Destination: China
Dave Barry in Beijing: No ‘Chicken Without Sex Life’ for Him
by Valerie Conners | 08.12.08 | 2:25 PM ET
Pulitzer Prize-winner Dave Barry has been writing columns in the midst of Beijing’s Olympic bedlam.
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Yahoo! BuzzIn Beijing: Olympic Travel Junkies
by Eva Holland | 08.11.08 | 1:49 PM ET
My companions at the hotel here vary by age, gender, nationality and sport of choice—but as we’ve chatted over breakfast or on the shuttle to the subway, I’ve learned that there’s one thing many of them have in common: this isn’t their first Olympic Games. “Calgary, Barcelona, Atlanta ... Sydney, Nagano,” one man rattled off during a subway ride. His wife added: “Don’t forget Salt Lake!” Another man scratched his head thoughtfully when I asked how many Games he’d attended. “I guess I got started back in ‘76,” he said, “in Montreal.”
In Beijing: Three Cheers for Cheers
by Eva Holland | 08.11.08 | 11:43 AM ET
Last night I made it to some boxing preliminaries at the evocatively named Beijing Workers’ Gymnasium. The crowd—mostly Chinese, with scattered pockets of brightly colored foreigners—was a quiet one, rarely reacting to what happened in the ring with more than a low “oooh” or “aaah,” despite the organizers’ best efforts.
Which Way to the Bird’s Nest? Chinese Help for Tourists.
by Julia Ross | 08.11.08 | 11:41 AM ET
ChinesePod, the wonderful online Mandarin language service I’ve recommended before, recently launched a companion site to help English-speakers navigate the Beijing Olympics this month. The site offers a number of downloadable Olympics-themed Mandarin lessons, plus audio translations of Olympic venue names and sporting terms like “pommel horse” and “cross-court shot.”
In Beijing: A Rainbow of Nations
by Eva Holland | 08.09.08 | 2:43 PM ET
I’ve been to plenty of world-renowned tourist spots before. But as I walked around the Forbidden City yesterday, I found myself thinking that the hordes of travelers in Beijing were a far more diverse bunch than the crowds I’d jostled with at the Taj Mahal, say, or Edinburgh Castle. Then, after a little more thought, I realized that wasn’t it. The people around me didn’t necessarily hail from a broader range of countries—the difference was that almost everyone was, literally, wearing their national colors on their sleeves.
In Beijing: Red Tape and Roadblocks
by Eva Holland | 08.09.08 | 12:51 PM ET
It didn’t take long to get my first taste of bureaucracy in action. On Friday, I found a police line about a block from Tiananmen Square—unbeknownst to the thousands of tourists in town, the square and the southern entrance to the Forbidden City had been closed to the public, in preparation for the opening ceremonies. On Saturday, they were at it again: the Badaling portion of the Great Wall had also been closed, along with the Ming Tombs, in deference to an upcoming cycling road race.
J. Maarten Troost: Enduring Pollution and Reptile-Laden Lunches in China For Our Benefit
by David Farley | 08.08.08 | 10:39 AM ET
David Farley chats with the author of "Lost on Planet China" about the Olympic Games, Tibet and eating not-so-well in the Middle Kingdom
In Time for the Olympics, a National Anthems Primer
by Julia Ross | 08.08.08 | 8:27 AM ET
Photo by Philip Jagenstedt via Flickr (Creative Commons).
China’s national anthem, March of the Volunteers, never fails to summon memories of my teaching experience in Shanghai several years ago, when I’d watch 1,600 grade schoolers greet each morning with a full-arm salute to their nation’s red and gold flag. I’m preparing to relive that experience many times over this month as I watch Chinese Olympians take to the podium in Beijing.
In Beijing: Not So ‘Sanitized’ After All?
by Eva Holland | 08.08.08 | 8:19 AM ET
Good news for anyone who’s been worrying that preparations for the Beijing Olympics might wind up turning the city into a slicked-up, modernized, westernized shadow of its former self.
In Beijing: The Inescapable Games
by Eva Holland | 08.08.08 | 8:17 AM ET
I know, I know. Every Olympic host city gets really worked up just before the Games. Still, a day after my arrival I can’t help but suspect that Beijing has taken things a little further than most. Why? I expected to be bombarded with billboards and logos from the moment I landed here—what I didn’t expect, though, was the Olympics-themed China Airlines flight from San Francisco, complete with “Beijing 2008!” headrest covers, and an “Olympics Special” in-flight radio station. (Think Chariots of Fire, plenty of John Williams, and the theme from Ben-Hur.) The first movie to air was Blades of Glory. Coincidence? I think not.
Related on World Hum:
* In Beijing: Not So ‘Sanitized’ After All?
* In Beijing: Red Tape and Roadblocks
* In Beijing: A Rainbow of Nations
Photo by Eva Holland
Mao Mao Mao Mao Mao. Enough With the Mao Already.
by Jim Benning | 08.07.08 | 12:16 PM ET
He’s glaring back at me from my newspaper. He’s staring through my computer screen. He’s beaming at me through the TV. Memo to news media covering the Olympics: Enough with the Mao shots.
Bridging the Divide: Hong Kong to Macau
by Valerie Conners | 08.07.08 | 10:47 AM ET
The long-awaited Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge may soon become reality, thanks to additional funding for the project from the central Chinese government in Beijing. Financing details were announced yesterday. Construction is expected to begin by 2010.
Want to Book a $650,000 Suite in Beijing for the Olympics? Here’s Your Connection.
by Michael Yessis | 08.06.08 | 11:43 AM ET
His name is Sead Dizdarevic, and he’s the “official corporate concierge to the Olympics.” He’s also one colorful dude.
Onion Video: Are the Olympics an Elaborate Trap?
by Eva Holland | 08.04.08 | 11:59 AM ET
Since I’ll be heading to Beijing this week, my fingers are crossed that the Onion’s pundits got this one wrong:
Are Americans Intoxicated by ‘Our’ China?
by Michael Yessis | 07.30.08 | 11:31 AM ET
Interesting piece in the Washington Post by novelist Nicole Mones, who argues that the U.S.‘s enchantment with the country’s historical sites and the “mystery of China” has blinded us to the realities of the rising power. “Americans are infatuated with ‘our’ China,” she writes. “We prefer a nostalgic, exotic, vanished land that has little to do with China today.”