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Interview with John Pasden, the founder of Sinosplice and AllSet Learning

May 13, 2013 by 2 Comments

John Pasden

While I was editing the interview that I did with Julien, the founder of Marco Polo Project, I was fascinated by the problems one needs to solve in order to grow an online project to the point of having enough human and economic resources for investing even more on software and content development and create a great product.

Hence I asked to myself:

“Who else was able to realize something amazing on the field of online Chinese learning?”

And I thought about John Pasden. A couple of days after I contacted him. John was kind enough to accept to answer to a few questions. This is the result of our conversation! [Read more...]

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How to rent a room or an apartment in Shanghai

May 6, 2013 by 8 Comments

rent an apartment in Shanghai

This is a complete guide to rent an apartment, or just a room in a shared flat, in Shanghai. You will learn:

  • The best websites to rent an apartment in Shanghai (both in English and Chinese language).
  • The pros and cons of looking for a room or an apartment on the internet.
  • A nice trick to get a better price if you are looking for a room in a shared flat.
  • The pros and cons of using an agency, how to spot an honest agency.
  • What are the expenses beside the monthly rent (security deposit, agency fee, electricity and so on).
  • Why you must ask for a regular contract.
  • The most common scams while renting an apartment in China.
  • Which is the best zone to live in Shanghai if you want to have a social life without spending hours in a cab.

[Read more...]

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Hotel and hostel booking in China

April 29, 2013 by 2 Comments

hotel in china

The purpose of this guide is to show you how and where to book an hotel (or an hostel) in China, especially if you are traveling on a budget.

If you can afford it then just book at the Hilton or at the Marriot and you will find everything you need : P

First at all, keep in mind that Chinese hotels must register all the customers at the police station. Thus you will always need to show your passport when you arrive at the hotel.

Which type of hotel should you choose?

[Read more...]

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Alibaba VS Aliexpress: How to import from China through the web

April 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

So you dream to set up your online shop or your import business? In both cases the best way is to begin your research on the internet.

But how to get started?

Well I’m not an expert. This is why I asked some advices to my friend Fredrik, who’s been helping Western companies to import from China since 2008. Here’s what he has to say!

Alibaba.com and Aliexpress.com are well known among importing business worldwide. Both websites are owned by Alibaba Group, based in Hangzhou, China. The difference between the two websites can be hard to spot at a first glance, but its two very different business models with equally different strengths and weaknesses. This article will help you to choose which one you should use. [Read more...]

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Chinese VISA application: a complete guide

April 15, 2013 by 7 Comments

Chinese VISA

This article is a complete guide for getting a Chinese VISA. You will discover:

  • The requirements and how long it takes for obtaining any type of Chinese VISA.
  • Where to get a Chinese VISA (either in your country or abroad).
  • The different kind of Chinese VISAs (Tourist, Business, Student and Work VISA).
  • How much it costs to obtain a Chinese VISA.
  • How to convert a Student or Work VISA in a Resident Permit (it’s compulsory).

[Read more...]

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What’s Marco Polo Project? Interview with the founder Julien Leyre

April 8, 2013 by 2 Comments

Marco Polo Project

World is small. And the internet is even smaller.

In early February I joined the Hacking Chinese Characters Challenge.

One of the rules decided by the guy that proposed the challenge, Olle Linge from Hacking Chinese (check it, it’s one of the best resources out there to learn Chinese), was that we had to connect via email with the two people that joined the challenge before and after us.

This is how I got in touch with Julien Leyre who, after we introduced ourselves and our goals with Chinese language, followed up with this email: [Read more...]

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Impressions from Mongolia

April 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Mongolia

This story is a present from Pietro Acquistapace, the author of the blog Butterflies and Foxholes (sorry, the website is in Italian language).

Uchka’s point of view

My travel in China began in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. The Mongolian capital was the arrival point of a trip in Fiat Panda through East Europe, Iran and Central Asia.

Once arrived to my destination the goal was to meet up with my friend Alfredo, who lives in Mongolia since a couple of years, let him my Panda and then… who knows. [Read more...]

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Skritter Review: Learn how to write Chinese characters

March 25, 2013 by 16 Comments

UPDATE: If you buy a Skritter‘s subscription through one of the links on this page and uses the coupon “FURIO3952″ you get a 20% discount for the first six months.

What is Skritter?

Skritter is, in my opinion, the best way to learn how to write Chinese characters.

Since I started to use it ten minutes per day (about two months ago) I’ve learned how to write 492 characters and 169 words (composed by two or three characters). I’m also learning the meaning and pronunciation of those characters.

Why do you need a software to write characters?

If you watched the video at the beginning of this post you already know that the software is pretty cool.

But the real reason for using Skritter is the algorithm behind the software, which allows you to remember more than the 90% of the characters that you are studying (in the photo below you can see that in the last 30 days I was able to remember the 92.9% of the characters that I studied, [Read more...]

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Tips for moving to China to work or study

March 18, 2013 by 2 Comments

moving to China

In this article I’ll explain what kind of VISA you need to work or study in China, how to spot an honest employment agency and which are the most common ways to find a job in the Middle Kingdom.

What kind of VISA do you need to work in China?

The only way to legally work in China is to get a Z VISA (working VISA) that must be transformed in a resident permit within fifteen days from the day you arrived in China.

In order to obtain a Z VISA you need to pass several medical examinations and have a Foreign Expert Certificate released by the local government. You can’t ask the certificate by yourself;the firm that is going to hire you should get it and send it to you. [Read more...]

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On celebrating Chinese New Year with a Chinese family

March 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Capodanno cinese

This article was written by Marta Lovisolo, who studies in an high-school at Nanjing since September 2012. She lives with a Chinese family so, when she refers to her dad, mom, sister and so on she’s actually referring to the family that is hosting her.

Click here to read my interview to Marta, an insider point of view on the life of Chinese high-school students.

But I stop here. Let’s Marta do the talk!

Getting to the village

[Read more...]

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