Hao Hao ReportThe best China news and blog posts

During my first month in Fuqing, a Chinese colleague had given me a handwriting textbook written for Chinese kindergartners, and a grid-lined notepad, specifically designed for writing characters. At the time, I was diligent in my Chinese studies, but had decided to focus my studying around pinyin (Chinese Romanization) rather than learning to write the characters.

Hi, I'm Michael J Fox! But enough about me - let's look at some of the outrageous things Chinese people have been saying this week. And remember: all letters are 100% genuine, or I'm a Canadian Emmy-winning actor who was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease

don't know everything about everything...but I do know some things about some things.

I spent many years living in Asia. I'd like to share an insight here and ask for your feedback/contribution.

I remember a ...

A funny entry from Violet Eclipse that draws attention to the fact that when speaking Chinese or doing your best to, context is super important.

The thing is, everything in China relies on context. It's kind of like when you meet your boyfriend's friends and they're all "Remember that time? Hahahaha!" while you're all "Hi, I'm Meg". They use these half sentences and references to other things, and even an awesome girlfriend just can't keep up."

Stig in Shanghai created a nifty Chinese character game for learning some of those hard-to-remember characters.

It's levelled so you start out easy and build up after a while. It even supports some cell phones, so you can kill time as you travel in train or bus.

A summary of the recent New York Times report about how some uncertified, unregulated chemical companies in China are actively pushing pharmaceutical ingredients onto the world drug market.

If you're studying Chinese or translating between English and Chinese then software can make your life a whole lot easier. The article includes a summary of applications for studying and translating Chinese, including links and small screenshots.

Matt debunks the myth that Chinese characters keep China's literacy rate down.

For those who want to learn Chinese, what's the best method to memorize Chinese characters?