Apart from the Purple Mountain, the other things I wanted to do was to catch up with some old Chinese and foreign friends in Nanjing before I leave China. Bamboo Garden is very close to Nanjing South Station and as I arrived there I remebered the time when I went to see it being built… Read More »
I hadn’t been to Nanjing for years and as I am running down my time in China, and as it was May holiday, it was an ideal opportunity to go to see the old place again. The crowds are only to be expected and the Chinese are good at moving arge numbers of people around… Read More »
He jumped from the third floor. That’s what the papers said the next day. He threw all his money out of the window and then himself. I wondered whether he watched the people below, grabbing at the money as it blew along the lane. Renminbi from heaven, falling like autumn leaves, scooped up by grateful… Read More »
It may be the most exciting time of year for Chinese people but for foreigners in China it’s akin to being Muslim in the UK at Christmas. I hate it – everything is closed, people have gone back to the villages and my mates have gone to exotic places leaving me alone. However after 4… Read More »
They say you only see a place properly when you go and return. This was the case with Nanjing. I had not been there for about 6 months and had lived there for over 4 years and when I returned it felt like putting on an old pair of slippers. Of course 6 months is… Read More »
In today’s world of immediate communication, friends are never more than a couple of clicks away. Even my old friend, Woche, who lives a mud hut in Marsabit, a small town in the great Rift Valley of Kenya is reachable by text message and email. It’s so easy to keep in touch but we… Read More »
After nearly five years in Nanjing, the time has come to move on to a bigger and better city and which could be bigger and better than Shanghai. My very few boxes have been packed and the courier company is due tomorrow. I am slightly suspicious because it seems too cheap – I will be… Read More »
I was sitting on the number 13 on the way back from the shops and I was careful as always, to make sure nobody was stealing anything off me. The bus stopped and I lept up (lucky enough to get a seat today) and headed for the door. I felt a tugging at the back… Read More »
They’re scrubbing the city clean ready for the Youth Olympic Games in August (‘Share the Games, Share our Dreams‘ being the most sickening and sentimental strap line ever!). There are new shop fronts all over the city, new trees to replace the ancient ones they tore down against the will of the local people, (TaiPing… Read More »
I will miss my office mates when I leave Nanjing at the end of this month for Shanghai – not that I saw them more than about once a month. I only know the names of 4 of them. I took this video one lunchtime when I popped into the office to do some photocopying… Read More »