Today we're continuing our journey exploring rooftops and terraces in Beijing, and after looking at ones around Sanlitun, the hutongs, and the Liangma River, we're now turning our attention to the CBD. Xun Terrace The newest place on this list, Xun Terrace only opened up earlier this year. Hidden away on the 25th floor of an office building near the Kerry Centre, here you...

Why Learning Chinese Is Easier Than You Think Many foreigners in China often feel that learning Chinese is too difficult. With its tones, characters, and grammar rules, it can look scary at first. But the truth is, Chinese is easier than most people imagine once you understand the basics. 1. The Grammar is Simple Unlike English or French, Chinese has no tenses, no conjugations, and no...

Ever booked a hotel in China, rolled in with your suitcase all excited, only to hear that dreaded line: “Sorry, we’re not qualified to accept foreigners”? Yeah… me too. Awful. It’s been repeated so often it might as well be part of the hotel’s welcome script when a foreigner walks in. And the reason they give? “According to the law…” Well,...

In other cities, midnight is a polite cough telling you it’s time to go home. In Shenzhen, it’s the moment the city leans in, winks, and says: “Sit down, this is where it gets interesting.” The malls roll down their shutters like a theatre ending its matinée show — and outside, the streets immediately start the late-night premiere, with a bigger cast, a...

Artificial intelligence is already advancing at a worrying pace. What if we don’t slam on the brakes? Experts explain what keeps them up at night   Artificial intelligence has progressed so rapidly in recent months that leading researchers have signed an open letter urging an immediate pause in its development, plus stronger regulation, due to their fears that the technology could...