Clik here to view.
subway signs
This is a sign from the Beijing authorities prohibiting dangerous items in the subway. Note the artistic twist on 危险品 (flammable items), withthe little flame acting as the first 口 in 品. But this next...
View ArticleClik here to view.
be part of the Olympics by climbing the stairs on Wednesdays
The Cure song “Friday, I’m in Love” has it that on Wednesdays you can be grey, break my heart, have a heart attack, or stay in bed, but no such problems for Beijing in its Olympic year. On Wednesdays...
View ArticleClik here to view.
beijing public toilets, the video game
Alas, I’m just kidding. But that is exactly what I thought when I was walking out of the Dongsishitao subway station and saw this handy map. Lights on this electronic map randomly flash to draw...
View ArticleClik here to view.
trader zhou’s
Trader Joe’s, meet Trader Zhou’s. Trader Joe’s in America, a grocery store mostly known for its excellent and cheap natural foods. (And two buck chuck.) (Image from Business Week.) Trader Zhou’s in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
please don’t poop here!
It’s not every day that you go to the bathroom and the toilet requests that there be “no shitting here”! And it’s not every day that it’s accompanied by a little illustration of a turd in turmoil. NLGX...
View ArticleClik here to view.
street signs of beijing
I’m now catching up on the huge backlog of posts that I have built up in my unexpected two month break from this blog. (Ritan Park forbids visitors from everything.) Beijing has a number of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
中国－别无他处 China – Nowhere else
I can’t believe that in 2010 I only updated this blog four times. Every few weeks someone reminds me of how much they love this blog, even through its long silences, so darlings, I am listening. Yes,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The love child of English and Chinese
As seen in 帽儿胡同 Mao’er Hutong, near 南锣鼓巷 Nanluoguxiang. This sign for a bookstore/tea house represents what I like best about Beijing’s–and China as a whole–burgeoning interest in design and language,...
View Article