Students at universities eat the majority of their meals in canteens on campus but, unlike American schools, these dining halls offer a number of different regional cuisines (Se chuan, Cantonese, Shanghainese, etc.). This is because the dining system is not run by a single food service or staffed by the university. Instead the government contracts individual vendors and partially subsidizes them to make the meals affordable. The arrangement is an interesting coupling of government control and competitive capitalism.
Category Archives: Postcards from China
Delightful scenes like this occur everywhere on the streets of Shanghai. There are many vendors selling a variety of foods, fruits, and vegetables and, of course, flowers. It is hard to tell the difference between vendors that are legal and … Continue reading
Few sights demonstrate the convergence of East and West in China more poignantly than the variety of architectural styles found in its mega cities. Although the temple in the foreground represents an ancient cultural as well as architectural tradition, this … Continue reading
What I find extraordinary about this picture is the perfect calm of the water – not a ripple anywhere. You can’t look at this picture without feeling your blood pressure lowering. … Continue reading
Traditional Chinese cuisine mostly eschews the sweet desserts that we have in the West. But especially in the big cities, the natives are fast developing a sweet tooth as evidenced by the proliferation in recent years of coffee shops and … Continue reading
Even within cities that have populations in the millions, there are still streets like the one above, zoned only for pedestrians, the busy city traffic kept at a good distance, and separating the quiet feel of an old place, with … Continue reading
Such stark contrasts in transportation are becoming more common in China, especially in the big cities. As a consequence of the vast amount of wealth that is being created, there is more and more an interest in buying vehicles such … Continue reading
When the weather is inclement, that usually means staying indoors where it is warm and dry. But that was not the memo that the citizens of Hangzhou got during the very rare winter weather event pictured above. It seemed as … Continue reading
Feng Shui is something that the Chinese pay attention to. To have good feng shui means that wind and water flow naturally toward and away from each other – it refers generally to the harmony achieved between air and water. … Continue reading
Chinese cuisine is full of recipes for soups of all sorts. The soup in this picture roughly translates to blood soup – its main ingredient is organ meat – usually from a duck or cow. In addition to livers and … Continue reading