Definitely one of my favorite trips: Our trip to Hangzhou was oddly perfectly (un)planned… trying to save money on one nights lodging, we decided to take a slow train (7 hrs) and get sleepers on the train instead of taking the typical 3 hour ride from Nanjing to Hangzhou. We arrived Hangzhou at 4:30am… just […]
Back in May, I mentioned taking a trip… and have finally uploaded photos! Nanjing was once China’s capital and from the visit to the lovely garden in the Presidential Palace to the Nanjing Massacre Museum there was a lot to take in for a short 2 day stay. Even when I’m in Beijing, I’m constantly […]
An insightful collection of photos that a friend emailed, “Skills found in China”: Thanks Cyril!
Magda Lipka Falck’s project, for the 2010 degree exhibition of Stockholm’s art and design school Konstfack, examines the idea of travel books. Titled “Anywhere—A Travel Guide” Falck allows for journeys of all sorts: across the globe, around the block, or within ourselves. Free of acknowledging any specific place she has “created a travel guide that is situated somewhere in […]
I loved the traditional Chinese architecture inspired bus stops of Suzhou! It really does emphasize and tie together the historical significance of the gardens in this city. Lovely :)
I love seeing these maps on the streets, most likely aimed specifically at tourists. Yet useful even if you’re not a tourist. We can see a big difference between the old version of these street maps and the new version…I’m particularly found of how a story is told with the worn out section of the […]
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 […]
A look into the interpretation of “public space”…. There’s one thing with hanging laundry outside one’s window out in the open; it’s certainly another to hang laundry to dry from public lamp posts! Love these silly Chinese.
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’ […]
Blury photo alert! Even biking in the rain, the Chinese use umbrella’s.. I saw many more umbrellas on this rainy day than raincoats. And how sweet of this girl to hold the umbrella as a passenger. Another thing I noticed was that there were very few black umbrellas, if any. In the west, we’re used […]
John Ewing‘s public art project Virtual Street Corners unveils in June to connect and encourage a better connection between two very different Boston neighborhoods of Brookline and Roxbury. The project aims to facilitate dialogue and connection between the predominately African-American and Jewish neighborhoods. In conversations with the public he found people kept to their own neighborhoods, rarely […]
A good friend of mine here in Beijing shares my love for food and gave me this book yesterday! “北京小吃” Beijing snacks (or Beijing small eats). Although, I can barely read any of it, the pictures say a lot.. and to remind me that I have yet to explore any of the well known foods […]
Mexican government sponsored program “See Better to Learn Better” partnered with FuseProject to develop a line of free eyeglasses, Collección Escolar 2010, especially for students aged 6-18. The glasses are customizable, fashionable, and nearly unbreakable with seven different colors, five shapes to choose from, and three different sizes. Lovely! Well reported at Core77, FastCompany, and Good
Cool! I wonder what happens to all the batteries that are collected… Is it an illusion of proper battery disposal?
All along I’m sure we all assumed that the costume for IronMan2 was a result of amazing costume design or CGI (Computer Generated Imagery), but the IronMan2 costume is evidence that shows just how far along technology and 3D printing has come. That’s right. The IronMan2 costume is a rapid 3D prototype, easily replicated and […]
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..