China Segment

And so it comes again, the beginning of a new Chinese lunar calendar. And with it, fresh gales from the North, as if Siberia itself was bearing down on us here in Shanghai. 春节, Spring Festival, is a misnomer in my opinion. Every year it’s unspeakably cold for this region, and though [...]

Bookmark It

[Read more →]

The eternal debate about why Shanghai residents wear pajamas outdoors continues unabated… many of us have given up asking, but every new foreigner to Shanghai thinks they have it figured out. I’ve asked many locals and they seem to have different answers. I think I’ve seen it in other cities, but I’ve also [...]

Bookmark It

[Read more →]

Just to commemorate an anniversary today. White is the color symbolizing death in China, and people often use it to remember those who meant something to them. One of the greatest shames is how quickly people forget the past. Everyone in Shanghai is too busy making money these days to give a [...]

Bookmark It

[Read more →]

“I wanna be a cowboy,
And you can be my cowgirl.”
It took the style and substance of this cowboy/gal leather goods store to jolt those lyrics back into my head. I thought they’d vanished forever.
So if you’re from San Antonio, feeling a bit itchy for spurs and hides, it’s all at the corner of Wulumuqi [...]

Bookmark It

[Read more →]

I’ve been to 3 weddings now in China, and I’ve noticed something about the clothing worn: it doesn’t quite add up.
The bride and groom, their parents, and most of the relatives that are close to them all dress to the nines. But a lot of the other guests just show up with whatever they [...]

Bookmark It

[Read more →]

Check it out - Western women are not the only ones who take the veil on their wedding day.   Chinese women traditionally wear veils too - red ones, and they’re much tougher to see out of.
Pictured above, myself and my bride, Rachel, as our host leads us into the banquet hall.  Chinese weddings are really [...]

Bookmark It

[Read more →]

Well, I wore a Tang Zhuang for my wedding in Shanghai. My wife, Rachel, and I had two weddings, one here in Shanghai and the other in my hometown, Saskatoon, in Canada. Since I was wearing a tux for our Canadian wedding I figured I’d wear whatever was traditional here. Thus, the [...]

Bookmark It

[Read more →]