2010 Nov 25 Beijing's Best Blogs
Blogs have come along way in the past few years. What used to be little more than online diaries, photo collections and video links have now become battlefields strewn with information, opinion and passion. Beijing’s blogs are no exception, and while blogs come and go, those that remain provide a wealth of insight on all things China.
China Development Brief is an independent publication that reports on social developments and civil society in China. If you are looking for environmental news, the bilingual China Dialogue features news, analysis and discussion of environmental issues concerning China.
Currently accessible only with a VPN, Danwei features some of the most comprehensive news on media, advertising and urban life in China. Many competitors are emerging, so those who want to keep up to speed with real news can check out the Hao Hao Report and the Wall Street Journal’s China Real Time Report, among others.
Blogs like China Sports Today and Wild East Football can keep you up to speed on sports in the Middle Kingdom. If window shopping is your sport of choice, Stylites follows Beijing’s hottest hipsters and is a great place for style inspiration. Inspired to shop? Whether you’re seeking a hat, a cello, or a new pair of shoes, Nicely Made in China can point you in the direction of locally produced, high-quality merchandise.
Beijing Boyce covers both food and wine, with a strong emphasis on the latter, and is a great place to get the inside scoop on the local bar scene. If you want to narrow down your options to reds and whites, check out his wine-only blog Grape Wall of China. If you want your food blog without a side of local business gossip, Red Cook and Appetite for China are just a click away.
Beijing Daze covers both live music and food, featuring great insight into Beijing’s local music scene. For another inside look into the music world in China there is China Music Radar. The blog is maintained by promotion company Split Works, and covers the country’s music industry. For a deeper understanding of the Chinese music scene, check out Rock in China.
Dgenerate Films covers China’s independent film scene and is run by a non-theatrical distributor of independent contemporary films from China, and Dan Edwards’ Screening China blog (needs a VPN) is another great source for independent films, featuring reviews, spotlights on actors and directors, and more. Alive not Dead is an online community dedicated to helping artists by giving them a space to connect and cooperate, and to share their work with their fans.
If sensational exposés are your thing, check out China Hush and China Smack. These blogs specialize in laying bare China’s dark side by means of translated blog posts from around China. Stories cover everything happening online, from scandal to gossip and news, and translated commentary from Chinese netizens provide deep inside into their psyche.
Modern Lei Feng has made a name for himself on the blogging scene with his insights into daily life in China, but if you’re overwhelmed by modern China, Jeremiah Jenne’s blog Jotting from a Granite Studio provides interesting insight to China’s literary past, with but a dash of modern news for good measure.
Last but not least, the blogs on the Beijinger’s website have a variety of Beijing-based blogs that cover
everything from organic living to dining, shopping and nightlife.
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