The streets of the Philippines are dominated by brazenly colored, heavily ornamented, black exhaust smoke belching, military jeep inspired vehicles. … [Read more...]
Cosplay in China
Throngs of high school and college girls were lined up for half an hour or longer to see men and women dressed like cartoon characters. When the … [Read more...]
Can Chinese Shopping Malls Become Centers of Culture?
Imagine if you didn't just go to the mall to shop. Imagine if shopping malls were places full of museum-like exhibits, performances, cultural shows, … [Read more...]
What Life is Like Inside A Shanghai Migrant Worker Village
“They are like deserters from village life and lonely birds in the city.” -Li Jiuxin, Tsinghua University Walking on the scaffolding stacked up the … [Read more...]
Renovating Traditional Chinese Buildings as an Alternative to Destroying Them?
TAIZHOU, Jiangsu - The Wūyā Cafe is an oddity in Taizhou. It is a trendy cafe bar with a retro design that is popular with Chinese college students … [Read more...]
Demolition Of Ancient Communities Still Going Strong In China
TAIZHOU, Jiangsu, China - "Beijing has lots of preserved buildings, why can't Taizhou?" Mrs. Zhang asked as we stood on the second floor outdoor patio … [Read more...]
Why Starbucks In China Is So Expensive
"The Chinese people, they know nothing about coffee, all they know is that they look rich drinking it," a Taiwanese owner of a small cafe in Jiangsu … [Read more...]
Fenghuang: Another Ancient Chinese Tourist Trap
Fenghuang is what happens when China doesn't destroy its ancient cities. In 2001, Fenghuang, a county in the far west of Hunan province, was a … [Read more...]
A Look at the Largest Human Migration in History: Ecological Migrants in Guizhou, China
They call them ecological migrants. They are 2 million villagers from Guizhou province whose mountainous environs have been deemed unsuitable for … [Read more...]
Inside Manzhouli, China’s Russian City
Manzhouli is a place on the edge. Literally, it sits at the edge of China, Russia, and Mongolia. Its name even means "In Manchuria." Up until the 1991 … [Read more...]
