Ba ba ba - as the crowds of Olympic spectators herd themselves into their seats for the opening ceremonies, the eights are everywhere.
As, by now, everyone’s likely aware - “eight” is an auspicious number in Chinese culture and it’s no coincidence that The Games are starting at 8:08:08 pm on 08/08/2008. The reason for this is that 8, 八 in Chinese, is pronounced bā - which is somewhat similar to the pronunciation of 发/fā, meaning “prosper” or “wealth”.
Drivers pay for license plates with 8s in them, businesses scramble to get lots of 8s in their phone numbers, couples wait to marry on days and times with 8s in them… it’s little surprise that the biggest …
I’m a bit crap at remembering birthdays, and so this is a bit late - but Lost Laowai officially turned 2 years old a week or so ago.
It’s a bit hard to believe that it was that long ago I started clacking away on my keyboard attempting to put together some sort of site that could deliver information and opinions about China that didn’t have any particular “agenda” (hence the whole “no-nonsense” China guide/expat community slogan).
The site still has a lot I would like to improve and build upon, but by and by I’m quite happy with the way it has evolved - in …
With flak jacket on, and earplugs in place, I thought I’d usher in the new lunar year with a little post about the origins of the Chinese New Year, as well as some useful language for the holiday.
This is my fourth endurance of the explosive holiday, and I always approach it with mixed emotions. On the one hand, it’s about as abrasive as a holiday can get. It’s full of filial duties that force a massive population that most days can’t afford meat to spend a year’s worth of savings on appeasing culture and custom. It’s also loud and dangerous, as fireworks and firecrackers go off pretty much nonstop for several days with little to no regard for public or …
With the Year of the Rat just about to arrive, I can’t imagine a better image than this for our Photo of the Week.
Every week(ish) we’ll feature an interesting, funny, beautiful or otherwise noteworthy photo here. If you have a photo you think might make a good Photo of the Week, throw it in the pool at the Lost Laowai flickr Group and if you’ve got a great caption for it, send that to us as well.
With Spring Festival just a couple weeks away, time to remind any first-time Laowai to be careful as they venture out in what must be the world’s largest annual mass-migration.
Despite being one of the larger stories on Chinese-language news channels, little has been mentioned externally about an accident in Wuhu, Anhui, on January 13, where a female college student was cut in half by a train.
Leng Jing, a third year student at Anhui Normal University, was waiting on the Wuhu station platform for the train that would have taken her home to Fuyang for the holidays.
As is common practice this time of year, tickets for …
Tired of sending the folks from home some tacky Chinese souvenir for Christmas? Why not send them something that makes a difference?
The Library Project has created some nice gift cards to help raise funds and awareness for their excellent cause - building libraries and donating books to under-funded schools and orphanages in China and across Asia.
The Library Project’s Gift Cards come in denominations of 50, 100, 250, and 500 children’s books (@ $1/book), and feature gorgeous photography taken at schools that The Library Project is currently supporting. If the recipient is in the US, postage is included - as is an envelope.
Not a fan of …
Oh, sure, you may THINK that 2008 begins in just five months or so, but for 1/5th of the world (give or take), it all starts one year from now - as today Beijing’s Olympic Clock hits the magic 365 days number. Yee haw!
Many have said that these Olympics will be “China’s coming out party” … and that very well may be true. However, one wishes it was more a “hi dad, I’m gay” kind of party, rather than the flamboyantly homosexual father of four announcing it to his church kind of self-serving spectacle/debacle that it has become.
I mean, the Greeks.. they knew how to show a cool level of detachment to …
I was chillin’ out at the bottom of my blog when I noticed a little feature I had installed ages ago that shows me a post from that day a year previous. Well, imagine my surprise when the post is none other than the Lost Laowai inception announcement.
Yep. My little baby is one year old today (ish).
I can’t believe it’s only been a year since I started putting together this site, it feels like a lifetime ago. Then again, for all the parts that aren’t finished, maybe I should be a little surprised so much time has passed.
Much has changed with LLW over the last 365 days, and with few exceptions, the changes have been for the better….
Before I begin, a quick note about my last post, on How to Watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs Online. It seems as though there have been some intermittent problems, but for the most part, I think I can generalize and say it’s working now. So be sure to send it along to friends who might not be aware that they have access to hockey outside of Canada.
Anyway, down the the business at hand. Today is June 1st, which happens to Children’s Day here in China. Oddly enough, in the week leading up to the day which celebrates China’s youth, the internet has been in a hissy-fit about a certain video clip recorded by some kids …
The fireworks have almost all fizzled out, and the red cardboard from exploded firecrackers has largely been swept up, leaving everyone in China facing the various flip-sides of Chinese new year, and the prospect of having pretty much nothing to do for the remaining four or five days of the holiday.
I myself have found three glaring flip-sides of Chinese new year:
Half-empty cities: I can only account for this city, Suzhou, but it’s obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes that half of the city’s usual inhabitants and passers-through are all gone. This leaves an eerie, almost ghostly feeling out on the streets, especially in daytime. When I popped out to the DVD store earlier (one of only half …
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