Tag Archives: China

Findings from research on mobile use amongst marginalised groups in China

I spent five weeks this summer undertaking research in Beijing and Gansu thanks to a UK-China Fellowship for Excellence from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.  The central purpose of my research was to explore the information and communication needs … Continue reading

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Dongsi Jiutiao – hostel and red dining

One of the pleasures of Beijing is the opportunity to explore its numerous hutongs – narrow streets surrounded by low rise courtyard buildings, known as siheyuan.  As most guidebooks say, many of the hutongs have been destroyed to make way for … Continue reading

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Exploring Wuwei

Thanks to the wonderful hospitality of my assistant Chen Fei’s family, we were introduced over the last couple of days to the fascinating diversity of the area in the vicinity of Wuwei, in north-west central Gansu.  The city is situated … Continue reading

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Arrival in Lanzhou

We arrived in Lanzhou  from Beijing last night.  What a difference from my last visit almost exactly six years ago!  The Yellow River remains the same, but the number of high rise buildings and the amount of traffic are vastly … Continue reading

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Top Ten Tips for International Visitors to the Peking University (北京大學) campus

When I was planning on visiting Peking University (also know as Beida, an abbreviation for Beijing Daxue the pinyin for Peking University 北京大學) I searched on the Internet for advice and guidance – and found really rather little of help. … Continue reading

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Student Spring Trip to the Miyun area

Last weekend (23rd-24th April), I was invited to join students from the Graduate School of Education at Peking University on their spring trip to the area around Miyun, about 100 kilometres to the north-east of Beijing.  It was an amazing … Continue reading

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First impressions of Shenzhen

I flew down from Beijing to Shenzhen today for a 48 hour visit to meet with colleagues at the University.  This evening my good friend Man Xu kindly took me for an exploration of this extraordinary city.  Until 1979 when … Continue reading

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香山公园 A day in the Fragrant Hills

I had to take a break from working and see something of China before I leave in ten days time – and so we headed to the Fragrant Hills to the north-west of Beijing today.  We caught the 696 bus … Continue reading

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圆明园 Yuanmingyuan Old Summer Palace Ruins

After a hectic week at the excellent Association of Commonwealth Universities’ Executive Heads conference in Hong Kong, where I fear that my views on the future of higher education might have been a little too provocative, we arrived back in … Continue reading

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颐和园 – Spring at the Summer Palace, Beijing

After the rain on Friday night, the warm sun came out again on Saturday, and we left the PKU campus for a few hours to wander around the monuments and gardens of the Summer Palace.  Just a few stops on … Continue reading

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