Apps and e-commerce platforms directly connected to your bank account Online commerce in China is rapidly growing because consumers are more inclined to make purchases online through various platforms and devices like computers, tablets and smartphones. Online payment operations in China have surpassed 2.42 billions of Chinese Yuan (about 370 millions of American Dollars) in …
Online payments in China: Spreading without limits Read More »
The ancient Chinese proverb “礼尚往来” (lǐ shàng wǎng lái, “courtesy requires reciprocation”) highlights one of the most curious and talked about aspects of Chinese business etiquette. The first character “礼” (lĭ, “courtesy”) expresses a sense of ceremonial observance for the Chinese, while the word “礼物” (lǐwù, “things of courtesy”) is translated as “gift”. The exchange …
The exchange of gifts in Chinese business practices Read More »
星OXXO by Ken Lee If you’ve been to China, you’ve probably taken a few photos of the hilarious Chinese signs and banners translated into English. In this article, we want to offer you a slideshow of blunders that seemed the most amusing to us. Some photos are ours while some have been chosen from the …
Chinglish: 30 photos of amusing grammatical blunders on banners and signs Read More »
Once used as a military outpost during the Dutch East Indies colonial era, Magelang still maintains the legacy of its military past by being home to the only National Military Academy in Indonesia. However, it never ceases to amaze tourists with its beautiful scenery, the hospitality of its locals and its tranquility, cool air, and …
Travelling to Magelang in Central Java, Indonesia Read More »
When in 2010 I moved to Hangzhou, in China, my excitement for the new adventure that was about to begin was certainly greater than the knowledge that I was moving to a city where I knew absolutely no one. If you add that I barely spoke Chinese and had just signed a two-year contract to …
Making friends and networking in Asia: Internations and other useful sites Read More »
How to transfer money to Asia – Index What is Wise (formerly Transferwise)? How do I sign up to use Wise? Why do I save money with Wise? Why with Wise the money arrives quicker? Is it safe to send money to Asia through Wise? In which Asian countries can you use Wise’s services? Can …
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 …
What’s Marco Polo Project? Interview with the founder Julien Leyre Read More »
Click here to discover what Chinese courses that we recommend at the moment! When Jared Turner, the co-founder of Mandarin Companion, sent an email to me, I’ve went to check his website right away. Why? Because, as you can read on the headline above, they offer an elegant solution to a difficult problem. No, I’m …
Mandarin Companion: Novels in Chinese that even a beginner can read Read More »
Click here and get 15% of on all subscription plans using our exclusive discount code “sdctcb1523”! Today we interview Sean McGibney, Chief Marketing Officer of The Chairman’s Bao, a website dedicated to people that want to learn Chinese we discovered the past month. Sean, thank you for accepting this interview. What is The Chairman’s Bao …
The first Chinese Newspaper Simplified: Interview with Sean of The Chairman’s Bao Read More »
Giant pandas can only be found in Sichuan, Shanxi and Gansu Province, in western China. Scientists estimate that there are less than 2,000 giant pandas left, whom 80% live in Sichuan. Luckily they were included on the international endangered species of wild flora and fauna list and, in the last years, important steps were taken …
Anki’s screenshot: The number of flashcards I reviewed every day in the past six months. Click here to discover what Chinese courses that we recommend at the moment! It’d been six months that I’m studying Chinese in a regular fashion. The idea was not to master the language as fast as I could. This is …
Six months of Chinese flashcards’ review: The lessons I learned Read More »
Today I want to talk about the new Chinese language courses “Hacking Chinese – A practical Guide to Learn Mandarin” and Unlocking Chinese – The ultimate course for beginners created by Olle Linge, author of the well-known blog, “Hacking Chinese.” Who is Olle Linge and what is his philosophy on learning? Olle Linge is a …
Review of Hacking Chinese Language Courses: Learn How to Learn Chinese Read More »
This article is a review of the travel guide “Xinjiang : A Traveler’s Guide to Far West China“, written by Josh Summer, the soul of Far West China, notoriously my favorite website of my favorite Chinese province: Xinjiang. Here at SDC we rarely review travel guides. The reason is, for the most part we don’t …
Review of the e-Book “Xinjiang: A Travelers’ Guide to Far West China” Read More »
Want to learn the fastest way to learn how to write Chinese characters? Click here! Today I want to show you how taking the time to learn the 256 Chinese radicals (that is the basic components of any Chinese character) will allow you to learn Chinese characters much faster. I will do it through a …
A Small Trick to Learn How to Write Chinese Characters Faster Read More »
Sign up for Skritter using one of the links in this page and the coupon “SDC3952” to get 10% off What is Skritter? Why do you need a software to write characters? How much does it cost? How to use the software The advantages of learning how to write characters Common mistakes Other features of …
Learn How to Write Chinese Characters: Skritter Review & Discount Read More »
Click here to discover what Chinese courses that we recommend at the moment! Disclaimer: Even if this post mainly target Chinese learners, the ideas I share are quite general and I believe they hold true for any language. Why should you use flashcards to study Chinese? The use of flashcards involves active recall testing, that …
Anki flashcards: A shortcut for learning Chinese Read More »
Click here to discover what Chinese courses that we recommend at the moment! I “discovered” the videos of Mike Laoshi, at the time Mike Hainzinger, in 2012, a few months after I began writing here on SDC. I spoke well of him on various occasions and a few months ago, John Murray Learning, the English publishing house that has published …
The heroine of this adventure. Today we republish this old, great interview! Pietro contacted me a couple of weeks ago because he’s playing with the idea of moving to China. In one of the emails that we exchanged he told me that last year he traveled from Italy to Mongolia by Fiat Panda. Wait, wait… …
Click here to discover what Chinese courses that we recommend at the moment! Two months ago I started to study Chinese (here my plan: How to learn Chinese fast: my (lazy) way) and decided to share my progresses on this blog as an extreme attempt to keep motivated. However, a post only talking about me …
Find out how much of a Chinese newspaper you can understand Read More »
Hello! If you are based in China, today I’m going to ask for your help. We set up a survey to gather the prices of the most common services and products used by expats living in the major Chinese cities (see below for an example of Beijing). The goal is, within a month, to publish …
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