Apr 27, 2008
Lei Feng, icon of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, please meet Second Right Brother, your Web 2.0 counterpart. Lei Feng was a selfless and modest soldier devoted to Chairman Mao who was killed by a truck backing up. Created by Mao’s government the old fashioned way – fiat of the propaganda department – Lei Feng was intended
Apr 27, 2008
In continuing fallout from the travails of the Olympic torch, CNN now appears to be entering the Chinese vocabulary in a less than complimentary manner. A university teacher here in Hong Kong reports that his Chinese students now use the expression “so CNN” to mean something that is subjective, lying and deceitful. One student admonished
Mar 4, 2008
A Beijing restaurant trend that protects the sloppy eater’s phone. The waiters at this restaurant delicately placed the diner’s phones in the bags. Marketers take note: Great advertising opportunity since people tend to look down at BlackBerrys so often. I have long been fascinated by the cultural differences in use of mobile phones, something I
Oct 22, 2007
Built on the rim of the Gobi desert and one of the most polluted cities in the world, Beijing residents are forced to take extreme measures to survive the winter, including facial cream. Other necessary equipment discussed in this video are humidifiers and air filters. Winter life in Beijing is a bubble-boy existence! Any tips
Oct 14, 2007
Two prominent experts on China’s digital development tell what is unique, new and different in China’s Internet. Kaiser Kuo, director of digital strategy in China for Ogilvy and a prolific writer, highlighted four trends unique to China: TREND: Hyper-speed peer-to-peer networks COMPANY: www.blin.cn High speed P2P has arisen in part due to China’s lax regulatory
Oct 13, 2007
Last night I attended a great jazz session at the Beijing CD Jazz Club that was part of the World Music Days in honor of murdered Wall Street reporter Daniel Pearl. Matt Roberts, Beijinger and trombonist in the Ah-Q Jazz Arkestra, in this video describes the background of the Beijing event. More than 15 musicians
Oct 11, 2007
Our teacher at 1on1Mandarin, Wang Lao Shi, demonstrates the meaning of those gestures made by Beijing taxi drivers when explaining the bill. Observing how different cultures gesture – such as counting or asking for the check in a restaurant – is one of the great pleasures of travel. Technorati Tags: 1on1mandarin, beijing101
Oct 1, 2007
One joy of moving to a new country is seeing the different customs that prevail. One of my favorites in China is seeing men carrying their wife or girlfriend’s handbag, often the latest fru-fru LVMH knock-off. Technorati Tags: beijing101, manbag
Sep 22, 2007
Leo Horn, an environmental economist who has been coming to China since the 1980s and written some highly noted paper’s on China’s environmental situation, puts Beijing’s current bicycle situation in context with that in Paris and London in this video. While Beijing has a great deal more space on the roads for bicycles than Paris
Sep 17, 2007
One of the newest and easiest landmarks to spot near our apartment in Beijing – much to our chagrin – is Hooters, the American bar made famous for the buxom waitresses it hires. In this video, the head of international franchising explains what Hooters hopes to bring to China. I am told that the US
Sep 17, 2007
A 20-second out-take from our first self-taught Mandarin lesson. In writing about unconventional language learning methods, I was told that the physical expression of sounds is an important part of internalizing a language. (Perhaps we took it too far.) Technorati Tags: 1on1 mandarin, 1on1mandarin, 1on1mandarin.com, mandarin
Sep 14, 2007
A lively critique of “The Speech” that China’s leaders seem to offer up each time they address an international audience was delivered by Clay Chandler of Fortune magazine when he moderated a panel at the World Economic Forum’s Summer Davos in Dalian At 4 minutes 40 seconds in this video, Clay expresses extreme disappointment at
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About Me
Thomas Crampton was a correspondent for the
International Herald Tribune and The New York Times for more than a decade, reporting from five continents, writing a column on Asia and covering Asian politics, economics and culture. Currently based in Hong Kong, he writes here about China, the Internet and New Media seen from Asia, while also advising companies on digital communication strategies. For more information click here...
