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Expat hero

Many expats come to China to try and take advantage of the comparatively cheaper lifestyle, but English teacher David Ding, who has been in China since 1994, took a path less traveled.

When he learned his local co-workers were earning much less than he was he demanded a salary reduction and struggled "to convince mystified administrators".

He says the secret to being content is his commitment to minimalism and duty.

Ding who lives with his wife in Lanzhou, Gansu province says they spend just 400 yuan a month.

Ding is one of China Expat's heroes of 2008.

To see other candidates visit Chinaexpat.com

Angry expat syndrome

Steven Weathers, an expat who has been visiting and living in China for a decade, says that even after spending years in the country he sometimes finds himself falling victim to "angry expat" syndrome. "I have had plenty of moments where I crossed the line," he says. "I fought with a woman in the Great Wall Tea Room at Badaling who tried to charge my mother 150 yuan for a small cup of instant jasmine tea."

The war of words quickly turned physical, leaving Weathers' visiting parents dumbfounded with what they were witnessing.

"I remember the woman physically hitting me. In the end, I won and we only paid 15 yuan and the woman laughed at us as we left."

For more of Weathers' musings visit http://www.youtube.com/sdweathers.

Art of Stone

Controversial filmmaker Oliver Stone says he is selling his Chinese art collection because he wants to leave art collecting to the professionals. "You need to keep light on your feet and keep moving," said the director of the anti-George W. Bush biographical film W. He added the pieces he bought in the 1990s have a "great revolutionary feel," but he just buys what he likes and is not a collector.

China on the up

Beijing and Shanghai are not the only Chinese cities for expats.

Despite the global downturn and rising inflation in China, 15 Chinese cities were named in the top 100 driving global growth, a Master Card survey has revealed. First tier cities, Shanghai and Beijing ranked one and two but Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xiamen were sixth, 10th and 16th.

Beijing's the tops

In the same survey, Beijing for the first time became more expensive than Hong Kong for expats as inflation and yuan appreciation has pushed up living costs.

Beijing is now the 31st most expensive city in the world to live compared to 101st a year ago.

Hong Kong is now the 97th most expensive spot for foreigners. Shanghai is now the 35th most expensive city globally for expats compared to 106th last year.

(China Daily 12/15/2008 page10)