A supermodel is born – by Jon Rechtman

My career as a model started the way all good stories begin: I was walking down the street, minding my own business, when I was propositioned by a slim young Chinese woman with impeccable English, in a snazzy white dress and an attitude to match.

"You're perfect," she said, looking me up and down.

Ed: Sam Duncan is now based up in Daqing, China's far northeast, as of the end of last year. Here's a new one of his blog posts about some of the local turns of phrase (东北话) he's picking up there

People here in the Northeast have their own word for Russians, 毛子 (máozi). 毛 means hair so I guess the term translates as "hairy ones.” The nicer version is 老毛子 (lǎomáozi – old/venerable hairy ones), and the more derogatory usage is 傻毛子 (shǎmáozi – stupid hairy ones).

Climbing a mountain to beat the sunrise – by Elijah Dove

As we approach the staircase, flashlight beams sweep through the midnight mist-smog. Chanted words drift from behind them, and as we draw closer, shambling figures reveal themselves as street vendors, hawking canes, incense and assorted trinkets. No rest for the working. We walk briskly past them and begin our ascent on steps leading up between hulked, darkling shadows; shops by day are now become anonymous, shuttered spectres.

We are on our way to climb Mount Tai, the most renowned of China’s five great mountains. It carries the claim of being the most-climbed mountain not only in China, but in the world.

It was the first day of the Chinese new year in Urumqi, not that many Uighurs particularly cared. It's not their holiday (although there was a Uighur language spring festival gala). But it was also a Friday, which meant the biggest weekly public prayer at the Grand Bazaar. The Bazaar itself, the world's largest, was closed. Outside it, hundreds of Muslims laid out their mats, kneeled and prostrated themselves to the yodelling refrain of "Allah Akbar" coming from the speaker system.

Across the street, a clump of security guards watched them, looking bored.

Yes, I know it is not Tuesday. But I've been travelling, and Chinese Tuesdays is more than a day, it is a state of mind.

You're probably already fed up with new year's good wishes and horse puns (or even more irritating, these little suckers), but they're not going to go away so you might as well learn a few of the better ones to inflict on others. Courtesy of Fuck Yeah Chinese Myths!: