Tag Archives: photos

Beijing Christmas Tree

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Christmas is upon us again. This year, I’m in Australia, but I’ll be thinking about Christmas in China, which I’ve been fortunate to experience on a number of occasions.

This photo by Keemz of a Christmas tree in Beijing got me thinking about past Christmases in China:

Christmas tree in Beijing

I guess I should say that I’m happy to spend Christmas here in Australia, with my family – and I am – but part of me will miss the experience of spending Christmas in China:

  • The camaraderie with other foreign teachers as we celebrate a Western festival in a non Western country and find ways of making it ‘like home’
  • The excitement of my students, which hardened Western high school / university students don’t want to match
  • The bustle of the shops on Christmas Eve
  • The fire works that will go off on Christmas Eve
  • The general surrealness of Christmas in China

Of course, I won’t miss:

  • The absence of family
  • The fact that most people work on Christmas Day (even if I don’t have to)
  • That Christmas Day is a non event compared to Christmas Eve
  • That there’s no such thing as Boxing Day (although the same goes for the US)

I hope you all have a great Christmas wherever you are.

Diet Coke In China

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Yes, they have Diet Coke in China. These days it’s fairly easy to get, especially in the big cities, as evidenced by this photo of a diet coke can posted by cogdogblog on Flickr.

China Diet Coke

When I first went to China in 2002, to a smallish city in Guangdong, it was almost impossible to get.

Having searched the city, with no luck, I tried asking for it in the Dynasty Hotel, which was to become our favourite watering hole. The waitress just couldn’t understand me, even with the help of my phrasebook and my miming.

After about 15 minutes of this, on and off, something went click in her mind and she brought me an ice cold can (yes it was cold!), just like the one in the picture and I was a very happy man! Here is a rather blurry photo of a it:

Diet Coke in China

EDIT 4 July 2012: Note that my can is quite bit older than cogdogblog’s one. This all happened way back in 2002, when Diet Coke was almost impossible to get in China. It’s much more common these days.

Actually it was called Coke Light, not Diet Coke, which is the name which was used in Hong Kong for some reason. I’m not sure what it’s called in China these days. Obviously, it has a Chinese name, which you can see in the picture, but if you turn the can around, the other side will be in English.

The reason I took the photo wasn’t for posterity or to put it on the Internet years later. It was to keep on my camera, so I could show it to people at other restaurants / bars / shops and hopefully get a can of Diet Coke as a result.

The first time I tried to use the photo to get a can of Diet Coke was at a Buddhist restaurant at a tourist destination / scenic spot. I took out my camera, found the photo and showed it to the waitress. Her eyes lit up. She said something like “we have, we have” and went racing out the back.

She was back minutes later with an icy cold can of … Coke. Not Diet Coke. Coke.. Sigh.

Something was obviously lost in translation. Actually, I think at that time Diet Coke was so rare that the vast majority of people in China didn’t even know it existed. When presented with the photo, the waitress could tell it was a Coke product, but couldn’t differentiate between Coke and Diet Coke.

At the time, I wasn’t into Coke at all, I really only wanted Diet Coke, so this was major disappointment. The irony is that I no longer drink Diet Coke. I’m a Coke man again!

Superstition On The Great Wall Of China

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This photo of intertwined padlocks on the Great Wall of China by nuck, uses one of China’s major attractions to highlight the country’s (at times) superstitious nature.

padlocks on the Great Wall of China

Nuck’s comment on the photo is as follows:

Young couples interlock padlocks on gates dotting the Great Wall in the belief it will bring the strength of the wall to their relationships.

I never knew that! I can’t remember seeing any padlocks on the Great Wall of China, but I guess if I had seen some, I wouldn’t have thought of them as being significant.

It just goes to show that the Chinese are quite superstitious. In cases like this, I like it! It’s both romantic and endearing. There are times when the superstitions are less appealing however (like when I can’t do something because of a superstition!).

Anyway, I liked the concept when I saw the photo, but the clincher was that it was set on the Great Wall of China, a place I’ve visited and a place of such significance for China.

I’ve seen hundreds of photos of the Great Wall, but never one like this. It was unique. Most photos are just shots of the wall stretching into the distance. To see a photo which wasn’t just a photo of the wall, but was a photo of something else which just happened to be on the wall, was truly refreshing.

Likewise, the topic wasn’t something I’d normally associate with the Great Wall. When I think of it, I’m not thinking about customs and superstitions. I’m thinking about the ancient Great Wall of China, the spectacular achievement by the Chinese of long ago (and boy isn’t it something).

I’m wondering how long is the Great Wall of China, how did they build it, why did they build it, how old is it, etc or perhaps just marvelling at the magnificent engineering feat.

The Great Wall of China is really something that’s worthwhile visiting if you get the chance. Just remember to keep an eye out for the padlocks. If you see any, let me know!

International Hotels In China – The Expat’s Refuge

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As mentioned recently, I’m going to publish some of my old photos of China. Here are a couple of photos of an ‘international’ hotel in China – the Dynasty Hotel in Zhaoqing – taken back in 2002. Hotels such as this provide a great refuge for expats living in China, especially those living in small to medium cities.

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Chinglish – Fug Captive Fish Or Firds

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I came across this photo by macloop on Flickr, talking about Fug Captive Fish, whatever that means:

Yet another funny sign in China

The full text of the sign reads:

Fug Captive Fish Or Firds
And Set Them Free Pool

Any guesses on what that means? Birds, not Firds, obviously, but the rest?

Apart from being a great example of Chinglish, it has a little extra significance for me as the photo was taken in Zhaoqing, where I lived for a year or so.

Also, I happen to think it’s a great photo – in black and white with the subject looking down at the sign.

Bad Hair Day

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Here’s a photo of a real bad hair day! joelogon posted a photo of himself getting his hair done:

bad hair day

This photo has me a little puzzled. I love it and was going to use it to write about how hair fashion is all the rage amongst young men in China (and it sure is!), but upon looking at it further, it appears that Joe lives in the US. For some reason it comes up when searching for Chinese hair on Flickr. There is no Chinese tag against it, so I have no idea why this happens.

As a result, it doesn’t quite fit into this series, which is only about photos of China. Regardless, I’m going to include it purely because it’s such a great photo! Joe has such wild hair in it! Talk about a bad hair day – well technically it’s not a bad hair day, because it’s actually just a hairdresser appointment, but you know what I mean!

Joe, if you ever read this, love the photo, love the wild hair and I’ve got to say that your blog, Dumb Things I Have Done Lately, is also pretty interesting. Best of luck!

Chinese Cabbage Soup

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This photo of Chinese cabbage soup (by avlxyz) really caught my attention.

Chinese cabbage soup

This soup looks to be made of delicious pork chunks and Chinese cabbage (known as Baicai in Chinese) leaves. I can almost taste it! Chinese cabbage appears in many Chinese soups (and noodle soup) and for some reason it works extremely well. It tastes wonderful and is great for your health.

One of the things that really struck me when I moved to China was that most Chinese food is not only delicious, it’s also quite healthy, with fresh ingredients, lots of vegetables, etc. We should have more of this sort of food in the West, as the diet of the average Westerner has slowly declined into something not so healthy!

I do know of a really good cabbage soup diet – the cabbage soup in the photo is a little different from the diet cabbage soup, but I think that this one of the reasons that most Chinese people are so slim. I’m sure there are other factors in play, but diet is probably the single most important factor.

Makeshift Village Ping Pong Table

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Stas Kulesh posted a photo of some kids playing ping pong (also known as table tennis) on a makeshift ping pong table:

village ping pong table

It’s a great photo, combining many elements. First, it shows a typical Chinese village, with the motor bike utility vehicle in the background, the little sweeping brush leaning against the wall, etc. This is a great setting for this photo.

Next, it shows the inventiveness of Chinese people, because they have literally made a ping pong table using a stone counter (not sure what it’s used for) and adding a stick propped on two bricks as the net. The most remarkable table tennis table I’ve ever seen!

Finally, it’s a great action shot, with the ping pong ball arriving at the other end and the boy moving as a result. However, look closely and you’ll notice something strange – the boy at the far end doesn’t have a ping pong paddle!

Great photo, but those boys really need to go buy some more ping pong paddles.

Chinese People In Marketplace

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sherrattsam posted some fascinating photos of people in a Chinese market:

Chinese man wearing a cap and a bandaid  Squinting Chinese woman rugged up against the cold

Chinese man puffing on a cigarette  Chinese man wearing a lovely jacket

Great stuff! Sherrattsam has captured some great shots of everyday people in a Chinese marketplace. It’s obviously very cold, as they’re all rugged up against the cold.

The jacket on the man in the last shot is a classic. Lots of lovely flowers, probably better suited to woman’s clothing (at least bt Western standards), but hey, when it’s that cold you’re going to wear whatever’s the warmest!

My favourite shot is the first man. Sherrattsam focuses on the hat (when he titled the shot), but it’s the bandaid that really stands out. There’s obviously an interesting story there!

I guess what really struck me about these photos is that not only do all capture interesting Chinese people, they capture real Chinese people. These look like people you see on the streets of China every day and they’re a big part of what makes China so interesting.

If you’ve ever lived in China or even just had a China vacation, you’ll know what I mean!