Living in China has been a fascinating and learning experience. Topics in this section include stories of living in China for more than two decades

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Home Sweet Home

During the years I was teaching, the schools provided me an apartment, but after 2011, I have lived in three different apartments in three different environments that I would like to share: in a traditional Chinese urban neighborhood; in a typical new neighborhood across the Yangzi River; and in a high-rise overlooking downtown Nanjing. Click on each one to read and learn more about it.

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Traditional urban neighborhood
Traditional urban neighborhood

For about three years, I lived in an apartment in a traditional urban neighborhood. By traditional urban neighborhood, I mean a neighborhood built in the days when most Chinese lived in apartments that had been provided by their work units. This neighborhood was in a city district a few blocks to the southeast of downtown.

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New neighborhood across the Yangzi River
New neighborhood across the Yangzi River

In the fall of 2015, I moved into an apartment in one of the early new neighborhoods in Nanjing. This was a gated community with at least 20 residential buildings, ranging from 10 to 20 floors. The buildings were spaced apart with park-like sidewalks, grassy areas and planted trees and bushes.

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Living in a high-rise
Living in a high-rise

For about three months in spring of 2015 and again from fall 2016, I have lived in a high-rise building on the south edge of downtown Nanjing. Both times, my windows have overlooked the skyscrapers and other tall buildings in the heart of the city of 8-30 million people.

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Learning as I go

In more than two decades of living in China, I have learned many things, one of which is that there are many ways to do things, not all of them as I was accustomed to doing them. I have come to appreciate many of those ways and am at least informed and sometimes amused by others. This section will explore different ways of doing things as part of daily life; the intent is to inform and expand knowledge.

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Bicycle sharing
Bicycle sharing

Need a bicycle to ride a short distance or for a couple of hours? Just find one of a dozen brands and use your smartphone to sign in and unlock the bicycle. Ride it to your destination and drop it in any public place.

Delivering online purchases
Delivering online purchases

Some years ago, I asked some young adults how often they ordered things online. I had anticipated that Chinese people, being cautious about spending money, and suspicious of fraud, would order few things online. To my surprise, one young woman replied matter-of- factly, "Every day." After that, I have been quite interested in how online deliveries are made, when housing arrangements are not so uniform.

Seen and Noted
Seen and Noted

Living in China is a visual experience. If you keep your eyes open and are alert to your surroundings, you may see things that strike you as interesting or unusual. This page is dedicated to some of those things.