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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:geo="http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#" > <channel> <title>Sinosplice</title> <atom:link href="https://www.sinosplice.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://www.sinosplice.com/</link> <description>Try to Understand China. Learn Chinese.</description> <lastBuildDate>Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:01:34 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <site xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">144154873</site> <item> <title>Zheeeeeen Leeeeei</title> <link>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/04/08/zheeeeeen-leeeeei</link> <comments>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/04/08/zheeeeeen-leeeeei#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[John Pasden]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 08 Apr 2024 00:40:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[language]]></category> <category><![CDATA[characterplay]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Chinese characters]]></category> <category><![CDATA[funny]]></category> <category><![CDATA[t-shirts]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Taobao]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.sinosplice.com/?p=10193</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>I found this fun shirt on Taobao: I love characterplay but I found this shirt, while clever, a little whiny. So I checked the seller for other designs like this, but this was basically the only one of this kind.</p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/04/08/zheeeeeen-leeeeei">Zheeeeeen Leeeeei</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I found this fun shirt on Taobao:</p> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpasden/53633839757/in/dateposted/" title="zheeeeeen-leeeeei"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53633839757_acd390f1f9_h.jpg" width="1178" height="1600" alt="zheeeeeen-leeeeei"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <p>I love <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/tag/characterplay">characterplay</a> but I found this shirt, while clever, a little whiny. So I checked the seller for other designs like this, but this was basically the only one of this kind.</p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/04/08/zheeeeeen-leeeeei">Zheeeeeen Leeeeei</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/04/08/zheeeeeen-leeeeei/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10193</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Standing Escalator Etiquette in Japan</title> <link>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/04/02/standing-on-escalator-etiquette-in-japan</link> <comments>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/04/02/standing-on-escalator-etiquette-in-japan#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[John Pasden]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 01 Apr 2024 23:56:29 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[personal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[culture]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Japan]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Shanghai]]></category> <category><![CDATA[society]]></category> <category><![CDATA[transportation]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.sinosplice.com/?p=10182</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>I always liked how people in Japan stood on one side of the escalators and let those in a hurry clomp on up or down the other side. It seemed courteous and efficient. At some point, years ago (maybe around 2010?), Shanghai also implemented such a system. Signs went up. I was told that Shanghai was adopting Hong Kong’s escalator etiquette. In any case, I... </p><p><a class="readmore" href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/04/02/standing-on-escalator-etiquette-in-japan">Read More</a></p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/04/02/standing-on-escalator-etiquette-in-japan">Standing Escalator Etiquette in Japan</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I always liked how people in Japan stood on one side of the escalators and let those in a hurry clomp on up or down the other side. It seemed courteous and efficient. At some point, years ago (maybe around 2010?), Shanghai also implemented such a system. Signs went up. I was told that Shanghai was adopting Hong Kong’s escalator etiquette. In any case, I saw it as progress.</p> <p>Sadly, it didn’t last long. The system was abandoned after less than a year, as I recall. I never knew why.</p> <p>On my last trip to Japan (March 2024), I discovered that Kyoto and Osaka are now discouraging the “stand on one side, walk on the other” escalator system. I was quite surprised by this.</p> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpasden/53625352852/in/dateposted/" title="No walking on the escalators (Osaka)"><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53625352852_80cf581f4b_b.jpg" width="879" height="1024" alt="No walking on the escalators (Osaka)"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <p>I did a little research and discovered two things:</p> <ol><li>There are a lot of old people in Japan taking the subway system. Having a “fast lane” on the escalators is<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-20/the-case-for-stand-to-the-right-don-t-walk-to-the-left?embedded-checkout=true"> seen as a safety risk</a>. (Fair enough.)</li> <li><a href="https://slate.com/technology/2016/01/standing-on-escalators-faster-than-walking-according-to-transport-for-london-trial.html">A study has been done</a> which showed that the “fast lane” escalator system actually results in a lower throughput over the same amount of time. (The key is that only about 25% of escalator commuters use the “fast lane,” but it takes up half the escalator.)</li></ol> <p>So I guess this is a triumph of reason and science?</p> <p>I still kind of miss the fast lane, though. In Japan and in Shanghai.</p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/04/02/standing-on-escalator-etiquette-in-japan">Standing Escalator Etiquette in Japan</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/04/02/standing-on-escalator-etiquette-in-japan/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10182</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Sleep No More in Shanghai</title> <link>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/02/01/sleep-no-more-in-shanghai</link> <comments>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/02/01/sleep-no-more-in-shanghai#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[John Pasden]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 01 Feb 2024 02:53:52 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[personal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[art]]></category> <category><![CDATA[culture]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Shanghai]]></category> <category><![CDATA[theatre]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.sinosplice.com/?p=10172</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Last Friday I went to a production of Sleep No More (不眠之夜) here in Shanghai. My wife bought us tickets. Although she has a pretty good record of choosing this kind of live entertainment, for some reason I was expecting something boring. Sleep No More is definitely not boring. In this immersive theatre experience, the audience disperses and wonders through sets covering 5 floors while... </p><p><a class="readmore" href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/02/01/sleep-no-more-in-shanghai">Read More</a></p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/02/01/sleep-no-more-in-shanghai">Sleep No More in Shanghai</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Last Friday I went to a production of <em><strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_No_More_(2011_play)">Sleep No More</a></strong></em> (<span class="info" title="Bùmián zhī Yè">不眠之夜</span>) here in Shanghai. My wife bought us tickets. Although she has a pretty good record of choosing this kind of live entertainment, for some reason I was expecting something boring. <em>Sleep No More</em> is definitely not boring.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/sleep-no-more.jpg"><img decoding="async" width="500" height="625" src="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/sleep-no-more.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10173" srcset="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/sleep-no-more.jpg 500w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/sleep-no-more-240x300.jpg 240w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></a></figure> <p>In this immersive theatre experience, the audience disperses and wonders through sets covering 5 floors while the cast act out various scenes across all 5 floors. There is no dialog and there is no way to see everything. You have to choose which characters to follow, where to go, and hope for a little luck. Going with friends really helps, because you can split up and compare what you witnessed. The story actually repeats as a loop, three times over three hours.</p> <p>The whole thing feels like a dream, and the sound design enhances this. Plus every member of the audience is required to wear a white mask. This turned out to be really crucial, because it helps everyone to identify the characters in the story you’re trying to watch. It’s also a clever trick by which a member of the cast or the staff can easily disguise himself as an audience member, and the characters in the story do occasionally interact with the audience a little bit.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/sleep-no-mre-scene.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="450" src="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/sleep-no-mre-scene.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-10174" srcset="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/sleep-no-mre-scene.jpg 600w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/sleep-no-mre-scene-300x225.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></a></figure> <p>At one point, one of the female characters was doing a sexy dance in an old style telephone booth (the story is set in the 1930’s). The woman pulled in a member of the audience, then closed a curtain. Later on when she opened the curtain and left the booth, the audience member was gone. I investigated and found a secret door in the back of the booth. I was going to go in, but the staff pulled me away. Although the production encourages the audience to “be bold,” there are definitely places you’re not allowed to go.</p> <p>Anyway, this was a very interesting theatre experience, the kind that really sticks with you. It’s not cheap (around $100 USD), but entirely worth the price. There’s not even any appreciable language barrier, given that the story is told without dialog. So if you’re in Shanghai and looking for an interesting cultural experience, this one is worth a try. (Not for kids. You will need to reserve tickets in advance.)</p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/02/01/sleep-no-more-in-shanghai">Sleep No More in Shanghai</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2024/02/01/sleep-no-more-in-shanghai/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>2</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10172</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Thoughts on Yangshuo (Guangxi)</title> <link>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/11/21/thoughts-on-yangshuo-guangxi</link> <comments>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/11/21/thoughts-on-yangshuo-guangxi#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[John Pasden]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 21 Nov 2023 03:04:32 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[personal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[travel]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Yangshuo]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.sinosplice.com/?p=10147</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>The first week of October is still China’s “National Day Golden Week” holiday, meaning that we get 7 consecutive days of vacation October 1-7. Of course, such a treat can’t come without a bit of pain… in this case, we also had to work the weekend after to “make up for” some of the days off. Truly a maddening system. A seven-day workweek following the... </p><p><a class="readmore" href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/11/21/thoughts-on-yangshuo-guangxi">Read More</a></p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/11/21/thoughts-on-yangshuo-guangxi">Thoughts on Yangshuo (Guangxi)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The first week of October is still China’s “National Day Golden Week” holiday, meaning that we get 7 consecutive days of vacation October 1-7. Of course, such a treat can’t come without a bit of pain… in this case, we also had to work the weekend after to “make up for” some of the days off. Truly a maddening system. A seven-day workweek following the holiday really does come close to nullifying the whole point of the holiday for many.</p> <p>For the October holiday this year, I went on a trip with my family to Yangshuo (阳朔), a mountainous region near Guilin full of all kinds of outdoor activities. Actually, though, we didn’t really go to <em>Yangshuo</em>. That’s kind of the point of this post.</p> <p><a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2002/06/30/yangshuo">I first went to Yangshuo in 2003</a> as a teacher still living in Hangzhou. It was just becoming a popular tourist destination back then because many other choices, such as nearby Guilin, had already become way too touristy. Anyone looking for something more outdoorsy, a bit off the beaten track, had to seek out less well-known locales. At the time, Yangshuo fit the bill perfectly.</p> <p>The next time I would visit Yangshuo <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2021/08/04/back-to-yangshuo">was in 2022</a>. My wife knew about the destination from me, and had heard good things about it. She found a local tour company that could set up family-friendly activities like swimming, hiking, caving, stand-up paddle boarding, and river trekking. What I didn’t initially know at the time was the activities planning were almost entirely not in Yangshuo, but the neighboring area. This is because in almost 20 years of development, Yangshuo had become so touristy as to be generally avoided by many travelers.</p> <p>So this past trip I paid more attention. We didn’t actually go to Yangshuo at all (except maybe passing through). We spent most of our time in a county called Xingping (兴坪). It was all pretty fun, and despite the hordes of holiday tourists, we were generally able to avoid them and do our own thing.</p> <p>Some photos: </p> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpasden/53231195599/in/dateposted/" title="Untitled"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53231195599_15a84e6919_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="Untitled"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpasden/53231117113/in/dateposted/" title="Untitled"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53231117113_4370db848d_b.jpg" width="768" height="1024" alt="Untitled"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpasden/53231311915/in/dateposted/" title="Untitled"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53231311915_2ccc68b0b9_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="Untitled"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpasden/53231191719/in/dateposted/" title="Untitled"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53231191719_7f7e670cd7_b.jpg" width="768" height="1024" alt="Untitled"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpasden/53229939957/in/dateposted/" title="Untitled"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53229939957_8b887c4b6f_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="Untitled"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpasden/53231308670/in/dateposted/" title="Untitled"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53231308670_832381fbd9_b.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="Untitled"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpasden/53230806176/in/dateposted/" title="Untitled"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53230806176_f2bc812ac9_b.jpg" width="768" height="1024" alt="Untitled"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/11/21/thoughts-on-yangshuo-guangxi">Thoughts on Yangshuo (Guangxi)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/11/21/thoughts-on-yangshuo-guangxi/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10147</post-id> </item> <item> <title>HACKED</title> <link>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/09/30/hacked-2</link> <comments>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/09/30/hacked-2#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[John Pasden]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sat, 30 Sep 2023 01:34:13 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[personal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[site news]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.sinosplice.com/?p=10124</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Hello to my email subscribers (if you’re still there). I’ve been hacked in a way that is only visible to my email subscribers. Spam messages are going out through WordPress.com email notifications. I’m working on fixing it, but unfortunately this happened right when I went on vacation to Yangshuo with my family. Will try to solve it ASAP! UPDATE: I had the problem fixed within... </p><p><a class="readmore" href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/09/30/hacked-2">Read More</a></p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/09/30/hacked-2">HACKED</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hello to my email subscribers (if you’re still there).</p> <p>I’ve been hacked in a way that is only visible to my email subscribers. Spam messages are going out through WordPress.com email notifications.</p> <p>I’m working on fixing it, but unfortunately this happened right when I went on vacation to Yangshuo with my family. Will try to solve it ASAP!</p> <p><strong>UPDATE:</strong> I had the problem fixed within 24 hours, but unfortunately some of you got spammy emails from Sinosplice. Sorry about that. The problem is fixed.</p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/09/30/hacked-2">HACKED</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/09/30/hacked-2/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10124</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Chinese-like Graffiti in Atlanta</title> <link>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/08/17/chinese-like-graffiti-in-atlanta</link> <comments>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/08/17/chinese-like-graffiti-in-atlanta#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[John Pasden]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 17 Aug 2023 01:52:33 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[language]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Atlanta]]></category> <category><![CDATA[character creations]]></category> <category><![CDATA[characterplay]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Chinese characters]]></category> <category><![CDATA[personal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[travel]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.sinosplice.com/?p=10114</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>My original hometown may be Tampa, Florida, but my family relocated from there to Atlanta, Georgia in 2020. So this past July, I was finally able to take my whole China-based family to visit this new “home base” in the US. It was great to be back with family for almost a whole month after being unable to visit due to COVID for about 4... </p><p><a class="readmore" href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/08/17/chinese-like-graffiti-in-atlanta">Read More</a></p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/08/17/chinese-like-graffiti-in-atlanta">Chinese-like Graffiti in Atlanta</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>My original hometown may be Tampa, Florida, but my family relocated from there to Atlanta, Georgia in 2020. So this past July, I was finally able to take my whole China-based family to visit this new “home base” in the US. It was great to be back with family for almost a whole month after being unable to visit due to COVID for about 4 years.</p> <p>I won’t say too much about the visit, other than that it was really nice. I’ve been taking a break from blogging this year, and we all had a great time.</p> <p>Chinese did randomly intrude on our vacation, though, such as in this graffiti I spotted on the Atlanta Beltway.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpasden/53120622030/in/dateposted/"><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53120622030_9df84c75e9_b.jpg" alt="Atlanta Beltway Chinese Characters"/></a></figure> <p>Here’s a closeup of the part on the right:</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpasden/53120621960/in/photostream/"><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53120621960_e37ca0b6dc_b.jpg" alt="Atlanta Beltway Chinese Characters (Closeup)"/></a></figure> <p>Is this real Chinese? I’d have to say no. It does look like a “graffiti style font” of real characters in some ways, and I can recognize <em>parts</em> of real characters, but then they also have weird extra strokes that don’t work. There are a few “near misses,” but every single one looks off in some way.</p> <p>Still, it’s fun to see this. You can tell that someone took the effort to really observe real Chinese characters and try to do their own artistic take on them.</p> <p>And I do love a little <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/tag/characterplay">characterplay</a>!</p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/08/17/chinese-like-graffiti-in-atlanta">Chinese-like Graffiti in Atlanta</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/08/17/chinese-like-graffiti-in-atlanta/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10114</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Share Bikes, Stacked High</title> <link>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/05/28/share-bikes-stacked-high</link> <comments>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/05/28/share-bikes-stacked-high#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[John Pasden]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 28 May 2023 10:29:40 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[personal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Mobike]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Shanghai]]></category> <category><![CDATA[society]]></category> <category><![CDATA[transportation]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.sinosplice.com/?p=10104</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Years ago, I blogged about Mobike and how it was changing the way we commute in Shanghai. That’s old news now. COVID has come and gone (sort of). But we’re still using these shared bikes. Now there are two big names: Meituan (unlock the bikes by scanning their QR codes with WeChat) and Hello Bike (unlock the bikes by scanning their QR codes with AliPay).... </p><p><a class="readmore" href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/05/28/share-bikes-stacked-high">Read More</a></p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/05/28/share-bikes-stacked-high">Share Bikes, Stacked High</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Years ago, I blogged about <strong>Mobike</strong> and how it was changing the way we commute in Shanghai. That’s old news now. COVID has come and gone (sort of). But we’re still using these shared bikes. Now there are two big names: <strong>Meituan</strong> (unlock the bikes by scanning their QR codes with WeChat) and <strong>Hello Bike</strong> (unlock the bikes by scanning their QR codes with AliPay).</p> <p>These shared bikes are all over the city. Sometimes there are so many of them in one area that a sidewalk will be completely blocked. In order to redistribute the bikes in a useful way, you often see big trucks collecting the bikes from an area overflowing with them in order to send them somewhere they’re needed.</p> <p>And then you might also see this:</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="940" height="529" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0Ls2wBBVbPY?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe></div></figure> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="940" height="529" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ExgDSxA5Vfw?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe></div></figure> <p>(Videos courtesy of Issac L.) </p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/05/28/share-bikes-stacked-high">Share Bikes, Stacked High</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/05/28/share-bikes-stacked-high/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10104</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Rate of Speech Affects Learning</title> <link>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/04/05/rate-of-speech-affects-learning</link> <comments>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/04/05/rate-of-speech-affects-learning#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[John Pasden]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Apr 2023 03:49:01 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[language]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Chinese study]]></category> <category><![CDATA[listening]]></category> <category><![CDATA[podcast]]></category> <category><![CDATA[You Can Learn Chinese]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.sinosplice.com/?p=10091</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>I think rate of speech is one of those things that gets some attention at certain points in one’s studies (especially the beginning), but easily gets forgotten under mountains of vocabulary, tsunamis of pronunciation, and avalanches of grammar. Here’s a You Can Learn Chinese podcast from last month where we discuss how rate of speech stays relevant at different stages of one’s studies:</p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/04/05/rate-of-speech-affects-learning">Rate of Speech Affects Learning</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I think rate of speech is one of those things that gets some attention at certain points in one’s studies (especially the beginning), but easily gets forgotten under mountains of vocabulary, tsunamis of pronunciation, and avalanches of grammar.</p> <p>Here’s a <a href="https://thechinaproject.com/series/you-can-learn-chinese/"><strong>You Can Learn Chinese</strong> podcast</a> from last month where we discuss how rate of speech stays relevant at different stages of one’s studies:</p> <ul><li>Teachers’ rate of speech (super important in the beginning)</li> <li>Dangers of not adapting to a natural rate of speech in one’s studies</li> <li>Looking for the right rate of speech for input</li> <li>Keeping goals in mind</li> <li>Using software to adjust rate of speech for listening materials</li> <li>Speaking faster vs. correct tones</li> <li>Perceived fluency gains with speaking more quickly?</li></ul> <iframe src="https://art19.com/shows/you-can-learn-chinese/episodes/92334fb5-7113-4898-a2b5-8346a6a27f6c/embed" style="width: 100%; height: 200px; border: 0 none;" scrolling="no"></iframe><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/04/05/rate-of-speech-affects-learning">Rate of Speech Affects Learning</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/04/05/rate-of-speech-affects-learning/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10091</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Using ChatGPT to Learn Chinese</title> <link>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/02/03/using-chatgpt-to-learn-chinese</link> <comments>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/02/03/using-chatgpt-to-learn-chinese#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[John Pasden]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2023 04:13:12 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[language]]></category> <category><![CDATA[AI]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ChatGPT]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Chinese study]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lijiang]]></category> <category><![CDATA[tech]]></category> <category><![CDATA[techniques]]></category> <category><![CDATA[technology]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.sinosplice.com/?p=10068</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>I got back from a family trip to Lijiang (Yunnan) last week. It was quite interesting being there again when my first and only trip to Lijiang happened a full 20 years ago! (Yeah, yeah… I’m old!) I remember even then that some tourists were lamenting that Lijiang was “too commercialized.” Obviously it’s more commercialized now, but I still found it nice. One big difference... </p><p><a class="readmore" href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/02/03/using-chatgpt-to-learn-chinese">Read More</a></p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/02/03/using-chatgpt-to-learn-chinese">Using ChatGPT to Learn Chinese</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I got back from a family trip to Lijiang (Yunnan) last week. It was quite interesting being there again when my first and only trip to Lijiang happened a <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2003/02/02/on-hold-from-lijiang">full 20 years ago</a>! (Yeah, yeah… I’m old!)</p> <p>I remember even then that some tourists were lamenting that Lijiang was “too commercialized.” Obviously it’s more commercialized now, but I still found it nice. One big difference is that while I used to see Naxi women in the “old town” of Lijiang wearing their traditional clothing selling food, clothing, and trinkets, I no longer do. Instead, it’s lots of tourists (mostly young women) decked out in rented Naxi garb (or even Tibetan) in order to take photos.</p> <p>But anyway, I’m back in Shanghai now, and one of the reasons I’m happy to be back is that I can continue to experiment with ChatGPT every day. It’s super addictive and fun, and it also has great potential for Chinese learning. So I thought I’d share a few things I’ve discovered. I’m planning to go into more specifics in an upcoming series on the <a href="https://www.allsetlearning.com/">AllSet Learning</a> blog.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Can Chat GPT do in Chinese?</h2> <p>Here’s a simple rundown of some of the many things you can do with ChatGPT, starting with the obvious and getting more specific:</p> <ul><li><strong>Translate</strong> between English and Chinese (or whatever other languages ChatGPT can handle)</li> <li>Adding <strong>pinyin</strong> to Chinese (it often does this by default for Chinese output when the prompt is in English)</li> <li>Provide both simplified and <strong>traditional</strong> characters, or convert between the two</li> <li>Create frequency lists of Chinese <strong>characters</strong> (limited)</li> <li>Creating <strong>lists</strong> of Chinese <strong>words</strong></li> <li>Provide Chinese characters with pinyin for an article in English which mentions Chinese words.</li> <li>Generate short <strong>paragraphs</strong> in Chinese on any topic</li> <li>Generate short paragraphs of text in both English and Chinese (<strong>parallel texts</strong>)</li> <li><strong>Respond</strong> in Chinese to chat prompts in Chinese</li></ul> <p>Sounds pretty cool, right? OK, but hold on… it doesn’t do any of these tasks <em>perfectly</em>. It does most of them <em>well</em>, though (especially general translation).</p> <p>Here’s an example of me asking for the Chinese words (with pinyin) for English output about Lijiang it had just given me:</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.59-AM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="629" src="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.59-AM-1024x629.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10075" srcset="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.59-AM-1024x629.png 1024w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.59-AM-300x184.png 300w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.59-AM-768x472.png 768w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.59-AM.png 1462w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure> <p>I had it generate a frequency list of Chinese characters using a custom format I wanted (with the slashes and parentheses), and also including Japanese. It did take a bit of back and forth to get the formatting right, but here’s the result:</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.33.29-AM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="669" src="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.33.29-AM-1024x669.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10069" srcset="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.33.29-AM-1024x669.png 1024w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.33.29-AM-300x196.png 300w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.33.29-AM-768x502.png 768w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.33.29-AM-1536x1004.png 1536w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.33.29-AM.png 1610w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure> <p><em>BUT</em>, you may be surprised to learn that ChatGPT doesn’t have access to Chinese word frequency data, so word frequency lists will be trickier.</p> <p>Let’s get into more specifics about some of the other problems.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Problems with Using ChatGPT for Chinese </h2> <p>OK, first of all, the obvious: it sometimes just plain gets stuff wrong. You can correct it, and it will readily admit and correct its mistake, but you might not realize the mistake is there at all. </p> <p>Here’s a simple pinyin mistake I called it out on:</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.44.08-AM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="276" src="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.44.08-AM-1024x276.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10071" srcset="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.44.08-AM-1024x276.png 1024w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.44.08-AM-300x81.png 300w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.44.08-AM-768x207.png 768w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.44.08-AM.png 1256w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure> <p>Another annoying thing is that, by default, pinyin is not grouped by words (it’s not word segmented). You can get ChatGPT to segment by words, but it’s harder than you might expect. It took me quite a few tries, and in the end, I had to manually segment the pinyin of the first sentence for it and provide that as a model. After that, ChatGPT was able to do the word segmentation (more or less) correctly.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.53.11-AM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="833" src="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.53.11-AM-1024x833.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10076" srcset="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.53.11-AM-1024x833.png 1024w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.53.11-AM-300x244.png 300w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.53.11-AM-768x625.png 768w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.53.11-AM.png 1438w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure> <p>It can also easily make factual errors about stuff related to Chinese. It looks more “correct” when it’s accompanied by pinyin, but it still might be just plan wrong!</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.04-AM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="430" src="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.04-AM-1024x430.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10073" srcset="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.04-AM-1024x430.png 1024w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.04-AM-300x126.png 300w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.04-AM-768x322.png 768w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.04-AM.png 1448w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.17-AM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="401" src="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.17-AM-1024x401.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10072" srcset="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.17-AM-1024x401.png 1024w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.17-AM-300x118.png 300w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.17-AM-768x301.png 768w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.34.17-AM.png 1464w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure> <p>Sometimes it uses the wrong punctuation for Chinese (maybe because I was mixing the languages in my prompts). You can ask it to fix that, but it’s still annoying.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.35.47-AM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="575" src="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.35.47-AM-1024x575.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10074" srcset="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.35.47-AM-1024x575.png 1024w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.35.47-AM-300x168.png 300w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.35.47-AM-768x431.png 768w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.35.47-AM-1536x862.png 1536w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.35.47-AM.png 1604w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure> <p>How about simplifying? You might have high hopes for this, considering that ChatGPT is quite good at simplifying English explanations. It can do it in Chinese, too, but often not well. It does not seem to have a sense of what is “difficult” for learners. I imagine this is largely result of an absence of such material for the AI’s training, but the result is very real. ChatGPT is not good at writing very simple texts for learners.</p> <p>Here’s an example of me trying to get it to simplify text as far as possible:</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.36.33-AM-1.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="776" src="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.36.33-AM-1-1024x776.png" alt="" class="wp-image-10077" srcset="https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.36.33-AM-1-1024x776.png 1024w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.36.33-AM-1-300x227.png 300w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.36.33-AM-1-768x582.png 768w, https://www.sinosplice.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-03-at-11.36.33-AM-1.png 1502w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure> <p>This went on for a bit longer, and the end result was:</p> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>“历史遗迹” 是古代建筑或地方。</p></blockquote> <p> I’m sure ChatGPT will get better at a lot of this stuff, but likely not before ChatGPT becomes a paid service. (There’s plenty of room int he market for specialized AI products, though!)</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">What to Use ChatGPT for to Learn Chinese</h2> <p>So what <em>should</em> you use ChatGPT for as a learner?</p> <ol><li><strong>Learn about Chinese culture and get the vocabulary with it.</strong> I love being able to ask for the Chinese (with pinyin) when discussing any topic in English. This is something that annoys me when reading in-depth articles on topics related to China: they often don’t provide the Chinese at all (or maybe just pinyin with no tone marks). </li> <li><strong>Chat in Chinese.</strong> Hey, it’s a chat bot, after all? It’s infinitely patient, can provide pinyin, can say things in different ways, etc. It might not always use simple Chinese, but there’s still loads of potential there.</li> <li><strong>Generate short texts</strong>. If you’re intermediate (or close to it), you could try generating short texts on topics you’re interested in. You could try jokes or even short stories. I’ve found that in general, <em>the fewer constraints you give ChatGPT on its output, the more natural that output will be</em>. So while you may not be able to restrict a text to only the Chinese that a first grader would know, you can still ask for texts on simple topics.</li></ol> <p><strong>Keep experimenting! </strong>This stuff is only the tip of the iceberg. This blog post is more of a “quick and dirty assessment” than a comprehensive review. If you’ve discovered some cool uses of ChatGPT related to learning Chinese, I would love to hear about it.</p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/02/03/using-chatgpt-to-learn-chinese">Using ChatGPT to Learn Chinese</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/02/03/using-chatgpt-to-learn-chinese/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>6</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10068</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Post-COVID 2023</title> <link>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/01/02/post-covid-2023</link> <comments>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/01/02/post-covid-2023#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[John Pasden]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 02 Jan 2023 06:09:42 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[personal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[COVID]]></category> <category><![CDATA[COVID-19]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Shanghai]]></category> <category><![CDATA[travel]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.sinosplice.com/?p=10054</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>I stopped writing in late 2022 because I didn’t want to turn this blog into a big whine-fest about COVID, and as a result, in a time when COVID in China was impacting every single aspect of my life, I found myself with nothing to write about. I’d get an idea to write about “little signs of hope” and all the ways that people in... </p><p><a class="readmore" href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/01/02/post-covid-2023">Read More</a></p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/01/02/post-covid-2023">Post-COVID 2023</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I stopped writing in late 2022 because I didn’t want to turn this blog into a big whine-fest about COVID, and as a result, in a time when COVID in China was impacting every single aspect of my life, I found myself with nothing to write about.</p> <p>I’d get an idea to write about “little signs of hope” and all the ways that people in Shanghai were subverting rules and letting normalcy seep into our lives here, but then there would be some COVID resurgence and everything would go the other way, and the whole “<em>I don’t see how we are ever going to break out of this endless cycle</em>” mentality of despair would set in again.</p> <p>Well, in mid-December soon after China reversed its “COVID zero” policy, my whole family got COVID. It was rough (way worse than “a cold”), but we got through it. The same is true for most people I know in Beijing and Shanghai. We’re <em>finally</em> moving on past COVID in China.</p> <p>That means I can travel again in 2023. It means I can write about other things in 2023. It means my businesses can start to recover in 2023.</p> <p>I have high hopes for 2023.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jpasden/52602049053/in/dateposted/"><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52602049053_a3f0526c66_b.jpg" alt="high hopes"/></a></figure> <p>Anyway, Happy New Year, everyone!</p><p>The post <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/01/02/post-covid-2023">Post-COVID 2023</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.sinosplice.com">Sinosplice</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2023/01/02/post-covid-2023/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>6</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10054</post-id> </item> </channel></rss> If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:
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