Compliments

Chinese people like me a lot. They always shower me with compliments as they proceed to overcharge me for something. “Your Mandarin is so good!” “You’re so handsome! I can’t believe you’re not married yet! That will be RMB1000 please.” Ah, I love China.

Everything is for sale

At the trendy nightclub Sky,

Shanghai apartment hunting pitfalls

1. If you agree to rent an apartment at night, you’ll miss the huge construction site next door. Brace yourself for a loud 6:00 am welcome-to-China surprise.

2. Some agents will say anything that comes to mind when marketing a place; they don’t let themselves be inconvenienced by the truth. Ask more questions than necessary.

3. Ask other expats to refer agents.

Chinese thinking

In a country with a history of stretched resources, a distinct thinking pattern has emerged: invest the bare minimum of time, effort and money.

We see this play out in a variety of contexts.

Hello world! Good morning China!

One rule applies in China: big fish eat small fish. If you remember this, you’ll be just fine.

This China blog is about many types of fish, especially small fish pretending to be big fish, which is the most interesting part.