Hello everyone!     I am looking for a very elusive recipe. When I was studying at Beijing University for 2 semesters in 2020 (I am American).   I had the most amazing sponge cake of my life from the local mall about 2 miles away.   I forget the name of the bakery/shop but I do remember the name of the cake ZaoGao funny right? because it was delicious... delicious actually doesn't do it justice, it was transcendental.    It was soft and airy and wonderful in every way. It was a Date Cake with no nuts. Extremely simple and the second they pulled it out and cut it up it was sold in a matter of minutes.   The picture included is the closest reference I have and most of the recipes I have found online my friends tell me are not accurate.     Thanks for any assistance finding this Recipe and making it from scratch.   All The Best!!

Kind of a weird question, but how can I smile more when speaking Chinese?   My wife mentioned, while I've Been making speaking practice videos, that I don't smile when speaking Chinese. I agree with her and I'm probably am the same when speaking face to face, especially with people I don't know. I guess it's because it takes all my concentration on the language, I'm not thinking about smiling. Any ideas?

How to approach the Chinese of Buddhist texts? Wikipedia says that the Chinese Buddhist canon is written in "Classical Chinese", but what form of Chinese are we talking about? I mean, speaking specifically of the pre-Tang (Kumarajiva) and Tang (Zhiyi, Xuanzang) texts, what other things do we have to consider to fully understand the context of the texts? Issues like Middle Chinese and Sanskrit loanwords.  I mean, speaking of books and readers, do "New Practical Chinese Reader", "An Introduction to Literary Chinese," and "Outline of Classical Chinese Grammar" fulfill this purpose, or do they preferably stay in the context of Zhou-Han's literature? It is understandable that linguistic works like Jerry Norman's do not address this at all, I know they are more vernacular and not philological. But I mean that even literarily, the concept of classical Chinese makes Zhou's literature eclipse the Buddhist Canon. If I am wrong, I would appreciate any opinion. In conclusion, I would like to start reading the Taisho Canon in its digital formats, such as CBETA and SAT, as well as tickling the monster of original manuscripts of the Lotus Sutra... The HDC or the Paul W. Kroll are dictionaries that might help? Is there any manual on this form/stage of literary Chinese? Should I learn Sanskrit?

Would it be Arch Chinese or are there any others?   I am looking for one that can slow down the speed of the animation

For example, if I'm a student at NTNU MTC already learning Mandarin is it possible to receive a scholarship for future semesters or time? I ask this because all the scholarships I've seen available are for people are for those that haven't attended a MTC.    For example the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship says:  International applicants above the age of 18, who possess a high school diploma or above, have shown excellent academic performance, and are of good moral character are eligible. Candidates with one of the following qualifications may not apply:   Is an overseas Chinese student or a national of the R.O.C. Is currently registered as a student at a Mandarin Language Center or has sought a degree from a university or college in Taiwan. Has already received a HES or a Taiwan Scholarship, in the past. Is an exchange student to Taiwan, during the scholarship period. Is currently receiving financial benefits from the Taiwan government or another educational institution.

From "A Mission in China", W. E. Soothill (1907).   His account of a Wenzhounese preacher teaching a sermon to the locals in his own style.  If the name Soothill sounds familiar, it's because he wrote "The Student's Pocket Chinese Dictionary" which taught a generation of scholars. He was also the first person to devise a romanization system for the Wenzhounese language. He was quite a learned man and became professor of Chinese at Oxford. The photo of his church in the frontispiece of his book looks exactly the same today, I rode past it last week on my ebike.     

Hi all, I've been searching old threads but couldn't find any info on this so I hope you can help. I'm currently working with my employer in China on cancelling my work contract and permit. Contract and work permit were valid until April 2024 but will now be cancelled ahead of time. I'd been planning on returning to China on a Q2 visa (my husband is Chinese) later this year but my employer said that I won't be able to re-enter China before the original work visa and contract have expired "naturally" (so at the end of my original contract period), ie after April 2024, even if I get a new valid Q2 visa outside of China. This seems so strange to me, has anyone ever been in this situation? My employer has been really good so far and we never had any issues so I don't see why they would lie to me about this (or indeed what would be in it for them to lie to me) but it just seems absurd, why would this be a rule? If anyone has ever been in this situation or is familiar with Chinese visa rules and has an explanation for this I'd be grateful for any advice!

I have seen a few cooking sites that have used this (steamy kitchen for one) and have seen it in Chinese markets.   It tastes a lot like celery to me.   Is it a popular ingredient in Chinese cooking?   thanks

Hi!   I got a very beautiful tea pot and I was wondering what the characters translate to in English - could someone help me out?   Thank you!

On the other AI thread I wrote the following, which makes me want to ask whether people think the number of people studying foreign languages is set to decline dramatically.   Quote   I'm starting to wonder if there won't be any long-lasting AI language learning programmes, for the simple reason that most people will stop learning languages.   If you go to a foreign country you will surely be able to just wear a regular bluetooth earphone with microphone: when you speak your phone will output your words into the local language, and send any replies into your ear, translated into your own language.   I assume this technology already exists.