A place where everything is held in the okay

By Abigail Aikins-Hawkson, MSci Business and Economy of Contemporary China. Chopsticks simply refuse to fit in my hand as well as a knife and fork does and in between wanting a hot cup of PG tips and needing it, I have come to realise, better yet understand, that comfort zones are comfortable for a reason. …

Society and Faith in Contemporary China

By Mani Lazzara, PhD Candidate School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, University of Nottingham UK. The history of modern China is characterised by events which have greatly affected its attitude towards religion in a various number of ways; from the control exerted by the Communist Party in order to incorporate religion into the state, to the …

India’s election: The View from China

By Dr David O’Brien, Assistant Professor, School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, The University of Nottingham Ningbo China. As India’s mammoth and mind-boggling election draws to a close, the only other member of the one billion population club is paying attention, although not that closely. China has declared 2014 as the “Year of China-India Friendly Exchanges”, …

My China Experience

By Shivali Mistry, Second year MSci Hons Student in Accounting and Finance for Contemporary China, The University of Nottingham Ningbo China. As I embarked upon my journey to Asia last August, I felt highly unprepared. The idea of a year away from home still felt so surreal. Naively, I had dealt with the entire situation …

Western Goggles and Contemporary Chinese Art

By Abigail Aikins-Hawkson, MSci Business and Economy of Contemporary China. The Contemporary Chinese art scene has become a subject of fascination for Art Critics around the world because once again, China is providing the rest of the world a situation where everybody else seems to be at standstill. Everybody else except China. As China continues …

India and China : The best of both developing countries

By Shivali Mistry, Second year MSci Hons Student in Accounting and Finance for Contemporary China, The University of Nottingham Ningbo China. Having the opportunity to experience such different lifestyles yet in the same continent has led to some pretty exciting memories in my lifetime. My first visit to India was 18 years ago and I …

Vocational education, why we need it for China’s higher education reform

By Dr. Youqing Fan, Assistant Professor at the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, The University of Nottingham Ningbo China. China’s higher education system has long been directed towards cultivating academic talents, whilst the value of technique and skill-oriented vocational education has been downplayed. This tendency is reflected in the way that high school students are …

Building Images: exploring 21st century Sino-African dynamics through cultural exchange and translation

By Dr. Xiaoling Zhang, Head of Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Associate Professor in Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham. The rapid expansion in Chinese involvement in Africa in the 21st century has been accompanied by conflicting discourses about what that interest means, both for Africa and for the …

How Edward Snowden became China’s new best friend

By Kjetil B. Alstadheim, Student at Nottingham University Ningbo Summer School. It was from Chinese territory Edward Snowden’s revelations about American massive spying on the internet came. Snowden fled to Hong Kong from Hawaii before leaking documents about the operations of The National Security Agency (NSA).  Snowden did not stay in Hong Kong for long. …

Fieldwork in Ningbo: getting beyond observation

By Felicity Woolf, Studying an MA in Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. The moment has arrived when I can no longer shelter in the library, deep in theory, but must venture forth to my chosen fieldwork site and attempt to find out what is happening there and why. I have …