After nearly a decade as the go-to, late-night hangout for musicians, artists and travelers alike, Chengdu’s beloved bar and venue Steam Hostel has closed its doors for the last time. Another one bites the dust — Steam is the latest casualty to fall to the pressure of prolonged business closures and wilting tourism, just weeksContinueContinue reading “Farewell, Steam Hostel”
Category Archives: Travel
Xiamen Sunset Sessions
Xiamen 厦门 is the coastal sister city of Te Whanganui-A-Tara, Aotearoa. Following our first foray to the coast in 2015, Kiwese returned this month with Womb and Strange Stains to hang with local indie huns Cheesemind! Chris: “Omg, this is like, so L.A.” Everyone: “Yeah, this is sooo L.A.” NB: *everyone lives in Wellington /ContinueContinue reading “Xiamen Sunset Sessions”
Ten Years of China: Interview with Daniel Beban
Dan Beban a.k.a. Baba Rossa is the wearer of many hats (both costume and otherwise), a prolific Wellington-based artist, organiser, documentarian, DIY master… To add to that, he’s just curated his first exhibition The Middle Kingdom: Made in China 2002 – 2017 at Audio Foundation in Auckland. Kiwese zoned in to find out more. I’d just returnedContinueContinue reading “Ten Years of China: Interview with Daniel Beban”
The Biggest Losar: Solo Travels to Larung Gar
It was a fairly sudden decision to travel to Larung Gar Buddhist Academy in Garze, Western Sichuan, for Chinese New Year, informed by the news there would be no tutoring for a week. “What are you planning for Spring Festival?” I asked on a Tuesday over dinner at my student’s house. “Actually, we’re going to Lhasa.” ChopsticksContinueContinue reading “The Biggest Losar: Solo Travels to Larung Gar”
Chinese New Year (Chunjyeah!)
Ayi Wan Lin phoned on the weekend. Forgot to reply to that text, flicked it away for later consideration while the eternal online shopping hole of Taobao was draining my essence. Chunjie seems to creep in just as you’ve been blobbing into the festive glow of Christmas, New Year’s and a self-administered hangover period. It’s chill. Then you realise that laowai holidays didn’tContinueContinue reading “Chinese New Year (Chunjyeah!)”
Hanzu in a Headscarf: Travels in Xinjiang
Xinjiang شىنجاڭ 新疆 is a mountainous, oil-rich region that forms the bulbous bump of northwest China. Bordering Tibet to the south, Mongolia to the east, Russia to the north, with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India to the west, Xinjiang (lit. new frontier) has long been a vital trading hub and cultural melting pot at the heart of the Central Asian Silk Road. BuddhismContinueContinue reading “Hanzu in a Headscarf: Travels in Xinjiang”
Why Robin Hyde is My Homegirl
Robin Hyde, born Iris Guiver Wilkinson, was a New Zealand journalist, poet and novelist who raised her middle finger at the expectations of housewifery in post-WWI society by travelling solo to the frontline in China during the war with Japan in 1938. The resulting work was Dragon Rampant. “I haven’t attempted anything so presumptuous as a book about China– only aContinueContinue reading “Why Robin Hyde is My Homegirl”
A Wellingtonian in Xiamen
Did you know Wellington has a sister city in China? Her name is Xiamen 厦门. She is an island city of 3.5 million people on the south Fujian coast, and she is lovely. Kiwese went to Xiamen for a few days and spoke to various people who have made the city their home. Nestled down on the south-east coastContinueContinue reading “A Wellingtonian in Xiamen”
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