Posts from an Australian lost in the Middle Kingdom
On 31 December 2019, the Chinese Government notified the World Health Organisation of cases of pneumonia occurring in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of which the cause was unknown. It has now been identified/labeled as a novel coronavirus (nCoV) sometimes referred to as 2019-nCoV and in media as Wuhan Virus, or simply Coronavirus.
Like most countries, China has been on a transition to New Energy Vehicles (NEV), or Alternative Fuel Vehicle (新能源汽车) for some time with a strategy centered on pure electric vehicles, along with plug-in hybrid vehicles and fuel cell vehicles.
In a previous post, we took a dive into the development of China’s High Speed Railway (HSR) and running concurrently with that was the development of the EMU’s (electric multiple unit) being the Harmony model trains and the latest Fuxing model, aka China’s bullet trains.
On August 1, 2008, China opened its first true high speed railway, the 120 km long Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway. By the end of 2019, around 11 years later, the operating mileage of China’s railways will reach more than 139,000 kilometers, of which 35,000 kilometers are high-speed rail, making it the largest rail network, and largest high speed rail network in the world.
Here is a list of China’s Top 20 Largest Cities by population with GDP and GDP per person. The population stats are from the 2018 census and financial data is the latest issued data at the time of writing (late 2019).
Think China doesn’t have some amazing scenic beaches? You might be surprised. Beach culture has never really been a big thing in China but lately, it is growing fast and exposing more of the scenic coastal areas that the Country offers.
Here is a list of super delicious dishes in China that can be found in most cities and that visitors to China will love at first bite.
For the new visitor, Chinese cuisine can seem a little intimidating and even altogether scary when not well understood, it can take a little while to adapt and for some, it may be a bridge too far. Dishes such as fried duck head (鸭头), fertilized eggs (活珠子), pigs blood jelly (血豆腐), or even steamed chicken feet (豉汁蒸凤爪) may turn off many a new visitors stomach. But, don’t fear, there are plenty of foreigner-friendly foods to start your China journey with.
Wuyue (五岳) is the general name of the five famous mountains in Chinese Han culture and is the product of the combination of ancient folk mountain god reverence, the concept of the Five Elements and imperial excursions and meditation in ancient times.
Here is a list of the top ten snack streets and its no coincidence that they are also near to major scenic areas. Also fascinating is that many of them have been famed destinations of the Chī huò (foodie) for centuries.
Chinese zodiac (十二生肖), or Shēngxiào, is deeply ingrained in Chinese culture and folklore as a system of interpreting character traits and fortune-telling via animal characters connected to a time cycle on the traditional Chinese calendar. Your birthdate is matched to one of the twelve animals or zodiacs and it is believed that you will likely share the character traits they represent. In this basic sense, it shares similarities with the Western zodiac system and star signs.
The four famous mountains of Taoism in China (道教四大名山) are Qiyun Mountain in Anhui, Wudang Mountain in Hubei, Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan, and Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi. The four mountains are dedicated to the Guangzong Purdue Tianzun, the Zhenwu Emperor, the Moral Tianzun, and the Demon Protector.
With the introduction of Buddhism from India around the time of the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), temples and monastic halls were built on what would become the four famous mountains of Chinese Buddhism.
Xiong’an New Area (CN: 雄安新区) is a new mega urban area and smart city project that encompasses three counties and 500 villages located in a strategic area that lies within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei triangle. What makes this project unique is, not only the scale and the vision, that it is directly under the management of the CCP Central Committee and the State Council.
Let’s take a deep dive into the world of Chinese tea and explore types of tea with popular varieties, growing regions, selection, brewing, and wrap up with a little bit of culture.
Trade war or not, ecommerce in China is on a continuing boom and it’s hard not to pay attention to the innovation that’s taking place especially in automation of freight and warehousing, and the massive size of some of the online portals like JD.com which has been valued at over $55 billion.
Here is a reading list of the must-read China books in selected genre including The Four Chinese Classics, Culture, Geopolitics, Politics, Corporate and Business, Economics, Personal Perspectives, Sociology, Philosophy, History, Modern History, and Military – History & Strategy.
Did you know that China has some 52 sites listed under UNESCO World Heritage? Ranging from ancient wonders to natural wonders, you’ll be amazed once more by some that you will know, and some that many never knew existed.
Want to learn more about China? Learn to speak Chinese? How about listening to the latest views of China watchers, political figures, and current affairs in China? Well, here is my pick of the top 40+ podcasts that are freely available on the internet.
Let’s take a dive into Chinese politics and get an understanding of what type of government is leading China and the government structure. Isn’t that the Communist Party, the CPC? Not exactly. Let’s explore.
![How it Works: the Communist Party of China (CPC) [and how you join]](http://i0.wp.com/welcometochina.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/CPC-768x350.jpg "How it Works: the Communist Party of China (CPC) [and how you join]")
Politics in China is a mystery to anyone outside of the nation and not many will move beyond the label of “authoritarian”, and perhaps a few other names, so today, let’s take a bit of deeper dive into the core element of China’s political system which is the Communist Party of China (CPC) – 中国共产党 which can also be referred to as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
In this chronology, I’ll list major conflicts, battles, and war in, and involving, China from Ancient times right through to the modern day.
This timeline of China’s wars, both civil and with other countries, is broken into three main sections being Ancient China, Imperial China with sub sections for the dynasties, and lastly Modern China post becoming a republic.
China has been the built the most skyscrapers every year for over a decade now, and last year was no exception with 77 having been built in 36 different cities. 12 were built in Shenzhen alone last year.
So, you want to go to China, but where? China still fascinates us with its mystical oriental charm and ancient history, especially for first-time visitors. So, for a first-time China trip, let’s explore some of the classic itineraries that take in the key historical and cultural sites that should not be missed.
Excluding Great Britain, Chinese are the oldest continuous immigrants to Australia beginning some in the early 1800’s. Their contribution to Australian society is immense and spans many fields over most all of Australia’s modern history.
What do you get when you merge nine mega-cities and two regions? A combined population of over 67 million and a GDP that's predicted to reach US$4.6 trillion by 2030.
Here's a one-page visual guide to some of the most common Chinese vegetables. Best thing is they are delicious and highly nutritious. With big pics, English - Pinyin & Chinese, you can easily track down your favorites in the market and try some new things.
There are five types of sockets in use, one in Hong Kong/Macau, two in Taiwan, and the other two on mainland China. Here they are in pics so you can choose the adapter you may need.
This extends on a question I recently answered on Quora, about alternative news in China. Included here is a huge list of news outlets, mostly in Chinese.
Although there are many types of visa for China, the most common is the L visa for tourists, the M visa for business, and the Q1/Q2 for those with a Chinese partner and the Z visa for people with work contracts in China.
Whether living in China or just holidaying, you're probably going to turn a TV on at some time, so, here's the big list of local Chinese TV channels