SubscribeA short history of DalianDalian.com, and why you should build your own
September 17, 2008 at 7:13 p.m.
When I arrived in Dalian, most of what I knew about the city came from word of mouth. I'd spent a few months hanging around a local expat forum, reading blogs, emailing people who lived there.
I read up on the city where I could, but coverage of smaller cities in China (even small cities of three to six million) tends take a birds-eye view. I knew about Thomas Friedman's ongoing love affair with the Northeast's biggest outsourcing hub, and I knew about the Sino- and Russo-Japanese wars. There was more out there, but it was scattered ...
The trouble with counting people in China
May 28, 2008 at 9:03 a.m.
A while back, I tried to answer a simple question people often asked me about Dalian: How many people live there?
Simple question, tough answer. Alex found a good dataset, which we put on DalianDalian. Well, the question has come back.
I'm writing a cover story on real estate in China's second-tier cities for an investment newsletter, and as part of the project, I've decided to compile a database of locales, most of which people outside of China have likely never heard (admittedly, there are some I couldn't have put on a map before starting this ...
Slow boat to Korea: Act One
December 28, 2007 at 2:48 p.m.
Eyes East is once again blogging from Seoul. I'd like to say I'm here for a deeper look at Korean culture or to gaze into the future through the lens of the most wired country on Earth, really, I'm here for the cash. I'm teaching at Yonsei University again, and I'll be here for most of January.
We'll get to the day-to-day details a few posts hence. First, a bit about getting here, in three acts:
Act One: Dalian to Shenyang to Dalian to Shenyang....and finally we have a visa
Getting a visa ...
Back alley Japanese BBQ: Pure joy on a stick
December 23, 2007 at 1:06 p.m.
A few days ago, I ate one of the best meals I've had in Dalian.
I've eaten well here, to be sure: dumplings of all variety at DaQingHua, curry at Abashi, pizza at Noah's. Add to that list Japanese barbecue at the pragmatically-named Barbecue Coals.
Consider the selection:
Grilled chicken teriyaki with a hint of lemon, covered in melted cheese.
Shitake mushrooms, cooked soft, subtle, and simple.
Asparagus, something I haven't had in China, roasted and served with a dollop of mayonnaise on the side, which I indulged in but felt guilty about (for masking the ...
Chinese Fire Drill, a bit too close to home
June 13, 2007 at 11:41 a.m.
For the second time in a week, a fire broke out yesterday at Dalian Fisheries University, where I live and have taught since last September. A dozen researchers watched their living quarters be consumed by a fast-moving blaze while they stood in their laboratory across the way.
The best guess of everyone on scene was that bad wiring sparked the blaze. That's how another fire started last week in the library: a poorly maintained electrical panel, according to my students. Yesterday's fire took two minutes to spread through several dorm rooms in the southwest corner of campus. No ...
??? DaHeiShan: It sure is a big black mountain
October 15, 2006 at 9:36 a.m.
When a friend invited me out on a hike Saturday, I figured I was in for a lot of stair-climbing with a few photo ops near the summit. Daheishan measures 622 meters at its highest peak. I climbed Huashan mountain near Xi'an (2,160 meters, or about 7,087 feet) in August, so this sounded like cake.
Elevation aside, I really knew nothing about this miniature mountain. I vaguely remembered reading something about it on The Humanaught's blog (had I read this closer, I might have reconsidered) but basically I was going in blind, much like with Hua ...
