chinglish’ as a language incorporating culture (and not just words), specifically in relation to signage in order to accomodate foreigners’ visit to the Shanghai World Expo. “The […]
Eating his noodle-lunch and checking his cell phone… at age… 7-ish? Adorable.
These old men just set up shop anywhere for their games of Chinese Chess: Love it! Nanjing, China
I guess the signs are only suggestions… “Step Off” is not really enforced: Nanjing, China
The US’s Dunkin Donuts looks like it has a Chinese counterpart “Sweety Donuts”. Same color scheme, same font! It’s too bad we had just finished dinner before coming across this shop, otherwise, I would have tried the donuts for a comparison as well! Suzhou, China
I spent an early morning wandering a local Hutong a couple weeks ago.. Although I wasn’t able to capture it on camera, it was great to watch people start their mornings: brushing their teeth on the streets together, trash collectors starting off their mornings, children walking to school or waiting for the bus, elderly walking […]
The Shanghai World Expo opens today! I’ve been looking forward to making a trip of my own.. and excited to see what people have to say :) Some great photos from The Big Picture: “Visitors walk past the illuminated Expo Axis of Sunshine Valley on the first day of the trial run of the 2010 […]
Wonderful Wanderlust graphic posters of the 7 continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, South America, North America, Australia and Europe. I want! via JoshSpear
Randomly strolling through a neighborhood, I found some old men playing Chinese chess, as they often do in parks. I’m amazed at how active the Chinese are at old age, from dancing groups, martial arts, and card or chess games…all done in the local parks. I wonder about the stories they have to tell and […]
It’s been about 2 months since I’ve arrived in this sprawling city of Beijing. I find myself keeping quite active with exploring and meeting some great people. Though, I continually wish for a more walkable city and more manageable scale. I wonder how long it will take me to fully adjust, or if I will. […]
via TimeOut
A visit to NanLouGuXiang was great to see with all the small independent and creative shops. From the pottery to Tibetan yogurt and craftmanship items. It’s a shame to come across this article in the Beijinger noting the change in environment from an authentically developed ‘tourist attraction’ to one that will potentially be artificially enforced. […]