On the occasion of the Chinese New Year, Thursday 7th February, we were pleased to host a reading and presentation on China with Ellen Wallace, journalist and author of the book "China, on the ground: A real-life context for business decisions".
Ellen used her book as a starting point for a discussion of modern-day China, the implications of its present context for the business world, and her own experiences in the country. She also read from her book, which compares a three-month bicycle trip across China in 1985 with the social and business world of China that she wrote about during return trips in 2002 and 2004.
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China, on the ground: A real-life context for business decisions |
Ellen Wallace is an American-Swiss publisher, writer, photographer and lecturer who lives in the Lake Geneva region of Switzerland. She is the owner and director of Zidao Communication, a publishing house that specializes in digital products. She grew up in Iowa in the USA, has lived in Ireland and France and travelled for work in more than 40 countries.
After 28 years in journalism, writing for, among others, the Financial Times, Time, People, Sports Illustrated and the International Herald Tribune, she founded the news website GenevaLunch in 2006 to provide quality news and resources in English to the Lake Geneva region in Switzerland. |
Ellen Wallace |
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Ellen's unique knowledge of this country which is at the forefront of any discussions on international relations at the moment, made for a discussion of interest to all who attended, whether from a business perspective or out of general curiosity. We thank her for giving us an insight into the real China and what it is like to travel there.
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Happy New Year, China! |
The Chinese New Year is the second New Moon after the winter solstice. The year 4706, the Year of the Rat, began on 7th February 2008, although New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth. |
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For New Year, people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck. The fireworks are rooted in a similar ancient custom: people in China used to light bamboo stalks, believing that the crackling flames would frighten evil spirits away. |
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