Dinner as usual, but cigarettes not on the menu

We had just feasted on a sumptuous seven-course Cantonese dinner and I was about to enjoy my usual dessert - a soothing cigarette - when all hell broke loose. "Do you mind Patrick?" my Chinese friends shouted. I was stunned. They were Beijingers, we were in a Beijing restaurant and they were protesting against me lighting up. This had never happened before and suggested to me that China is changing.

Reviews

Films

In good hands

With small moves of his fingers, palms and wrist, Chen Jintang of East China's Fujian Province makes a glove puppet on his hand spring to life, cough like an old man, or giggle like an innocent child.

Pints, body language and other ways to bridge a culture gap

One word I learned before going abroad was "multicultural". It's arguably the single most popular word to pop up in an IELTS (an English proficiency test for overseas-bound Chinese) essay question, and I got it down. I was able to dissect multiculturalism with reference to diversity, universality and assimilation, even in my sleep.

Reviews

FILMS

Life Pulse

Life Pulse

Reviews

Films

Left speechless by Chinese youth

China's youth was speaking loud and clear at the telephone interview round of the "21st Century Scholastic Cup" speech contest, which I recently helped judge. They were saying, we are young and speak English better than you will ever speak Chinese.

The pros of poetry

He's notorious for writing off China's contemporary novelists, but few people know German Sinologist Dr Wolfgang Kubin has wonderful words for some of the period's poets.

Sports

Strachan is unimpressed but relieved to be through

MILAN: Celtic manager Gordon Strachan insisted it was the overall result and not the performance that mattered after Celtic sneaked into the Champions League knock-out stages despite a 1-0 loss at the hands of reigning titleholders AC Milan.