The Nanjinger

Xi’an, meaning “Western Peace”; the first of China’s four great capitals and what remains the country’s noodle mecca. Known as Chang’an during the Tang Dynasty, it became the gateway for travellers of the Silk Road, whom came baring foreign...

If there is one nation of people who can spectacularly whip up magnificence out of mess, carnival out of chaos, all in a teeth-clenching, last-minute manner, then you have to give it to the Chinese. As a proponent of...

Within 40 years, contemporary China has faced upheavals of epochal proportion, a transformation that took 400 years for the Western world. Therein, radical changes in politics, philosophy and family relations. Thanks to the imperial power, the word People (rénmín; 人民)...

Smoking, to the women of 1920s and 30s Shanghai, was terribly classy. It was the epitome of “modeng” (摩登), a transliteration of the English “modern”, which nodded to a radically transformed urban lifestyle amidst a wave of new found...

Best described by Carl Hanson writing for Allrecipes, “When eating Sichuan pepper, you may feel a bit…well, odd”. This month I’m looking at possibly the only food stuff in my 30 years that I’ve eaten that has actually made...

It was known as the Hong Kong Walled City, or The City of Darkness. Infamous for its 30 years of ungoverned vice and much more. Run by the Triads, the city that never saw sunlight was an entity unto...

Everyone who is lucky enough to have known their grandparents has certainly asked them how communication worked in the past. The many tales of love letters and how long and exciting it was to wait for your beloved one’s reply....

If you were anything like me, when you first arrived in China, you would never have known that one can actually eat bamboo. Scaffolding sure, furniture of course, heck even bedding why not, but as a food, it seemed...