[Extensive Reading] China Slaps Tax on Disposable Chopsticks
In a move that has cheered environmentalists but worried restaurant owners, China has slapped a 5 per cent tax on the chopsticks over concerns of deforestation. The move is hitting hard at the Japanese, who consume a tremendous 25 billion sets of wooden chopsticks a year - about 200 pairs per person.
[Extensive Reading] A Trek Off the Beaten Path Pays Rich Dividends 2
Beautiful but dirty-faced children followed us around and I bought them lollipops. One five-year-old boy appeared with a four-inch bug on a string leash and all three of our kids played with it. We felt millions of miles away from booming Beijing or Shanghai.
[Extensive Reading] A Trek Off the Beaten Path Pays Rich Dividends 1
China has three weeklong holidays when virtually the entire country shuts down. With no school and no caregivers, they are prime times to go exploring, but because 1.3 billion other people have the same idea, many expats prefer to stay put or leave the country.