Feature Stories

For many, Taobao has become their best friend. After all, the process cannot be any easier. On a dreary evening, you scroll through the website in your pajamas, tap a couple of buttons and voila; everything you need will...

Within the realm of the Middle Kingdom there are countless codes of culture; immovable objects if one will, that the unstoppable forces of progress glance off at best. Many, to the outsider resident in China for a short period,...

Tradition and hierarchy form the deep-rooted historical foundation of China’s cultural codes. As a result, shame and honor function as extremely powerful motivational forces in this collectivistic, interdependent nation. Because group harmony is of paramount importance, avoidance of confrontation...

Much like the Warner Brothers cartoon featuring Tweety and Sylvester upside-down in China, living here can leave one disoriented, confused and with a long-list of story worthy cross-cultural faux-pas under the belt. But, rather than noticing, discussing, and over...

Sustainability is an ugly word. Not for its meaning, but for the way politicians have been using it for years. The more cynical among us are now bound almost to switch off at its very mention. Not going in...

For most of August this year Beijing was unusually, eerily beautiful. Famous for the Forbidden City and China’s most prestigious universities, the capital city of China also holds a dubious reputation as a hotbed for pollution. And yet, for...

  When the West thinks about China, the first things that come to mind are negative stereotypes; an uncontrollable hyper-capitalist economy wreaking havoc on the environment, corruption, and product and food safety scandals. The recent blasts in Tianjin have...

Despite teeth-grating airport security, Twitter-worthy traveller bad behaviour, and the occasional horrific lost-in-translation story, travelling and living abroad continues to be an eye opening, social media brag-worthy blast. Things can take a turn for the worse, though, when you...