A Small Bag of Fruit, Lonely Mountain Roads, and the Fragility of Life
The Buddha said: “The trouble is you think you have time’ and we go through life with little, if any, thought to how fragile life can be and how in […]
Gated Communities and Geo-Political Understanding
Pretty much everyone in Chinese cities live in gated communities. Vast sprawling complexes of multiple buildings with sparse to luxuriant vegetation depending on the cost level. The community I live […]
Yin and Yang
Nothing is harder to come to terms with in Chinese society than the embedded influence of the Yin and Yang principle. Everything in China will ultimately be an expression […]
6 Inch Nails and Other Stories
Nothing brings out the inner frustration in China than dealing with building contractors and repairmen. As a friend once commented – “Building this restaurant pretty much used up all the […]
Chengdu Cuisine
Sichuan food – often written as ‘Szechwan’ from the old Wade Giles Romanisation system – is one of the 4 main distinct cuisines of China. Known as the cuisine of […]
Green Leaves and the Bravest Girl I Ever Knew.
Green Leaves, that’s going to be the title of a new book I am writing – it’s a collection of tall tales, reminisces, and stories of people who have come into my orbit over the years here in Chengdu. And the origin of the name Green Leaves has its history […]
Eat, Drink and Be Merry
Eating, Drinking and Being Merry The standard form of greeting in many western cultures is the handshake. We offer our right hand, which was in the past the sword hand. Traditionally, this gesture showed that there was no ill intent on the part of the person making the greeting. Both […]
Cookie Boy
Cookie Boy and other assorted tradesmen This is a story from the early days in Chengdu when life was good and o so pretty. Some people you just know are going to provide entertainment – ‘Cookie Boy’ was from the countryside and had an irrepressible ability to jump at things […]
Chengdu Cuisine
Sichuan food – often written as ‘Szechwan’ from the old Wade Giles Romanisation system – is one of the 4 main distinct cuisines of China. Known as the cuisine of 10,000 flavours, Sichuan food is an experience that can only be discovered in the home of its origin. So much […]
Relationships & “Guanxi”
Relationships and Guanxi One of the most common statements I hear from foreign business people intent on doing business in China is how good their ‘guanxi’ or local relationships are. […]
