A Moving Display
October 29, 2015
By David O’Brien, Assistant Professor School of the Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham Ningbo. As President Xi Jinping received the warmest of warm royal welcomes in Britain some eyebrows were raised back in Beijing when a 800 year document limiting the power of the British monarch was quietly moved. The Magna Carta, …
Alibaba & Chinese Business Culture
October 21, 2015
By Donald Bain, Student of UNNC Summer School 2015. Despite China’s political and economic power, their business practices remain poor because the intrinsic complexities of Chinese culture. Therefore the ultimate question is to what extent does China’s national culture have an impact on firms. By observing a successful company like Alibaba, a multi-national e-commerce company …
No Escaping from the Thucydides Trap
October 9, 2015
By Flair Donglai Shi, World Literatures in English (MSt) at University of Oxford. The whole the-rise-of-china-and-power-shift discussion has been heated up again since Xi Jinping’s first visit to the US as the president of PRC, despite its presence in the American media having been largely hijacked by the visit of the Pope. At the end …
Broadening my horizon: What lessons can Chinese education and their students teach me?
October 2, 2015
By Esther van Deelen, Student of UNNC Summer School 2015. As a primary school teacher I’ve been involved in the Dutch educational system since 2006. I’ve taught a lot of different classes and I’ve seen a lot of different schools. As in China, the Dutch government wants highly educated teachers and so I received a …
The Marriage Market of Shanghai’s Peoples’ Park
September 18, 2015
By Lauren Fung Student of UNNC Summer School 2015. People’s Park is considered to be one of the prettiest parks in Shanghai city, and is often a site of attraction for tourists to the area. Formerly the site of the Shanghai Racecourse, the park is located just south of Nanjing Road and to the north …
Does ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics’ suffice for Communism in contemporary China?
September 7, 2015
By Alfie Cranmer, Student of UNNC Summer School 2015. As you take a look around the busy streets of Shanghai, observing the mass crowds squeezing their way into H&M and Zara whilst you sip on your tall Frappuccino in Starbucks, it’s easy to forget that the ruling Communist Party (CPC) claim the People’s Republic of …
“Labour is Most Glorious!”: China’s Changing Canteens
August 27, 2015
By Tracey Fallon, Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in Chinese Studies, Faculty of Social Science, UNNC. The canteen (shitang) is a part of everyday life in China that encapsulates the diverse transformations in the relationship between employment, society, and the state. It is an enduring familiar space that has flourished outside the dismantling of the state’s regulating …
Mental Health in China – A Westerner’s perspective
August 20, 2015
By Nicola Swain, Student of UNNC Summer School 2015. Around the world we are becoming increasingly more aware of the impact of mental health problems on people and society. In the UK it is predicted that 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem at some point. In China less is known about …
UNNC and (Post-)Coloniality: Western Education and China
June 19, 2015
By Flair Shi, Currently Studying Comparative Literature (MA) at University College London, Graduate of the School of English University of Nottingham Ningbo, BA in English Language and Literature. As my enthusiasm for postcolonialism, and the popularity of the discipline, seem to be ever increasing and intensifying since the first day my dear professor in the …
The rising internet+ economy in China
June 4, 2015
By Dr. Youqing Fan Assistant Professor, School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, University of Nottingham Ningbo With the technological innovations, the mobile internet based economy started to demonstrate its huge potential in changing people’s life and business models. The rise of China’s new rich does not only provide fertile soil for internet+ based entrepreneurs, but also …