As a Christmas-lover, I’m the first to welcome festive celebrations well before December. However, when Christmas chatter broke out in the ‘SH Christmas’ WeChat group in mid-September, I was as surprised as anyone! Update: The links associated with this […]
Where is Arkadia Retreat? Nestled amongst the clouds, pine trees and towering bamboo in mountainous southern Zhejiang Province is a beautiful bed and breakfast called Arkadia Retreat. With stunning views of the ancient mountain village of Yan Keng Ling […]
Updated January 15, 2023 Chinese New Year 中国新年 (zhōng guó xīn nián), commonly called Lunar New Year and Spring Festival, is rich in symbolism and tradition stemming from folklore. It is rooted in the celebration of spring and marks the transition between […]
Waking up to torrential Plum Rains yesterday we were thankful to have booked tickets to Baoyan Paradise, a children’s indoor play centre, at Daning Shopping Centre in Jing’an North. I’d found Baoyan Paradise on Dianping. With over 4000 reviews […]
Last week my friend, Janette, asked me if I would like to ‘Go and smash some stuff’. I replied with an emphatic ‘YES!’ before she’d even had a chance to explain where, when and how. Janette had heard about […]
My family and I have lived in China for over 3 years, and have been self-isolating since January after learning of the Covid-19 outbreak. Based on the information we have learned over the past few months, I will explain what steps we are taking to protect ourselves and how to self-isolate.
We’ve just clocked past sixty days of quarantine, self-isolation, social distancing, whatever you want to call it, and many of you have asked how we’re doing. It’s hard to say. Physically? We’re good. We take our temperatures twice a […]
It’s been 44 days since I learned of the Coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan. Everything that has happened since reading that article six weeks ago seems to have played out in a weird time warp. A sense that it’s all […]
The M50 Art Precinct is a must see during your stay in Shanghai. Parks, cultural centres, and tourist sites throughout Shanghai have experienced closures due to continuing Covid-19 restrictions. Even Shanghai Disney Resort, ‘The happiest place on earth,’ closed […]
The spread of Covid-19 may be slowing in Shanghai and across China, but as yet I’m unable to see an end to this bizarre reality we find ourselves living in. All schools, and many businesses, remain closed due to […]
If there’s anything I’ve learned in the last four weeks, since the outbreak of Covid-19 (Coronavirus), it’s that I never gave enough thought to the transfer of germs in everyday life. Of course, I was aware of the spread […]
Many of you have messaged asked what it’s like living in Shanghai at the moment, three weeks after the Coronavirus outbreak hit media headlines. It’s hard to describe the stark contrast to anyone who hasn’t experienced the hectic bustle […]
It’s been 13 days since I first saw news of the Novel Corona Virus filtering into WeChat groups in Shanghai. It seems like months ago I read the article by That’s Shanghai Magazine titled, ’17 New Corona Virus Cases […]
Old Traditions Die Hard Although attitudes to marriage in China have become freer in the last century, the ancient Chinese tradition of matchmaking continues to this day and many parents still follow the traditional ways to ensure their child […]
Three years living in China! To say ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ would be a massive understatement at this point. It blows my mind to think of all the amazing, and some not so amazing, things that Steve, […]