Thanks for the questions, John Paul Academy. Truth be told, these were some of the most challenging enquiries I’ve had to answer so far.

The reason is that while I am ethnic Chinese, I grew up in Canada and Hong Kong, so many of your enquiries on everyday life in mainland China don’t really apply to me at all. In many aspects, I’m looking in from the outside, much like yourselves.

But fear not, my inquisitive friends. In an effort to give a clearer picture of life in China’s mainland, I’ve interviewed some of my work colleagues here at the office and posted their answers in lieu of my own. Hopefully, this will give you a better idea of what everyday life is like over here.

How many people are in your family?

“There are three people in my family: My father, mother and I.”

In urban areas like Shanghai, you’ll find that most people born in the ‘80’s are single children. This is, of course, a result of China’s notorious “one-child policy,” which was enacted in 1978 to try to alleviate problems caused by China’s burgeoning population.

Contrary to popular belief, the one-child policy, 计划生育政策 (jì huà shēng yù zhèng cè, or “family planning policy”) does not apply to every single Chinese citizen. From the onset, the one-child policy was only meant to apply to a single generation, and even then, there are many exceptions to the rule. It’s estimated that only about 36% of Chinese citizens are affected by the policy. And even then, enforcement of the policy varies from region to region.

Remember how we talked about how Chinese children are pushed very hard to excel academically in an earlier blog post? Given that many urban nuclear families only have a single child, a natural social phenomenon is that parents not only push their children to excel in school, but also spoil their children to an extreme. It’s not uncommon, for example, that parents pay the down payment on a mortgage for a new home when their son or daughter marries.

What is family life like on a daily basis?

“The whole family gets up in the morning, have breakfast together, and parents will send their kid to school and then go to work. Parents will pick up their kid after work, and after any extra curricular lessons, will have dinner together at home.

“This is pretty much the same with me, except that I work now and I don’t have to go to school anymore. I still live at home, and sometimes I don’t go home for dinner. Most urbanites are wage earners, and will work from Monday to Friday, 9am until 5 pm, and spend more time with their family on the weekends.”

I think life differs according to what region your family is from. If you live in a big city like Shanghai, or Beijing, urban family life is quite the same as those of any other developed country.

On the other hand, people in rural areas enjoy a more laid back lifestyle. There is a famous saying that the farmer works before the sunrise and gets back home after sunset. Although the work is no doubt more physical, the rhythm and pace of life is more relaxed than the hectic lifestyle of the city.

What does your family do for entertainment?

“Well, each generation has their own unique way of entertaining themselves.

“Senior citizens that have retired enjoy the ease and comfort of life that exists without work, a boss, or alarm clocks ringing in the morning. They get to do whatever they like and many of the older generations enjoy their retirement by doing some form of group activity with the peers, like morning exercise groups, or even dancing classes.

“Young people are used to hanging out with their friends, and enjoy singing karaoke, shopping, hitting the bars etc…”

I also note that the young people of today spend an inordinate amount of time online. Many would rather stay home and surf the Internet rather than go out and do some social activity. I suppose it is a sign that I myself am getting old, since when I was young, older people had the same criticism about my generation!

What does your family eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

“The first thing you should know is that there are 56 recognised ethnic groups, and 8 regional cuisines in China! This is really a hard question for us to answer.

“Different regional habits are very diverse. For example, in one morning, a Shanghai family might have soya milk and twisted cruller as their breakfast, while another family in Guangzhou will have tea and steamed buns. The next day, the same Shanghai family might very well have orange juice and sandwiches while the Guangzhou family will have soya milk and noodles!

Chinese cuisine comprises a large variety from different regions, and basic Chinese food is divided into 8 regional cuisines. Even the same type of dish can be prepared differently depending on each region.

Do you have any pets?

“Yes! Here are some pictures of my dog.”

Having pets are quite common, and dogs and cats are popular household choices. The feisty Chihuahua you see above belongs to my co-worker, while other co-workers in my office also own cats, fish, and even a rabbit.

How does your family celebrate special occasions e.g., birthdays, Christmas?

“China has plenty of festivals to celebrate throughout the year, like the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Qingming Festival. Behind each festival is a colourful folktale.”

The most important holiday is the weeklong traditional Chinese New Year (also known as the Spring Festival). With a history of several thousands of years, it remains one of the largest celebrations for the whole nation.

It is said that, once upon a time, there was a ferocious mythical beast known as the Nian (年, nián, literally “Year”), that terrorized villagers during the Chinese new year. Over time, people realized that the beast was afraid of three things: the colour red, loud noises, and bright lights. From that point on, people would wear red, set off fireworks and hang lights to frighten away the Nian during the New Year.

These traditions continue even now, and during the Chinese New Year, people will wish for luck, happiness and peace for their families in the coming year.

1. How does the weather in Shanghai (or China generally)influence Shanghainese/ Chinese art? Emma Sproul S6

One thing that this blog has continually reinforced is the fact that China is a very vast country. To put it in comparison, its total land area of 3,855,100 square miles surpasses even the United States (with Alaska included). Keeping in mind this diversified geography, one can appreciate that China’s climate is not monolithic and its weather climate is different for each region.

Southern regions that are closer to the equator are warmer, while northern regions suffer from much harsher winters. We’ve talked about how traditional paintings derive a lot of inspiration from the environment and the natural landscape. So naturally, how weather affects the scenery also shows itself in how certain regions are painted.

Check these two paintings out. Both are done in traditional 国画 (guó huà, or “native,” or “national painting”) style, but still mange to project totally different atmospheres:

Both paintings show a river in the centre. The first painting, a night time scene, portrays an almost cold serenity to the northern weather, utilising the white space to depict the snowy ground. In contrast, the second painting by artist Li Gemin, who was from the southern province of Guangdong, is much more active and full of greenery.

2. Given the huge size of China, how does the weather affect China’s businesses in the different regions? Hannah Barr S6

As mentioned above, China’s large land mass means that weather patterns are regionalised. Even during the same season, different regions in China will have different climates because of the country’s extensive and complex geography.

Northern regions of China suffer from very harsh winters. Because of the relative longer distance from the coast than its southern neighbours, northern winds are comparatively drier and less humid. Even for Beijing, which is in the southern portion of the northern region, winter temperatures can drop to -20C at night.

Because of this adverse weather, agricultural business is not as abundant as the south. Instead, northeast China is the country’s traditional industrial base, with major industries in equipment, steel, automobile, shipbuilding and aircraft manufacturing, as well as petroleum refining industries.

Also important to note is that there is no pre-defined geographical marker when we speak of northern or southern regions. This division is cultural, and does not follow any provincial or geographic boundaries, (although some would say that the Yangtze River acts as a divisor between the north and south – but this is a cultural preconception and in no way formalised). At best, these regionalisations are cultural stereotypes that are heavily generalised.

Located in between the northern and southern regions, the area along the Yangtze River is known for its hot summers, created by the mountainous valley regions which trap warm fronts within the basin.

Southern and coastal regions of China offer more temperate climates, and existing waterways are more conducive to trade. Indeed, compared to its northern neighbours, these regions witness more commerce.

Check out this interesting map by chinasignpost.com, with data provided by the World Bank. It compares each province’s individual GDP and puts it in perspective by showing the foreign country equivalent.

Notice how the GDP of coastal and southern regions are equivalent with relatively richer countries while interior and more arid regions in China have a lower GDP.

3. How well-equipped are the different areas of China in dealing with extreme weather conditions? Elizabeth Pickering S6

This year has seen many drastic changes in the weather throughout China; blizzards have frozen transportation this winter and flash floods are causing tens of thousands to relocate. I would say many people in the nation, regardless of region, are ill-prepared for these extreme conditions.

It’s not really a matter of ineptness, but rather that the extreme weather conditions faced this year were inconceivable only several years ago. I’ve spent close to a decade in Shanghai now, and I’ve only seen it snow here only a handful of times in all these years, and yet this year alone we’ve had a blizzard and snowfall on many occasions. Just last month, over 30,000 travellers were stranded in the city’s airports because of heavy snow.

Here are a couple of pictures from Shanghai Daily and Chinanews of the extreme weather conditions in Shanghai just this year:

With regards to how prepared locals are in dealing with extreme weather – well, this picture just about says it all:

But as with most things in life though, children seem to be able to see the silver lining in every situation:

4. What idioms do the Chinese have that relate to weather? (For example ‘raining cats and dogs’ in English) Emma Hay S6

After talking so much about adverse weather, let’s look at a couple of easy Chinese idioms that describe fair weather and clear skies:

风和日丽, fēng hé rì lí. If we break down the individual words: 风means “wind;” 和means “and;” 日can have several connotations, in this case meaning the “sun;” and 丽 means “beautiful.” So when we put it all together we get “beautiful wind and sun,” an idiom which is used to describe fair weather.

Here’s another one:

万里无云, wàn lǐ wú yún. Here’s the meaning of the individual words: 万means the number “10,000;” 里in this case refers to an antiquated Chinese unit of measurement called “Li,” which is roughly equal to about a third of a mile; 无 means “nothing,” or “having none;” and 云 means “cloud.” If we put it all together, we get a descriptive idiom that roughly translates to “10,000 miles without a cloud,” usually used to talk about clear blue skies without any chance of rain.

Thanks for all your questions Queen Anne, more to come!

1. What is the curriculum like for Chinese school?

In elementary school, the curriculum is fixed. Students must study literature, math, English, music, art and physical education. Although these subjects are mandatory, the curriculum depends on the individual teacher and school. In junior high, further subjects are required study: history, geography, and one of politics, chemistry, biology or physics. The reason for this addition in high school is that students must sit for a standardised exam to enrol into their choice of university of college.

Like much of the rest of the world, a university degree or college diploma is becoming the “bare minimum” for any sort of white collar position. Because of China’s large population, the number of students is proportionately large as well. The 1999 census from the China Statistical Yearbook pegs the number of students in the entire school system at 290,000,000 (yes, two-hundred-and-ninety-MILLION). The nationwide census was just conducted last year, but I would suspect the figure now to be vastly greater than that.

Given the numbers, I’m sure you can appreciate that university entrance exams are a big deal in China. Students are under great pressure to get into a good university. Testing is standardised across the nation and students will be tested on literature, math, English and one of either history, geography, political science, chemistry, biology or physics, depending on their discipline. I’ve noticed that everybody speaks with empathy and pity when they talk about the fierce competition that students must face during these entrance exams.

Because the exams take place all at once, students must sit for the exams in a classroom or auditorium. Here’s what it usually looks like:

And here’s a picture of some students in Beijing after their exams:

2. How long is the duration of their education?

At the national level, the Ministry of Education stipulates a mandatory 9-year period of public schooling called “义务教育” (yì wù jiào yù), where tuition is free, but textbooks and materials are not. Depending on the region, mandatory public schooling starts when a child is either six or seven years old and enters primary school. Preschool is private and up to the prerogative of the parents.

After the mandatory public schooling period, students are allowed to make a decision to either pursue secondary education (senior high school) or wrap up their education commitments and enter the workforce.

At senior high, a student must also begin to plan whether to ultimately pursue undergraduate or vocational studies.

So much like abroad, the typical student that completes higher education will finish at about the age of 22 or so, depending on their education choices.    

3. Where do they go for lunch? What do they have? Do they have lunch at school canteen? If yes, what do they eat? If not, where do they go?

China is vast, and whilst some schools have canteens that are operated by third parties within the school, poorer schools might elect to have food prepared on the outside and brought to the students. In either case, safety is a concern and the responsibility of the school, so children are not allowed to leave the school grounds.

Here’s a couple of pictures of what a typical canteen looks like:

Food choice is limited, and you basically eat what everybody else eats. It’s mostly traditional Chinese fare, with rice, vegetables and meat. Milk or some beverage is usually provided. Although lunch isn’t explicitly covered in the mandatory public schooling programme, for the most part it will be subsidised.

Much like other countries, students are given more freedom beginning in senior high and university. They can either choose to eat outside, or at the canteen.

4. What extra-curricular activities they can do during lunch or after school?

Sports and special interest groups are usually what students might partake in. Younger children might choose anything from badminton or basketball to dance, singing, or even dance.

Time for play decreases though, as students get older, and are under higher pressure to get into a good university. Getting into a good university means getting into a good high school; which means getting into a good junior high; and which also means, of course, getting into a good elementary school and preschool.

Because of this widespread competition, it’s very common to see young children begin afterschool tutoring at a young age. It’s an all too familiar tragedy to see parents picking up children after school and ferrying them to their next tutoring class. And that’s all on top of the homework they have to do!

5. Do they wear a uniform? If yes, what does it consists of?

All students, regardless of public or private school, will wear uniforms up until high school. Those in the mandatory public school system will have uniforms that are standardised throughout their city. Usually different uniforms are assigned depending on the season. Here’s one type of uniform:

And another PE type which is also quite commonly seen:

6. What sports do they do in Physical Education?

Although students are required to take P.E., the curriculum itself varies widely and is usually done so at the discretion of the P.E. teacher and the school.

Common activities include things like volleyball, basketball, track and field, and swimming. The availability of each event is usually limited by the facilities at the school. Schools without swimming pools, for example, might organize a school bus for all the students to visit a local swimming pool. Interestingly, things like gymnastics and football are not as prevalent. Mostly this is because of lack of facilities.

I’m told that in some senior high schools, students might be given the choice of learning things like yoga, or tai chi, albeit at a beginner level.

7. What are the school hours?

School hours are from 8am to 4:30pm or 5:30pm, depending on the geographical region and season, with about an hour for lunch.

Much like overseas, university life is significantly more independent and hours are based on specific classes. Just like when I went to university in Canada, the university students here will try to stack all classes as close together as possible to get more days off.  

8. What school trips do they go on?

Day trips are organised each year, and are pretty much the same things you might do at your school. Everything from parks, to museums, art galleries and the science centre will usually be organised by the school.

9. How often do they get homework?

Like we’ve talked about before, academic competition in China is high because of the large population. Students will begin getting homework as soon as they begin elementary school at the age of seven. The amount of homework will be about one to two hours a day.

This sounds gruelling for a child to have to do so much homework so early on, and I agree. I will say though that the average parent in mainland China is thoroughly more intimate with their child’s school life than overseas parents. Unlike abroad, parents are expected to take an active role in their children’s homework and supervise their children’s progress. In fact, parents must sign off on a time sheet each day to show that their child has completed the homework!  Can you imagine having your parents supervise your homework every day in primary school? I’m not sure your parents could, either. 🙂

Fortunately for students, university is more lax, and students are given more latitude when it comes to arranging their own study habits.

10. What is the school’s behaviour code? (Eg,Sent out of class,Letter to parents)

From what I can tell, much of it is quite similar to what we have abroad. What can and can’t be done is very common sense, and the types of reprimand a teacher can issue are limited to the same sort of things that you may face in Scotland.

Competition for higher education is fierce, so the onus to perform well academically is the student’s and their parent’s responsibility. This forms a natural conformity because it’s in the child’s best interest to do well in school. Uncooperative students and parents will simply find themselves unable to catch up in the competitive academic environment.

In university there is far less control from the school, and whether a student passes or fails or even shows up to class is at the student’s discretion.

11. How involved do the kids get in the lessons?

There’s a common criticism regarding the education system in China. It’s known as “填鸭式教育” (tián ​yā​ shì​ jiào ​yù​, or  “force-fed education”). It focuses on a top-down approach to teaching, and students learn by rote and repetitive practice. Critics both home and abroad realise the deficiencies of this regimented approach: communication is one-directional and feedback from students is limited. Check out this editorial cartoon from Chinese media that criticises “force-fed education,” the student has no recourse but to accept the information that’s being poured down his throat:

There are practical reasons for this strategy though; it would be unfair to simply conclude that all educators are stuffy conservatives without vision. Although this system neglects creativity and innovation, one must remember that China has a very large population and this top-down approach is still the most effective way to ensure equitable opportunity and set a wider baseline for impoverished regions to follow. Without set teaching guidelines, students from poorer regions would be hard pressed to compete academically with their cosmopolitan counterparts.

This approach also spills over in the workplace with the new graduates that I see. My personal observations in the office is that while local students are well practised at mimicking and reproducing actions once you show them, upwards feedback and innovation are severely lacking.

Thanks for the questions; there’s more to come so stay tuned!

Greetings to all our friends at Our Lady’s High School! Thanks for the art and fashion questions. I’m not an expert by any stretch of the means, but I did get a hold of our in-house art and fashion critics at the newspaper to compile some answers to your following questions. 希望能解答你们的问题!(Hope these answer your questions!)

1.How does Chinese painting differ from European style painting? Liam Gingell S4

One of the common criticisms of Chinese paintings when compared to European paintings is the narrowness of subject matter. Whereas anything can be put on canvas in the West, traditional Chinese paintings invariably are of the landscape or portrait type.

Some have suggested that this narrow choice of subject matter is a direct correlation to China’s deep literary roots. The evolution of traditional painting in China became an artistic link between calligraphy and poetry. Indeed, it’s not uncommon to have poems written alongside simple traditional paintings.

Furthermore, it’s also been noted that concepts of perspective are not as important when compared to European paintings. Chinese paintings are just as detailed, but realism is not the ultimate goal. As European paintings developed comparatively more realistic depictions, traditional Chinese paintings, with their links to calligraphy and poetry, sought a more poetic and inner connection between the artist and their work.

2.Are there any particular fashion trends that people follow in China today? Is a particular style popular? Julie McLaughlin S4

With over 1.3 billion people in China, sometimes it’s hard to keep in mind that about 70% of that population live in rural areas. China is quite vast, and no particular fashion trend can be unanimously seen as the norm.

Even in cosmopolitan cities like Shanghai, I would still say that fashion sense is still not very mature when compared to other developed cities.

I notice that business dress is more laid back in Shanghai. Unless one works as an executive at a large company, in a hotel, or at a bank, wearing a suit every day is not common. Conservative dress shirt and slacks is about as good as it gets for most of the white-collar working class.

Here’s a picture of some of my staff at a co-worker’s wedding reception. Except for the bride and groom, the clothes you see are what they wore to work that day. I’m the short guy, third from the right, by the way 🙂

Compare the dress of my Shanghai colleagues to these two women in Inner Mongolia, also in China:

3.Who is your favourite Chinese artist? Deanna Watt S4

If I had to pick just one, I’d go with Wu Guanzhong (吴冠中). One of the more famous contemporary painters of China. Amongst other things, he was known for his landscape style that mixed Western Impressionism with traditional Chinese painting.

Although formally learning painting at 25, his first solo exhibition was held in 1979, at the age of 60. It was during the 80’s that his career took off and was eventually awarded the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture. Wu died four months ago in Beijing, at the age of 90.

4.What are the differences between Chinese art and Scottish art? Lewis Watt S4

Although we’re not too familiar with Scottish art over here, my colleague’s feeling is that the landscape art of Scotland are painted more realistically than traditional Chinese paintings. Whereas realistic landscapes seek to give the viewer a feeling of vastness and awe, traditional Chinese landscape techniques are more subdued and abstract, instead paying more attention to capturing the essence of the subject.

5.Do many Chinese artists make their paintings symbolic? Nicola Reid S4

Well, it’s a bit subjective, but I suppose all art can be seen as a symbol of something, and probably many, if not all artists would say that their work is symbolic of what they’re trying to express.

But I think I know what you’re asking. The subjects in traditional Chinese painting were invariably either portraits, depictions of everyday life, or landscapes. Abstract Chinese paintings were very rare up until contemporary times, and even then, it’s probably due to ease of knowledge transfer in our technologically advanced world and once traditional styles can now blend and mix with newer ones far easier than before.

6.Who is the best at martial arts in China? Daniel Cheasty S4

Well, I’m from Hong Kong, so my answer will be a bit subjective, but my all-time favourite, without a doubt is Bruce Lee. Not only did he bring martial arts to the limelight in the West with his movies, but he was, in fact, a brilliant fighter.

What I like most about Lee was that he was a deep philosopher and sought to break down traditional dogma to become a better martial artist. “Have no style,” was his mantra, and he blew away then-traditional beliefs that fighting styles should be segregated and combined all the best of each different style to his own.

7.Who is your favourite shoe designer? Patricia Murray S4

Incidentally, Church’s — which is a UK brand. I’m always up and about in my job, so I go through several dress shoes every year because of the wear and tear. I find Church’s the most value for my money because they last longer. Other times it’s just Nike and New Balance.

I have a feeling that’s really not what you were looking for, so I went ahead and asked some of our 20-something female staff here at the office, and what they spend their salaries every month on.

Their mutual consensus on what’s hot in the city right now when it comes to shoes is Jimmy Choo, which, coincidentally, is also a UK-based brand. Interestingly, although Choo is Malaysian, he is of Chinese descent and has a Chinese name: 周仰杰.

Here’s a picture from shanghaiist showing people lining up for the launch of Jimmy Choo for H&M last year:

Thanks for the questions, everybody. Keep ’em coming!

It’s been suggested that I might give you students some beginner Chinese lessons to work with. But since I’m not too sure what level you are all at, I’m going to try to start from the bottom with a little bit of a primer below. As always, please feel to let me know what you think!

Written Chinese is composed of ideograms, like Egyptian hieroglyphs. Every symbol corresponds to a single word. Here are some simple symbols, let’s worry about the pronunciations later:

一 a horizontal line. You guessed it, the number “1”
大 means “big,” or “large.” Does it look like a stick figure person? Picture a person with their arms and legs spread out.
田 means a “field” or “crop.” It sort of looks like a grid, doesn’t it? You can imagine how four squares placed together might symbolise a farmer’s crops.

Although there’s about 50,000+ symbols in the Chinese language, only about 2,000 or so are required to be able to read a newspaper. Don’t worry, many symbols are combinations of simpler symbols. Take for example, this symbol: 天  It’s composed of the symbols we learned above. What does it mean when you write 1 horizontal line above the word for “large”? Any guesses? 天 is the symbol for “sky” or “heaven.” These combinations not only provide a rich tapestry of ancient connotations but also a deeper understanding of Chinese cultural origins. 

Now you know four Chinese symbols already.  🙂

Like English, Chinese is known as an “SVO” (Subject-Verb-Object) language, meaning that word order defines context and sentences are constructed in much the same way as English: The subject does an action; followed by the verb; and then the object is the recipient of the action.

Let’s look at a simple sentence:

我们去世博

The first two characters are the subject; the third character is the verb; and the last two characters are the object.

我们 is pronounced “wǒ men.” (For more information on how to pronounce Chinese words, see here) Depending on which side of the verb it appears, 我 means either “I” or “me,” and the suffix 们 is special character added at the end of a pronoun to signify a plural. Therefore 我们 written together means “we” or “us,” (“we” in this example, since it is the subject).

去 is pronounced “qù.” It’s the verb that means “to go.” 

世博 is “shì bó,” meaning “expo.”

So when we put it all together:

我们去世博
wǒ men qù shì bó
We go (to the) expo.

Notice that the preposition “to” and the definite article “the” are implied. Also note that verbs do not need to be conjugated in Chinese. Past/future tense and active/passive voice are done by adding various suffixes or prefixes. (I have a feeling that’s maybe why Chinese students studying English seem to have problems with conjugation, prepositions, and articles. So I see a lot of “He go washroom” or “She give book” when I teach my Chinese students English).