Five ways to tarnish your company’s image in China
1. Open a store at the Great Wall. We could learn a lot from Starbucks on this front. Their store in the Forbidden City has generated enough negative PR to warrant high-level government discussions on closing it for good. Why? Because the move was perceived as an imperialistic invasion into one of China’s most sacred […]
Full moon fever on the Lantern Festival
The brightest moon of the new year welcomes a festival of light – the Lantern Festival, also the official end to Chinese New Year. Thought the new year was over after Chinese New Year’s Eve? Think again. In China, celebrating the new year is not just a matter of swinging around a few firecrackers and […]
Reviving Chinese New Year in China — and what it means for the future of all things foreign
Is Chinese New Year in need of a revival? The experts seem to think so. Here’s the reason, taken from a Xinhua News article titled “Protect Chinese New Year” becomes a common idea in Chinese society: This suggested idea of “Protect Chinese New Year” came about because these years Gao Youpeng [a professor at Henan […]
Duilian…one of the most beloved Chinese New Year Symbols
This image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons and user Chrislb, and falls under their GMU Free Documentation License. Ever come across a door flanked by two vertical red strips with Chinese characters? If so, you’ve seen duilian — one of the most important and revered Chinese New Year symbols and traditions. Duilian are generally two long, […]
How the Chinese government may have stolen Chinese New Year
The Chinese government may be treading on some thin ice with their recent announcement about the Chinese New Year. The problem? They’ve announced that the official holiday falls on February 18 to 24 — conveniently forgetting about February 17, Chinese New Year’s Eve. Here’s a rough translation of a portion of this article in BBC […]
On January 1, I do: New Year’s Day is popular for weddings in China
What do you think of when January 1 approaches? An evening of wild bacchanalia? The apple drop in Times Square? Resolutions? How about adding “weddings” to that? Because, if you’re Chinese, a wedding might just be the first thing on your new year to-do list. Why is January 1 such a hot time for weddings? […]
Christmas becomes the third biggest consumer spending holiday in China
Christmas may not be an indigenous holiday to China — but retailers had a VERY merry one this year. Merry enough to merit dubbing Christmas the third largest consumer shopping season in China. Here’s the story published in Sohu (partially translated by yours truly): Christmas Day is not an official holiday in China. Yet this […]
Get out the Ginseng and Maotai: giving gifts during Chinese New Year
Ginseng. Vitamin supplements. Top-shelf liquor. Fancy snack foods. These might be a few of the things gracing my shopping list as gifts for Chinese New Year. Ginseng a gift? You bet. Ginseng, one of many treasured remedies in Chinese medicine, is a welcome gift for more senior folks. As are any number of nutritional and […]