International Hotels In China – The Expat’s Refuge

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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Second Best Job In The World: Lavender Angel

Not long ago, the attention of the world turned to Hamilton Island, thanks to Tourism Queensland’s ingenious competition for ‘the best job in the world‘ – being paid to live on a tropical island paradise and blog about it.

Now, a lavender garden in southern China is trying to emulate this unqualified marketing success by holding a competition to recruit two Lavender Angels.

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Chinglish – Fug Captive Fish Or Firds

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.

Chinglish And Matteo Ricci

gwydionwilliams posted a photo containing a large block of Chinglish, but which also mentions Matteo Ricci:

Matteo Ricci Chinglish

Although I enjoy posting examples of Chinglish, I prefer short memorable examples, rather than long blocks such as this. These are all to common in China and don’t do much for me. Maybe it’s something to do with my attention span!

However, I chose to feature this example because as well as the large dose of Chinglish, it also mentions Matteo Ricci (pronounced Richi). Who’s Matteo Ricci you ask? He was an Italian Jesuit priest and missionary, who was the first person to introduce Christianity into China (in the 16th century).

How do I know this? Well, I used to live in Zhaoqing, where Matteo Ricci lived for 6 years (from 1583 to 1589). There are a few monuments / historic sites scattered throughout the city.

Also, Fr John Wotherspoon who was the head foreign teacher at the school I worked at in Zhaoqing, is a big fan and even has a Matteo Ricci website. Quite understandable, as John is also a Christian missionary working in China.

So I have a soft spot for Matteo Ricci too (and for Chinglish!).