China Twenty-One

Worth reading: Old divisions boil over

admin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:31:00 +0000

By now, the news media, blogosphere and social media networks have all been set ablaze with stories about Hong Kong vs. Mainland China. Being who I am -- a Canadian of Hong Kong descent who has lived in Shanghai -- the stories that have unfolded in recent months have both intrigued and disgusted me

2011 in review: 5 stories that defined Chinese identity

admin — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:45:40 +0000

For China and its people, 2011 was punctuated with events and stories that begged the question, "Who are we now? And where are we headed?" Here's a look at five of the biggest stories that defined Chinese identity this past year.

Chinatown, SF

admin — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 01:24:33 +0000

It should come as no surprise that China Twenty-One loves Chinatowns. I recently visited San Francisco, where I was able to see one claiming to be “the largest outside of Asia.”

For me, the promises of San Francisco’s Chinatown were great and many: the best dim sum in North America, a long [...]

Banker to the world

admin — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:18:22 +0000

I returned to Canada in September. Since then, some of my friends and family have asked about my experience in China. At times, I find the questions overwhelming:

- “What’s China like?” … Where do I even begin?

- “What was it like interacting with locals?” … How do I sum up a billion people [...]

Love is expensive in the PRC

admin — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:09:54 +0000

We hear so much about how wealth is rising in China. And this change has had a phenomenal impact on the population – including the way young couples splash out on their weddings.

“Couples are trading gold rings and qipaos, for diamond rings and white gowns. Instead of asking friends to host their receptions, they [...]

Tigers roar

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:01:26 +0000

No matter how much flack Amy Chua has received, how many times she has been called a monster, or the amount of negative press about Asian parenting this year, there is one excellent outcome from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother: A chance for Asian diaspora around the world to air out their ethnic identity [...]

Shanghai is so saucy

admin — Sat, 14 May 2011 12:33:43 +0000

Food is one of the most important features that defines each region in China.

You can say this about a lot of places around the world. But here, the cuisine is so diverse – Sichuan spice, sweet Cantonese, Xinjiang cumin, Dongbei comfort – and so on. The distinct tastes of each regional specialty is an [...]

Xi’an’s time to shine?

admin — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 14:17:48 +0000

Xi’an has long been on my “To travel” list. But for whatever reason, it took me about three years to finally tick it off. I recently made the journey up north and gawked at the Terracotta Warriors, rode a tandem bike on the City Wall and ate to my heart’s content in the [...]

Observations of Chinese reactions to the Japan Sendai earthquake

admin — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:16:23 +0000

How does China feel about Japan’s earthquake? It’s a question that delves into an important dimension of Chinese nationalism – the troubled Sino-Japanese relationship that is deeply entangled in historical tensions.

There have been expressions of sympathy and care for victims of the devastating disaster: An online video on Tudou of survivors of [...]

A hidden nationalist message from Lang Lang?

admin — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 06:33:26 +0000

Chinese pianist Lang Lang has been getting a lot of attention from nationalist netizens this week. This WSJ blog post, “Did Pianist Lang Lang Dis the White House?”, describes how the 28-year-old musician performed