Yes, we invented hipsters too

Now we know where those trendy people in Hoxton and Manhattan get their fashion ideas from. Trust me, next year's must have accessory will be a red-blue-white plastic sack.

Link: Accidental Chinese Hipsters

Is this a sad sight?

Walk to the centre of London's historic Chinatown and what will you find? Perhaps a museum charting the history of Chinese immigrants in the UK? A cultural centre celebrating the richness and diversity of Chinese art and society? Well, not quite. How about a giant betting shop?




To be fair you will also find many great restaurants, community centres and lots of Chinese-run businesses and services. I just find it a little sad that this is what occupies such a prominent position in Chinatown (and the fact it wouldn't be there if there wasn't a demand for it).

Gung Hei Fat Choi!

Gung Hei Fat Choi! Wishing peace and prosperity to all bbc blog readers! Let's welcome in the Year of the Rabbit!

Photoset: The Guardian

Side by Side

Being a BBC is a bit like inhabiting two worlds: The Western, British world and the Chinese world. This can be taken literally if you have spent a lot of time in both the UK and Hong Kong. So I wondered if it would be interesting to pair up some familiar, everyday things from both worlds and show them side by side - a sort of pictorial description of the world through BBC eyes.

This isn't meant to show that one side is better than the other or anything; It's just to try and show the 'two worlds' that we become familiar with as BBCs.

What do you think of the pairings? Accurate or off the mark?

(If it isn't obvious, the left side is always UK and the right side HK)











More later... :-)

Photo credits: Priceinspector.co.uk, dlade, rfeldman11, thesocialistway, dailymail, hongkonghustle.com, kellynwrites.com, paperin.org, uk.gamespot.com, webs-of-significance, absolutginger, coinnetwork.ning.com, travlang.com

Have you spotted any 'Frozen in Time' places?

A request to bbc blog readers: Have you noticed any 'Frozen in Time' Chinese restaurants or takeaways where you are? If so, please take a pic and send it in! I'd love to add to the ones already posted.

'Frozen in Time' is a bbc blog celebration of Chinese establishments that have stood the test of time and kept their original look in an age of constant revamping and updating.

Click here to see what I mean.

Profile of a Walled City

Imagine a city with 30 times the population density of Manhattan. Imagine it was a lawless den of vice in which drugs, prostitutes and illegal gambling were all available. Imagine it sat directly under the landing path of one of the world's busiest airports.

That's Kowloon's walled city, as profiled by a number of websites listed over at oobject.com

...with no streets and little daylight, it was a rat infested, cockroach ridden filthy labyrinth. KWC was a no-man’s land that fell neither under British Jurisdiction nor Chinese

It had 161 unregulated doctors and dentists along with food producers from whole pig roasters to the suppliers of most of Hong Kong’s fish balls. Most of the people that lived in KWC never left.

Via: oobject

See you in 2010!

Photo: flowergem

Photo: luuluu

Photo: gp3301

Wishing all bbc blog readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Keep your emails and comments coming and I'll see you in 2010 for more bbc-related blogging!

Random Photo of the Day (or so): Mong Kok Corner

Photo: RMJimenez

Random Photo of the Day (or so) - Typhoon Koppu

A very atmospheric shot taken by Mochachocolata-Rita of Typhoon Koppu about to hit HK.

The Signal 8 storm (10 is a hurricane) damaged some buildings and cars.

Related: BBC footage

Eat your heart out, Las Vegas

China gets in on the outrageously themed architecture game with this, erm, interesting novelty hotel.

via Gizmodo

Related: Chinese folk religion

'No Farmers Allowed'

Truly a sign of the times from modern China (Changchun). Well, it's either farmers or workman's attire they don't like.

They have a point, though: Every farmer I know is always wanting to pop into the local Emporio Armani!

via Danwei

Frozen in Time (#4)

I found this one on Flickr. I love the wild, clashing colour scheme and the old fashioned typefaces used in the sign.

Not only does the shopfront look untouched in decades, it also seems to have been very well maintained. A sign of a careful and devoted business owner. Note the selection of carefully tended potted plants in the window too.

The classic touch is of course the net curtains, which discreetly shield Sun Hong's customers from the prying eyes of passers by. Truly Frozen in Time.

'Frozen in Time' is a bbc blog celebration of Chinese establishments that have stood the test of time and kept their original look in an age of constant revamping and updating. If you see any other 'frozen in time' Chinese establishments, drop me a line!

The bbc blog diet: Cha Cha Moon

Don't believe the (bad) hype. Cha Cha Moon is actually quite good.

When this Alan Yau 'casual dining' restaurant opened, there was a special offer of any dish for £3.50 which is no longer available but it's still worth paying a visit. My duck noodle soup with plump goji beans was very nice and the Hong Kong style milk tea was fine although it didn't seem as strong as the real thing. They even do warm Vitasoy in bottles just like in HK.

Could this be further evidence that Western food critics don't really know how to assess Chinese or Asian restaurants?

Related: Cha Cha Moon, Alan Yau's new restaurant getting mixed reviews
Link: ThisisLondon review
Link: London Eating reviews

OMG Miley Cyrus and friends in Asian Racism 'Scandal'!

Caption, anyone?

Some of you probably saw the headline and are thinking, 'Who?' and some of you are probably thinking 'Who cares?'

The young star's actions were strongly criticised by the Organization of Chinese Americans and the photo may upset the clean-cut celebrity's Asian fanbase.

As for me, I'm going to reserve judgment and say it depends on the context of the photo.

There is an Asian guy posing with them and whilst that doesn't automatically prove the people aren't being racist it does make it highly plausible that this was an intentional joke between friends. I think it's an open verdict.

Article: 'Miley has insulted her Asian fans'
Related: Worst Olympics ad ever?

Happy New Year from the bbc Blog!

Photo: Flickr: Expatriate Games

I'd like to wish all readers peace and prosperity for the Year of the Ox.

Gung hei fat choi!

Why do we make V signs in photographs?

Photo: tutyluv

Don't say "Cheese", make a V!

Ever wondered it is popular for Asian people to make a V sign with their fingers when posing for photographs?

It might not be as universal as it used to be, but it's a common sight in informal, 'fun' photos of Asian people. The sign denotes positivity, it's a gesture that says "I feel happy. Things are okay. Life is good."

Generally, the V sign is made close to the face for females, whilst more to the side and away from the face for males. Why is that? I have no idea. That's just the way it is.

Not quite right?. Photo: Fobspot

Photo: cashboy017

Theses days, the conventional happy V sign has evolved into a gangster-ised form, palm inwards, fingers held sideways like scissors. This V sign doesn't so much say "I feel happy" as "Don't mess with me. I am just too cool."

Photo: PhokingCho

The trend never really took off amongst bbc's which is perhaps why I started to think about why people is Asia do it, and how it all started.

A V sign made with the palm facing inwards is said to have originated in England and is an insult rather than a positive gesture. You've probably heard the story: The sign was used by English longbowmen at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 to insult the French army who had threatened to cut off the bowmens' arrow-holding fingers. It's a legend that has never really been proven or disproven.



In the West, the V sign with the palm facing outwards has two major associations; Winston Churchill and the 1960s anti-war movement. Churchill wanted the sign to stand for 'Victory' but initially made it palm-inwards. Oops. Being a wealthy member of the upper class, he didn't know the negative meaning of the gesture and had to be told by his aides to reverse his hand when making the gesture thus giving us the iconic pose that is now known all around the world.

In the 1960s, the American anti-war movement used the sign to signify 'Vietnam' and would call for peace whilst making the gesture. Gradually the gesture itself came to mean 'peace' and was popularised by the flower power movement and luminaries such as John Lennon. This was the beginning of the association of the V sign with happiness and positivity.



In Asia, the V sign first became popular in Japan in the 1970s and 80s and quickly spread to the rest of Asia. But what triggered its popularity? Japan's fondness for the Beatles and the flower power culture goes some way to explaining why they took to the V sign but there are two predominant theories as to why it became so popular.

The first concerns a little known (outside of America) ice skater named Janet Lynn.

Lynn competed at the 1972 Winter Olympics at Sapporo and was a huge hit with the Japanese viewers. Her skill as a skater, cute appearance, positive spirit and likeable attitude (she suffered an embarrassing fall during one of her crucial routines yet remained smiling throughout) made her immensely popular in a country in the grip of Olympic fever.



Off the rink, Lynn was a peace activist and often flashed the 'peace' V sign to photographers. It's thought that Lynn's popularity at this time sparked the Japanese love of the V sign.

The second theory, and the one that sounds most convincing to me, was put forward by Japanese entertainment show Downtown DX which discovered that a popular actor named Jun Inoue starred in a series of commercials for Konica cameras, also in 1972. These commercials all featured people making the V sign. He reportedly chose to do this, ironically, because he thought the sign was popular in the West.

In doing so, it is believed Jun Inoue started the trend of making the V sign when posing for photographs in Japan.

So there you have it, that's how the whole V sign thing started. Interestingly, try as I might, I've not been able to find a single picture online of either Janet Lynn's or Jun Inoue's V signs so for me there is still as slight mystery to it.

But at least now we know that whenever we make a V sign for a photo, it's all down to ice skater who fell on her butt. Or a 1970s camera commercial. Probably.

"Let's go to Pizza Huh for dinner and then have a coffee in Bucksstar!"

Spotted in the UK paper the Daily Mirror. Funny yet a little bit sad at the same time.

Related: China's approach to car design

Random Photo of the Day (or so)

A wintry view of Kung Foo takeaway, Cheadle Heath, Cheshire, found on Flickr.

Photo: phojus

Most unimaginative restaurant name ever?

Nice idea. When every combination of Imperial, Dragon, Pearl and Palace has been used up, why not go for something minimalist? Maybe other businesses can follow suit and we'll get places named simply 'The Supermarket' or 'American-style Coffee Shop'.

Okay, I admit on closer inspection the owners have covered up part of the sign - probably because the lease has just changed hands or something. Still, thought it was funny :)

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the bbc blog!

See you in 2009!

Photo: Shanghaiist.