Best of the Blog: November/December 2018 Edition
Every issue we tally the hits from theBeijinger.com and bring you the most-viewed blogs from our website. Read on to see which blogs grabbed your attention over the past couple of months.
1. How to Register Your E-Bike
Beijing authorities continue their crackdown on e-bikes, requiring driving permits and license plates as of Nov 1. Drivers of e-bikes found without license plates will have their vehicles impounded and be fined RMB 20, and anyone who purchases an e-bike after Nov 1 must apply for a driving permit within 15 days. Fortunately, our step-by-step guide makes doing so easy.
2. Wudaoying Hutong Institutions Stuff’d and Arrow Factory Taproom Closed
We’re no longer strangers to news of our favorite venues closing, but some still sting. Like when Wudaoying’s haven for homemade sausages and craft beer finally caved to the pressure of Beijing’s bricking campaign in mid-October. Luckily, the restaurant’s Liangmahe location is going as strong as ever.
3. Dear Singles’ Day, Enough Already
The lead up to Singles’ Day is a time tinged with both excitement and anxiety. Like Christmas, Black Friday, and your parents’ birthdays all rolled into one, the pressure to buy crap on 11.11 can be overbearing. This guest post from Shanghai-based Green Initiative eloquently laid out why the biggest shopping day on the planet is a danger to our wallets, our health, and the environment.
4. Three Simple Steps to Calculate Your New Salary Income Tax in China
The limit on non-taxable income for foreigners has gone up from RMB 4,800 to RMB 5,000. A small increase perhaps, but it doesn’t hurt to know exactly how this new policy will affect your salary, which is why we made this guide to calculating what you now stand to lose on your paycheck each month.
5. Expat Supermarket Institution Jenny Lou’s Celebrates 25 Years in the Biz
Everyone’s favorite market for cheese, booze, and any number of other foreign products turned 25 in November, a commendable feat given the mercurial and picky nature of us waiguoren when it comes to the comforts of home. To celebrate, they’ve launched their new café and dining concept Jenny Lou’s Green, in a store near you soon.
6. Much of Forbidden City Perimeter Wall Now Open to Visitors for First Time
Visitors who want to escape the red-hatted ground troops at the Forbidden City will be happy to hear that they can now take refuge up above, on the sprawling tourist site’s outer wall, three-quarters of which is now open to the public. The move is part of an ongoing push by the Palace Museum to open unseen sections of the ancient walled city, as well as to reduce overcrowding.
7. Gung Ho Race to the Finish to Become First Ever Three-Time Pizza Cup Champions
A strategic and prolonged voting campaign, a strong presence at the Pizza Fest, and of course some damn fine pizza saw New Zealand pizzeria Gung Ho rocket to the top of this year’s Pizza Cup, winning it for the third time ever. Their environmentally conscious approach to dining helps the win taste that much sweeter.
8. Turning Culture Shock Into Culture Awe in Beijing
This popular post from our sister publication beijingkids posed the question, what if we could redefine the grand upheaval that underlies culture shock, defined as “a feeling of anxiety, loneliness, and confusion that people sometimes experience when they first arrive in another country,” as “culture awe” instead. Doing so may therefore help, not hinder, us to accept the transformational power that moving to a new place can bring.
You can read more stories like these and all of our Blog content simply by clicking here.
Photos: Pexels, Uni You, Will Yorke, Business Insider, Avaz, Adobe Creative Cloud, courtesy of Jenny Lou’s, Shanghai Eye