China

Is All Social Media Blocked in China?

Access Facebook in China

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Officially, you can’t access your Facebook or Twitter accounts, YouTube or most free blogging platforms from within China, but there are ways to work around this annoyance.

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Shanghai’s Sort-of-Hidden Treasures

Shanghai Travel Photos

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While the rest of your traveling brethren make a beeline to the Huangpu River to check out the skyscrapers of Pudong, enjoy the more understated wonders I discovered during my eight months living in Shanghai.

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China Travel Photos: Behind the Wall

Photos of Travel in China

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Over the course of the eight months I spent in China, I curated my own personal experiences and observations, rather than preconceived notions or media propaganda, to assemble what I consider to be an accurate picture of life behind the Great Wall.

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EF China: A Serious Warning

English First China warning

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Although EF China is far from the worst place I’ve ever worked, little about the company — save for the clean, modern Swedish design sensibilities of its centers — separates it from any of its multinational competitors.

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Getting a China Visa in Hong Kong

Get a China Visa in Hong Kong

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If you’re living and working in China but aren’t ready to leave for good, make a “visa run” to nearby Hong Kong to procure a new tourist visa.

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Celebrating Beijing’s Grittiness

Photo of Beijing, China

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Beyong its gritty and sometimes even ugly veneer, Beijing is a vital, eclectic city with a charm unlike any other in the world.

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Serendipity on the Open Road

Butterfly Landing on Dog in Laos

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There is magic in the world — you just have to be willing to see it. (Even if it comes in the form of a bird shitting on you.)

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Bad Habits to Avoid While Teaching Abroad

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Among the questions people ask me about teaching English overseas, the one that most frequently pops up has been, at once, the easiest and the most difficult to answer: “Should I do it?”

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Created by Robert Schrader