If you were to bring one stuffed animal for a young friend back home from China, what would it be? Let me take a wild guess and say: a panda? 

There is no better place to get that toy than from the Giant Panda Breeding Center in Chengdu city of Southwest China and that's where we're heading today.

Will they let you bring home a real baby panda? 

Well...let's see what Shenting and Mohan have to say about that!

Who is the wisest one of all?

Is it the King?

Is it the Queen?

Is it the fair lady who is writing this thing?

Close, but no!

For a lot of Chinese people, the answer is very likely to be: my Grandmother!

Grandmas are packed with decades with wisdom and bosoms full of love!

What are the words of wisdom that Chinese Grandmas try to pass down to their much-pampered grandchildren?

Join us and have a listen!

Who is the wisest one of all?

Is it the King?

Is it the Queen?

Is it the fair lady who is writing this thing?

Close, but no!

For a lot of Chinese people, the answer is very likely to be: my Grandmother!

Grandmas are packed with decades with wisdom and bosoms full of love!

What are the words of wisdom that Chinese Grandmas try to pass down to their much-pampered grandchildren?

Join us and have a listen!

What other animals are favored by the Chinese people? 

Lizards’? Turtles? Snails?

(Whisper: A panda would be nice, but only in my dreams...)

Mohan and Shen Ting will tell you more!

What are considered lucky in the Chinese culture?

Will people's eyes light up if you give them, let's say, a live turtle for present?

What fruit is the most appropriate for birthdays for the elderly?

Click "Play" and find out!

What are considered lucky in the Chinese culture?

Will people's eyes light up if you give them, let's say, a live turtle for present?

What fruit is the most appropriate for birthdays for the elderly?

Click "Play" and find out!

Oh wait! We shouldn't worry.

You won't be able to get tickets to go anywhere anyways, ha! 
 

Is it that serious? Yep! Believe you me!
 
Find out more in this episode!

If you don't believe me just click "Play" and have a listen!

Four generations living under one roof might sound two to three generations too much to you, but for centuries in China, it's been a symbol of heavenly bliss.  Though no longer common in today's China it's still looked upon with fondness and warmth.  Recently, a series of videos with this theme have been garnering the hits overseas. One child, her parents, then the grandparents and then the great grandparents come into the scene one by one and call the other "Mom", simple as that. But’s that’s enough to get the tears flowing.

Click “Play” and let the story melt your heart too!

Do they mean what you think they mean? Tune in and find out!

In this week's show, we meet Xu Wei, a nationally renowned pop-rock musician here in China. He just released his seventh album and in today's show, he reveals the creation of the new songs and his philosophy on life and music.

Join me and take a listen!

What are they and why are they so essential?

Here is a sneaky peek:

Plastic basins. As ugly as they look, these are part of our lives. You will find them in our bathrooms, not just one or two, but a whole stack of various appalling colors. The butcher knives with a flat cutting edge. Yep, don't mess with a Chinese cook, our knives can hack anything to pieces, slice right through the bone like feathers. The electrical heating blankets. When winter comes around, most people living in Southern China will choose these babies over their spouses in bed, not joking at all.

Click "Play" and let us show you the rest!

For us Chinese people, no matter where we live, be it the North Pole or smack on the Equator, there are certain things that we simply must have, maybe not right away if they are not readily available, but these items will slowly creep back into our lives.

What are they and why are they so essential?

Here is a sneaky peek:

Plastic basins. As ugly as they look, these are part of our lives. You will find them in our bathrooms, not just one or two, but a whole stack of various appalling colors. The butcher knives with a flat cutting edge. Yep, don't mess with a Chinese cook, our knives can hack anything to pieces, slice right through the bone like feathers. The electrical heating blankets. When winter comes around, most people living in Southern China will choose these babies over their spouses in bed, not joking at all.

Click "Play" and let us show you the rest!

And even that is not fine enough for a nation with a history of over 5,000 years. New colors have burst onto the scene straight from the Palace Museum, inside the City that was once Forbidden. These "reds" for lipsticks are named after traditional Chinese porcelain and embroideries especially designed for Asian beauties. 

Have I piqued your interest? Well, too bad! These hot items have already been sold out. 

Click "Play" and find out more!

It's "Shang Huo", "Up" and "Heat". Grannies say it to show their love. Moms say it to assert their control. Coworkers say it to show their concern. It floats everywhere in the Chinese atmosphere. So what's this omnipotent and ubiquitous "Shang Huo" business?

Listen and find out, wink wink~

It's "Shang Huo", "Up" and "Heat". Grannies say it to show their love. Moms say it to assert their control. Coworkers say it to show their concern. It floats everywhere in the Chinese atmosphere. So what's this omnipotent and ubiquitous "Shang Huo" business?

Listen and find out, wink wink~

Amazon Go, the USA

Bingobox, Moby, Tao Cafe, China

What are these?

These are staff-less stores in which you are followed by store cameras but not helped by any clerks because there are none.

They are new. They are cool. But are they the right fit for cities in China, where strangers gather to dance together on public squares; where people grew up huddled by parents, grandparents, relatives and neighbors, and where people are suspicious of stores and restaurants with few or non headcounts?

What if fancy new technology and the chase for efficiency turned out to be nothing than creepy in a culture of "the more the merrier"?

Will you invest in this?

Li Yuan presents to you the latest cool sound from Chinese musicians. This week's show features Yuhan Su, a talented young jazz vibraphone player, introducing her new album City Animals, and her understanding of jazz music. Take a listen!

As non-native English speakers, we've got our own impression of what British and American people are like. Sure, they all speak English, but they have such different ways of talking, and they have their own unique national characters. But let's not be too serious about it, because sometimes we might get the wrong impression!

What is that?

It's November 11th! The Single Dogs' Day in China!

Yep! You heard that right.

And how do Chinese people celebrate this day?

With a carnival of course!

China is not really a nation of carnivals. Floats and marching bands are not really our thing, but we sure can shop, especially online!

The Double 11 Carnival is waving right at you.

Watching clips on Chinese video-streaming sites can be confusing — words in different colors suddenly appear out of nowhere and fly across the screen. This is called "dan'mu" - "Bullet screen" in English. This function is wildly popular among young netizens. It allows real-time comments from viewers to fly across the screen like bullets. The dan'mu messages include jokes and snarky remarks, but also informative explanations. It all serves to help netizens socialize online.