Tomb Sweeping Festival

Qing Ming Festival-Sweeping the graves/tombs of ancestors

Small piles of black ash line the sides of the pavements on the eve of Qing Ming Qie. People burn paper money for their dead relatives and then draw a line of white chalk around the pile- the locals believe this keeps evil spirits away.

Qing Ming Qie (the Tomb Sweeping Festival), celebrated in China on the 4th April, is a time when families pay their respects and remember those who have died. Some families...[read more]

Cha Revisited

Since first visiting Cha Canting a few weeks ago, I've been to the restaurant a couple of times and each time, I come away thinking, Cha Canting really IS the best Cantonese restaurant in town.

If you don't want to wait half an hour for a table, go to the restaurant after 8:30pm - you'll get a table after 5mins. Alternatively, while you're waiting, why not pop round to Hof - 2 doors away - and order a glass of wine...[read more]

Travel to Shanxi

A building suspended mid-mountain, being within 2 meters of a powerful waterfall, 2,000 year old Pingyao City are some of the sights to see in Shanxi Province. Pingyao City is the only Ming-Qing Dynasty style town still standing. The city was the birthplace of China's banking institution and at its height, much of the country's banking business took place here - but there are no longer any banks in the city today.

The City Wall gives you an idea of the...[read more]

Cantonese cuisine

Cha's Cantonese Restaurant

The Soya Chicken, Beef Curry Rice and the Stir Fried Prawns with Egg are just three of the many dishes that should be tried at Cha. The Soya Chicken is HEAVENLY: the tender meat just melts in your mouth, it's definitely fresh chicken - and the accompanying sauce has just enough flavor to compliment, but not overpower the natural taste of the meat. I can't wait to try their Salty Baked Chicken!

 I plan on visiting this restaurant once...[read more]

Part 2: Superstitions and Taboos in China

For the Chinese many of their taboos are related to their homophonic words. For instance the number 4 (sì) is similar to the word death (sĭ) and so people don't like this number as their house number, mobile number etc. and in some buildings there's no forth floor. This is also believed in Korea and in lifts there, instead of the number 4 they use the first letter of the word instead. Similarly fā, from the word fācái which means...[read more]

Part 1: Superstitions and Taboos from Across the World

Some superstitions are the same across the globe, for instance the Polish and English both believe a black cat crossing your path is a sign of bad luck and a shattered mirror means an unlucky seven years. Others are unique from place to place. In Poland, if after leaving the house you've forgotten something, when you go back you shouldn't just pick up the item and go, first sit down for a moment and then leave again.

A Russian explained to...[read more]

Students Take Action

The students contact the local media however they're not interested in publicising their story. Learning from the experience of others, the girls decide that more drastic action needed to be taken.

Making sure they're not seen, the small group of 17 year olds go into an empty classroom during break. From an untraceable number, one girl calls the Department of Education in Beijing and explains their situation to the administrator: even though it's the summer holiday, they spend eight hour days,...[read more]

Shanghai Cuisine Festival 2009

Not only did you need to buy an entrance ticket, you also had to pay extra if you wanted to taste any of the food inside. A cooking class with one of the top chefs at the event would've cost you an extra whopping RMB1000. The VIP lounge consisted of a sparse few stands of whisky and chocolate tasting.

But, there were a few stalls worth mentioning:

Brasa is a chicken rotisserie on 888 South Shanxi Road (400 820 2172). At first...[read more]

Shanghainese food

It's possibly the narrowest, steepest - and maybe even the most dangerous - staircase in the city. Getting down is even more hazardous - going down backwards is the safest option. At the top of the stairs you come to a room measuring about 3m by 5m, inside which is also a fridge (disappointingly it doesn't contain beer but frozen meat), some wardrobes and a TV. It looks suspiciously like someone's makeshift bedroom, with a sofa lining one of the...[read more]

Needles

Walking down the street is a couple with a young boy, about 9 years old being carried in his mother's arms. As I walk up behind them I see something on the boy's head that's reflecting off the sun. With typical Chinese curiosity/nosiness, I start to discreetly tail the family and see five needles sticking out of various points on the boy's head. Some are protruding by a few centimetres but one needle, imbedded just above the middle of his...[read more]

It's Just Money

On the last day of his stay in Shanghai, Michael gets a call from his hotel room from an uncle asking if he'd like to go for lunch before his flight leaves in the afternoon. Thinking that his uncle will give him a lift to the airport after, they agree to meet outside the main entrance of his hotel at 1pm.

Half an hour later, Michael receives a second phone call, this time from another man, 'I'm a friend of your...[read more]

A Film Premiere in China

Having never attended a film premiere before, it was exciting to go to the first showing of ‘Quick, Quick, Slow'. There's no red-carpet or intense flash photography, instead, it's a quiet affair in a cinema screen with a small stage. The actors are briefly interviewed and the bizarre but entertaining activities begin. Three people in their mid-50s perform an energetic tango/cha- cha dance. One lady's dressed in a tight holey pink dress and her partner, balding actor Cao Haosheng, wears...[read more]