Spring has arrived in Shanghai and the evidence is blooming in the city’s many parks and gardens. Despite Shanghai’s reputation as an overdeveloped megalopolis, there is an amazing abundance of well-tended green spaces. One of the newest is Gucun Park, and at 180 hectares, it’s the largest of the city’s so-called forest parks which give […]
Festivals and Holidays
Literary Lunch at M on the Bund, Shanghai
Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending a function at the Shanghai International Literary Festival, which has been running annually since 2003. The Festival draws authors from around the world and has become a major event in the Shanghai arts scene. Over 50 writers attended the 2013 Festival, including James and Deborah Fallows and Tom […]
Enter the Year of the Snake
It’s time to bid farewell to the Dragon, as the Year of the Snake comes slithering in. One of the 12 years of the Chinese Zodiac, which follows a lunar calendar, Snake years are said be a period of great change. It’s a time for shedding your old skin, shaking off what was slowing you […]
Holiday Tea at the Peninsula Shanghai
Even though we were happy spending a quiet Christmas at home in Shanghai this year, I still wanted to find a special way for us to celebrate the season. Last year in Hong Kong we enjoyed holiday tea at the famous Peninsula hotel. Since Shanghai boasts its own branch of this luxury brand, we headed over […]
Snapshot: Christmas in Shanghai
Last year we celebrated the holidays in Hong Kong and Macau. Having recently returned from Thailand and Vietnam, and with more trips planned for 2013, we thought a quiet Christmas at home in Shanghai would serve us well. This also gave us the opportunity to see how our adoptive city in the PRC handles a Western […]