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Featured Stories  Getting CuppedI am a true believer in Traditional Chinese Medicine. I’m not a hutong laowai or a hippy; TCM has just gotten me well when Western medicine hasn’t. It may not always be pleasant, but it works, ... A Long Way DownIt’s been the rainiest Beijing summer we’ve had in the last 10 years. The blue sky days almost make up for the unbelievably humid ones. Air conditioning becomes less of a luxury and more of a ... Barbecued BugsThere’s a tourist attraction in Wangfujing that’s not for the faint of heart – Xiao Chi Jie, or Snack Street. The name “Snack Street” implies tasty treats and conjures up images of caramelized fruit sticks, delicious ... The Worst Roommates Ever2009. I had a Chinese Canadian coworker named Lan who worked part-time in my department. After a few months on the job, she started coming in looking like she’d hardly gotten any sleep. She was irritable and ... There's Something About SARS2003. One of the first things you realize about Beijing is that it’s one of the most crowded cities in the world. At nearly 20 million people, the streets are overflowing with pedestrians, cars, bicycles and scooters ... 你是哪里人? Taxis Then and Now1998 to 2011. When I first arrived in China, the best and often only way to get around Beijing was by taxi. At that time, there were three different types of chu zu che - the 1.20, ...
I am a true believer in Traditional Chinese Medicine. I’m not a hutong laowai or a hippy; TCM has just gotten me well when Western medicine hasn’t. It may not always be pleasant, but it works, plain and simple. I’ve done more acupuncture than most people hope to in a lifetime and drank enough herbal potions to last me several. But in all the years I’ve lived in China, I avoided cupping – until last Sunday. Cupping, or ba guan, is supposed to work by creating suction on your skin. An open flame is applied to glass globes and creates a partial vacuum. This drawing action (the ba part) helps open meridians and fixes your qi, circulation and all that good stuff. Beyond that, I have no idea how it works. I was fairly apprehensive about trying this out because of the fire. If the practitioner doesn’t know what he’s doing, you can get seriously hurt. Case-in-point: I went to some poorly-run massage place in Lido with some friends of mine. While I was getting the bones in my feet crunched by inexperienced hands, Randy …Continue reading→
The three air conditioners in my place pose a problem, however. They’re old enough that they weren’t made with energy efficiency in mind – if you run more than one at once, a circuit breaks and the entire apartment is plunged into darkness. This makes every room a potentially unbearable hotspot. Mandy and I always migrate to where it’s coolest, depending on which room has the air conditioning on. There was a veritable balance with us and our air conditioners. A harmony at best, an unsteady truce at worst. Then, inexplicably, the air conditioner in our bedroom just stopped blowing cold air. This was a huge problem for me because I need it to be icy cold to sleep well. I can’t fall …Continue reading→ |
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It’s been the rainiest Beijing summer we’ve had in the last 10 years. The blue sky days almost make up for the unbelievably humid ones. Air conditioning becomes less of a luxury and more of a necessity when dogs are being shaved, Beijing bellies are bared, and you get a free sauna just by stepping outside.
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