Category Archives: Letter from China

China for me has always been Hunan. The beautiful campus of Hunan University at the foot of the Yuelu Mountain with its famous Yuelu Academy. The rice terraces and the peasant life in Xiangtan County. Stinky tofu on the streets and red hot … Continue reading →

Hunan’s capital Changsha is famous for its wild nightlife nowadays, but I had not expected that having dinner with a businessman, his freshly married young wife and some of his employees on a Tuesday night would throw me in the … Continue reading →

I was supposed to meet someone at Xintiandi, the part of old Shanghai that has been resurrected for tourists. While I was waiting between the cute little brick houses, I took a look around the shop windows and restaurant menus, … Continue reading →

I am in Shanghai, but I did not come here on the new high-speed train. Not that I didn’t try. I tried to book a ticket online and I tried to buy it in person from the little train ticket … Continue reading →

Summer can take very different forms, depending on where you live. In Berlin, you might want to check the weather forecast before leaving the house to see if you should bring a warmer coat, even in July. In Washington, you … Continue reading →

The average German newspaper reader knows that Immanuel Kant’s shoes are currently on display in Beijing. “The Art of the Enlightenment” http://www.kunstderaufklaerung.de/ is one of the first exhibitions in the newly opened National Museum on Tiananmen Square, and the 10 million … Continue reading →

If my first two days in Sanlitun had made me wonder whether they still offer Chinese food in China, I should not have worried. But things have certainly gotten more sophisticated – and gone way beyond Peking duck! On my … Continue reading →

“Let’s meet in Sanlitun,” my friends suggest. This should be easy, I had lived in that area during a previous stay in Beijing. The plan is to spend an all-American evening, the day of my arrival after all is July … Continue reading →

Berlin Tegel airport was not built to accommodate the Chinese tourist of the early 21stcentury. Check-in is at the gate, and once you have passed security, you are trapped in a little waiting room, which is not connected to the … Continue reading →