I could feel the sun’s intensity pierce through the thick folds of the course coach window curtain, and knew that the SPF 55 I’d slathered on earlier that morning just wasn’t going to cut it.  In defeat I pulled the curtain aside to reveal the lush countryside of Beijing’s outskirts.  As the bus climbed higher and higher up Yanshan mountain, my anticipation spiked as well.  In about a half an hour I’d be walking along the Middle Kingdom’s ultimate defense structure, the G...

Note to self: when in China, a morning walk through the park can lead to recruitment with the local Chinese dance group.  By some ironic twist of fate, I woke up this morning (my only day off while we are here in Shijizhaung) around 7:30 am.  After taking an uncomfortably lukewarm shower (apparently even that early there’s no hot water), I got dressed for the day and pulled on my kaki pants.  In my haste to pack my suitcase in Shanghai, I had wedged them into the only open cranny, an...

On every street corner you can spot him.  His eternal smile finds you from nearly every inch of the Peoples Square. And just when you think you’ve escaped his Gumby-like figure, a street peddler accosts you, shoving a stuffed, blue toy of his likeness in your face.  He is the face behind the slogan, “Better city, better life”.  He is the mascot of the 2010 World Expo, Haibao. 

With all the world’s eyes on Shanghai next year, great efforts have been taken to live up to the...