Another great read - came for the history of science and technology of Ancient China, stayed for the modern history of English language reading material in Shenzhen!
This one certainly made me smile. I recall well the excited feeling of walking into the Eslite bookshop in Suzhou when Eslite opened there - so many books! You found yourself a treasure! And Starbank. Gotta love it. Reminds me of the time when someone decided to build a fake Starbucks next to my place of work in Suzhou. they put the U upside down but everything else was a replica - we dubbed it Starbunks. Unfortunately for whomever built it, it was at the time when intellectual property rights were beginning to be a bit more of a thing in China, and StarbuNks never opened.
I've been very fortunate in China. in my last job I travelled, and of course at the destination locals treated me to the local sites. I was very very lucky. Hope to return to Suzhou shortly, miss it like crazy. I hear there is a new tall building, opposite the lake from the trouser building, and taller than i!!
A great coffee shop + a very interesting looking book makes for a very good afternoon. I travelled into China around a decade ago and have many wonderful memories. I was obsessed with the place gur a few years. I struggled to find English books too. I filled up my Kindle before departing and also picked up some paper copies in HK when I was resetting my visa. Although I didn't come across the book you have. As an engineer I would have very much enjoyed it. Sadly most English language books at the time were not always filled with the more positive aspects of the countries deep history, which was very frustrating. I remember coming across the Quanzhou Maritime Museum, which had English text and was amazed by the history of innovation. I plan to visit again in the future. Still so much to see and learn!
Update: I read your medium article and it's very interesting! Lots of engineering wonders over there. Stumbling across these things is my kind of travel. I plan to write about the Chinese grand canal and compare that to the canals in my own country of England that were built during the industrial revolution. Keep sharing!
Thanks for the link. I will investigate shortly. I have been to China a couple of times. The last was 10 years ago and I cycled on my own from Kashgar to Chengdu. I then spent much time in west Sichuan and stayed at larung gar monastery over winter. I wrote a lot at the time but haven't shared any as yet.
First, I am beyond impressed and in awe of cycling from Kashgar to Chengdu, really, cycling from any point A to B in China. Wow. My flying about and relatively comfortable sightseeing is so tame by comparison. 😂🙏
I think all travel throughout China can be at times challenging. After my first trip using public transportation, I become frustrated as I felt I was missing a great deal and I wanted to see the wild places. My solution was to return with my bike and focus on the western areas where there were fewer roads and navigation was simpler. Although there are other challenges; sand storms in the Taklamakan desert and angry Tibetan mastiffs. I would later combine the 2 modes and transport my bike on several trains and then have the solve the puzzle of endlessly finding my bike. Looking for my bike in Shenzen with a limited amount of time before flying from HK was about the most stressful experience of my life. With several train stations to locate and check, I eventually found my bike. I now have it here with me in Canada. If you are going to take a bike travelling, make sure you keep it with you and ride it!
Nothing would make me happier than reading your experiences in the setting that inspired you 🙏 The Reading Date idea came from a good friend on Medium. She is here but not posting/reading yet.
reading date is a great idea. my wife, previously not an avid reader, has taken up reading as of late. would be a nice excuse to sit around a coffee shop!
This article is great. I was fascinated in learning that the Starbucks mentioned in this article is legally required to preserve the 100+ year old teller counters.
Looks like we crossed paths in Tianjin. I was there 2013-14, studying at Nankai University. I used to walk past that building every day during my second year, but I don’t think I ever considered its past with all the hustle and bustle of Binjiangdao around me!
no where else in china or indeed the world have i had taxi drivers return something - including phones - i had inadvertently left in the cab. Every single time. They'd come back to where they'd dropped me off - work or home - to return the forgotten item i'd left behind.
There are many symbols on it, I didn’t look closely, but this is the center of what must be one of the oldest and best known shopping streets in Tianjin. The old mall was really well known. 🙏
Another great read - came for the history of science and technology of Ancient China, stayed for the modern history of English language reading material in Shenzhen!
There is such a lack of knowledgeable books on China in English 😕🙂
Too true. I might start a thread here on notes to post about some of the ones in my collection.
Interesting!
This one certainly made me smile. I recall well the excited feeling of walking into the Eslite bookshop in Suzhou when Eslite opened there - so many books! You found yourself a treasure! And Starbank. Gotta love it. Reminds me of the time when someone decided to build a fake Starbucks next to my place of work in Suzhou. they put the U upside down but everything else was a replica - we dubbed it Starbunks. Unfortunately for whomever built it, it was at the time when intellectual property rights were beginning to be a bit more of a thing in China, and StarbuNks never opened.
Debbie, you’ve been everywhere!! 😄 Eslite in Suzhou is great, I last visited in 2023.
I've been very fortunate in China. in my last job I travelled, and of course at the destination locals treated me to the local sites. I was very very lucky. Hope to return to Suzhou shortly, miss it like crazy. I hear there is a new tall building, opposite the lake from the trouser building, and taller than i!!
I will do some reading tomorrow looking for your adventures! 🙏
Id better write some more!
A great coffee shop + a very interesting looking book makes for a very good afternoon. I travelled into China around a decade ago and have many wonderful memories. I was obsessed with the place gur a few years. I struggled to find English books too. I filled up my Kindle before departing and also picked up some paper copies in HK when I was resetting my visa. Although I didn't come across the book you have. As an engineer I would have very much enjoyed it. Sadly most English language books at the time were not always filled with the more positive aspects of the countries deep history, which was very frustrating. I remember coming across the Quanzhou Maritime Museum, which had English text and was amazed by the history of innovation. I plan to visit again in the future. Still so much to see and learn!
I’d like to hear some of your memories, ten years ago was a very interesting time, a peak of productivity and excess. As a fellow engineer, I think you will appreciate this one, if you don’t mind trying this Friend Link (no paywall) from my medium account. https://medium.com/@pdotta1/travelogue-dujiangyan-irrigation-4aea64a559f3?sk=88b3cf9cf3ff03ea4c0fedb2f8641415
Update: I read your medium article and it's very interesting! Lots of engineering wonders over there. Stumbling across these things is my kind of travel. I plan to write about the Chinese grand canal and compare that to the canals in my own country of England that were built during the industrial revolution. Keep sharing!
I'll be here for that! Modern China owes its existence to that guy, an engineer.
Thanks for the link. I will investigate shortly. I have been to China a couple of times. The last was 10 years ago and I cycled on my own from Kashgar to Chengdu. I then spent much time in west Sichuan and stayed at larung gar monastery over winter. I wrote a lot at the time but haven't shared any as yet.
First, I am beyond impressed and in awe of cycling from Kashgar to Chengdu, really, cycling from any point A to B in China. Wow. My flying about and relatively comfortable sightseeing is so tame by comparison. 😂🙏
I think all travel throughout China can be at times challenging. After my first trip using public transportation, I become frustrated as I felt I was missing a great deal and I wanted to see the wild places. My solution was to return with my bike and focus on the western areas where there were fewer roads and navigation was simpler. Although there are other challenges; sand storms in the Taklamakan desert and angry Tibetan mastiffs. I would later combine the 2 modes and transport my bike on several trains and then have the solve the puzzle of endlessly finding my bike. Looking for my bike in Shenzen with a limited amount of time before flying from HK was about the most stressful experience of my life. With several train stations to locate and check, I eventually found my bike. I now have it here with me in Canada. If you are going to take a bike travelling, make sure you keep it with you and ride it!
what a lovely read. maybe i’ll make some narrative pieces about my experiences as well. feeling inspired!
Nothing would make me happier than reading your experiences in the setting that inspired you 🙏 The Reading Date idea came from a good friend on Medium. She is here but not posting/reading yet.
reading date is a great idea. my wife, previously not an avid reader, has taken up reading as of late. would be a nice excuse to sit around a coffee shop!
It has become something we do together and make a part of every trip. I’ve never thought of a Solo Date, now I have that idea in mind…
That's the most interesting and historic place for a Starbucks that I've ever seen. So cool.
Thank you, Emaline, as far as I know this is the only one in a historic site. Could be in other countries?
Hmmm., not sure. I’ve never seen one in a historic site before Paul.
Here it is quite common to find Starbucks locations *around* historic sites and streets, but this is the first I can think of IN one.
This article is great. I was fascinated in learning that the Starbucks mentioned in this article is legally required to preserve the 100+ year old teller counters.
Thank you so much, Jacob! 🙏This is the only Starbucks I’m aware of that has this feature.
Looks like we crossed paths in Tianjin. I was there 2013-14, studying at Nankai University. I used to walk past that building every day during my second year, but I don’t think I ever considered its past with all the hustle and bustle of Binjiangdao around me!
I was running around Tianjin opening furniture stores about that time 😂 My wife is also a Tianjin native.
my abiding memories of Tianjin is that Tianjin people are extraordinarily honest and helpful!
I believe that is true! I just returned from Tianjin tonight 🙂 and am working on a series of Tianjin articles. 🙏
no where else in china or indeed the world have i had taxi drivers return something - including phones - i had inadvertently left in the cab. Every single time. They'd come back to where they'd dropped me off - work or home - to return the forgotten item i'd left behind.
That’s Tianjin 🤭 My wife is from there, that’s where we met. Tianjin has its rough and warm sides, we love it but cannot stay. 🙏
Huh! When i was there people used to say, "great city to live in, you wouldn't want to visit there". :)
Thank you, my friend. Did you get to Tianjin during your early years?
There are many symbols on it, I didn’t look closely, but this is the center of what must be one of the oldest and best known shopping streets in Tianjin. The old mall was really well known. 🙏
When we go back maybe we’ll be lucky enough to get another look.😊🙏
Yes, google is always disappointing me on China ☹️ that great firewall stops things going out too.