At a mom-and-pop dumpling restaurant in Shanghai’s French Concession yesterday evening, all reactions to the destruction wrought across north-eastern Japan could be quickly compressed into a single unified response: “horrifying.” However, this general feeling of dismay was breed of its own motives. “All of the supermarkets close to here have sold out of sea salt,” …
Is China Looking to Singapore for Lessons in Filial Piety?
Who would have thought that passing assertive laws that forced the majority of a population to bear no more than one child would have harmful effects on a society? Well, it’s starting to happen in China as the coevals of America's “baby boomers” (engendered by Mao’s well thought-out policy of “人多好办事,” or “more people gets …
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A Walk Through Dazu, Chongqing
“China is the factory of the world.” It’s a perfectly common statement to make these days. Plenty of people have said it themselves or at least acknowledged it, and yet, for the most part, I had only passively taken it into account until I heard it uttered out of the mouth of Mr. Liu. The 52-year-old …
Shanghai: ‘Snail Homes’ and ‘Mortgage Slaves’
That's right. Take your pick Shanghai. Life in urban China, especially in Shanghai, depicts two growing phenomena: those who are caught living on top of each other in small "snail homes," or those with a mortgage that promises to keep them shackled for decades to come. My search to paint the perfect picture of these …
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Ode to People’s Square
With a new year well on its way, I suppose its time - as that is what we are made to believe - to reflect upon the salient features of the past 12 months I've spent in Shanghai. My mind, without a doubt, instinctually drifts to memories of moments commuting to and from People's Square: the …
Justin Calderón 