China

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Boycotting the Olympics?

Amid the violence of Tibet, a debate has emerged in the west: Should we boycott the Beijing Olympic Games? Tibet has brought into focus an issue people have been discussing since Darfur and now serious discussion is occurring among people, organizations, and governments. Many activist groups are using this opportunity to shine a light [...]

2Jun2008 | Matt Kepnes | 0 comments | Continued
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Marriage in China with a few foreigners

Saturday morning, the wake up call was for 7 am. My alarm clock forgot to wake me, but the 8 am door knocking was successful. It was time to leave for the wedding.
This was my first Chinese wedding and I wasn’t sure what to expect especially because I didn’t know the people getting married. This [...]

2Jun2008 | Lee Frank | 1 comment | Continued
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Family Remnants

Writer and photographer S. Peer takes us on a visual journey through the remains of a Chinese Hakka village, now a museum in Shenzhen.

They fled. From China’s Jin Dynasty in 265 to the invasion of the Mongol and the resulting Yuan Dynasty, the Hakka people migrated as refugees from Northern China to the southern provinces. [...]

6May2008 | S. Peer | 1 comment | Continued
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Nikes and Not Nikes

My friend Oishi called me Friday afternoon asking, “What is your plan for this day?” Since I had finished my lessons for the day, then she insisted that we go shopping following an introduction to her friend.
She informed me that, “The prices are so cheap on Nike and Levi’s and everything, but I don’t know [...]

29Apr2008 | Lee Frank | 4 comments | Continued
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The Tale of the Busted Busker

As I was waiting to meet friends for lunch I wandered to Sea World (hai shang shi jie). No, there are no killer whales or dolphins. Sea World is Shenzhen’s expat hang-out, an outdoor mallish area of international restaurants and shops. The centerpiece of Sea World is an old French-built cruise ship (seized for narcotics [...]

16Apr2008 | S. Peer | 0 comments | Continued
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Classroom Broken-hearted

Jim, or Jimbo as I nicknamed him, was a lot like a ferret, after consuming a gallon of nicotine-lace Red Bull. He was everywhere all at once, dancing around the classroom, rummaging through my desk, the king of the overzealous nuisance. We had spent eight months together, one period a day, five days a week, [...]

14Apr2008 | S. Peer | 1 comment | Continued
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A Morning at Guangxiao Si

Guangxiao Si, the Bright Filial Piety Temple is one the oldest in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province’s capital. History places the first temple buildings on the site during the 4th century, before mighty Guangzhou was a city. The compound is significant because Hui Neng, of the Zen Buddhist sect, was a novice at the temple during the [...]

13Apr2008 | S. Peer | 1 comment | Continued
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Chinese Gridlock

I spent an hour and a half sitting in the back of a taxi on a recent Saturday afternoon. It wasn’t by choice. The entire trip should have taken 30 minutes. I found myself mired a mile from home, watching the meter click over every three minutes, adding more jiao to my fare. Why? Three [...]

8Apr2008 | S. Peer | 0 comments | Continued