Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim on AM 1490 WGCH and Anywhere on WGCH.com: February 2018

Monday, February 26, 2018

Coming Up Next: Darlene Chiu Bryant of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, Lantern Festival and More!

Listen to the Show Here.

Coming up on the next show I will be welcoming Darlene Chiu Bryant, a member of the Board of Directors of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation based in San Francisco.

From 1910 to 1940, Angel Island was the site of an immigration station. It functioned as and is often compared to Ellis Island. Yet policies were enforced that were designed to exclude – rather than welcome – many Pacific Coast immigrants from 82 countries.

In 1970 the center was slated for demolition – until an important discovery was made. Sparked by this discovery, Bay Area Asian Americans organized to spearhead the historical preservation and interpretation of the station.

In 1983, the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation was formed.

Friday, March 2 marks celebration of the Lantern Festival. Signaling the end of Chinese New Year celebrations, displaying lanterns is still a major event on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, even after over 2000 years of observances. It's also the "true" Chinese Valentine's Day.

Join us this coming Saturday, March 3, 2018 for all this and more on the next broadcast of Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim. We'll have our usual segments, including our Weekly Almanac of exhibitions and events you can attend all across the USA.

Tune in to 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time USA/ 11:30 p.m. Beijing Time for the realtime broadcast. We'll post an online link to the broadcast that you can access free-of-charge at your convenience on Podcasts.com.

Xiexie! Thank you for tuning in to Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim. My weekly news blasts and blog site are here to connect you to my show on NewsTalk AM 1490 WGCH Radio, China and the other cultures of East Asia and the Pacific Rim.

Subscribe by email to MarvelsofChina@gmail.com. If you prefer not to receive messages please respond with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject-box of your email.

Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim's broadcasts are from AM1490 WGCH and anywhere on WGCH.com in Greenwich, Connecticut USA.

This show is title-sponsored by Beijing AmBridge International Culture Development Ltd. You are invited to explore how an alliance with Beijing AmBridge can help your company or organization grow and prosper. Call Beijing AmBridge's office in Beijing at 86-10-80775517 or email ambridge01@163.com.

When you visit San Francisco be sure to make the Grant Plaza Hotel your choice for quality accommodations. This impressive boutique hotel is has all the advantages: great location, easy access to ground transportation, clean, safe and easy on your budget. Staff are cheerful. professional and helpful. The Grant Plaza is one block up from Dragon's Gate and within walking distance of Union Square and Market Street, even Nob Hill. Restaurants and theaters are nearby. Located at 465 Grant Avenue, San Francisco, California 94108-3208.

The Pacific Learning Consortium in Honolulu, Hawaii and Greenwich, Connecticut sponsors of the weekly Confucius Moment. Now collaborating with the Admissions Network of Chinese Universities and Colleges by offering the Sino-American Cultural Exchange Scholarship Program. Now qualified Americans can study on full scholarships for their Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees at Chinese universities. Get started today by contacting PacificLearningConsortium@gmail.com. Learn more online at www.pacificlearningconsortium.org.

This weekly show is also made possible by individual listeners like you all around the world. Thank you!

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Chinese New Year from the Streets of San Francisco

Friday, February 23, 2018

Weekly Almanac: There's Much to See and Do!

Everything Chinese is all the rage these days! One of our most popular segments on Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim is the Weekly Almanac.

It is here where we provide our global listeners with news of just some of the public exhibits and activities happening around the USA, China and beyond:

The Committee of 100 is pleased to present Artificial Intelligence: How Will A.I. Change Our Future featuring from China Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, one of the world's most respected experts on artificial intelligence. The Honorable Michelle Lee, former Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office will moderate this presentation. Dr. Lee will speak about his new book A.I. Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order. Wednesday, September 26, 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Santa Clara Convention Center Theatre, Santa Clara, California.

A Call for Proposals has been announced by the International Convention of Asia Scholars. The next convention is scheduled for July 16-19, 2019 in Leiden, the Netherlands. The ICS attracts participants from over 60 countries to engage in global dialogs and Asia Leiden university will be the main host of the convention deadline for proposals is October 10, 2018. On the web I I a S.Asia

On Saturday, September 22, 9:15 a.m. - 5:45 p.m. the China Institute in America will be holding an international symposium, Photography and China.

Leading scholars, industry experts, photography collectors from the USA and China will discuss topics ranging from the influence of Chinese traditional aesthetics on 19th century photography to cutting-edge innovations developed by the country's contemporary masters of the medium. Tickets include admission to Art of the Mountain: Through the Chinese Photographers Lens exhibit. At ChinaInstitute.org.

There's always something going on at the China Institute in America! Mountains in Chinese legends are the pillars that hold up the sky. The public is invited to Art of the Mountain: Through the Chinese Photographer's Lens on exhibit at the China Institute in America, 100 Washington Street, New York City until February 17, 2019. ChinaInstitute.org.

At the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), On the Shelves of Kam Wah Chung & Co. General Store and Apothecary in John Day, Oregon is an immersive exhibition celebrating the medical practice of Ing "Doc" Hay who became a prominent figure in eastern Oregon after the California Gold Rush. Ends September 9, 2018. Chinese Medicine in America: Converging Ideas, People and Practices is a sweeping cultural exploration of Chinese medicine, combining ancient metaphysical concepts with modern practices of Chinese medicine in America. Ends September 9, 2018. With a Single Step: Stories in the Making of America presents the diverse layers of the Chinese American experience while examining America's journey as a nation of immigrants. Ends December 31, 2020. MOCANYC.org.

At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City:

Streams and Mountains Without End: Landscape Traditions of China showcases over 120 Chinese landscape paintings and explores many uses of landscape in Chinese visual arts. Closes August 18, 2019. MetMuseum.org.

At the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles, California check out the Sun Wing Wo General Store and Herb Shop; Origins: the Birth and Rise of Chinese American Communities in Los Angeles. On the web at CAMLA.org.

Visit the Chinese Historical Society of America's museum in the heart of San Francisco's Chinatown. Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion chronicles the complex history of the Chinese in America from the early days of the China trade in the 18th century to the present day. Check out Living in Chinatown: Memories in Miniature, created by Frank Wong. On the web at CHSA.org. Go to this link and listen to my interview with Corey Tong, a producer of the film Forever, Chinatown about about Frank Wong. Go to this link and listen to my interview with Dr. Karen McNeill, America's foremost authority on Julia Morgan, architect of what is today the headquarters of the CHSA pictured above.

At the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California, Ancient Arts in China: A 5000 Year Legacy portrays the evolution of Chinese art and culture. Curated by authorities from the Shanghai Museum, this exhibition present importance of fine art made to be admired during life and depending on in the afterlife. On the web at Bowers.org.

At the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts explore Yin Yu Tang, an authentic late Qing dynasty merchants house originally located in China's Anhui province. Re-erected at the museum, the public is invited to discover this rare example of southeastern China's renowned architecture and learn about the Huang family who lived in Yin Yu Tang over 200 years. Also, explore the museums superlative Chinese export art collection and the Double Happiness: Celebration in Chinese Art exhibit. On the web at PEM.org. Go to this link and listen to my conversation with Daisy Wang, Ph.D, curator of Chinese and East Asian Art. Dr. Wang oversees and manages PEM's Chinese, Japanese and Korean collections.

Traces of the Past and Future: Fu Shen's Paintings and Calligraphy is on exhibit through September 16 at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Celebrated for bringing out the painterly of calligraphy and weaving his own narrative into ethereal landscapes, Fu honors and extends the tradition of Chinese in art. Ends September 16, 2018. On the web at asianart.org.

On view at the Minneapolis Institute of Art is Enchanted Mountains: Chinese Landscape Painting from Mia's Collection. Works on exhibit reveal the rich imaginations and sensitivities of Chinese landscape painters spanning 500 years of Chinese history 1200s through the 1800s. On view until November 18, 2018.

The Chinese Historical Society of New England (CHSNE) in Boston, Massachusetts USA is offering hour-long public walking tours exploring Chinatown's history and public art. Chinatown mural tours will be offered on selected dates. Checkout Chinatown Atlas online! CHSNE.org

The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation in San Francisco Bay invites the public to visit its grounds and museum, to reflect and discover our shared history as a nation of immigrants. AIISF.org.

The Lotus Lee Foundation invites qualifying Americans to join in a unique cultural exchange through its Travel Fellowship! Participants explore the theater industry in Shanghai while broadening their experiences and deepen their insights on the future of the international performing arts field.

Contact the show at MarvelsofChina@gmail.com with your news. We'll provide a brief description and web site referral.

NOTE: The contents of his page changes often, so be sure to check back here from time to time. Look under the Links listing on the left side of the blog site. Xiexie!

Subscribe by email to MarvelsofChina@gmail.com. If you prefer not to receive messages please respond with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject-box of your email.

Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim's broadcasts are from AM1490 WGCH and anywhere on WGCH.com in Greenwich, Connecticut USA.

This weekly show is also made possible by individual listeners like you all around the world. Thank you!

Monday, February 19, 2018

Coming Up Next: Victoria Gerard of the Bowers Museum and 'Empress Dowager Cixi: Selections from the Summer Palace'

Listen to the Show Here.

This coming Saturday, February 24, 2018 I'll be coming to you from Chinatown in the "City by the Bay," San Francisco, California!

Chinese New Year celebrations -including the world-renowned parade in Chinatown- are the largest in North America and the largest outside Asia.

My guest on Conversations will be Ms. Victoria Gerard, Curator of Collections and Special Exhibitions at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, Orange County, California.

Empress Dowager Cixi: Selections from the Summer Palace is on exhibit at the Bowers Museum until March 11, 2018. Now is your chance to experience this first-of-its-kind exhibit which was organized through a ground-breaking partnership with the Summer Palace Museum in Beijing. Cixi's role and her life was a multifaceted one -politician, matriarch and connoisseur of various arts. The exhibit reconstructs the matriarch's everyday life in the Summer Palace through four sections and more than 100 objects never before displayed in the USA before.

Check out this article from Voice of America. New China TV debuted this clip through YouTube.

As our celebrations of the Chinese New Year continue we'll feature a special edition of the Weekly Almanac where you'll learn about public celebrations and exhibits of Chinese culture. Check out the Confucius Moment, Chinese Fun Facts and more!

On this show "everything Chinese is all the rage these days." We wouldn't have it any other way.

Tune in this coming Saturday, February 24, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern USA Time/ 11:30 p.m. Beijing Time to listen in realtime on 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere via audio streaming.

Can't listen in realtime? Not to worry; we've got you covered. You'll be able to listen on your schedule through our archives site at
our channel on Podcasts.com.

Subscribe by email to MarvelsofChina@gmail.com. If you prefer not to receive messages please respond with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject-box of your email.

Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim's broadcasts are from AM1490 WGCH and anywhere on WGCH.com in Greenwich, Connecticut USA.

This weekly show is also made possible by individual listeners like you all around the world. Thank you!

Thank you! Year 3 Begins!

As we continue to celebrate Chinese New Year, I send my warmest wishes to all around China, America and the world, wishing you peace, prosperity, safe travel, good health and everlasting fond memories.

Chinese New Year is colorful and exciting to say the least.

During this auspicious season we mark another milestone as we begin the third year of the Marvels of China Pathways to the Pacific Rim show.

I humbly send my heartfelt thanks, especially to our title sponsor Beijing AmBridge International Culture Development, Limited, and to 1490 WGCH/WGCH.com anywhere for taking a chance on this first of its kind show. There are many individuals in America and China whom I am grateful to. My extraordinary guests have been a delight to welcome.

The true star of the show is not and never has been me. Together we have shared a journey of discovery and fascination into a culture that stretches back over 5000 years in time.

Thank you for tuning in each week – our best days are yet to come!

Xiexie!

Friday, February 16, 2018

It's Time for the Official Great Chinese New Year T-Shirt Giveaway!

If you are lucky and provide the correct answer this shirt or one like it may become yours!

WE HAVE A WINNER!

We send our congratulations to Robert Chen from Greenwich, Connecticut -the same town where 1490 WGCH/WGCH.com broadcasts the show. He guessed correctly that the rhinoceros is NOT one of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac.

Starting on the Saturday, February 17 show I will be giving away Chinese New Year of the Dog t-shirts like the one featured above.

Tune in tomorrow for our All-Things Chinese Weekly Trivia Contest.

I'll pose a question. The first listener who sends me the correct answer to MarvelsofChina@gmail.com wins!

You'll receive an authentic Chinese New Year t-shirt from Honolulu's Chinatown.

I'm feeling good so guess what else I'll do? I also send along a small bag of Hawaiian coffee.

Please be sure to include your name, postal address and your shirt size. I'll announce the winner of the next broadcast. Good luck!

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Happy Chinese New Year! 4716 -the Year of the Dog- is Here!

At last! Year 4716 -the Year of the Dog -is Here!

Just a couple of hours ago friends and listeners in Eastern and Southeast Asia shared the good news that Chinese New Year has officially started. Congratulations!

Meanwhile, here in the USA -and in Hawaii where I am currently located- we have a little longer to wait. It's worth it.

Colorful decorations festoon homes, offices, businesses and the sidewalks of Honolulu's Chinatown. People are running around making last-minute purchases, all leading to the start of this most auspicious of holidays.

From my heart to yours, wishing you and your families around the world a Happy Chinese New Year of the Dog. May your homes be filled with an abundance of joy, smiles, prosperity, good health and success. Safe travels to all wherever your destinations may be.

Jeffrey Bingham Mead,
Your Host.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Coming Up Next: Happy New Year! Ashley Fu, Chair of the Young Professionals of The Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Hawaii and Douglas Chong of the Hawaii Chinese History Center

Listen to the Show Here.

On our upcoming Chinese New Year special broadcast I'm welcoming Ms. Ashley Fu. She is the chair of the Young Professionals of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Honolulu, Hawaii USA.

"The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential," said the Sage Confucius, "these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence." That's certainly the case with this group of 20 to 30 year olds. They are making their imprint on the community while positively impacting the community.

I'm also welcoming back Mr. Douglas Chong of the Hawaii Chinese History Center in Honolulu's Chinatown. We'll share a few moments hearing about the announcement and release of the 2018 Chinese New Year commemorative postage stamps in January. Both Chong and leaders of Hawaii's Chinese community were directly involved. You can still purchase these at your local post office in the USA or do so online at: https://store.usps.com/store/product/buy-stamps/lunar-new-year-year-of-the-dog-S_564804

It's time to celebrate! Auspicious meanings fill the air as the Chinese New Year -also known as the Spring Festival- officially arrives the days before the show, February 16. Look forward to greetings from local officials, as well as our regular segments. Be sure to listen to the Weekly Almanac where you'll hear about things to do and places to be where you can savor the splendors and textures of Chinese culture.

We're giving away authentic Chinese New Year t-shirts designed and manufactured in Hawaii! Test your knowledge of Chinese civilization by listening and participating in our trivia contest. The first listener with the correct answer wins one of these Year of the Dog commemorative shirts.

The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America has established its presence on the Facebook social media platform. To learn more go to https://www.facebook.com/ChineseEmbassyinUS/

We're also marking the beginning of our third year on-the-air! What a journey this has been! I want all of our listeners to know how deeply appreciative I am of your interest and support for this program. My thanks goes to Beijing AmBridge International Culture Development, Ltd., for having the vision and foresight to serve as the title-sponsor of this show as well as 1490 WGCH/WGCH.com in Greenwich, Connecticut USA.

Remember to tune in this coming Saturday, February 16, 2018 to 1490 WGCH and WGCH.com anywhere via live audio streaming at 10:30 a.m. Eastern USA Time and 11:30 p.m. Beijing Time. Not convenient for you? We'll upload the broadcast to our archives channel at Podcasts.com, send it out via our email list and post it on social media platforms.

Subscribe by email to MarvelsofChina@gmail.com. If you prefer not to receive messages please respond with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject-box of your email.

Marvels of China: Pathways to the Pacific Rim's broadcasts are from AM1490 WGCH and anywhere on WGCH.com in Greenwich, Connecticut USA.

This weekly show is also made possible by individual listeners like you all around the world. Thank you!

Now on Facebook: Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the USA

The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America has established its presence on Facebook.

To learn more go to this link.

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Three Minutes: Apple celebrates Chinese New Year with teary iPhone X ad

If your family reunion only lasts three minutes, what will you do? This unique Chinese New Year story was shot on iPhone X by director Peter Chan. This story was published on CNET and featured on YouTube.

It's the story of a woman who works as a conductor on a train and rarely sees her son at the New Year. It's been a big viral hit in China.

Friday sees China begin to celebrate its New Year.

You might imagine that many brands would create cheery, uplifting communication to herald the Year of the Dog.

Apple thought different.

It released a long ad that puts tears before cheers.

Based on a true story, it tells the tale of a woman who's a conductor on one of the longest train routes in China -- Nanning to Harbin. It's a six-day journey. This means she rarely gets to see her young son, named Ding, during the New Year festivities.

She leaves him with her sister and worries whether he behaves. She admits she's tough on him. He, in turn, desperately wants to impress his mom. So he learns his multiplication tables with extreme concentration.

This particular New Year, however, her sister decides to bring Ding to the Kaili station in Guizhou, just to catch mom for the three minutes that the train stops there.

What follows are moments of quiet desperation as the two search for each other on a crowded platform, just to spend a few moments together -- a few moments in which Ding wants to show how well he's learned his tables.

The ad purports to be for the iPhone X. The only overt role the phone plays, however, is that the man behind the camera -- famed movie director Peter Chan -- shot the whole thing on the phone. (Steven Soderbergh has just shot a thriller on the phone.)

Even though Apple concludes the ad by saying everyone should capture their stories on the iPhone X, the underlying message of this melancholy piece is about the preciousness of time.

It goes by quickly. The important moments can pull out of the station before we've even recognized them.

The ad does paint some optimistic tones at the end. What we remember most, though, is the mom and son pulled apart on a festive day.

Despite the sadness -- or perhaps because of it -- this oeuvre has enjoyed considerable attention in China. Adweek reported last week that it had already enjoyed 68 million online views.