Bike sharing has seemingly become an overnight sensation, and I can no longer remember a time this city was without them. The popularity of Ofo and Mobike has inspired countless copycats to enter the market, each branding themselves with a different color. Not only do their bikes offer extremely cheap convenience (just RMB 1 for […]
Early last summer I caught a gecko darting across my bedroom floor. I named her Lizzy and released her back into the wild. She still came back nearly every night, hanging out on our window, until winter came. I was happy and relieved when the weather started to warm up and she returned. Now she sometimes comes […]
The giant panda is no longer an endangered species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species downgraded (upgraded?) the status of the much-adored creatures to “vulnerable” on Sunday, citing a 17% increase of pandas in the wild from 2004 to 2014. That’s actually fewer than 300 more pandas in a 10-year […]
It’s another white Christmas in Beijing, probably the whitest one we’ve had. Usually you can see the towers of the Central Business District in the picture above, but not today! City authorities have issued an orange alert – only the second-highest rating on the smog chart – so it’s not so newsworthy in the eyes […]
This is the weather forecast for Beijing. It’s been rainy and overcast for the past three days, and according to the forecast, it will be cloudy tomorrow as well. It can’t be a coincidence that the only sunny day this week will be the day of the parade, can it?
See you in 2022 for the joyful rendezvous upon pure* ice and snow! * Fake.
Boyfriend and I went to Harbin, way up in the far reaches of northeastern China, for the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend. The city of 10 million is known for its bitterly cold winters (-40 degrees!), during which it holds an ice sculpture festival with giant icy monuments dotting the city. For those brave enough […]
Finally, a ban I can get on board with! People are no longer allowed to smoke in indoor public spaces — restaurants, malls, office buildings, etc. etc. etc. I’ve heard that “indoor” means anything covered by a roof. But wait! Isn’t indoor smoking already banned? Well, it was, but then it was unbanned. But wait! […]
Man, pandas. Is there any other creature in this world that is so bad at life? First, they let people destroy their homes. Then, they give zero fucks about repopulating their species (except for this guy). Now, it turns out they haven’t even bothered to learn, after 2 million years, to digest the very food […]
Say yes to The Eight Principles for Building People-Friendly Cities (archived page). Starting now. Please?