International Herald Tribune articles

September 19, 2007
Luxury brands stamped on everything from phones to flowers
Now that the major houses are dipping into so many areas, where do they go next for growth?

February 22, 2007 
In China today, you are what you wear
In this booming country, which abandoned the Mao jacket only recently, what fuels the mania for logo-splashed products?

January 17, 2007
 In China, status is a handbag
The shou bao, or men’s handbag, can be a sign of professional success.

September 29, 2006
As China’s opening up, Beijing lets it all hang out
China’s once demure style has become noticeably racier.

August 25, 2006
The rewards of a “drinkable antique”
Beijing’s tea connoisseurs have recently developed a craze for pu’er, a special aged tea indigenous to Yunnan Province in the southwest.

August 17, 2006
Taking a culinary tour of China, without ever leaving Beijing
In the capital, it is possible to taste China’s panoply of regional cuisines without ever leaving the city.

June 8, 2006
Food, temples and pandas of a leisurely Chinese city
Chengdu is a city of juxtaposition, where fleets of bulldozers and wide-swinging cranes share space with raucous teahouses and bustling street stalls of food.

May 31, 2006
Fakes still have their niche in China
Despite recent legal crackdowns against counterfeit goods – and heightened discretion among knockoff vendors – an unquenchable thirst for designer fakes has kept the market healthy.

April 19, 2006 
Female artists in China get a room of their own
In a country where women often struggle to be heard, the Three Quarters gallery is a platform for China’s female artists, whose work often gets marginalized by their flashier and more famous male counterparts.

February 21, 2006
A yearlong extravaganza to boost la dolce vita in China
The Year of Italy in China may be wooing a growing affluent class with the glitz of fashion shows and the romance of opera, but it is selling another Italian export: design itself.

December 1, 2005
Day trip from Beijing: 3 seldom-seen temples
Beijing has a secret. Fifty kilometers west of the Forbidden City is a serene and spiritual pocket, a cluster of centuries-old Buddhist temples that are as charming as they are exotic.

November 7, 2005
Excitement over Olympics hasn’t hit street level
With three years until the Beijing games, excitement has failed to reach most ordinary people who live from day to day in the economically supercharged capital. 

September 30, 2005
Fresh take on classic Chinese dress
A handful of Chinese designers is breathing new life into antique styles, incorporating them into modern designs, or teaching them to young workers from rural areas.

May 10, 2005
Beijing’s new beautiful people
A growing number of young foreign women are moving to China’s capital in search of adventure, love, and good jobs in creative fields.

March 5, 2005 
Japanese and Korean pop idols set trends for Chinese teens
Move over Hollywood. From soap operas to music, video games to fashion, Japanese and South Korean pop culture is defining the style of Chinese youth.

February 26, 2005
Black beans with pork Beijing-Brazilian style
Beijing is now attracting adventurous chefs from around the world, who are eager to recreate the foods of their native countries.

December 2, 2004
Mao jackets just a memory now
China’s desire for luxury products has touched both the rich and the middle class, sharpening their appetite for expensive goods, and defining their sense of style.