Welcome to Ask Vance about China, a new feature on TeachAbroadChina.com. Site founder Robert Vance will do his best to answer any questions that you may have about China within 24 hours. This service is completely free and is intended to help educate people who are thinking about coming here.
All posts are moderated on this [...]
Posts Tagged ‘chinese culture’
Ask Vance about China
Posted by Robert Vance on August 19th, 2009
Posted in Ask Jean about China 
Tags: Ask about China, China, chinese culture, Cost of Living, Great Wall, live in China 
36 Comments »Red Lanterns Float Over China as Spring Festival Ends (Video)
Posted by Robert Vance on February 12th, 2009
At first glance, they seem to be UFO’s but what are those red dots in the Chinese nighttime sky?
ESL Conversation Topics — Inventions
Posted by Robert Vance on June 28th, 2008
Level: Basic to Advanced
Chinese culture has been in existence for at least 5000 years so there are plenty inventions that orginate from China. My students have always enjoyed the ESL Conversation Topic of Inventions because I encourage them to use our imaginations.
Warmup: Bring in a picture of the steam engine and ask your students if [...]
10 Tips to Make your Travels in China Safer
Posted by Robert Vance on June 19th, 2008
Unless a tidal wave washes you away or an earthquake swallows you up, your country’s embassy or consul in China is about as useful as an expired passport in an emergency. If you get into any trouble that is even remotely your fault while traveling in China, do not expect your friendly neighborhood embassy to [...]
Posted in Traveling in China Tags: Asia Travel Agencies, China Safety, chinese culture, Chinese Tips, travel in China 3 Comments »Who Should Pay for Dinner in China?
Posted by Robert Vance on June 16th, 2008
I do not remember paying for anything during my first month of teaching in China. Whether I was eating dinner, playing badminton, singing at KTV, or watching a movie at the local theater, one of my Chinese friends would always ‘pick up the tab.’ If I started to pull money out of my wallet, my [...]
Posted in Living in China Tags: chinese culture, Chinese Customs, KTV, live in China, Play Badminton, teach English in China 1 Comment »No Plastic Bag for my Watermelon in China
Posted by Robert Vance on June 3rd, 2008
I thought I could at least buy a bag for the large watermelon that I purchased last night at a local supermarket. No sir. Not only was the store not giving away bags for free anymore, they just plain weren’t offering them. So, I walked home with a big watermelon and about a half dozen [...]
Coping with Culture Shock in China
Posted by Robert Vance on May 15th, 2008
I recently received the following email from a teacher who has been in China for a very short time. I will call him Daniel.
Dear Mr. Vance,
I am non-native English teacher completing my third day in
China working at ***, the **** based ***** company.
Even though I have only spent three days here, it feels like three months or more, [...]
China: The Good and the…Good
Posted by Robert Vance on May 6th, 2008
I want to follow in the footsteps of some of my fellow writers in the China blogosphere today. First, I have an admission to make; I am guilty of constantly focusing on the negative aspects of contemporary life in China. I suppose recently it has been too easy to dwell on the tension and bad feelings generated by [...]
Carrefour and Militant Hair Stylists Dominate the Weekly China Roundup
Posted by Robert Vance on May 4th, 2008
The Weekly China Roundup from Sino News on TeachAbroadChina.com
There was supposed to have been a huge protest at my local Carrefour on Thursday (Labor Day in China). Lots of people stood around all day waiting. The police and some soldiers were waiting in the back with their riot gear. Reporters waited with their cameras. People like me [...]
Why Chinese Patriotism is to be Respected and Feared
Posted by Robert Vance on April 25th, 2008
“My father was sent to a camp to be re-educated and my uncle went to prison because they knew someone who the government did not like,” one of my close friends told me recently. She explained to me that because of ill treatment and poor nutrition, her father developed severe stomach problems in the camp which have remained [...]
