A long time ago I heard someone say that “everything you’ve heard about China is true – somewhere”.

China is a vast country. There is a huge variety of landscapes and lifestyles. There are scores of dialects and accents so different from one another as to be virtually unintelligble. It is a people with a very, very, VERY long history. It is also a country that has gone through unbelievable change in the past 150 years. After a decade, I still feel I haven’t seen much, haven’t learned much, haven’t understood much. While I may have seen and learned and understood more than most, I know it’s a drop in the ocean compared to all that China is.

This blog is collection of stories, including some snapshots of my experiences of life in China over the past decade. It is certainly NOT the source of all knowledge on China! If you are interested in more angles on this incredible country, here are 10 great places to look:

China Hope Live
 Joel and Jessica are teachers in Qingdao and I really enjoy their blog – I find I often relate strongly to it. CHL is a blog capturing snapshots of life in China from the perspective of an expat in the middle of it all.

Adventures Around Asia
Great blog written by a young woman living in China. She has described a number of situations I’ve been through before. A new favourite of mine!

China Elevator Stories
China Elevator Stories is a collection of conversations with Chinese locals, translated and transcribed by an Austrian woman living in Shenzhen. It is a wonderful window viewing China from yet another angle.

Speaking of China
This is a blog by a western woman married to a Chinese man. She talks about cross-cultural issues in an interesting and engaging way. She also has a wonderful perspective on the Chinese culture, “translating” aspects that may seem incomprehensible to an outsider and making them human and relatable.

My Beijing Expat Life
This is a new blog, written by an expat woman newly arrived in Beijing with her family. I’m enjoying her stories of discovering for the first time this place that I love so well.

Dutchinaman
Another great blog, this one written by a Dutch photographer living in Chengdu, Sichuan. Lots of stories of life in China, both the day-to-day and travels around.

Chinese Hacks
A great website full of useless and interesting Chinese vocab. I learn so many new and useful words on this site!

Sinosplice
Lots of great articles and info related to learning Chinese – whether you’re a beginner, a fluent speaker, or just interested in language, there is plenty to fascinate you here.

My Health Beijing
Perhaps the most famous expat doctor in Beijing, Dr. Richard Saint Cyr provides lots of useful and enlightening information about health in Beijing. This is his English blog, although recently he has poured much more energy into prompting debate in the Chinese blogosphere, bringing up topics of health and safety that are (or have been) largely ignored by many.

Far West China
This China blog is set in the far northwest of the country, in the province of Xinjiang. The name “xin jiang” literally means “new frontier” and it has been a frontierland as long as it has been part of China. This blog opens up a beautiful and less well known part of China with beautiful photos and well told stories. Author Josh spent 4 years living in Xinjiang with his family, and continued to write about it even after moving back to the US a few years ago.

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