Lao Shi

Shanghai’s Old City district represents the second part of what John Edwards would call the “two Chinas” – a poor, un-modernized and un-Westernized neighborhood just off the heart of the glittering skyscrapers and shopping areas of downtown Puxi, and bordering the tourist attraction of Yu Yuan Garden.
Here, life takes to the streets, as most of […]

I wrote a short piece for the online magazine Gen Art Pulse about quality places to go and hang-out in Shanghai that are not overly touristy. If anyone reading this blog plans on visiting Shanghai, which you should, because, despite my frequent venting about the frustrations of living in China, Shanghai is an amazing city, […]

Thanksgiving Church sits on “the river,” which is actually a canal, along which runs a paved path that is my favorite place to visit in the walkable vicinity. A four lane road runs alongside the canal, so it’s not particularly quiet, and construction sites border it on all sides, so it’s not very beautiful, unless […]

I’m sitting at home full and happy and have to crow:
Just finished a delicious meal at Crystal Jade, a restaurant located in the trendy, tourist/no-bo (nouveau-bourgeoisie) oriented Xintiandi shopping area, on the edge of the French Concession. Xintiandi (shin-tian-dee) is a newly constructed mall and somewhat European looking alley of bars and eateries that is, […]

Walking down the main tourist drag of Nanjing Lu, from People’s Square to The Bund, I expect to be jostled by crowds and bombarded by hawkers looking to push their wares – usually fake watches or the cheap trinket du jour, which for the past few months has been skates that attach to your shoes […]

Grumble Grumble Warning – this post is a rant. Someone’s had too much wine with dinner tonight…
For those of you who have wondered what China in the winter is like: It’s cold!
I’m trying not to gripe too much, because when I get depressed and physically stressed sickness comes on, as it did two […]

The people of Pudong have a talent for making smoke.
Walking home from a trip to the wet market (farmer’s market) last night I saw a column of black smoke rising from somewhere in the vicinity of my building. Our stove tops are so cheap I am convinced that one day mine is going to […]

Look: I made a movie. Well, it’s not really a movie, but I narrated a bunch of still pictures at least. It’s about how Buddhists make offerings in a temple I visited downtown. I have a small collection of movies that are building… more is surely to come.
Note: Because I’m a cheap bastard I’m […]

A few weeks ago I posted about how the fire alarms at the school were tested.
Here’s an update: Not surprisingly, the tests weren’t accurate. The scheduled fire drill didn’t go off as planned, and an unscheduled one just up and happened on its own one day. Because the drill was unexpected, most of the […]

Autumn has blown into Shanghai, and the city almost – almost – smells livable. Not clean, but livable, though colleagues are getting sick left and right. In the daytime it’s downright hot, but there is a lovely cool breeze and nights are perfect. Unable to stand soulless Pudong, I visited Old City (Nan Shi) Shanghai […]