Jul 2023, Guangzhou This is a Kweichow Moutai advertisement at the Guangzhou Airport. Kweichow Moutai is a luxury spirit in China popular with politicians and businessmen. Three years ago, it overtook Diageo as the world's most valuable liquor company (owner of Johnnie Walker, J&B, Vat 69, Guinness, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan Rum, Tanqueray, Gordon's Gin etc).... Continue Reading →
Jul 2023. Guangzhou The bottle's shape was misleading. If not for the golden hue of its contents, I would have thought that it was a baijiu advertisement at the Guangzhou Airport in China. But it was Johnny Walker, the world's highest selling Scotch whisky. Departing from its signature square bottle designs and wedging its way... Continue Reading →
Jul 2023. Guangzhou I don't know what's this man's story, but he is definitely going to be woken up by the airport authorities real soon. The life is so busy and hectic for many people in China. If you get a few minutes of spare time, you try to have a quick meal, catch a... Continue Reading →
Jul 2023. Guangzhou It was 6.00am. I had an hour more before I caught my transit flight from Guangzhou to Beijing. I didn't want to sleep and kept walking around the transit hall. At the end of the long hall stood a huge video screen featuring a China Customs video about the do's and don'ts... Continue Reading →
Jul 2023. Guangzhou This is a customs notice at the transit centre in the Guangzhou Airport. Normally this used to be just in Chinese and English back in 2018. But now it's in Chinese, English, Korean, Japanese, French, Spanish, Arabic and in one more language. It definitely shows that China is trying to be more... Continue Reading →
Jul 2023. Guangzhou One of the most common meals taken by the Chinese when they are in a hurry is the instant cup noodles, which I personally think is one of the greatest inventions of mankind. All you need is hot water. Another favourite Chinese habit is drinking tea and for which again you need... Continue Reading →
Jul 2023. Guangzhou The airports are the only place in China where they split you into locals and foreigners. And when they do that, you have to pay attention. You need to make sure all your papers are in order. The Chinese customs are strict and there will not take any nonsense. The foreigners' queues... Continue Reading →
I saw some Africans filling-up their arrival cards at the Guangzhou Airport. I started thinking about the African students in my residential compound and the Nigerian medical doctor in BMW China. Other than that, I didn't see many Africans during my ten years there. But apparently African Chinese relationships have expanded in the recent years... Continue Reading →
Jul 2023. Guangzhou Upon arriving at the Guangzhou airport, I had to use WeChat to document my covid test result taken 24 hour earlier to enter customs. I lived in China for ten years and relocated to Australia in June 2018. Covid started 1.5 years later. If I was still there, I would have faced... Continue Reading →
Jul 2023. Guangzhou I stepped out of my eleven-hour flight from Melbourne into Guangzhou Airport. The air was warm and dry. The airport was lit up but deserted. It was unlike the bustling mini-city I was used to before. But it was 4.30am. Early morning passengers were going about their business quietly. In China, the... Continue Reading →