This day, 11 October, in 1972, the People’s Republic of China and the Federal Republic of Germany established diplomatic relations.
1972年10月11日的这一天，中华人民共和国和德意志联邦共和国建立了外交关系。
I’ve used this column in the past to vent my criticism of the tea sold in China’s supermarkets. Today’s Strainer marks no retreat.
There are usually two locations for tea in the supermarket. There’s the loose tea; often located next to the pickles, stored in a similar way. Those glass jars, containing leaves of indeterminate age, are not the fitting place for happy tea; light is every bit as ravaging for green tea as heat or oxygen. And those unimaginative selections of tea, usually Long Jing , invariably smell as...
瓜子 (guazi) or “Melon Seed” is the name of an online used-car selling platform.
It’s an example of how brand conventions have evolved in China beyond fruits (Apple, Blackberry) to the names of dried food commodities (Xiaomi, Sesame, etc.) It’s also an example of a shift from branded physical products to services.
Actually, the subject of this month’s Strainer is not a tech startup or a financial service. It’s not even the humble melon seed itself (a fine Autumn snack); it’s a variety of green tea that is also named 瓜片...
I need to cut back. We’ve overspent this month.
When I look back, I don’t know whether it’s the newly-printed poster board on my wall which I’ll point to as “peak-splurge”.
Maybe it will be the sailing sun-hat from the French sports shop in Shanghai. The family have teased me about the price tag on that one. I bought the poster despite the teasing. Profligacy.
Maybe it will be the tea I’m drinking these days; comfortably the most expensive I’ve bought with real money in ages. It was ¥170 for a bag,...
You’re familiar with the rule by now. Do not carry your own liquids allowed into the airport departure lounge.
… except that I was drinking an awesome green tea I’d brought with me from China. And no one was asking me to surrender my cup. How long, I wondered, could I keep this up?
Right up to the boarding gate, it turns out.
Actually, it’s quite the comfort to have tea, especially green, in one’s hand while being herded through an airport.
But why haven’t any of the other liquids in my...
