Reading Time: < 1 minute On the plane I met an old guy from Washington DC, he told me his 2 weeks China trip is wonderful (he and his wife went to Beijing, Xi’an, Congqing and Yangze River). To light up the conversation, I asked him if he is a politician. He said “No” seriously, then he said: I am not

Reading Time: 2 minutes 1) If you decide to stay at home inn (Rujia), book early (2 to 3 weeks in advance), here is the web site and their phone No. 800-820-3333. I booked through their web site. Note their web site is designed slightly different from some of the US travel web sites. Couple times I thought I already booked

Reading Time: 2 minutes Just got back from a 3 weeks China trip and it was fantastic, except now I have to recover from the jet lag. I received an email from a new friend titled “给最真诚的人敬礼“. To be honest, this email made me feel real good. While in Shanghai I had similar experience when a friend gave the comment that I

Reading Time: 2 minutes I saw some of the newest USA exports to China today: SAT (the US college admission test) and NFL (National Football league). At Chicago O’Hale airport, I met a girl who just graduate from high school (middle school in China) and will attend a college in the Mid-west US. She told me she has some friends

Reading Time: < 1 minute In order to stay connected in China, cell phone is a must. For short stay visitors, I believe “pre-paid minutes” or “pay as you go” card is good. There are a few minor things I found out by using China Mobile: 1) Text messaging: it’s much popular here and it’s less expensive compared to phone

Reading Time: < 1 minute Not that I don’t like Shanghai. Not just because Hangzhou has the world famous West Lake. Hangzhou’s size is about right, it has the convenience of the big city and the friendliness of a small city. I think St. Louis is similar in this aspect. There are fewer cars on the street,  and people spend less time

Reading Time: < 1 minute I visited my childhood home yesterday. There are lots of change because of economy development. The old gravois road is wider and paved, with side walks and lights.  There are no rice field any more. Almost all the lands are used for manufacturing companies or sold to developers. Even the brook by my house is

Reading Time: 2 minutes I used to think Shanghai is very big, until a few days ago I took the taxi from Lu Jia Zhui (the financial district in Pudong) to Jing An Temple in West Nanjing Rd. It’s only 5 km (3 miles) and 15-20 minutes drive during non-rush hour. I remember in mid 90s I walked half that distance on East Nanjing Rd (from YiBai to

Reading Time: < 1 minute I am at Ningbo Beilun, the forefront of opening and economy development of Zhejiang Province, argubally the most dynamic province in China these days. “Zhe Shang”, the business people from Zhejiang province, makes and sells many things you see in Wal-mart: underwear, stationary, toys, small applicance, etc. The scale of economy is enormous: I heard one time

Reading Time: < 1 minute I did not take too much taxi this time, I used the Metro (subway) a lot: more convenient, no traffic jam, besides it’s only 2 minutes ride from where I stay to where I work (more than 15 minutes walk though, good for me). I like to talk to taxi drivers from time to time;