I’m posting this update because I love giving Tang Hui all the press I can. Back in January, Tang filed a petition against officials in Yangzhuo, Hunan for abuses she suffered at their hands when she protested for justice for her under-aged daughter. Next Friday, Tang will get her day in court. Here’s hoping that Tang gets Read More
Category: blog post
It Doesn't Get Much Uglier Than This
On Saturday afternoon, drivers in Shanghai got quite an eye-full from 6 Danish tourists who were peeing on the side of a road. I know that when you gotta go, you gotta go, but they apparently even grabbed the driver’s steering wheel, forcing the driver to stop in the middle of a busy road instead Read More
China's Dead Pig Epidemic Hits Changsha
Over the last two weeks, a lot of our friends were sent to Shanghai. It’s been really tough, but we took solace in the fact that at least we weren’t sent to the place that has over 16,000 dead pigs being pulled from the waterways. Just in case you don’t know what I’m talking about, Read More
Hunan Forest Botanical Garden and Sakura Blooms
The Hunan Forest Botanical Garden is one of the few tourist attractions here in the ‘sha. I’ve lived here a while, but had never been because 1) it’s kind of way out there, 2) kind of expensive, and 3) kind of boring to anyone who doesn’t love plants. But this week the cherry blossoms (sakura trees) are Read More
Happy International Woman's Day
Today is Woman’s Day (March 8th). Actually, International Woman’s Day. But until I moved to China, I had never heard of it. Apparently the day is usually only celebrated in countries with socialist or communist backgrounds. As a bit of an aside, though, in China, it is a bit of a joke that Woman’s Day is on Read More
Easy Dumpling Recipe
I know I’ve been a bit quiet over here lately, but I’ve actually been really busy on a new project. I have talked for years about making a cookbook for expats. I had to basically re-learn how to cook when I moved to China and I know many other expats have gone through the same Read More
Unbound Feet
On Monday, I was privileged enough to visit a kindly old woman who lives across the street from Zoe’s grandmother in rural Hunan. This is her story. I was born in 1924. I don’t remember how old I was when my mother first bound my feet, all I remember was the pain. My mother would force me Read More
What is Exploitation?
The latest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition is getting a lot of heat, and for good reason. The magazine’s attempt at making an international issue instead turned out to be a slew of photos using human beings as exotic props. Sports Illustrated Photo The two above photos were both taken in Guangxi, China. The contrast between Read More
Kim Lee Wins Divorce Battle With Abusive Husband
The saga of Kim Lee and her abusive, super-star husband Li Yang has finally come to a close with a very satisfying outcome. She was awarded a 12 million RMB divorce settlement, full custody of her children, and a restraining order against her ex-husband (a first for the Beijing court system). Kim Lee has been a driving Read More
Book Review: The Feng Shui Detective by Nury Vittachi
The Feng Shui Detective by Nury Vittachi is hilarious. Vittachi has an amazing gift of being able to find humor in language itself. The lead character, Mr. Wong, is a Chinese feng shui master, but lives in Singapore and has dreams of writing a book about feng shui in English. He realizes the need to Read More