In addition to an active imagination, writing well requires patience, effort, and a healthy dose of criticism from other writers. The Beijing Writer's Group meets weekly at The Bookworm in pursuit of this goal. Writers bring four to five copies of their work, submit it to the group to ... Read More
Aaron Sherwood is a volunteer teacher at the Lotus Culture Center, a school for continuing adult education aimed at China's minority migrant workers. The school offers students free lessons in a variety of topics to help them up their earning potential. Read on to find out more...
What kind ... Read More
Note: Turay's Afrika House has closed due to fire.
What’s this Turay Afrika House Project all about?
Entertaining Afro-Caribbean social activities, African restaurants, bars, an art gallery, hair braiding salon and media outfit. It’s a branch of a multi-purpose cultural company we have put in place as ... Read More
Ever felt guilty about tossing out old-but-still-good threads? April Nigh, Chair of the Rotaract Clothing Drive, tells us how much they want our pants.
Is this Beijing’s first used clothing drive?
As far as I know, other than ad hoc drives in response to the 2008 earthquake, there has ... Read More
For some Beijing pets, it's a cold and lonely winter. Animal abandoments spike during the holidays in the capital. Xie Zheng, of Don't Eat Friends gives us the lowdown on how to help furry friends in need.
Why do animal abandonments spike during the holidays?
During summer or ... Read More
We sat down with Michael Jackson China fan club president Zhang Rui to discuss the star's legacy in the Middle Kingdom.
How many people are in the Michael Jackson fan club in China?
Over 81,000. The number has doubled since his passing.
What kinds of things does the ... Read More
Beijing-based organization Hua Dan uses elements of drama and dance to teach migrant women and children life skills in Beijing and Sichuan. How do dance and drama improve the lives of working class Chinese women and children? Read on to find out more from Hua Dan rep Peta Khan.
How ... Read More
Wilbur W. Hsu is a volunteer teacher with CAI - a charity that organizes extra-curricular classes for kids in migrant schools in Beijing. CW sat down with Hsu to find out more about his basketball classes.
Can you tell us a bit about CAI?
CAI is an internationally-based non-profit organization in ... Read More
CW recently sat down with Philippine Charity Ball organizer Jaime FlorCruz to get the lowdown on philanthropy, Filipino style.
Tell us a bit about the charity ball.
This is the second charity ball organized by the Filipino community in Beijing. We organizers are mostly a group of Beijing-based professionals who ... Read More
Wokai is an NGO implementing microfinance programs in rural China. Can you give us a snapshot of what microfinance is all about?
Wokai’s platform connects contributors around the world directly with individual farmers and microentrepreneurs in rural China who are in need of small loans. Since its official launch ... Read More
You were guest editor of the quarterly online literary journal Cha. What was that like?
A huge eye-opener into the range and diversity of writing in Asia. When you are a “guest,” not born in Asia, and are on a truly international team, the process of selecting work feels heightened ... Read More
Can you tell us a bit about Beijing United’s PINK campaign?
Beijing United Family Hospitals are aiming to help raise awareness and educate the women of China about the importance of breast cancer prevention.
Is breast cancer a major concern in China?
Breast cancer is on the rise in ... Read More
VIVA is an organization for businesswomen in China. Are there any specific challenges or benefits for women doing business here?
Overall, I feel that a lot of the challenges that women face are universal and not necessarily specific to China. Many of the issues our members talk about are the ... Read More
VIVA is an organization for businesswomen in China. Are there any specific challenges or benefits for women doing business here?
Overall, I feel that a lot of the challenges that women face are universal and not necessarily specific to China. Many of the issues our members talk about are the ... Read More
USA Today compared you to Indiana Jones in a feature last year for discovering almost 30 new dinosaur species. Is this a hard rep to live up to?
I don’t know. It’s great to have that paper recognize you, but it’s very rare in China that scientists ... Read More
Electric Shadows is a multi-media platform with a focus on film. What can we expect at an Electric Shadows event?
In a city where the majority of inhabitants watch films on DVD in their homes, we create events where people can come together for a shared experience. When attending an ... Read More
Whenever I meet expats in other Chinese cities, I am struck by a uniformity that I do not encounter in Beijing. Shanghai is full of corporates. Chengdu is full of laid-back English teachers and students. Shenyang is full of English teachers and students who couldn’t find jobs or programs ... Read More
Your new book Repeat After Me is also your first fiction novel. After Foreign Babes, how does it feel to make the jump from writing reality to writing fiction?
The two projects were similar in a craft sense. In both cases, I had endless amounts of material. For Foreign Babes ... Read More
Community Alliance is building a counseling center for the elderly in Shifang, one the cities worst hit during the Sichuan earthquake. Is there a strong need for counseling services for the elderly earthquake survivors? For these farmers, most of them depended on their land for work and money. Now that ... Read More
In theater, silence is never golden. The shining exception is Mummenschanz, the critically acclaimed theater group that has achieved over 30 years of success by saying nothing at all.
Loosely translated as “masquerade,” the Swiss mime-quad is criss-crossing the globe for its retrospective performance 3x11, a reflection on 33 years ... Read More

The Lazy Guide to Finding Love
By DRAGONCAKE79
Fabulous article Nikkia! Made me chuckle. The filter option online is definit... >>