Happy Mother's Day!

To all you hard-working Mothers out there: have a very happy and wonderful day! As I wrote to some of the Mothers I know here in China: 母亲节祝福快乐！

And you expats: Don't forget to call home!

This Week: Campus Walks, Rage Bait, and New Tech vs Old Language

This week includes a walk around campus, a classic Chinese breakfast, a few AI debates, and some thoughts on electric bikes (and how to teach an adult how to ride a bicycle!)

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This Week’s Videos

1. 🎓 Welcome to Campus! – A walk through a Beijing university campus in Changping District. Watch here
2. 🍳 A Chinese Breakfast – Soy milk, fried dough, steamed buns, and eggs for just a few kuai. Watch here
3. 🔥 Rage Baiting AI!! – Should AI mark essays—or should it replace entire departments? Watch here
4. 🧠 Human Language or Technical Skill?! – What’s more useful today: coding, or speaking another language? Watch here
5. ⚡ New EV Bikes in Beijing?! – A look at Beijing’s latest electric bike upgrades, helmet included. Watch here
6. 🎁 BONUS: Chinese History Books! - A compilation of suggested reading from a recent XiaoHongShu post.

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🎓 Campus Life in Changping

A walk-and-talk tour through the university campus. I shot this a while back and quite unexpectedly met a few students along the way. One foreign student who is studying actuarial science, some of her classmates, and then another student who said he had switched from an economics major to language and literature citing the reason that "what's money without sould?" Or something along those lines.

Signs and slogans, open fields and drain holes, supermarket offerings, cafes, cafeterias and student conversations, well worth a look if you want a very good street-view of the modern Chinese campus.

📹 Watch here

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🥣 A Classic Chinese Breakfast

Steamed buns, two fried dough sticks, two eggs, and a cup of soy milk—all for about $4 USD. Cheaper and more fillling than McDonalds (yes, I A/B tested them.)

This video (shot a while back already) walks you through a typical Chinese breakfast order and the lively atmosphere inside of the restaurant in the "early hours" of 7.00am.

📹 Watch here

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🤖 Human vs AI: Who’s Doing the Grading?

A recent video questioning whether teachers should use AI sparked a strong reaction—“That’s your job, Steve!”

But here’s the bigger idea: If essays are already digital, and AI can generate feedback… is it only a matter of time before faculty-level automation starts creeping in?

It’s not (just) about replacing teachers. It’s about how far the system will go to streamline grading and support.

(***One thing I try to keep in mind whenever this argument of AI replacing jobs: just as a company can "replace" workers, so too can workers now do much more on their own without the resources of a company or university. That is to say, if the Faculty of English is replaced, then the Director of Studies, the teachers, and even the students themselves can all utilize and leverage the capabilities of AI and this fascinating modern technology.)

📹 Watch here

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🌐 Learn a Language or Learn the Tech?

With new tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek speeding up communication and translation, is learning a human language still worth it?

Or should we be learning how to use the tools instead of mastering the language itself?

I posted this online and received a few responses that were pretty typical: why not learn both?

The problem is really a question of time: if you have one hour each day to commit to studying something, would you choose to learn a human language or would you choose to learn a modern technology?

Sure, the human language could lead to more job opportunities, but so could the new tech. The human language can help you communicate face-to-face, but the modern tech can help you communicate across the world (which is especially beneficial if you're working online).

So, what seems like such an easy answer gets a bit of a double take when considering how much time you have during the day.

Which would you choose? Which have you chosen?!

📹 Watch here

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🛵 New Electric Bikes—and Helmets

A look at one of the newest entrants to Beijing’s public transport options: helmet-equipped electric scooters.

I haven't used them yet as they require an additional cost to what I'm already paying to use the regular sharebikes. I wouldn't mind trying as they are more ubiquitous than the pushbikes but, that's probably because of the additional cost.

And here's a question: what if someone doesn’t know how to ride a bike at all? Teach them the classic way—or go EV?

📹 Watch here

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📚 Recommended Chinese History Books

Finally, in case you needed some summer reading, I asked XiaoHongShu about the best history books about China. This was a follow up to my question "Why do Chinese people always say the country has 5,000 years of history?" (which received more than a few apparent bots and snide remarks).

My focus was on what the Chinese people themselves read, particularly what contributes to the idea that China has 5,000 years of history. I was not disappointed by the response. If anything, a little overwhelmed.

Below are three out of the list. I've read the first book of the first suggestion, though it has become quite a famous series here in China. The second recommendation is a history textbook, so I'm not sure if you'll be able to find it outside of the Mainland of China. Full Book list is here.

1.《半小时漫画中国史》 (Bàn Xiǎoshí Mànhuà Zhōngguó Shǐ)

Half-hour Comics of Chinese History

A humorous, illustrated series that gives a light yet surprisingly informative overview of Chinese history. Great for language learners—easy to follow and very visual.

2.《部编本高中历史教科书》 (Bùbiānběn Gāozhōng Lìshǐ Jiàokēshū)

Ministry-Compiled High School History Textbook

If you want a solid academic overview of China’s historical narrative—as taught in schools—this is it.

3.《春秋》 (Chūnqiū)

Spring and Autumn Annals

One of the oldest Chinese historical texts, attributed to Confucius. This is classical Chinese, so it’s not easy, but it’s foundational if you’re into ancient texts or working toward literary fluency.

Again, full list here (Google Doc).

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Best,

Steve