User Comments - hiewhongliang
hiewhongliang
Posted on: Chinese Wordplay
July 31, 2012, 04:03 PM“喔，原来是这样子”
Posted on: An Insider's Insights into Chinese Tourism
July 19, 2012, 11:34 AM"I think that Chinese tourism is maturing."
No doubt. Unfortunately the prevalent impression I get of daoyou is still the less professional ones who swarms over you offering their services at every station and scenic. Not very good look, unfortunately.
Speaking of stereotyping, a Shanghainese friend of mine once asked me what migrants from mainland China do in Australia. He was shocked I didn't include tour guides in my list. Seems tourism is very much imprinted in his image of his fellow countrymen.
Posted on: Addressing Women
July 18, 2012, 09:01 AMYou worry if the next sentence has "tea house" in it. :-)
Posted on: 汽车限购
July 17, 2012, 10:45 AM车奴之毒：妒嫉、堵车、赌命。买车惹来“一身蚁”，何必？
Posted on: Addressing Women
July 17, 2012, 10:08 AM"... as long as it was done in a friendly (non-creepy) way"
I think that's where the catch is - too many situations 美女 can come off sounding creepy. I think this 小姐 vs 美女 issue has been made so convoluted in different parts of China that the dictionary entry should now be marked "DO NOT ATTEMPT IF YOU VALUE FACE".
Posted on: Addressing Women
July 17, 2012, 09:38 AMYes，if 王小姐 marries 张先生 you may call her 王女士 or 张太太.
Posted on: Addressing Women
July 15, 2012, 07:21 AM"But it seems Chinese people can last longer in a Chinese-foreigner conversation without names or greetings than we Australians can."
Don't get me started! It's a frustrating exercise avoiding the name-confusion issue in my time in Australia. Wish people would just be happy with calling me "hey you" for a while until I can point them to the Chinese Name Wikipedia page. :-)
Posted on: An Insider's Insights into Chinese Tourism
July 15, 2012, 07:13 AMActually the pearl factories and tea houses are not necessarily unavoidable. Some guanxi-building with the daoyou will do you wonders. If you speak to her properly, get her on your side, she will work up an reverse scam to tell her tour company boss and the factories as to why you can't visit, or if you have to make a token visit why you can't stay long.
Promise of a big tip at the end helps. Having a spouse whom you can claim would kill you if you dont' show him/her a good time also helps... even better if your spouse plays along with this game!
AND best of all, you will also find having a daoyou that is on your side works wonders in opening up the possibilities for the tour. In Beijing, my wife and I got the daoyou and driver to take us 300km outside of the packaged day tour. It was a good day!
Posted on: Sensitive Topics
July 14, 2012, 01:38 PMStructurally perhaps, but 都怪我 is more directly translated as "it's my fault". It is an expression of guilt and it commonly requires the listener to respond with 别乱想 “don't think silly thoughts" or 别这么说 "don't say that" or 不是你的错 "it is not your fault" or something of that ilk. If the listener does't respond, it would be assumed he accepts the speaker's guilt. Chinese demonstrating guilt in conversation requires an appropriate counter, otherwise it is another 尴尬 situation.
Posted on: Farewells and iPhones
September 18, 2012, 10:15 AM天下没有不散的宴席。Thanks Greg for sharing a part of your life journey with us. Enjoyed your podcasts. All the best!