When I traveled to China in my teens and twenties, I inevitably committed cultural faux pas.For instance, when I spent the summer of 1995 in China, I kept in touch with friends and family by writing letters. I had been using e-mail in Hong Kong for about a year at that point, … [Read more...]

I love book signings. So when my friend Tracey told me about a book signing last Sunday with author Chris Lin, who writes bilingual Chinese-English children's books, I was game.The Mandy and Pandy board book series is colorful, educational, and fun. And each book includes a … [Read more...]

On Friday I packed the younger kids into the station wagon and headed to Trader Joe's in search of shumai and coconut shrimp. But before I reached the frozen section, this fun card grabbed my attention.I love vintage travel tags.Along the top, I spotted stickers from … [Read more...]

This is the Shanghai I remember.Fifteen years and hundreds of glassy skyscrapers later, the city on this postcard exists no more.Notice the streets: few cars, some buses, and dozens of bicycles.As rustic as Shanghai was back then, it was still the most cosmopolitan … [Read more...]