Guide
to
China
Blogs
Learning Cantonese Mastering Gwongdungwah by hanging out with radical Hong Kong politicians and grappling with Apple Daily.
Alice Poon Well-infomed commentary on current events, social and civic justice and land use and policy in Hong Kong and China. Now on the Asian Sentinal site.
The Blacksmith Blog Notes from a Hong Kong publisher, with more than just plugs for books. Plus giveaways!
The Toilet Bar New!!! Dispatches from Wang Tong, the village in the middle of somewhere. This blog is limited exclusively to goings-on within the boundaries (800 x 600 meters) of this Lantau village.
Alex Hofford Photography Home page is a blog, while the rest includes the HK-based professional photographer’s impressive portfolio.
The Pitch HK All about the witchcraft of the modern era – marketing, advertising and public relations – in HK
Dark Side A team effort addressing Hong Kong social, political, religious, economic and environmental issues in a ‘refreshing, light-hearted and at times slightly provocative manner’. Suitable for age 10 years and above.
About.com: Hong Kong/Macau Travel ory Boland’s Hong Kong/Macau travel blog and contribution to the extensive about.com network of expert advice. Aimed mainly at the rest of the world.
Efficiency Freak Green and lean, and quite entertaining, Hong Kong and China.
The Secret Lives of Man The candid thoughts of Phil Z of the Mid-Levels on the unhealthiness of monogamy, etc. Perhaps not a blog you would wish your wives or servants to read.
The HK Observatory Director’s Blog Our chief meteorologist’s ruminations on Hong Kong’s always-interesting weather.
Hong Kong Paintings What would Turner have made of neon? Artist Jim Feldman’s impressive watercolour and gouache views of Hong Kong.
John’s Birding Blog Commentary about Hong Kong’s feathered friends with some rather good photos of them doing their avian thing.
Rothwell-Gornt Holdings The official corporate blog of the venerable hong, featuring messages to shareholders from the Taipan himself.
Birds, bugs, etc Highly impressive photos of Hong Kong wildlife, including the Black Drongo, no less.
Evening Sky A collection of random musings from exotic Quarry Bay
Private Beach Trying to make sense of a weird world
Smog’s Blog Occasional, sometimes trenchant thoughts of a long-term expat in Hong Kong
WhiteDuskRed A Singaporean working for a Japanese firm in HK since 2005.
Travel-itch An American artist in Hong Kong – some great photo essays.
Intuitive Observations Amateur photographer Luke’s view of Hong Kong
Thomas Crampton Ex-IHT/NY Times writer on media, technology and ‘new ideas’ in Hong Kong and the region. Interesting blend of reviews and well-researched business and not-too-techie tech stories.
Eldon Online David Eldon – retired former Chairman of HSBC and the HK General Chamber of Commerce and, way back, old Middle East banking hand – discusses current affairs, without too much name-dropping.
Tour Hong Kong A blog for tourists.
Fumier Restartus By popular demand – irascible, lawyerly, incisive observations and lamentations from Hong Kong's only capable road user.
Ulaca Insights from an old ruin – an erudite and literate one. (Named for a Stonehenge-era archaeological site in Spain.)
China Droll Pui O-based Norwegian teacher of Cantonese rants about Hong Kong's Government (or 'wankers', to use the Norwegian term).
It was bound to happen eventually… Married blogs! Charles Caldwell and wife Tess on family and other matters
Mister Bijou Reports and photos from a little island in the South China Sea
Gweipo A ghost woman on her 9th international posting in 14 years.
Hong Kong Diaries A diary about life, business & culture in Hong Kong & China written by a western ex-pat living in the middle of it all.
Lesley in Hong Kong A seasoned expat with first hand experience of arriving in a new country and not knowing where anything is.
Hong Kong Phooey An all-purpose, multi-role Hong Kong blog - mostly techie.
Beneath the Peak Small business adventures and other things from Chris Dillon
Joyceyland The life and times of a media junkie, yoga amateur, cheap-end art collector and Mandarin failure.
Shaky Kaiser The slightly cavalier approach to English fades into insignificance as the full, unruly horror of this man’s entanglements with Asian women becomes clear. Should be compulsory reading for any single, straight male coming to live in this part of the world. This will become a dull blog if he ever wises up – but there’s no sign of that so far.
Simon World An actual blog: Links, links and more links to news and views on HK, China and Asia, plus occasional commentary.
Ordinary Gwailo Full marks for admitting he’s not especially exciting. Fairly serious entries about various Hong Kong social and economic issues, plus the author’s apparently staid and not overly eventful day-to-day life.
Dai Tou Lam American Grateful Dead fan living on Peng Chau discussing mostly HK/China matters
Big White Guy ® For people who found Nury Vitachi’s Review column a bit too deep. Unchallenging, Pooterish musings aimed at people outside HK ("funny" signs, etc).
See Lai Somewhat eccentric and enigmatic record of the daily life and thoughts of a trader/businessman of some sort in HK in quirky English.
Nude King Not the first HK blog by a reptile, but definitely the first by a crocodile – political analysis from the famous Ah Bo of Yuen Long.
Wankersin (Piece of Mind) Nirvana on-line, courtesy of 52-year-old, Wanchai, bar-crawling Buddhist monk and virgin Wan Ker-sin
Glutter Good name (Glitter + Gutter = HK). Commentary and reports on human rights-related news.
Ranhasadotcom Ex-Pornetry Difficult to define. Varying degrees of comprehensibility. And pictures.
EastSouthWestNorth A blog in the original sense of the term – links to items worth reading that might otherwise be missed, including some translated from Chinese, without too much off-the-cuff punditry. Also links to articles on Latin American and other subjects
HKMacs A Macintosh techie discusses FTP clients and other mysteries, plus ‘occasional delusional rants about the insanity of the modern world’
Hongkie Town Redux Formerly a sordid and compelling account of Hong Kong’s most tragic known case of priapsism, now Honkie Town Lite – thoughts on food, music and other aspects of life, and guaranteed not to corrupt minors or alarm livestock..
Lamma-zine A blog about the “unique & fascinating inhabitants” of the place next to Hong Kong Island’s power station
Marco in HK New!!! A photoblog about HK, showing the familiar and unfamiliar, complete with info about apertures, shutter speeds, etc.
Cloudless A talented photographer’s pictures of the real Hong Kong, not the Tourism Board variety. Try the view from Tai Mo Shan, a scene from the SARS outbreak or a cooked meat stand.
Chaxiubao It’s all about food in Hong Kong. Recipes, restaurant reviews, gastro-porn, etc.
The Culinary Chase A functional and useful blog, comprising recipes from around the world and mouth-watering photos.
Loose Wire Techie-geek-gizmo commentary from Hong Kong-based Wall Street Journal columnist Jeremy Wagstaff
Blog the Talk Official (defunct but-great-archives) blog of Walk the Talk, the company that offers Hong Kong walking-tours-by-phone. Local history and ideas for places to see in the Big Lychee and Macau. Not just for visitors.
SDBlog Musings on HK life, including restaurant and photography tips.
Milton J Madison Even more discursions, from a pro-free markets, pro-federalism American. Hence Milton as in Alexander Hamilton, J as in John Jay and Madison as in... James Madison.
wee whale adventures “Wee sketchbook on Hong Kong culture, design and other stuff that matters” including urban planning disasters.
Cantopop Not about Cantopop. Teaching and family affairs, with an underlying, David Lynchean hint of menace.
Mr Jam Nury Vittachi keeping his adoring fans, young and old, up to date with his exciting career
Wandering Jew Thoughts on Hong Kong, plus some matters Hebraic
Dateline Hong Kong Asia expert and Australian 1997 survivor Professor Alan Knight
Chopped Onions A chef spells it out – “If you can’t eat/ are ‘allergic’ to, butter, potatoes, bread, carbs, wheat, gluten, shellfish, mayo, salad dressing, raw onions, garlic and any other thing right minded people call food, stay at home.”
Hong Kong or Bust ‘High Adventure’ in Hong Kong. Living, editing, photography and news.
The Greatest Thing You’ll Ever Learn A nuckin futs Manc girl in Hong Kong who likes stills from movies showing muscular men in period costume.
Fai Mo’s Sandbox A must-read. For example – “Require Nina Wong to have plastic surgery so she does not look like a pig and fine her HKD $1,000,000 per day she wears her hair in pig tails.”
Ed’s Blogout Lounge Thoughts and doings of a sometimes-profane, Irish-born Chinese recent journalism graduate and freelance cameraman.
Traveller’s Tales The Far Eastern Economic Review's very own blog.
Special 'token Europeans' section...
City of Life Blog dans la belle langue francaise
Annuels, mensuels, etc...
Present Perfect Foremerly L’il read writerhood. Extremely infrequent but regular, like the heartbeat of a blue whale or new year’s day on planet Pluto
Stuart Wolfendale Writes By Stuart Wolfendale, producer of rotund wit and wisdom in Hong Kong print media since the days when Donald Tsang was in short pants.
Webb-site.com Being called Webb, what else could he call it? Occasional, immaculately researched articles on Hong Kong corporate and public governance, by a shareholder rights activist who knows a ‘world city’ when he sees one.
Synotrip (New!!) City guides to China, including HK.
Tour Hong Kong A blog for tourists.
Bruce Dalbrack Short, readable essays on HK and much else by the British author of a book on China. Apparently updated weekly or so
Batgung An occasionally updated series of articles and vignettes by two expats. Insightful, not uncritical, but sympathetic and good-humoured accounts of such phenomena as Cantopop, EFM, and the mother-to-be who undergoes pre-natal conversion to Catholicism to get #1 brat into a good school.
Not The South China Morning Post Back again! Founded in British colonial times, and back after a four-year absence. (Some archives proudly hosted here.) The same anarchic formula – inconsistent, often tasteless, often pointed pictorial and written satire and invective.
The Lychee Tree in Butterfly Valley A 17,000 novel about someone held at Lai Chi Kok Prison. Originally submitted to a Government consultation exercise on law reform.
On-line magazines
Asia Times Online Descended from the shortlived Bangkok-based regional daily of the mid-1990s. Draws on a broad pool of professional and amateur pundits, many of them actual Asians, of varied political hues. Coverage leans towards Southern Asia and the Middle East. Has a busy Chinese edition.
Hong Kong Journal. A vaguely scholarly* on-line quarterly edited by Robert Keatley, formerly of the Asia Wall Street Journal and South China Morning Post. Contributions are mainly on political issues, from the usual predictable names. Sponsored by the Carnegie Fund. (*Worthy but not above accepting drivel from James Tien.)
Asian Sentinel Started in mid-2006 by veterans of once-venerable institutions like the Far Eastern Economic Review and the HK Standard to fill the void left by… themselves. Some youthful under-60s also contribute. Covers social issues and even food, as well as weightier business and politics. Readers can register and leave comments under articles.
Elsewhere, in absentia, in memoriam...
Singabloodypore Monitoring ‘Disneyland with the death penalty’ since July 2003.
Singapore Donkey The Lion City’s finest news source.
MasaManiA “Japanese culture report by MasaManiA with fucking photo & poor English you never seen at boring CNN, Time or major sophisticated jurnalism.” A work of crazed genius.
China Blog List Sinosplice's definitive list of English-language blogs in Greater China.
Learning Mandarin Chinese. Learn Chinese with free online lessons.
Peking Duck Former HK/China/Singapore resident. A sensitive soul, now in the US easily depressed by many things, not least the quality of governance in the glorious Chinese motherland.
What Comes to Pass A student in London preparing to meet HK's insatiable appetite for barristers called John Swaine.
Reoriented RIP Preston Whip. Whatever happened to him? Primus inter pares.
N8Ma Nathan Madsen Reasoned commentary on Hong Kong/China and the world of music from an aspiring opera conductor.
Chase me ladies, I’m in the cavalry English Mo Lei Tau. What Monty Python would have been had it been an ex-HK blog.
¿ntelligent life? The once-monthly, unhurried thoughts of Tony Giles
Give me spirit fingers dammit!! What are spirit fingers? Or should it be ‘Give me spirit, fingers’ – as in ‘feet don’t fail me’? A sardonic and highly readable look at fashion and style , now sadly departed
