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THE NANJINGER | VOLUME 12 ISSUE 03 | DECEMBER 2021
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Contributors
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Nanjing Nomads
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Editorial
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Poem; Solitary
10 Threats & Saviours; The Stereotypes Shaping Our World 12 Speaking with Sharp Tongues; Touring China’s Stereotypes 16 Ballistic Response; One Ball too Many to Keep in the Air? 21 Capital Constructs ~2~ Presidential Palace
22 Great Nanjingers (18) British-
Chinese Diplomat Serving in Xinjiang; George Macartney
23 Strainer Ronald Dahl, Willy Wonka & Cheap Strumpets; The Longevity Game
24 Doing it the Hard Way;
Nanjing’s Own (Half Foreign) Cider Brand
26 The Gavel Is it Legal to Stereotype Someone? (Happens Daily, Actually)
27 Our Space 35 Metro Map
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THE NANJINGER | VOLUME 12 ISSUE 03 | DECEMBER 2021
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THE NANJINGER | VOLUME 12 ISSUE 03 | DECEMBER 2021
Editorial
Free Your Mind
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ider. Never tasted it? Or does it remind of your childhood (don’t answer that!)? Either way, Nanjing can now be proud to have its very own cider brand. And guess what? It’s half foreign. Check out Hard Candy on p.24-25. Elsewhere, architecture enthusiasts should enjoy our second outing in “Capital Constructs”, in which we reveal some of the secrets of Nanjing’s Presidential Palace that the tourists probably pass right by. Now to our theme for this month. What do lions and artificial intelligence have in
common? More than you think (we run from both?). Even more obliquely, how about manhole covers and old, chronograph watches? Then there are the hate crimes against Asians and the hairs of the UK’s Liverpudlians. Or, and this is a good one, cucumbers vs. the Shanghainese. Confused? Well read on! Welcome to “Stereotype” from The Nanjinger.
Ed.
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can the QR Code to visit The Nanjinger on WeChat, from where you can download a free PDF of this issue, find a full list of distribution points for hard copies or arrange a subscription to have The Nanjinger delivered to your home or office! This magazine is part of a family of English publications that together reach a large proportion of the foreign population living in Nanjing, along with a good dash of locals, comprising: The Nanjinger City Guide www.thenanjinger.com Facebook, WeChat, Twitter & Instagram
All of the above are owned and operated by HeFu Media, the Chinese subsidiary of SinoConnexion Ltd; www.sinoconnexion.com
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He smiles; she jokes; we mingle. Yet whilst laughter, fickle, fades emptiness remains. Inside. Still. Stale. Too dark, too deep. A tangible mass of ink stains thoughts, hides the things in which once they may have joyed. Glut or Nought. Mottos dark, inside incised. You though are light. You though could be their sun’s rise. If only you might see behind their eyes. Do you see? Do you see or do you choose to note only the mask: enemy, father, friend, singer, leader, carer, teacher, mother, cleaner? All are the samethat is, not the solitary complex soul embosoming themself safe inside walls of crafted scars with locks of pills or silence. Safe. Safe from the accusing eyes outside. Safe. He cannot be the depleted, two-dimensional cliché we have to him assigned. Safe. She cannot be That flattened platitude… Safe. They cannot be.
By M ait iu Bralligan ‘2 1 9
THE NANJINGER | VOLUME 12 ISSUE 03 | DECEMBER 2021
By Chesna Goel
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By Frank Hossack
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or as long as there have been people, there have been comparisons drawn between them. No matter where on Earth, people have thrived off stereotypes, been shocked and amused by them in equal measure.
based upon the personality traits attributes broadly assigned to others.
and
Much like a game of Chinese whispers, these assigned attributes then morphed over the years and became more extreme in nature.
Today’s politically correct new world order may have had some impact, but it remains that our non-British readers really do not want to know what the English used to say about people from Liverpool. It was, and to a certain extent still is, no different in China. Indeed, the term “Yangzhou Mei Nv “ (扬州美女; Beautiful Yangzhou Girl) is likely the most hackneyed, stereotypical expression in China. Granted we may hear it more than most on account of Nanjing’s proximity to Yangzhou, but nevertheless, the term hints at the depths of stereotyping in the Middle Kingdom. Recent history has an interesting story to tell. China is a very large country full of extreme geographical and climatic variety. There are the hundreds, if not thousands, of local dialects spoken everywhere (Mandarin? What’s that?), while cuisines cooked up across the land, together with the clothes worn by those who consume them, could not be more different. Most significantly of all, though, is the fact that there was so little in the way of transportation infrastructure until comparatively recently. Few would stray far from their home towns. Those who did perhaps faced an arduous week-long journey. And when they came back, they brought with them eye-popping tales of the other beings they had encountered. It was under this backdrop that people thus identified themselves with their particular locality rather than thinking of themselves as Chinese. And so they also drew comparisons
While the good people of Yangzhou have got off lucky by being stereotyped in a largely complimentary fashion, the same cannot be said for those from Henan Province. Negative stereotyping about the people of the central-southern province reached an all time high in the first decade of this century. It was no coincidence that this time also saw ruralurban migration go through the roof. The issue is discussed at length by Margaret Maurer-Fazio, Rachel Connelly and Ngoc-Han Thi Tran in their paper, “Do Negative NativePlace Stereotypes Lead to Discriminatory Wage Penalties in China’s Migrant Labor Markets?”. Therein, The China Law and Governance Review 2006 stated at the time that Henan people were particularly singled out as possessing a host of negative traits. As such, they experienced prejudice on almost a daily basis. Often branded common thieves (the general perception is that they like to steal manhole covers), the Henanese found themselves discriminated against in the job market.“Henan people need not apply” was reported by the Nanhu Evening News as having been seen on job postings in 2006.
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Apart from the prejudice faced by the Henanese themselves, their reputation was also being hammered home into the minds of children elsewhere. The Shanghai Star newspaper in 2005 reported that it became popular for parents in Sichuan Province to berate their children with the expression, “Behave yourself, or we'll send you to Henan”. These extreme times also called for extreme measures. In perhaps the saddest example, students from Henan going to university in cities elsewhere would often seek out ways to change the birthplace on their ID card, as a way to escape the taunts and discrimination of their classmates.
“天上九头鸟，地上湖北佬” (Nine birds in the sky; Hubei people on the ground), which means that Hubei people may generally be canny, in a subtly negative sense, has its origins in neighbouring Jiangxi. For there it is said, “九个湖北佬，不如一个江西 老表”; Nine Hubei men are not as good as an old Jiangxi watch. With the province’s pleasant climate, rich produce and self-sufficiency in food, the people of Jiangxi people are therefore gentle, present little difficulty and shy away from empty talk.
So that’s Henan out of the way. Good riddance. But of course, the Henanese are not alone in being the target of negative Chinese stereotyping. Northerners also bear quite a brunt, as they do almost everywhere. Up north, it is of course cold. The provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning may have Siberian winters, but they are rewarded with their beautiful long-legged women.
Back over in the west in Sichuan, the province is blessed with a mild climate, plenty rainfall and fertile soil. That great biodiversity, set off against beautiful landscapes, has earned it the nickname of “land of abundance”. Hence the stereotype that Sichuan people, the women in particular, have good skin. Well, that is when they are not setting it ablaze with their spicy food. Next up on our stereotype tour of China, the provinces of Jiangxi and Hubei. The expression,
The folks north of our own Jiangsu also get off lightly in the Chinese stereotyping department. While they too are known for enjoying a drink or five, the down-to-earth folks of Shandong Province are thought of as trustworthy and loyal. But not too lightly. Shandong people are also regarded as being a bit, well, slow to pick up on things. And the men are just plain lazy. Finally, where would we be without mention good old Shanghai? Excellent businessmen, it is well known. But the ladies? Infamous they are, but we are way too afraid to report further. It’s a sure thing; the Chinese can have a sharp tongue with the stereotypes of their own people. And so when we as foreigners are branded as all being the same, however frustrating it may be, perhaps we should cut them a little slack. As for us Nanjingers; well, we’re the best, of course. And if you believe that…
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Ballistic Response ONE BALL TOO MANY TO KEEP IN THE AIR?
By Triona Ryan
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tereotypes exist because the human brain is a meaning making machine. It creates patterns, even where ostensibly, none are to be found. This ability to recognise and retain patterns allows us to recognise faces, understand language, read, and appreciate music. The reptile brain, the basal ganglia, is in charge of our basic automated response systems, and functions pretty much without our conscious by or leave. “The primal brain is also in charge of, what are often referred to as, the four Fs: Feeding, Fighting, Fleeing, and… Reproduction,” according to The Interaction Design Foundation, effectively maintaining the bodily operating system on autopilot. This is quite helpful for the more absent-minded of us. Some days, remembering to breathe and metabolise and keep the heart beating may be too many balls to keep in the air. This basal ganglia region of the brain is, in a very real sense, responsible for our survival, for every breath we take. Identifying the familiar and unfamiliar is a central part of the Fight/ Flight response. Our ancestors, by definition, were pros at fighting and flighting. As winners of the human race, our very existence depends on our brains’ ability to read the room and respond accordingly. One way by which the brain categorises and processes information is by stereotyping; to typecast, label or tag stimuli in a fixed or oversimplified way. Because, in fairness, when a saber-toothed tiger was thundering towards you, a calm and considered response was not optimal to survival. This can still be seen today on the web, with a glut of Cats vs Cucumber videos providing hours of mirth to procrastinators across the globe. Quite simply, while Snowball is filling her furry, feline face in a food bowl, the owner sneakily places a cucumber on the floor behind her. Once Snowball’s six senses perceive something long, green and snaky
near her hind quarters, she proceeds to shoot into the air, inflated like a helium cat balloon, before streaking to safety. The response is ballistic. Instinctual. Reptile brain. “A stereotype is an exaggerated belief, image or distorted truth about a person or group—a generalisation that allows for little or no individual differences or social variation. Stereotypes are based on images in mass media, or reputations passed on by parents, peers and other members of society. Stereotypes can be positive or negative.” [Learning for Justice]. As humans, we still go ballistic when our snaky stereotypes get too close to our hindquarters as well. I’ve done the “imaginary-bug-in-my-hair” dance a few times, for sure, I’ve crawled across the parapets of Blarney Castle when vertigo made my head spin and my brain gag. I have cried in pain and laughed in pleasure. Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection means that favourable genes and traits are reproduced, whilst less favourable ones, like the Tiger Whispering gene, are lost forever. There’s nothing inherently wrong, then, with stereotyping and categorising, on one level. But in a world which is increasingly globalised, connected and interdependent, and struggling to redress an unconscionably unjust power balance between race, gender and class, to name but a few, an instinctual bent towards defining the unknown as “other” and the “other” as bad is not good. Say, what? This phenomenon, known as, “Othering”, occurs when the group excludes those who are perceived as not fitting within the social norms of said group, or whereby negative characteristics are attributed to the “them” who are not the ‘us.’ And this is where the tendency of our central operating system to label and tag and compartmentalise, becomes problematic. No more than I can sneeze with my eyes open, nor Snowball can stay chill and just back slowly away from the cucumber, neither can Humans,
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as a species, resist the biological imperative to pigeonhole and stereotype. Othering is a result of reptile brain survival functions. These functions have survived who knows how many billions of others? If it’s still part of our neural suite, it must serve some purpose? Or are stereotypes the cultural equivalent of an appendix? A relic from meaner times. Intellectually, this would make judging people based on stereotypes as passé as eating grass. Snowball cannot hack her feline brain; she cannot reason with herself that it’s only a cucumber and remember to leave a nice, fresh mouse on her owner’s pillow to return the favour. She cannot go online and explore different perspectives or the most recent findings on responding to primal instincts with circumspection.
She cannot do anything but launch into orbit and somersault across the room, at the whimsy of million-year-old response systems. And neither can we, in terms of first response. But we can ferret out implicit bias and preconceptions. We can become aware of thought patterns embedded within our culture and begin to actively question those. Awareness is the first step towards rectification. One nifty tool to get a glimpse into the murky writer’s room of our brains is Project Implicit, The Implicit Associations Test, (IAT), which “can tap those hidden, or automatic, stereotypes and prejudices that circumvent conscious control.” Scientists from The Universities of Harvard and Virginia have been gathering data since 2011 online, and the tests take no more than ten minutes or so to complete. I was curious to find out what are the cucumbers to my Snowball, so I took them all. Physician, heal thyself! Prejudices, formed by the human need for love and acceptance, are inherent. We all have them. Project Implicit tests for implicit bias across a broad range of race, gender and class spectrums with a view to better understanding bias and disparity. An awareness of what subliminally launched us into somersaulting orbit can allow us to also moderate responses to situations where we may otherwise be operating on autopilot, or reptile pilot, which sounds far more dangerous. So perhaps, as the year draws to a close, and dark evenings usher in more reading time by the fire, it is time to put down the grass sandwich and take an implicit bias test or two. Make friends with the reptile and negotiate a more equitable crisis management system. Knowledge is power. Understanding the implicit biases that undermine each and every decision we make is the only way towards building a more equitable future, for cats, cucumbers, reptiles and all.
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The Building of Nanjing
~2~ Presidential Palace
By Frank Hossack
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p there in the total top three of Nanjing’s premier tourist destinations, the Presidential Palace is a sprawling complex housing a myriad of architectural styles. Those, together with a sizable chunk of China’s republican-era history. The Nanjinger’s Capital Constructs breaks down the highlights therein.
Then there is the Office of the Provisional President (pictured below), styled after French Renaissance architecture. After Sun Yat-sen took office here on 1 January, 1912, the building was later home to numerous governmental agencies, including the govenor of Jiangsu.
Representing the Chinese idiom, “Round on the outside, square on the inside”, is the main gate to the complex. The rounded archways as entrance contrast with the their rectangular exits as a metaphor for someone who is lenient to others but strict on themself.
But perhaps the most inspiring of the architecture herein is actually to be found in and around the complex gardens.
Once inside, we then should stop to ponder the mixed-architectural styles represented in the Second Hall. Here, a western style portico set off against traditional Chinese architectural elements provided the backdrop for ceremonies such as the presenting of letters of credence to Chinese heads of state by diplomats from abroad. Nearby is a popular spot where visitors like to pose for a photograph, now just as before. The Scenic Steps that comprise the five steps leading to the Palace Meeting Room got themselves the nickname, “The Chevron Steps”, on account of the wide, green, stone handrails on either side. That was when they were used by Chiang Kai-shek and others to get snapped with foreign visitors. We then come upon the Qilin Gate. Named for the pair of stone qilin, that mythical unicorn-like beast, which sits on either side, this wooden gateway straddles the Palace’s central axis. During the Repulican era, the doorway was only opened to allow Chiang Kai-shek to pass through. Everyone else went the long way round.
A Xieshan roof is that style of elaborate traditional Chinese roof with multiple inclines that is covered with curved titles. The Wangfei Pavilion in Nanjing’s Presidential Palace complex is one such example. Inside the single story building there are only three rooms and with the centre one protruding out over a lake. The Waterside Room offersviews of the lake on three sides so capitavting that birds alighting on the pavilion were said to forget how to fly. Hence the Chinese name; Wangfei. Nearby, outside the Yilan Pavilion is an opportunity to witness architectural magic. For in the exact centre of its roof sits a gourd-shaped porcelain vase. Filled with water, the vase served as a talisman protecting the building from fire. We finally stop a little short of the Mandarin Duck Pavilion. Built as two squares slightly overlapping, when viewed from a distance, the optical illusion created makes the viewer think they are seeing two pavilions. Whoever would have thought of such in a palace fit for a president?
Away from the main Palace, the complex also contains numerous other fine pieces of architecture. Especially worthy of mention is the Zichao Building, used as the Nationalist Government Headquarters and for the Presidential Palace Office Building. Built in 1934 at a cost of 106,952 pieces of silver, it can be considered as one of the earliest examples of modern Chinese architecture. 21
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Great Nanjingers (18)
British-Chinese Diplomat Serving in Xinjiang; George Macartney
By Frank Hossack
George Macartney (马继业) was initially a translator, but one who went on to become a consummate diplomat as Consul General in Kashgar at Britain’s first diplomatic office in the region.
officials in southern Xinjiang, acting in accordance with the etiquette of standard Chinese officialdom; he ate with chopsticks, entertained with bird's nests, bowed and knelt in front of the funeral procession.
Born in Nanjing on 19 January, 1867, to a British father and Chinese mother; Macartney’s mother was daughter to Gao Yunguan, a leader of the Taiping Rebellion, while his godfather was Chinese politician, Li Hongzhang.
As a result, local Chinese officials came to recognise recognise Ma Jiye's identity as a "British travel official”, paving the way for the opening of the British Consulate.
On his father’s side meanwhile, was the George Macartney who served as Ambassador to China a century earlier as 1st Earl Macartney and was the man who coined the term, “The sun never sets on the British Empire”.
The time in Xinjiang would also see Macartney personally participate in the Great Game, the famous geopolitical battle between the British and Russian empires throughout the 19th and into the 20th centuries over regions of Central and South Asia.
Graduating from a French university in 1886, Macartney was fluent in French, English and Chinese, while his linguistic skills also extended to Russian, German, Persian, Hindi and Turkish.
Also while in Xinjiang, Macartney met his wife to be, but the two had had a connection long before. Both Macartney and Catherine Borland’s fathers had studied together in Scotland.
Macartney joined the British Indian government in 1889, where his way with languages caught the attention of his superiors. He was assigned the following year to Lieutenant Colonel, Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, on an expidition to Chinese Turkestan. Younghusband was, among other things, a former British commissioner to Tibet and President of the Royal Geographical Society.
Wed in 1898, she became Lady Catherine Macartney, going on to make a name for herself in archaeology.
Younghusband deposited Macartney in Kashgar, in today’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where he would remain until 1918.
As assistant to the archaeologists who discovered the long-lost Dunhuang manuscripts, Lady Catherine helped bring back to the world the treasure trove of documents that included not only writings which were the predecessors of today’s Tibetan script, but also many millenniaold examples of Hebrew, Khotanese, Old Turkic and Uyghur, Sogdian and Tangut.
And he got this tenure off to a good start by showing the kind of fine diplomatic dexterity that would become his hallmark in dealing with the Chinese.
During their marriage, the Macartneys parented three children and ultimately returned to the UK after a life of adventure in the Far East.
For Macartney had the Chinese believing that he began his visit to China in the name of congratulating Emperor Qianlong on his birthday.
Settling in the Channel Islands on the isle of Jersey, they became stuck there on account of the German occupation during the Second World War.
With his fluent Chinese and familiarity with Chinese culture, Macartney made extensive contacts with Chinese
Macartney died on Jersey on 19 May, 1945, just shy of 2 weeks after the German surrender. 22
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By Matthew Stedman
Ronald Dahl, Willy Wonka & Cheap Strumpets
The Longevity Game
The everlasting gobstopper is of course the invention of Roald Dahl. It’s his hero, Willy Wonka, who manufactures the boiled sweet that keeps on giving. Well, everlasting flavour is something that appeals to anyone who’s been stuck with flavour-faded chewing gum. But, sadly, diminution is the way of things in the real world. Let’s call it the curse of osmosis. It’s natural for people to try and squeeze the last dregs out of something they’ve paid for. And British fiction also has various other characters (mean old misers, mostly) who peg their teabags to the washing line before attempting another brew the next day. I have tried this myself, and it doesn’t work. Naturally, the teabag gains nothing through the drying. A teabag is only ever good for one and a half infusions. That’s because, despite the paunchy appearance of the bag, the particles within are tiny; they are mere fannings. It was tea evangelist Henrietta Lovell who likened the teabag to “a cheap strumpet who gives you everything immediately”. I’m glad it was Henrietta Lovell who said this, not a man. Yes, it’s cheeky, but also cleverly memorable. We’re lucky that not all tea, especially not tea here in China, is hobbled by the surface-area-to-volume ratio of the Crush, Tear, Curl (CTC) [挤压撕裂卷曲] teas prevalent around the world. Loose leaf tea can be good for many, many pourings of water. And the variety I’m drinking these days offers especially good entertainment. I’ve kept single batches of these leaves going for two consecutive days. Tea lovers, and not just Henrietta Lovell, describe this kind of tea as “patient”.
Let’s call this one a long-long-Dianhong [滇红], because Yunnan is its origin and the flavour is very similar to my favourite everyday red. Made from large leaves normally designated for Pu’er, some of these rolled dried leaves are as long as a human finger. Visually, it almost resembles Ku Ding Cha [苦丁茶] (a bitter non-tea infusion which I quite like). There’s nothing Pu’er about the flavour; just the warming sweet potato, mango, raw tobacco, slightly floral flavour of a Yunnan red. The flavour rewards the additional patience of being brewed warm and slow, but never gets too malty or bitter, even when stung with hot water. This is my current World Champion Tea for infusion endurance. But, while examples of camellia sinensis do continue to amaze me, tea is not the best leaf in the world for performing this feat. That Ku Ding Cha mentioned above lasts for longer, as did the (very thin) curry leaves I wrote about last year. And, as you know, bay leaves never give up ever. A new Strainer article about infusions is surely overdue. Oh, but, just before I leave to join a vegan birthday party this evening, let me sing the praises of pork fat trapped in the teeth. That carnivorous consumption truly is an efficient indulgence, because one tiny piece of parma ham [帕尔马火腿], or chinese cured pork [腊肉], can give pleasure for hours. Chewing the fat is the original gumthat-never-loses-its-flavour. 23
By Frank Hossack
Felix Zhu, Co Founder of Hard Candy, pours The Nanjinger something approaching a pint, in Red Barron on Nanjing’s Fengfu Lu
THE NANJINGER | VOLUME 12 ISSUE 03 | DECEMBER 2021
Legal notes from The Nanjinger in association with:
N
D’Andrea & Partners Legal Counsel
Is it Legal to Stereotype Someone? (Happens Daily, Actually)
otwithstanding how difficult it is to be explained in a reasonable and efficient manner, the presence of stereotypes in the application of law is a concrete, daily experience.
civil law, where generally the dispute is based on, and solvable through, a documentary basis, stereotypes may have an impact.
To verify this, ask a criminal, in any country, whether the law is correctly applied without stereotypes. Their answer would be certainly not, as they know how fine the line is between guilty and innocent.
Mediation or negotiation are examples, as either the judge or the other party is called to evaluate the level of acceptance of a proposal; there is a natural and indirect use of stereotypes that may affect the decision in the judge’s evaluation.
Let’s look again at that question. Its object is the presence of stereotypes in the application of law and not their presence in the law itself. While the answer to the first question could be variable and dependent on culture and on the juridical system, the answer to the second question is basically common in its tantamount meaning.
Stereotypes may also interfere with the law with regards to artificial intelligence. All over the world, and especially in China, artificial intelligence is a new and powerful tool, at the service of a lot of sectors, such as machinery, technology and, last but not least, law.
Therefore, stereotypes in the application of law are frequent and many examples can demonstrate it.
In this regard, artificial intelligence has been used to verify breaches of law, such as infringement to the rules of the road.
Take for instance criminal law. Compelled by the need to repress violence and rule consequence of fact that is hard to be proved, legislators the world over can differentiate sanctions on the basis of the quality of the person who commits the crime or the place where the crime is committed.
However, considering that artificial intelligence, intended as machine learning, is “bio-inspired” and “bio-oriented”, as in all facets of life, it could be influenced by stereotypes, due to the fact the algorithm is programmed by human mind.
Generally, in the sector of criminal law, the sanctions are increased by law itself, if many criminal actions are committed by certain members of society, who, according to the legislator, are considered to be more prone to commit such on account of their peculiarities. In these cases, presumptions are made based on stereotypes, even if the presumptions are not conclusive. Then there is litigation. In legal systems where the principle of orality is fundamental in the process, a particular behaviour before the Court could be relevant for the imposition of one or the other sanction. Even in
Hence, it is evident that the risks of prejudices due to stereotypes can be always a threat to the correct application of law. A possible solution so as to limit stereotypes in such is looking to other juridical systems (the so-called “comparative analysis”) in order to verify that a determined clause is not the result of a misrepresentation of reality or a restrictive vision of public order, but rather that of a shared, strictly logical decision. All things considered, we shall come to the conclusion that, maybe, a little component of stereotypes in law is not eliminable at all, as they are part of human nature and law is nothing else than a fact reflecting the strengths and weakness of human nature.
DISCLAIMER This article is intended solely for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Although the information in this article was obtained from reliable official sources, no guarantee is made with regard to its accuracy and completeness. For more information please visit dandreapartners.com or WeChat: dandreapartners 26
THE NANJINGER | 2021.12
Additional info, online version or Chinese contact via No less than six salad selections are on offer. The ubiquitous potato salad is obvious, but for The Nanjinger, the kale & orange the QR code that follows each review. salad is the standout.
GASTRONOMY By Frank Hossack
Christmas Lunch/ Brunch at The Ritz Carlton, Nanjing; Flawless
On to tucking in to turkey, but more about that later. For the less Paganistic, the Texas BBQ, Boston lobster or the macaroni cheese shall appeal. Or the cheeseburger pizza. We suspected, well, a cheese pizza with minced beef. Nothing sophisticated about that. But how wrong we were; each and every flavour of the world-renowned, quintessential American classic is perfectly captured therein.
Then there is what is being called “Super Energy”. Given its ingredients, we feel the Chinese to be more accurate; ����� (Super Calorie); essentially a massive two-foot-long steak sandwich, prepared by the enthusiastic chefs out front and mercifully sliced into semi-manageable portions. Then right on cue, just as the turkey in its tangy juices has been packed away beneath, so the chefs wheel out all required for baked Alaska, meaning approximately 30 seconds of flaming shuttering for every last smartphonetoting lady assembled therein. And the Christmas spread would hardly be complete without New York cheesecake and apple pie. Neither again disappoint. The Nanjinger prides itself on the reviews carried in these pages. Our insistence on objectivity to deliver the impartial to our readers has not gone unnoticed over the years. And yes, we 27
admittedly also look for the negative with each and every outing. Last time we did this in May, we moaned (and we believe rightfully) about the soft drinks.
But, this time around, our experience at The Ritz Carlton, Nanjing, was flawless. And in a way, it’s down to the little details and the personal touches. The Nanjinger was also impressed to hear our waitress (whose English was excellent) speaking a few words of German with the diners at our neighbouring table. These are the little touches that matter too. Congratulations to the whole team. You are now a part of Nanjing. Tour Around the World, destination U.S.A., is available at Lavandula tomorrow, 12 December, as well as on 19 and 26 December. Reservations essential. Lavandula is located on 38F of The Ritz-Carlton, Nanjing, at 18 Zhongshan Lu (above Deji Plaza Phase 2). Tel: 69788888.
THE NANJINGER | VOLUME 12 ISSUE 03 | DECEMBER 2021
Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to St John’s! Yes, St John’s is already 3 years old and having learned to walk is now moving and exploring its environment with great confidence and curiosity. Children and staff celebrated the birthday by coming together and sharing their class gifts for the school, singing the school song (which is extremely catchy) and eating cake, of course! Hip hip hooray!
St John’s College School Nanjing 9 November, 2021
To see photos from your event on these pages, contact The Nanjinger via info@thenanjinger.com. Conditions apply.
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THE NANJINGER | 2021.12
The BSN Christmas Fair has long been an eagerly anticipated event in the calendar and this year’s event, much like Santa himself, delivered the goods once again. More than 1,000 students, parents and friends, came to eat, drink and be merry, and with the amazing events and stalls on display, everybody had an evening to remember in the school’s winter wonderland.
11 December, 2021
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Italian Design Icons 2021 – Shanghai Edition took place at the ZiWu Modern Art Base in the heart of Shanghai. With the theme “Design & Materials: The Power of Creativity and Performance”, iconic brands and partners showcased the best of Made in Italy. Exhibitions, panels discussions, press conferences and networking occasions complimented the show.
IDI Shanghai
26-28 November, 2021
To see photos from your event on these pages, contact The Nanjinger via info@thenanjinger.com. Conditions apply.
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Parents, family, friends and teachers all play different roles in the growth of each child. They are indispensable. But how do parents balance study and play? Is a child frustrated by his mother's nagging? How should mother perhaps change her mind? Such mental care topics were explored through teamwork at RGSG Nanjing!
RGS Guildford 16 November, 2021
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THE NANJINGER | VOLUME 12 ISSUE 03 | DECEMBER 2021
Bright shiny red trucks. Sirens. Hoses and levers. Uniforms. Big hats and boots. And of course, dedicated firefighters and their rescue dogs. No matter what age you are, a fire station never stops being cool. Following their interests in a unit called “Exploring Our World”, Nanjing International School Pre-K and K1 students were given the fantastic opportunity to visit and experience Nanjing’s Yangshan Lake Fire Station.
12 November, 2021
To see photos from your event on these pages, contact The Nanjinger via info@thenanjinger.com. Conditions apply.
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THE NANJINGER | 2021.12
THE
Download this map to your smartphone via The Nanjinger’s official WeChat account
The Nanjinger’s Metro Map is the only map of the city’s metro system to include first and last times for every station, perfect for planning a late night out or an adventure to somewhere new with an early start.
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THE NANJINGER | VOLUME 12 ISSUE 03 | DECEMBER 2021
