Category: China adventures
Scuba Diving in Beijing
A lot of people don’t advise learning to scuba dive in a third world country. It can be a dangerous sport, and saving a few bucks...
Qingdao Beer Festival Preview
We’ve been in Beijing for about a year now and that means we’ve met some amazing folks living in China’s capital city....
An Underwater Hutong: Beijing Flooding 2011
The last couple of weeks have been insane. First, it has been raining non-stop in Beijing. This kind of monsoon season hasn’t hit...
A Beijing Summer by Bike
Summer is in full swing in Beijing, with a heat index that is exhausting and humidity so thick it feels like being water boarded every time...
Into the Cube!
Staplers and colleagues and cubicles – oh my! I recently took a full-time (aka: cube) job in Beijing. Yes, I know what you are...
Beijing Health Check for Work Visa
Getting a visa in China with a company can be a hassle. I spent several months preparing all the documents needed to get my Z visa. To make...
Five Months of Cat Tales
In December, Mike bought me a kitten for Christmas. It died shortly after of FPV. We named him Nixon, after Mike’s favorite...
Spring in Beijing!
Spring has finally arrived in Beijing, and after a long winter in a Chinese siheyuan (a hutong home) we’re ready for the fine weather...
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami — From China
Many of our readers have asked us what the impact of the tsunami and earthquake were on China. The simple answer is that there was little...
Mistresses in China Calling for Legal Rights
Is polygamy coming to China? Thats what some mistresses in the mainland are calling for after the failed ‘Festival of...
Life in a Beijing Hutong – Part II
As many of you know, we moved into a Beijing hutong– a traditional single-story home in a traditional maze of houses that makes up a...
Chinese New Year in Beijing
In 2008 we lived in Shanghai and had the amazing opportunity to stay in the city over the Spring Festival (the Chinese lunar New Year)....
Chinese Mega City in the Works
From the most populated country in the world plans to build a mega city to house some 42 million doesn’t seem that surprising. China...
Poor Journalism & American Debt: Will China Call in Debt Early?
I live in China. I’m an American. You’d be surprised at the number one question people ask me from back home. Simply put, they...
“Should You Look For Work in China,” asks CNN. ATC Responds!
Recently, CNN ran an article asking the question, “Should You Look for Work in China.” The article follows the story of two...
Cultural Differences or Just Rude?
Today, I was walking down Nanluoguxiang when a women in a new model Audi decided to take a short cut out of one of the many side alleyways...
Nanluoguxiang, Beijing
Beijing has many amazing attractions. The Great Wall is a short ride away, the Forbidden City is at the epicenter, the entire city is flush...
New Year Resolutions
Happy New Year! With the new year comes a barrage of newly affirmed goals and resolutions. Living in China isn’t always easy, there...
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Dear Friends, Family, Fellow Travelers, and Random Readers, Merry Christmas from Beijing, China! We’re thrilled to be celebrating...
The Beijing-Erlian Visa Run
We recently did a visa run. As with many people who live in China, we have to leave the country every 60 or 90 days to reactivate our...
Life in a Beijing Hutong: Initial Impressions
We recently signed a one year lease on a local hutong home called a ping’an. A hutong is a cultural community of homes in the traditional...
Moving into a Hutong Home in Beijing
As many of you know, we were recently evicted from our apartment in Beijing. This stellar nightmare had a surprisingly happy ending when...
Evicted! A Nightmare in Beijing’s Freezing Winter
First, a little background information on rental practices in China: In general, you sign a lease and pay your rent whenever you move in....
Pet Shopping in Beijing
We’ve been looking all over for a place to buy a ferret. Yeah, I know what you are thinking, why buy a pet when you will just have to...
The Beijing Zoo
Since it was my birthday week we got to do a lot of really fun stuff. After all, you only turn 27 once! Mike decided to take me to the...
