On the streets of Hong Kong in 1938
Hong Kong in 1938 was smaller in scale, more human, much poorer and more unjust
Warrior-gymnasts in Tonkin, Vietnam, 1909
French overlords in colonial-era Vietnam make the locals do ridiculous things
Lijiang, China as it used to be
One of the world’s most exquisite towns, now lost, captured on video the very year I first saw it
Li Xiaodong’s modest, radical architecture
The New York Times misses why a small library in rural China represents a great hope for the country
Hand-drawn ryokan map, Kyoto, Japan, 1990
How inexpertly drawn kanji led me out of Asia to the Middle East and Europe
An ex-Googler pokes China in the eye
An insider explains why tech companies can’t win in China and what it costs them to try
The ‘unexpected’ China slowdown was entirely foreseeable
Analysts profess surprise at the China slowdown that I saw out the car window in Fujian a year ago
Vietnam Chante revolutionary songs, Paris, France, c1967
Employing everything from martial chants to opera in support of revolution in Vietnam
Cultures of Independence, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2007
A scrap book, of sorts, of a cool, modernizing Cambodia in the 1960s that few realize ever existed
The China boom is over. That could be good
Will young Chinese respond to slower economic growth by going into the arts? Or politics?
Goodbye, Earthlings
Kim Jong-il departs for some distant galaxy of coiffed hairdos and Politburo-issue safari suits
The last moment in history to see the tulou
The future is grim for China’s unique, centuries-old communal housing
More evidence the China building boom is ending
But here are the astounding numbers on what they’ve built
Chocolat Pupier Asian cultures album, France, 1936
A 1936 collectible album for children, embedded with the politics of its age
Macau’s architectural legacy
A schizophrenic policy of sacrificing new land to preserve old buildings
Newsreel: ’67 War and party balloons for Red China
Newsreels declare: US neutral in ’67 War in the Middle East and Red China fears party balloons
Letter from Japan the day WWII ended
My grandfather’s firsthand account of the destruction of Japanese cities
An art opening at Experimenta in Hong Kong
Unusually for Hong Kong, something unexpected might happen
The great China infrastructure build-out is almost over
China’s building boom has been going on for 20 years; a recent visit to Fujian shows that’s ending.
Little Red Book by Mao Tse-tung, second edition, 1967
The rare second edition of Mao’s famous book, with a foreword by Lin Biao before he fell from grace
Chemistry notebook, People’s Republic of China, 1976
A 1976 notebook found in Xiamen begins with Maoist political slogans and ends with chemistry notes