Three Generations of Chineseness

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. I am not sure whether it is because of the trendy post-colonial obsession with cultural authenticity or simply due to the ascendance of personal narratives in the …

Love at first sight

By Ismail Sadurdeen Student at Nottingham University Ningbo Summer School From the many options available to choose from I picked the Ningbo Summer School program as it was located in China. I had always wanted to visit the Great Wall from a young age so I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to combine …

Family across the Taiwan Strait: One Country? Certainly Two Stories

By Flair Shi, Studying Comparative Literature (MA) at University College London, Graduate of the School of English University of Nottingham Ningbo, BA in English Language and Literature. Every year at the beginning of October mainland China sees the sudden proliferation of nationalistic TV shows across the country, featuring grand ceremonies often involving flowers, flapping pigeons …

Changing Chinese TV channels

By Elizabeth Henriette Schenderling, Student at Nottingham University Ningbo Summer School. In comparison to the West, television has grown to be a popular form of entertainment very quickly in China. In 2005, Chinese television made 242,146 hours of television every week and 12.6 million hours per year. From the 50’s until the middle 80’s, education was …

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. …

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 …

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 …

Pollution and Civilisation

By Felicity Woolf, Studying an MA in Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. Recently when I looked out of my kitchen window, the view beyond the first few tower blocks was shrouded in thick mist; pollution hung heavy in the air. Yesterday a colleague had questioned our cavalier attitude towards cycling …

My experience with food in China

By Andrew Spivey, Studying History at the University of Nottingham UK. Before travelling to China my anticipation to experience new culinary experiences was immense, and so it was to my delight that the plethora of new and exciting dishes awaiting me did in no stretch of the imagination disappoint. Since my childhood days I have …

Growing Successful Cities

By Vincent Pan, Studying Commerce and Science at the University of New South Wales Australia. In Shanghai, a tour guide joked that the preferred mode of transport of Shanghai citizens were BMWs. That is, they rode Bicycles, they shared Motorcycles or they used their feet and Walked from A to B. For many citizens, these …