News
Taxi App
Last month’s conversation starter was the launching locally of an app that had been available in larger cities since October 2012. The Didi Dache (嘀嘀打车) taxi booking service orders rides for immediate pick-up, or schedules up to three days in advance. With attractive discounts it saw about 3,400 daily orders in Dongguan and over 1,500 […]
Ghost Mall Reborn?
The infamous South China Mall ghost town in Wanjiang has, since December, held grand re-openings for vacant buildings and upgraded some older businesses. The biggest is the establishment of the three-floor Tianhe Department Store. International fast food chains have, as of January, launched branches in the mall upping the total of restaurants to 30, which […]
New Furniture Showroom
The first phase of Houjie’s Famous Furniture Expo Park, the International Home Center, will welcome over 455 furniture brands from China and abroad. It Opens officially on March 16 with the International Famous Furniture Fair, which has been among China’s leading furniture exhibitions for over 15 years. This year, the newly-opened five-story facility will add […]
Movie Mania
Under the supervision of the Guancheng government and the Communist Youth League Committee of Dongguan, 27 filmmaking companies have co-oped to form the Movie Culture Association of Guancheng to promote development in Dongguan’s film and TV production. Working together to create funding and share techniques, the association hopes to eventually “send some of the works […]
Around Town
Only Dongguan: Hardcore Haven
My idea of a good life is very simple. If a lifestyle can combine a person’s hobby with their career together, it must be the best. I first worked in Dongguan in 2004. At that time, it hadn’t developed so well. It didn’t have a great many tall buildings or such big squares. There were […]
Home Made: Under the Nose
Appropriately in line with the designs of the cosmos, this Lunar New Year has hailed a new sense of self. My understanding of my personality has changed, and with that came a newfound confidence in ability. The impetus for change was a holiday trip to Thailand and enrollment in my first ever cooking class. It’s […]
Wet Floors
It’s only water, but in late February, and in March or April, many people across Dongguan are creeped out when water seeps from their walls and floors, running down surfaces, pooling and coating their homes and offices with thin layers of moisture. Even more disturbing is that it refuses to evaporate and comes back after […]
The Candy Store: Funin Beer
Funin Beer is not the kind of bar you would go to watch the game, take a date or show a client. It’s small and cramped, there’s no bathroom and worst of all Justin Bieber blares out the speakers. In many ways it shares more in common with shops that sell German beer than it […]
Interests
Dongguan Q & A: Business Answers
Q: Why is Dongguan often referred to as the “world’s factory?” A: Beginning in the late 1970s, manufacturing enterprises from Hong Kong and Taiwan were attracted to Dongguan by its proximity to Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and also by its abundant supply of cheap labor and land. Along with the relocation wave, massive capital […]
A Fleet of Interpreters: Tripper App Review
Tripper, the world’s local assistant, as their slogan says, is for when you are in a foreign country and need help. Connecting to the app through a cellular plan, your smart phone’s data package or Wi-Fi, operators are available within moments. Mostly, the operators help with interpretation, but they offer other services. You can get […]
VAT Reform in China: And Its Implications
The pilot reform of the VAT system represents tax saving opportunities for many taxpayers, but increased tax burdens for others. For service providers in China who are now registered as general VAT taxpayers, they can claim input VAT credits for the purchase of goods, fixed assets and services used in their business. It is therefore […]
Top 4 Bus Stops: For the Left Behind
For those of us stuck in Dongguan during the Chinese New Year, there are still a few choices for a peaceful and relaxed rest instead of being a couch potato. You can ride a bicycle around the scenic Songshan Lake, hike to the largest granite Guanyin statue in the world, visit a 200 year-old historical […]
Living Here
Model Mandarin: Lessons in Love
Top Tip: Don’t Mind the Big Things Tones are important. They can be the difference between buy and sell (mǎi or mài) or between referring to someone’s mother (mā) as a horse (mǎ). While it can take some time to develop the ear to recognize them, and even longer to train your voice to speak […]
Changping
History Before the Cultural Revolution, the people of Changping had to overcome a number of challenging events. Toward the end of the Sino-Japanese War there was a battle fought in Changping. In 1945, the villagers gathering for the market encountered a Japanese army demoralized after a series of defeats. Although the villagers were little more […]
Model Mandarin: Getting a Bargain
TOP TIP: Learn in Chunks Learning Chinese would be a lot easier if you could just take each newly learned Chinese word and swap it for English. Unfortunately, differences in grammar complicate matters, and the culturally different way the language is used makes things even harder. It is better to learn new language in chunks or […]
Model Mandarin: New Year’s Resolution
Top Tip Like making a speech at a wedding, going for your first job interview or moving to a new country to continue your career, things are often much easier than we imagine them to be. So this year when you make your New Year’s Resolution, make it to start learning more Chinese. It’s not […]
Other Recent Posts
Portions Available: Wild West Steakhouse
There is a time and a place for everything. Many times, weekly lunches are a great place to shave a little off of budgeted spending, which means that if eating out is part of your daily expenditures, Chinese fast food is on the menu. But luckily there is another Western-style restaurant newly opened across from […]
Surf’s Up
An old social group is being revitalized in Dongguan after more motivated, but equally casual, new leadership moved in. Couchsurfers, the global online community with a network of some 7 million people, connects travelers with sleeping arrangements provided by other members. Group organizer Marco Manzini said via e-mail, “I’m not working for them, I only […]
World of Soccer
What do Dongguan and football legend Michael Owen have in common? SoccerWorld; a brand that sets up football centers in countries all over the world like Germany and Spain. Owen became the brand’s official ambassador after his retirement last year and he has already helped set up football centers in cities all over China. This […]
It’s Softball Season
The 2014 Taiwan Businessmen Softball League is under way, and was sparked off with an impressive display of international cooperation, competitive spirit and sportsmanship. The league, which played its inaugural season back in 2004, now has teams from around the world. “Most are Taiwanese, and we also have players from China, Japan and the USA,” […]
