CW's intrepid columnist visits The Embassy, a weekly meeting for young Christians run by the Beijing International Christian Fellowship
Some religious services advertise spirituality over religion, but The Embassy, Beijing International Christian Fellowship’s Thursday night youth service, makes no such claim. It is a Christian service, not watered ... Read More
Of all the complaints launched against Beijing by my female friends, the only thing that comes up as often as the lack of acceptable men is the lack of good chocolate. So noble a confection, more than mere nectar or ambrosia, the true food of the gods has somehow been ... Read More
The future makes for an interesting topic of conversation. The Beijing Futurists Society has organized a night dedicated exclusively to discussing things in the future tense. CW's columnist drops in to see what's going on.
When the discussion turns to a Japanese plan to spend US$21 billion ... Read More
It’s tough to come in during the middle of a Bazi, or traditional Chinese fortune telling, class. This course was already in the fourth of its eight weeks, and its teacher, Alvin Ang, had done away with generalizations. “This is not a class where I am just going to ... Read More
“Pay attention,” demands instructor John McLeod, “We are going to go through these quickly. There are a lot of ways to hit someone with a stick.”
Plenty of martial arts classes begin with discussions of spirituality and concentrate heavily on “forms”—that is to say they are far more arts ... Read More
I arrived at the first annual biker party at Meches Mexican Restaurant in Shunyi just in time to see Greg Mech ride his Harley Davidson under a swinging hot dog as his wife, Bernice, attempted to catch it in her teeth.
Children were responsible for helping hang the hot dog ... Read More
Speed dating has appeared (and been ridiculed) in enough movies and television shows that I thought, in the spirit of the ironic hipster, I should give it a try. I got my chance last week at an event, reassuringly called Speed Networking, hosted by the Speed Dating Specialists at Solaire ... Read More
One can spend a lot of time in Beijing without any sort of cultural adventure. I’ve managed to live in the city for three years, to write four guidebooks and still avoid any immersion into the culture. However, after passing by near infinite games of xiangqi without knowing what ... Read More
During the Olympics, everyone wanted a piece of Lu-Chin Mischke. The founder of The Pride Institute, a non-profit dedicated to improving manners across Beijing, Lu-Chin was seen by journalists as the embodiment of the dynamism of the pre-Olympic period. ABC, NBC and, most notably, City Weekend all ran stories on ... Read More
Every Beijinger worth their MSG knows the best restaurants, clubs and iconic China sites for entertaining guests during the summer tourist season. Visits are not just a time to show friends and family a good time, they are a time for showing off. With recent jaunts to China by both ... Read More
Expats in Beijing are an “indoorsy” crowd. Take a moment to think about your friends in the city. Pat yourself on the back if you have seen more than three-quarters of them in natural light. It’s not our fault. Beijing is hardly built for outdoor adventure. Much of the ... Read More
Spend so much as a weekend in Beijing, and you will meet someone who has been in a movie, commercial or magazine spread. Stay a little longer, and you will discover three classic responses to these gigs: bemusement (“China is such an odd and wondrous place—I got to be ... Read More
Last week, after months of hard work, my company finally signed a long overdue cooperation agreement with our Chinese partner. After the requisite baijiu toasts, we received another token of gratitude: tickets to the Chinese University Magician Competition Extravaganza. The extravaganza featured 32 of the best college magicians from the ... Read More
No doubt there are things you can do in Beijing that don’t require alcohol, but it doesn’t mean those activities aren’t better without a little jiujin. Bowling is better. Gallery hopping is better. Trivia night is much better. Even running, as the Hash House Harriers prove, is ... Read More
Without fail, Beijing’s proverbial groundhog sees his shadow every year and winter drags on until nearly all of us forget there is more to this city than indoor displays of alcoholism manifested in events like weekly trivia nights at The Bookworm or Paddy O’ Sheas. Spring has arrived and ... Read More
Last month, I attended a “Mad Men” party at a friend’s penthouse in the CBD. He served Gordon’s Gin and Cutty Sark Whiskey, discouraged dancing and encouraged chain-smoking. Everything about the evening suggested a testosterone-dominated affair, and yet, miraculously, women showed up en masse.
With over 110 men ... Read More
Some community events are planned, but many just happen. On the last day of Chinese New Year, the Mandarin Oriental hosted one of the latter. No event since the Olympics has so thoroughly brought together people living in Beijing. For the days that followed, news of the inferno dominated blogs ... Read More
Recently, I received a Facebook message from a stranger who wanted my advice on how to make friends in Beijing. Most would agree that making friends in Beijing is easy once you have an established a social group. In fact, if anything, most of us need to trim the fat ... Read More
Some things are certain about Valentine’s Day in Beijing: set menus with the word “love” attached to every dish, beflowered Chinese girls wearing sweaters that match those of their dates and copious gazing.
Valentine’s is a stilted exercise. For those in relationships, it’s the best time of ... Read More
Around St. Paddy’s Day, the Irish Network of China hosts the annual Irish Ball. “The Ball is a full-on Irish event: ticket price covers free-flow Guinness and Jameson bars, there’s Kerrygold cheese and lots of Irish beef stew served all night!” promises community relations officer Mark Godfrey. The ... Read More
This column is dedicated to all those expats who were left behind in Beijing this holiday season. When the city experienced its annual New Testament pre-Christmas exodus, some of us, for whatever reason, did not make it home for the holidays.
“I don’t know what’s worse,” remarked Josh ... Read More
“Do you work for the state department?” I asked an American at the farewell gala for Wayne McCook, the first Jamaican ambassador to China.
“Ummm, no” came the response. I explain that I’m writing an article, and was hoping to learn the major concerns of Sino-Jamaican relations.
“Oh…I ... Read More
At a recent fundraiser sponsored by the microfinance group, Planet Finance Asia, regional technical advisor Connie Hina addressed the assembled crowd. “I just want to know, what microfinance firms are you all from?” A few of Hina’s colleagues raised their hands. Hina rephrased her question to include all organizations ... Read More
Well, we might as well talk about the elephant in the room – or, I should say - the elephant that has just left: the US elections. For the past months, Beijing’s expats have tirelessly attended (Obama) campaign fundraisers, organized voter registration drives, and helped Americans apply for absentee ballots. Even ... Read More
Students at Beijing International Art School follow the road less traveled
“I don’t know what’s coming and I’m not worried.” Dulce Maria Chavez Rodriguez, 25 and her boyfriend crouch in the dark. They will firedance in 15 minutes. Dulce turns to me and smiles. “What is a ... Read More
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Middle 8th: The New Sanlitun Village Location Has Creative Zest
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