China Moments

I’ve seen a lot of dubious advertisements, but this one takes the cake. This advertisement is placed on the back of the passenger’s seat of many taxis in Shanghai. Can you guess what it is for? It’s an ad for Reyon, ...

Since last Friday, Hélène and I have moved one step closer to being true Shanghainese. Case in point, the above image. Yep, it’s a Ubisoft-branded bicycle! The red one is Hélène’s, and the blue one is mine. (Hence the red ...

A funny anecdote that happened to me in Beijing over the weekend: As you may or may not know, it’s an annoying habit of Chinese people all over the country to yell ‘Hello!’ at foreigners. It’s usually the only English ...

I’m writing this post from Beijing, in a small Internet cafe near the sidestreet (hutong) where I stayed the last three days. I didn’t know I was coming to Beijing this weekend until two weeks ago. That’s when Helene showed ...

The studio, like all big companies in Shanghai, employs ayi (阿姨), cleaning ladies who also serve as after-hours receptionists and all-around helpers. The word ayi actually means ‘auntie’, and is used to address all cleaning ladies. The studio employs 4 ...