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The Left-Behind Village

Mae Salong sits along a winding mountain road in Northern Thailand. The village is in an isolated valley, the hillsides lined with terraced fields. Thirty years ago it would have been nearly inaccessible. Today, a paved road deposits tourists at a market at a crossroads not far from the town center. Some come for the tea, others for the scenery, but most are here to experience a cultural anomaly: A lost colony of Chinese soldiers from a forgotten war.

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Chinese phrase translation: 里程碑 (lǐchéng bēi) milestone

里程碑 (lǐchéng bēi) milestone Usage: “里程碑” 本义指标志公路及城市郊区道路里程的碑石, 每一公里设一块,用以计算里程和标志地点位置。后比喻在事物发展过程中具有重大意义的事件。The original meaning of“里程碑”is stele to mark the mileage of the highway and the road in the urban and rural area. One stele is set up for one kilometers to calculate the mileage and mark the location. Now it’s used as a metaphor that something plays an important role during the development.

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Naming Trends Across the Decades

Earlier this year, Qimingtong, a “name consulting company,” released a report which listed the top 100 popular names in China (yes, these kinds of companies exist and people do actually pay money for advice on naming their child). According to the report, the people with the most popular surname and given name combinations currently make up over 10 percent of the population.

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Chinese phrase translation: 拔尖(儿)bájiān(r) the top best

拔尖(儿)bájiān(r) the top best; outstanding
Usage: “拔尖”是口语词,常用的有两个意思,一是形容人或者事物是超出一般的,最好的;二是指某人遇到事情或者比较大的场面,喜欢出风头。“拔尖” is a spoken language which describes people or things better than the ordinary ones or the top best. It also refers someone who likes to show off coming off a thing or big occasion.

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An Old Shoe

It doesn't stop with books, the Cantonese are obsessed with homonyms and avoiding words that might sound like something bad. And that's why you'll need to stay out of the shoe shop over the holiday period – shoes are a homonym for 'rough', which can suggest a rough year ahead. 

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