Categories
Life

Mt. Emei

The western part of China has many unique and breathtaking scenic areas. One of them is Mount Emei (峨眉山) in Sichuan province, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. Mt. Emei is one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains of China (中國佛教四大名山). At 3,099 meters, it is the highest of these sacred mountains, […]

Categories
Health

Eat less, live more

How often have you heard someone say, “I’m so full I can’t eat another bite?” Unfortunately, although the stomach may appear satisfied, this “all-you-can-eat” habit may actually reduce one’s lifespan. Eating less may be the new secret to prolonging life. One piece of evidence comes from the people living in Okinawa Island, Japan, which boasts […]

Categories
Parenting

Music Lessons

You know you’re Tsinoy when you have a piano in your living room and had piano lessons whether you wanted to or not. We had a high-quality piano when I was growing up. My mom bought it at a hugely discounted price from a friend who was migrating to the US. With the piano came […]

Categories
Life

Saga Part 4: The path to Pambujan

Ed’s note: This is a continuation of Relative Finder’s “Saga after the storm.” Aunty Marites finally arrived in Eni and met her long lost uncles. Upon her return she gave me colored photos from Chan Bon Kheng with notes at the back describing his return home to meet his long lost family in Iligan City, […]

Categories
Life Overseas Chinese

Chinese and Filipino community in Seoul

 First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 29, nos. 14-15 (January 17-February 6, 2017): 24,26. Since the 1970s, Seoul has seen different stages of urban expansion. Today, Seoul has three major business districts in the city: the historical city center, the island of Yeoui and Gangnam. A fourth area is in gestation around the Digital […]

Categories
Life

Incheon: A government-built pseudo Chinatown

In an earlier Tulay column (Oct. 8-21, 2013 issue), I’ve written that a true Chinatown is one that is lived and experienced and not built for tourism or business purposes. Dragons, arches and temples do not a Chinatown make. It is the lives lived, the culture experienced, and the history shared by a group of […]

Categories
Life

Home of the Phoenix

The legend goes that the phoenix – feng huang (鳯凰) – lived in the mountains of Hunan province in western China. As the mythical bird – symbol of the empress (the dragon is the symbol of the emperor), it represents longevity since it re- emerges from the flames each time it is consumed by fire […]