Category Archives: Zhengzhou

Bye-bye China

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Thor

Farewell speech – Zhengzhou, China – December 2010 – Thor May Forty years ago I was working in a large government office in Sydney. There were many desks in the room, and my desk was the least important. At the … Continue reading →

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The Big Parade At Dragon Lake

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Thor

The deal was 8am. I’m a just-in-time guy, but here she was knocking on the door at 7:15. Jeez. Can I offer you some breakfast? We sat looking at each other across a big wooden coffee table, the golden drapes … Continue reading →

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The Cigarette

Posted on January 1, 2009 by Thor

Winter morning light had broken clear and cold, so early that night’s shadows were still about and a wispy moon hung in the sky. A small collection of street food vendors had already parked their hand carts by the college … Continue reading →

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Choose Your Game

Posted on July 23, 2008 by Thor

On the wrong side of the railway tracks in Zhengzhou city, central China, you can find some ugly old concrete classrooms built around a small paved sports ground. It is a railway technical college to train nurses and logistics students, … Continue reading →

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The Earthquake

Posted on May 14, 2008 by Thor

The earthquake: I was running back to my apartment from the classroom for something, and didn’t feel a thing. The other foreign teacher here staggered out of her apartment and said she thought she was dying. I told her to … Continue reading →

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A Child Goes Missing

Posted on March 29, 2008 by Thor

Each evening I walk for an hour or two, and sometimes one of the students tags along. This is wonderful, since she can bring meaning to the blur of Chinese street life around us. Yesterday, she pointed out a tragedy … Continue reading →

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Post Office Blues

Posted on February 20, 2008 by Thor

The Chinese Post Office continues to excel. We’ve had scraps before. This was the outfit that wouldn’t let me send Christmas cards in different sized envelopes, or send copies of my thesis to an Australian university in any box but … Continue reading →

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Chasing Out The Devils

Posted on February 8, 2008 by Thor

Zhengzhou has been under heavy attack for several days, apparently to chase out accumulated devils. These aren’t minor explosions, though I have been dodging small boys for a couple of weeks. The streets are cleared of the usual surging crowds … Continue reading →

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A Christmas Story

Posted on December 30, 2007 by Thor

This city of Zhengzhou is showing me new faces at every turn. There are vast prestige complexes and broad tree lined avenues alongside scenes that come straight from Hogarth’s England. As the seasons change you can move from balmy autumn … Continue reading →

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Well, hello again

Posted on December 25, 2007 by Thor

Thor’s China Diary began in 1998, from Wuhan where I taught in a couple of universities. The air was different then in more ways than one. They gave me a little green book listing all the things that foreigners were … Continue reading →

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