Fu Lai

There are a couple very famous Taoism and Buddhism temples around here so I see a lot of devotion going on. Afterall they are the two biggest "religions" in China and along with Confucianism, predate all the rest. They are so engrained into society that even if you are not religious you understand the truth and pay homage. I am not a Buddhist but I naturally paid respects in Xiamen at their big temple. http://news.echinacities.com/upload/editor/wuhan-(2).jpg it's temple festival time in Wuhan until 2/25

Zhenghong, I live and work in China every day. I minored in Chinese history for one of my college degrees. I do not have to have Chinese in my blood or live through it to understand. What part of me saying Hong Kong and Taiwan are China is incorrect? Xin nian kuai le, gong xi fa cai! I think you no understand chinese that good. chinese people understand for we live in china more than you. we understand the culture and history. hong kong was taken from us then gave back. if you never live it before then you will never understand. less you have china in your blood you can not understand and feel what we go everyday. this question go back many year you need to live the years ago.

Yeah, Hong Kong IS China... same as Taiwan. No amount of snootiness will change that.

I'm not finding any better deals, argh! I wonder how all the Chinese moving to NZ do it?

happy no one was injured

really like the story and pics my man, thank you very much

Our's is a house of two cultures and we try to blend them without selfishness. I go along with us 2-3000RMB+ spent on CNY gifts and she goes along with us spending 500-1000RMB+ on xmas and valentine's day. Etc. We are happy if each other is happy. If there is no happiness then it is a waste, but there is happiness so it is all good. Many Chinese in China spend so much more on xmas, CNY and valentine's day. She got me some pastries for valentine's day.

Actually it's usually twice as expensive to fly. That's true. But even at 400 kuai for the hard sleeper train ticket and all the supra-inconvenience that taking the train long distance in China brings with it - I can stomach 800 kuai to be at my destination in a couple hours. I did a check today. Fast train to Guangzhou from Beijing takes 8 hours. It is a cushy ride and just as convenient as any plane. The plane takes 3 hours. The plane costs more than twice as much, if you can get a ticket... more tickets available on trains. So it is a decision of economics, desire to see the countryside or clouds, of course time, but taking a train is a lot more comfortable getting to stand up and move around - smoke if you want in designated areas - food choices - interacting with other riders, etc. I have flown and trained around China and if I can spare the time or trying to save money I have no hesitation in taking the train. I've heard buses are nice too (more Chinese take this way) but the decisions are still the same. I did a bus on a short 2 hour ride last vacation and it was fine.

So I stopped in the local 85度C cafe and got my girl a bouquet of chocolate flowers and a single red rose. I tossed in a handmade love poem card and she loved it. Whew!

We have strings of sausages and fish hanging out of every window but that's pretty normal here in China.

All of us have this sun above our land every day. http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/NFQqLSW5MG0N7SLcm1rduQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD02MTM7cT04NTt3PTYyMA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2013/02/14/sunphotos-4-jpg_191836.jpg Great photos here

Actually it's usually twice as expensive to fly.

LOL! Found the year by year WTO stats though... http://www.wto.org

I just could not find a year by year ranking. Guess nobody else did either. Oh well. I understand the question just fine.

RandyW, I GET what you have been saying in your posts. Nevertheless I was only saying that this opinion piece was inflammatory in the headline, poorly written and unhelpful. I hope that is crystal clear. Okay, enough from me about this.

If this had been an accident here in the US, this would have been the center of major news reports for days. A truck full of fireworks going up would be tragic and cause much destruction to the truck and surrounding cars, but knocing out 80 meters of a bridge? Black powder and paper is just not that powerful. As for "congratulating officials", first I would like to see the actuall article, but 9/11 really can't be used as a comparison. FDNY lost 343 of thier own on that day. Port Authority and NYPD also lost large numbers. Since the NY OEM was on site at the World Trade Center, even the mayor and staff were right in the middle of the chaos on that day. That is a big difference from politicians that show up on scene after the fact. Yeah, who knows what actually happened from this article? Who showed up and when, coming to the aid of those injured in the collapsing highway? No direct comparison to 9/11 from me (obvious scale differences), just that officials that responded there were also praised in the coverage. I think if one media is going to call another "bootlickers" then they should be extra careful to prove their point.

I asked when the last time USA was not #1 in this category. China overtakes US as No. 1 trading in goods countryis simple to understand. BTW, Bloomberg is blocked by the GFW.

I was wondering when the last time the USA was not #1 in this category.

tons of jobs for ex-pats in China, really!

as a guitarist I SALUTE YOU

Preparation is the key. Read CFL for tons of info on getting ready. Please let us know your progress. CFL is here for you 100%

So did I and I am glad that there is happiness here.

Shenzhen is a great city and area. Come on and move there!

Me too

A political part was highlighted in Fu Lai's quote - hopefully, we can resist the temptation to open the door to political discussion. Oh....okay....so Fu Lai brought up the political stuff...shame shame shame lol You are sooooooooooo bad my man. I just pointed out the words "... political reasons, it is an end-run around the normal process of legislating this through congress first... However it should only apply if ..." I would like CFL to be devoid of politics so we can just talk about our loved ones from China and everything that entails. Keep USA political divide and anti-China propaganda out of things. We all know that govts can be their own animal.