In September 2013, I accompany one of my friends from Kunming to Qujing, a city 2 hours from Kunming. In the evening, we meet up with some friends at a bar. One is a young couple with the woman being 2 months pregnant. They look like they are very much in love. I ask them […]
Tag Archives: China life
In March 2008, just a few months before the start of the Summer Olympics in Beijing and right after protests took place that would later lead to deadly riots in Lhasa, Q, a friend from Northwestern Yunnan gets a call from her mother. Her mother is an ethnic Tibetan while her father is Han-Chinese. Their […]
One day I want to go for lunch. On my way to the restaurant, I walk past a café. I hear somebody call my Chinese name. I think that this is just my imagination playing a trick on me and walk on. But then I hear somebody call my name again. One of my female […]
This is the last part of a conversation I had with a cab driver who took me to the airport in Shenzhen. The conversation was rather long, so I’ve split it into 6 parts. Click here if you’ve missed part 1 (“Is learning English hard for you?”), part 2 (“Do you know Deng Xiaoping?”), part […]
This is part 5 of a conversation I had with a cab driver who took me to the airport in Shenzhen. The conversation was rather long, so I’ve split it into 6 parts. Click here if you’ve missed part 1 (“Is learning English hard for you?”), part 2 (“Do you know Deng Xiaoping?”), part 3 […]
This is part 4 of a conversation I had with a taxi driver who took me to the airport in Shenzhen. The conversation was rather long, so I’ve split it into 6 parts. Click here if you’ve missed part 1 (“Is learning English hard for you?”), part 2 (“Do you know Deng Xiaoping?”) or part […]
I have recently started working out and with that I have started craving fruits. Every second day or so, I work out after getting off work and arrive at home really late in the evening. Exhausted from working out, you can often still find me in the kitchen late at night, preparing fresh fruit juice. […]
This is part 3 of a conversation I had with a taxi driver who took me to the airport in Shenzhen. The conversation was rather long, so I’ve split it into 6 parts. Click here if you’ve missed part 1 (“Is learning English hard for you?”) or part 2 (“Do you know Deng Xiaoping?”) and […]
This is part 2 of a conversation I had with a taxi driver in Shenzhen. The conversation was rather long, so I’ve split it into 6 parts. Click here if you’ve missed part 1 (“Is learning English hard for you?”) and stay tuned for part 3-6: Weddings and gifts, “Do you like China?”, “The most […]
In today’s guest post I’d like to introduce you to Rose from Life in Shenzhen. Rose has been living in Shenzhen for almost five years. She has a Master’s Degree in Educational Studies and works as a teacher and education specialist, with recent experience in special needs. She writes for Afar Media at http://www.afar.com/travelers/rose-symotiuk/. She […]
This is part 2 of 2 of a conversation with L, a woman in her mid-twenties working at a massage parlor. Click here for part 1 (“Can pregnant women have massages?”). This post is about women’s issues and might not be to everyone’s taste – I’ve warned you. The whole-body massage includes back, arms, legs, stomach […]
I’ve been trying to find some more English language blogs written by people living in Shenzhen. The list is still short and comes in no particular order – let me know if you know of any other interesting blogs that are related to the topic of living in Shenzhen. Here are the blogs: Shenzhen Noted: […]
This is part 1 of 2 of a conversation with L, a woman in her mid-twenties working at a massage parlour. I have talked to her before, click here if you’ve missed the last conversation with her. Stay tuned for part 2 of the conversation (“Your breasts are almost non-existent”). L loves to tell me […]
The fitness studio I recently started going to offers Chinese folk dance classes. The first time I go to the dancing class it’s filled with women in their 40s and 50s. I seem to be one of the younger ones – together with the teacher, who is the only male person in the room. The […]
Since I’m in need of new guest posts again, I’m publishing a guest post I’ve written for Behind the Story. The face behind Behind the Story is Nicki Chen, an American writer who has been living in the Philippines for 15 years with her Chinese husband and their children. Click here if you haven’t yet […]
I started writing this blog one year ago. In celebration of China Elevator Stories’ first anniversary and for all of you who haven’t been following this blog right from the beginning, I’d like to share five early conversations with you: “Are you Chinese?”: The very first post on China Elevator Stories and the conversation that […]
Me and my coworkers take a cab. One of them recently became a father for a second time. The driver asks him: “How much does it cost to have a second child in Shenzhen?” Coworker: “220,000 Chinese Yuan (around 27,000 EUR or 40,000 USD).” Driver: “Wow, that’s a considerable sum for a hukou*. We registered […]
This is part 2 of a conversation I had with a woman called L who is working at a massage parlour. Click here if you’ve missed part 1 (“How come you married so young?”). Stay tuned for part 3 (“Do people in Austria have their eyes made bigger?). After talking about marriage, L goes on: […]
“Canadian.” “German.” “American.” “British.” These are all nationalities I’ve been associated with in Northeast China’s Jilin province. Often, people don’t say it directly, rather they’ll tell their friends: “Look, a German.” I don’t really mind if they say that I’m German, after all, it’s as close as it gets. Even many Chinese who know me […]
Today I’m featuring a guest post by Sara Jaaksola. Sara wanted to go to China ever since she was little and has made her dream come true in 2010, when she finally went to Guangzhou to study Chinese. She has stayed there ever since and gives advice on life, love and traveling in China on […]
Y, his 9-year-old niece, her mother and I eat dinner together. Y’s niece has just asked me about the positive aspects of having a different citizenship. We start talking about something else. She says: “I’ve read in the news that in a country really close to South Korea there’s a guy who’s always making threats. […]
Today I’m featuring a guest post by Sarah, fellow Shenzhen-expat and the face behind the blog Reclaim Your Fearlessnesss that gives tips on how to live the life you want to live and not let others dictate it. I love her blog and have nominated her for the Liebster Award last month (see her answers here). Sarah has grown up […]
Y is different from most Chinese I know. Well, I know, of course he is – to me, right? What I mean is that his eating habits are different from most other Chinese people I know. He loves eating raw vegetables. He had never been to Europe before our wedding, but he still loved eating […]
Today I’m featuring a guest post written by Dan Clarke. Dan has been living in China for more than 6 years, first working as an English teacher and now focusing on writing and coaching, while looking after his daughter as a work-at-home dad. You can read more about him and China on his website Living […]
Four years ago, my in-laws bought an apartment in their hometown Siping in Northeast China’s Jilin province. Two years ago, they should have been able to move into their new apartment. But the apartment had not been finished at that time. It’s still not finished now, two years later. When my husband and I walk […]
One day, my in-laws and I are waiting for my husband at the market in his hometown, Siping. I take a picture of a basket with string beans. When one of the women working at the market sees this, she points at a basket with tomatoes she sells and says: “Take a picture of these. […]
Today I’m featuring a story from Laura. Laura is a fellow-expat and blogger who is currently living and working in Shanghai. She blogs at Pausa Monk and will marry her Chinese fiancé at the beginning of October. Congrats! When I take the elevator the other day, one of my neighbours starts talking with me. He: “Hello, […]
I’ve heard many bad things about Shenzhen. I never wanted to come here in the first place because of what I’ve heard. Now that I’m living in Shenzhen, it does bother me if people repeat those stereotypes unreflectedly and without having lived here for a certain period of time. I think you do have the […]
Our team was working on an app recently where we needed to do some research on plants. There are quite a few plants in my company, and once every week a young woman working at a florist comes into our company to water the flowers. After talking to her and asking her some questions, we […]
Here is a selection of our pre-wedding wedding pictures shoot. Enjoy! For the latest updates you can also follow me on facebook, twitter and/or google+.
I’m at a Spa getting a massage and start talking with the girl working there. A while into the conversation she asks: “Do you have a boyfriend?” I: “I do.” She: “Where is he from?” I: “He’s from Northeast China.” She: “Do your parents approve of your relationship?” I: “Of course, why wouldn’t they?” She: […]
It was at the time of the change of seasons, the end of fall and the beginning of winter, when everyone at the office had a cold or came down with some kind of flu. I had had a cold for a few days and stomach ache on and off, so on a sunny morning […]
I have moved to a new apartment for at least 15 times in my life, but never has looking for a flat been as enthralling as this one time in November 2012. One morning my company called to tell me that I needed a tenancy agreement in the next one or two days. I had […]
A young woman and her little three-year old daughter enter the elevator right after me. I press the button for the 18th floor, the little girl stands tiptoe to press the button for the 15th floor. The girl asks her mother: “Mum, why is the button for the 18th floor pressed?” Mother: “Auntie (referring to […]
A woman in her 40s starts talking to me in the elevator. Woman: “Your facial features are beautiful.” I: “Thanks.” W: “Are you Chinese?” I: “No, I’m Austrian.” W: “How come you speak Chinese fluently then?” Has anyone ever mistaken you for being from a country different from your country of origin because of your […]
China elevator stories 