China Remembered is a collection of article remembering China of the past. Written by Chris Devonshire-Ellis, the series covers moments from China’s near past, including the accession of the country to the WTO, the day the Jianguo Hotel got a fax machine.

The Jianguo Hotel Gets a Fax Machine

It was a red letter day when the Jianguo Hotel, the social meeting point for traveling businessmen. announced it had been granted permission to have a fax machine, and that it would be made available to foreign businessmen. Read the complete article

The Silver Russian Samovar at Beijing Capital Airport

Steaming, gleaming, and very very Russian, Beijing Capital Airport’s sole source of food or drink was this behemoth. Equipped, quite properly for the proletarian masses with several brass taps, it would dispense boiling cascades of dangerously hot water, for free. Read the complete article

Turandot at the Forbidden City

he hosting of Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Turandot” at the Forbidden City in Beijing in 1998 was a landmark occasion for both the city, and China and laid the groundwork for the confidence and capabilities of China to host the Summer Olympics a decade later. Read the complete article

China Joins the WTO

It seems such a long time ago now, but China’s joining of the WTO only occurred eight years ago, in November 2001. China had to negotiate for an astonishing 15 years to obtain membership of the WTO. Read the complete article

Chris Devonshire-Ellis is the founding partner of Dezan Shira & Associates and lived in China for 21 years. He is now based in Mumbai.

Chris’s popular book, “The Story Of A China Practice,” detailing the establishment of both Dezan Shira & Associates and China Briefing from 17 years ago to the present is also available as a free download to all China Briefing subscribers. It can be accessed by clicking on the picture to the right.