Jared Foxhall recounts moments thrifting for clothes during his year abroad in Kunming, China. In China, everything’s on sale. It’s become a weekly event now, the second-hand store. It’s the only place where we can spend money on clothes and not feel absolutely awful about our bank statements afterward. You can’t even find prices this […]
China
After 178 Years of Strife, Will a Face Mask Ban Push Hong Kong Past its Breaking Point?
In the last four months, Hong Kong has been filled with turmoil and political unrest. Protestors have filled the streets—donning facemasks, brandishing sticks and flags, and banging pots and pans—in unified protest against China’s attempt to implement an extradition bill on the city. The bill requires citizens arrested in Hong Kong to be transported to […]
Finding Hong Kong in the American Revolution
In April of 2019, following the introduction of an extradition bill by the Hong Kong government, determined demonstrators took to the streets of Hong Kong to protest. The extradition bill allowed fugitives in Hong Kong to be transferred and trialed in mainland China so that the city would not “become a haven for suspected criminals.” However, […]
The Bones of a Nation: Understanding Health and Society in China
I will never forget the feeling of anxiety that filled the waiting room of the hospital in Kunming, China. I remember the air smelling thick with cramped breath, cigarette smoke and iodoform. Families, friend groups, husbands and wives were all anxiously crammed together waiting to hear a word from one of the maybe five doctors […]
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Or, The Most Expensive Thing You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
It’s September of 2013 and President Xi Jinping, China’s most powerful leader since Mao, is in Kazakhstan announcing his plans for his ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Six months later, Xi Jinping is in Pakistan promoting the BRI as the new ”maritime Silk Road for the 20th Century” and selling this vision as being […]
China Through the Lens of Expats in Shanghai
Expats in Shanghai, China’s biggest city and commercial hub, form a diverse group in this country. Allen Chng is a Singaporean college student doing a long-term internship in Shanghai. When asked what’s the most Chinese thing he’s ever done as an expat, Allen’s answer was quick and easy: “Pushing and squeezing my way during the […]