I have just started reading your blog and have found it informative and interesting, especially as to the Olympics. In the interest of international cross-cultural exchange and helpfulness, I venture the following inquiry.
My wife and I are traveling to China for the first time in about a month. We’re headed to Suzhou, but also want to go to Nanjing, Kaifeng and Kunming. We are interested primarily in ordinary day-to-day life, though we will also of course want to see what each of those cities touts as its proudest venues.
Are there any English language blogs you can recommend that we might usefully read before we depart for China?
FOARP says
Mr. Greenberg – Danwei is very good, and for tourism (if little else) websites like China Daily’s aren’t so bad. I used to live in Nanjing, what kind of things do you want to see there?
Guisen says
Try http://www.gokunming.com for your Kunming/Yunnan visit. The forums and classifieds are very active and the blog is updated every weekday.
Charles Liu says
The Lonely Planet Guide to China is highly recommended.
Joel says
we have nothing on those specific locations, but we semi-regularly interview “regular Zhou’s” in Tianjin and write a little profile on them:
Mr. Chang (sidewalk barber)
Mr. Lu (neighbourhood bike repairman)
Liu Wei (parking attendant/security)
Guang Yuan (US-bound post-graduate engineering student)
Just little snapshots of some local lives.