Xiaoning's Culture Blog

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Shop with me in Beijing!

My first surprise when I arrived in Beijing for a weeklong shopping trip in April was the massive new Beijing Airport Terminal 3. I’ve traveled around the world and seen many big airports, but I really have not seen any single terminal as big as this one. I was also impressed with the combination of Western contemporary architecture (glass and columns) with traditional Chinese elements (a red roof and golden colors). This New York Times article explains just how I felt about this architectural wonder.

I usually don’t like to go to Beijing in April because it is a very windy season (we don’t call it “wind,” we call it “blowing sand”) and it is cold at home (all heat is automatically turned off March 15th every year in the whole city, except for hotels). But surprisingly this year, it didn’t “blow sand” and was very warm. I could go out every day, come home clean, and stay warm!

My shopping trips in Beijing are always hectic and productive, but my assistants there find them stressful and unbearable because I shop from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. After that, I either go to the book stores to look for new books until 9 p.m. or meet my family members and friends until 11 p.m. Then I start working with my ChinaSprout colleagues in New York until 1 or 2 a.m. So for sure, these shopping trips can be stressful for me too.

Since I was a little too productive while shopping, I didn’t get a chance to take photos in all the markets I visited, but at least I did remember in some places. Here are some I want to share with you:

1. Tea Market

All the tea we sell at ChinaSprout is from this vendor in Beijing’s enormous tea market. The first time I went there, I couldn’t decide which one to buy from because there are hundreds, if not thousands, of vendors selling tea. Each of them asked me to try their tea. Finally I sat down in this little tea house and started chatting with this lady and her husband. Not only did they have good tea, they are very nice people. I felt I could trust them! So since then, I only buy tea from them. Hope you enjoy their tea too.

In the tea market, I also saw this little girl on the trolley drawing and writing Chinese characters. I asked her which grade she is in. She said she is not in school yet, but she just loves to practice writing! I wish my son did the same!  

 

2. Fabric Market

Have you noticed most of our children’s clothes are designed by ChinaSprout? How? Let me show you! First, I visit the market to select the fabrics.  

 

Then I meet with our tailor, and together

Read more...

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

How did I start ChinaSprout?

You might be surprised at how little I learned about traditional Chinese culture while growing up in Beijing. I grew up during the Cultural Revolution in a not-tradition-focused family in Beijing. We didn’t celebrate many traditional festivals except for Chinese New Year and Moon Festival. I was not forced to memorize Tang poems or the time line of Chinese ancient history. I never used Nin (您) (you) to talk to my parents as most Beijing residents do. But after leaving China more than 20 years ago, I became fascinated with Chinese culture and love to share it with Westerners.

I founded ChinaSprout in June 1999. The idea for my company came from experiences I had during outings with my son, Simon, around Park Slope in Brooklyn, where I met many American families who have adopted children from China. I often found myself approached by these families wishing to know more about Chinese culture. I was impressed and moved by their enthusiasm and really wanted to help. I realized that most of these families had one thing in common: an incredibly strong desire to carry on their children’s cultural heritage. Although many of them didn’t have access to authentic Chinese or educational products, most of them spent time online looking for these things During that time, I became very interested in the Internet and e-commerce while studying for my MBA at Baruch College. I realized that I had found a niche market that had not been penetrated online. The logical next step was to create an online store to reach these families and to help them learn the Chinese language and culture. Thus, ChinaSprout was born.

While I am proud of what I’ve achieved, I also appreciate all the support and feedback from our customers, the hard work of my colleagues, and understanding and support of my family! So please let me know how we can improve our product line and services to make ChinaSprout an even better destination for you to learn about China, Chinese culture and Chinese language.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Introduction of ChinaSprout’s Blogs

I’ve been thinking about writing a blog for a long time, and finally now I have the chance to do it with our new website. In this blog, I’ll focus on Chinese culture, Chinese language education, and education in general. I believe these topics are of high interest to our audience and customers. I’ll also talk about how I started ChinaSprout, my life in China (more than 20 years ago), and childrens’ lives in contemporary China, since so many people ask me about that. I may also write about my buying trips in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, as well as trade shows I attend across the country. I will also share my experiences with Chinese language education – a topic I deeply care about and am actively involved with as a mother, Chinese woman, and vendor.

I’ll also invite my editors, colleagues, and experts in various fields to write about related topics. We plan to include book reviews (not only the books we carry), author interviews, home-schooling, Chinese language, Chinese arts, and more. We will announce these blogs as soon as they are available on our new site.

Our blogs will also link the news and information about China, Chinese culture and Chinese language education. We’ll allow readers to post comments and will post them after reviews. I do hope readers will share their information, experiences, and expertise about China and especially Chinese language education.

If you have suggestions, please let me know!

Xiaoning