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Why It’s Hard to Leave China to Visit Family Abroad Amid Pandemic – Pub’d on WWAM BAM

The group blog WWAM BAM just published my post titled Why It’s Still Hard to Leave China to Visit Family, Friends Abroad Amid Pandemic. Here’s an excerpt:

“When are you coming home?”

Recently, my family asked if I might return to the US sometime later this year, as the pandemic situation improves.

My heart sank a little at the mention of this, since I already knew my answer would be disappointing — that at least for now, I can’t make any plans to return home during the pandemic.

Obviously, it’s hard enough to make plans with the uncertainties of the pandemic itself — where a sudden surge in case numbers can quickly turn a country or region into a health disaster.

But there are also other issues that come into play — things family and friends might not even be aware of, which add to the challenges of overseas travel amid the pandemic.

Here are 3 other factors, besides health concerns, that make it difficult to leave China to visit family and friends abroad amid the pandemic:

Head on over to WWAM BAM to read the full post — and if you like it, share it!

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Despite Tough Year, Guesthouse Still in Business – Pub’d on China Daily

China Daily published a column of mine detailing the story of a guesthouse in Zhejiang province that managed to open and thrive in a tough year. Here’s an excerpt:

“In 2020, the most important thing is not what you’ve already lost, nor what you’ve yet to achieve, but rather what you have now. Let go of the past, and laugh for the rest of your life.”

Yu Jianping, who wrote these words in a post on his WeChat page, might just have been imagining his recent entrepreneurial venture. He and his wife, Huang Li, opened a guesthouse and restaurant in Tonglu county, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, during the star-crossed year of 2020, but still survived and thrived.

You can read the full piece here — and if you like it, share it!

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The Best Posts on Speaking of China in 2020

As we bid farewell (or good riddance) to 2020, it’s time to look back on the top five posts of the year, by views! And much like 2020, it’s a very COVID list.

#5: Actor Liu Ye, Wife Anais Martane Stand Up for Sea Turtles with WildAid

While reading the newspaper, I encountered an ad featuring this celebrity couple, made to support a WildAid campaign.

#4: SARS vs COVID-19: Comparing My Experiences in China

As COVID-19 has exploded into our lives this year, I’ve often found myself reflecting back on my experiences during SARS in China, comparing and contrasting.

#3: Coronavirus: 11 Tips to Prepare for an Outbreak (We’ve Managed in China, You Can Too)

Earlier this year, as COVID-19 began to threaten the rest of the world, I prepared a list of tips to consider in preparation for a potential novel coronavirus outbreak in your community, based on authoritative sources as well as what I’ve learned and experienced.

#2: How the Novel Coronavirus Outbreak Has Changed My Daily Life Here in China

For those of you outside of China wondering what it was like in amid the coronavirus outbreak, I shared my experiences in Beijing.

#1: Coronavirus: My Bread Flour Shortage Points to Curious Trend in China

Toilet paper shortages? Seriously? I was stunned when I read news of how this bathroom essential was flying off shelves — and leaving them bare — around the world, all due to fears about the coronavirus.
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Here’s hoping 2021 brings better days for all — wishing you a Happy New Year!

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2020 in Photos on Speaking of China

As we’re days from bidding farewell (or perhaps good riddance!) to 2020, I thought it might be fun this year to share a sampling of some of my favorite photos on the blog from this past year.

2020 ushered in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has turned the face mask into an everyday reality for just about everyone around the world, including us. Here Jun and I stand in a local park in Beijing, sporting our fab facewear. 😉

I had the opportunity to visit Ningxia, a tiny province located in western China, which included a visit to a sheep ranch. The rugged prairie highlands recalled memories of trips through the “big sky country” in the western US.

Befriending the sheep at the ranch proved a highlight of the trip!

For the first time, I also had the opportunity to flex my online sales “muscles” and give livestreaming a go. The experience proved a pleasure!

Jun and I experienced the early autumn charms of Beijing’s Summer Palace this year, arriving just as the osmanthus trees scattered across the grounds had perfumed the air with their beguiling fragrance.

Here’s Jun with one of those osmanthus trees. Reuniting with our favorite flora from the West Lake brought back sweet-scented memories of our days in Hangzhou.

November gave me with the chance to go to Ordos, Inner Mongolia. There I met with a local Mongolian man who had become poverty-stricken due to his medical condition and gained live-saving support for his ongoing treatment through public medical insurance.

I loved visiting his home on the high prairie, which included this decoration before the home, one typical of Mongolian households, which featured a replica of the renowned picture of eight fine steeds as well as horse-shaped metal embellishments at the top.

Finally, like many folks this year, I found refuge in the kitchen — and expanded my cooking repertoire to include some delicious new entrees, such as homemade pizza (yum!). I actually shared a recipe for a vegan pizza with cilantro, shiitake mushrooms and eggplant sauce.

No matter where you are in the world, I’ll be wishing you a very Happy New Year, filled with good health. Cheers to 2021!

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‘How’s COVID in China?’: Awkward Convos from Different Sides of Pandemic – Pub’d on WWAM BAM

The group blog WWAM BAM just published my post titled ‘How’s COVID in China?’: Awkward Convos from Different Sides of Pandemic. Here’s an excerpt:

How’s the COVID situation in China?

I hesitated to type a response to my friend back in the US, as the latest media reports of the virus situation over there — over 250,000 deaths and over 12 million confirmed cases — still circulate through my head. When I eventually type out that “Things are nearly back to normal”, a part of me flinches within, wondering if I just sent her the message equivalent of a gut punch. Is it ever polite to tell someone living in a bonafide disaster zone that it’s no longer a problem where you live? Even if it’s the truth?

I breathe a sigh of relief as she responds without any apparent annoyance, and I do my best to quickly shift topics to something else. But my guilt remains tenacious — the guilt that comes from living in a country that has nearly restored life to the new “normal”, as friends and family in the US, my home country, face a frightening surge of cases and deaths.

I wish my family and friends didn’t have to live with the threat of COVID-19 stalking them so close to home.

Read the full post at WWAM BAM. And if you like it, share it!

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When US-China Tensions Get Personal: Intl Couples Spotlighted in PRI Story

For those couples who are a living reflection of US-China ties — such as me and my husband — recent tensions between two respective nations can feel a little more personal at times.

So I was thrilled to find a report by Rebecca Kanthor (who is also an American with a Chinese husband) exploring the real impact of US-China tensions on Chinese and American couples. It’s titled ‘You can’t just break up’: US-China tensions add stress for binational couples.

One of the couples featured in the piece spoke about how challenges have given them second thoughts about their plans:

Their plan was to move to the US together this year, but the pandemic canceled those plans.

“Because everything happened when it did, we kind of put everything on hold and we’re just here [in Shanghai] for the time being,” Mention says.

But it’s not just COVID-19. The relationship between China and the US has been testy, to say the least, and that’s made it harder to imagine a life together in the US.

“I think it could be much more difficult for [William] to find a job or to get a visa. We think that the hoops we would have to jump through would be much more difficult,” Mention says.

This sounds much like what I’ve observed with a number of Chinese and American couples I know. You can head on over to PRI to read or listen to the full story.

If you’re part of a Chinese and American couple, how have US-China ties affected your personal life? Or do you know Chinese and American couples who have been negatively impacted by politics or otherwise? Sound off in the comments!

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Post-COVID Air Travel in China: Easier Than I Imagined – Pub’d on WWAM BAM

The group blog WWAM BAM just published my piece Post-COVID Air Travel in China: Easier Than I Imagined. Here’s an excerpt:

It was less than 24 hours before my flight to Ningxia was scheduled to take off from Beijing Capital International Airport, and already I found myself grappling with a new form of travel-related anxiety.

What was it like to go through the airport in China in the post-COVID era? Did I have everything I needed to ensure a smooth check-in, security check and boarding experience? Would I have a harder time as a foreigner?

I was already bracing for delays and hiccups, after being advised by a colleague to arrive at the airport at least two and a half hours ahead of departure because he said processing foreign passengers was “more trouble”.

So imagine my surprise the following day at the airport, when I breezed through every procedure in record time, without so much as an unexpected holdup of any kind. Going to the airport in China in the post-COVID era proved far easier than I expected.

Here’s a rundown of what I experienced while going through airports during my trip — to help you know what to expect next time you do any domestic air travel in China.

To find out what my experience was like with domestic air travel in China — and why it turned out to be easier than I ever expected — head on over to WWAM BAM to read the full post.

P.S.: If you’re curious about how the rest of my journey went, check out my post Photo Essay: Ningxia Video Shoot (More Than Just Goji Berries).

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When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Cooking!

Author Rhiannon Jenkins Tsang recently kicked off a project titled Creatives in a time of Covid 19, and I was thankful she reached outto me for an essay about how I’ve been creative during this time. She just recently published my piece, titled When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Cooking. Here’s an excerpt:

The shiny new pressure cooker propped up in the corner of my kitchen in Beijing, China had become the latest cooking gadget I was swooning over before Chinese New Year’s Eve in 2020, when my husband and I would prepare a dinner to mark the holiday.

Days before this paramount holiday, as I was beginning a flurry of online searches under the keywords “pressure cooker vegan recipes”, news surfaced that Wuhan was going on lockdown because of a novel coronavirus outbreak.

Days later, the rest of the nation was urged to stay at home, avoid gatherings and wear masks due to the virus.

Most restaurants had already closed for the holidays, but my boss nevertheless urged us to avoid those eateries still doing takeout. “It’s safer to cook for yourself,” she said.

Even before the coronavirus, I preferred my own kitchen to dining out. Yes, part of it was my fussy vegan palate, which the Beijing restaurant scene could never entirely please. But cooking had also long served as a creative ritual that comforted and grounded me through ups and downs, as I tapped into the power of a delicious meal, which could redeem an otherwise mediocre or even disastrous day.

So as the virus threatened Beijing, I turned to the kitchen.

And since the virus is still threatening Beijing once again, you can guess where I’ve found my sanctuary these days. 😉

Head on over to Rhiannon’s Tumblr to read the full post. And if you like it, share it!

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The Humble Power of ‘Sleeping on Sticks and Tasting Bile’ – Pub’d on China Daily

China Daily recently published my latest column titled The Humble Power of ‘Sleeping on Sticks and Tasting Bile’. Here’s an excerpt:

The year 2020 has unleashed a tsunami of suffering that continues to engulf much of the world, undoubtedly reverberating throughout the lives of everyone across the globe.

In my own personal sphere, I have seen loved ones get furloughed from their jobs under the threat of more permanent layoffs, known friends who contracted COVID-19 (including one hospitalized in serious condition), and watched a restaurant where I marked one of my most memorable evenings with friends close its doors for good. And given that experts have forecast a gloomy outlook for the rest of 2020, it would seem that the global misery wrought by the coronavirus has only just begun.

In trying times like this, I have sought spiritual refuge in stories of resilience amid adversity — such as the tale of Goujian, the king of Yue during the Spring and Autumn period who inspired the Chinese saying woxin changdan, or sleeping on sticks and tasting bile.

It all began when Goujian saw his nation defeated by the Kingdom of Wu, whose king, Fuchai, demanded that Goujian become his royal servant. So the Yue king not only lost his crown but also found himself thrust into the lowest rungs of the palace of his enemy, a prisoner to the whims of a man who had destroyed his country. The demeaning work required of Goujian included mucking out manure as well as acting as a kind of personal stable boy to the monarch, from feeding the king’s horses to leading them whenever Fuchai wanted a ride.

And if you really want to talk about taking crap from someone, consider Goujian’s most legendary deed during his three years serving Fuchai: He tasted the Wu king’s excrement to diagnose illness in a move to gain the monarch’s trust. As repulsive as it sounds, it so deeply moved Fuchai, who saw the gesture as proof that Goujian had wholeheartedly submitted himself in service, that the king set him free.

You can read the full column here and also listen to me read a recording of the piece. And if you like it, share it!

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I’m Starting to Forget To Wear My Mask: Reopening Adventures in Beijing

This past weekend, we just heard that in Beijing, you no longer need to wear a mask while outdoors. It’s welcome news with the warming weather, which has made wearing a mask outdoors an often sweaty proposal. But it’s also a relief to me for another reason – I’ve started to forget my mask.

Seriously.

In the past month or so, at least once or twice a week I would leave the apartment and then have to turn back when I realized I had walked out of my apartment with a “naked” face.

(Side note: Isn’t it something that nowadays not having a covering over my mouth and nose somehow seems bizarre and even like a form of “indecency” when stepping out?)

Anyhow, if I had to speculate why I seemed to space on wearing a mask, I would guess it’s partly the weather, and partly because people in Beijing are worrying a lot less about the virus.

Now, I don’t take anything for granted when it comes to the coronavirus. China continues to register small handfuls of imported cases every single day, and parts of the country have seen small flare-ups in local cases. I know the virus still remains in our world, and as the experts here continue to caution, we cannot entirely let our guard down.

Still, it’s been over a month since Beijing saw any locally transmitted infections. Businesses are continuing to fling their doors open, schools are gradually welcoming students back, and you see more people out enjoying the blue skies and late spring breezes.

Even my office has eased measures to enter the building. We now need to just flash our QR code showing our health status (green for OK to enter) and pass by an infrared temperature checkpoint that takes only a second. If I can pull up the QR code while walking in, I barely even need to pause. It’s a huge step up from what we once had to do – stop while an attendant checked our temperature, and then sign in on a registration sheet.

Meanwhile, as Beijing is rising from the past ravages of COVID-19, my home country of the US is still very much under siege by the virus. I find myself caught in a kind of “Twilight Zone” existence every time I flick on the international news and get the latest updates about the US, where the people I love most in the world still live. Their lives have been thrown into a turbulence I could never have imagined nor wished for them, as they struggle with everything from furloughs and other employment unknowns to the specter of illness that has settled over their communities as the virus continues to spread.

Not long ago, a comparative immunologist in the Boston area penned a viral post about the risks of getting infected as places open up, which painted a sobering picture.

And yet, the states where my loved ones live — which are still seeing new daily case numbers that either equal or exceed the total number of cases we saw in Beijing — are starting to reopen. It’s stunning, in the worst possible way.

When I go to my office, I don’t really worry that a coworker might be infected with COVID-19. My employer had even asked everyone in the company to stay in Beijing and not travel outside to avoid any potential risk of transmission.

Meanwhile, when my family and friends eventually return to their offices — which might have minimal or no screening measures in place, nor other policies to lower the potential for infection — they may not have the same peace of mind.

And chances are, it’s going to be a long time before they ever forget to wear a mask.

Has your area been reopening? How has it been for you?

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