Xuzhou Dispatches

Having a smartphone in China: Annoyance and Enjoyment

The saga continues.

Chilling here besides me on the couch is my new best friend.

He helps me learn about the world, talk to my friends, my real friends though buddy, not you, they’re…

The personal transport revolution: E-Bikes.

The city is teeming with traffic. Thousands heading to work, taking their kids to school, delivering packages or glass window panes, in a mad flurry of vehicular hustle and bustle. These thousands are using their own personally-owned transport, with all the freedom and flexibility…

Buying a smartphone in China: Agony and Ecstasy

My new phone will be amazing.

My new phone will change my life.

My new phone will be my newest and closest friend.

Thirteenth Dispatch — The Children’s Concert

On May 29th I took part in a concert of little children performing weakly…

VPNs in China

Before moving to China I wish I’d asked these three questions.

Do you need a VPN in China? Yes.

Can you buy one from China? Maybe.

If you plan to continue the life you took for granted in the West without a VPN will you have…

Twelfth Dispatch 22.05.15

I’m so happy that I live in these days. The days of portable culture, made possible by globe-shrinking broadband. I’ve been slumped on my couch for hours, transported to John Roderick’s Seattle home in 2010 during a quasi-weekly search for songwriting inspiration, and sat in a…

E-bikes: Fashion trends in personal electric transport.

In what is an experiment into listicle/gallery/magazine hybrid-monster territory, I will be posting pictures of the e-bikes I see around my Chinese city, with accompanying words about them, in an ongoing series. Interesting as I find…

Scaling the Firewall

Circumventing China’s Censors