A year in China, but Christmas at home

I'm very fortunate to be blessed with a father who is retired, but used to work for Air Canada. As such, flights home are usually quite frequent. But due to the busyness of 2007, I didn't make it home a single time, except for right now: Christmas.

Neither myself nor Paul have posted much lately, and I've noticed a similar trend on other blogs (and even news sites). 'Tis the time of year where people focus on other (often much more important) things. This year, in my family, we have taken the bizarre step of deciding against any gift exchanges. This is odd in our particular case, mainly because our Christmases are usually rather extravagant affairs. And because my family visits China 5 to 6 times a year, they aren't really impressed by tea and chopsticks sets on sale at the Hong Qiao Market. So shopping for everyone is as difficult now as ever.

That's why, oddly, I was relieved when my parents and sister notified me of their decisions. I didn't worry about shopping. When I arrived in Canada, I wasn't out fighting for parking spots and stuck in traffic (which is bad, even in my hometown of Victoria). Instead, I've spent much of the past week reading Right Side Up, an excellent book about the rise of Stephen Harper and the fall of Paul Martin (and written by one of my favorite journalists, Paul Wells), and working on my brand new computer (I can't believe how cheap they've become!). Overall, I'm relaxed. No crowded subways, no construction waking me up at 6am, no Beijing traffic, no absurd banking experiences.

When I returned home last year, I was a TV host and living in Guangzhou. The past year may be, personally, one of my craziest to-date. I moved to Shanghai for three months, then back to Beijing. I've lived in 3 different apartments in 3 different cities in the last 12 months, which is probably why I find it so relaxing to sit and do nothing. It's everything I thought it could be.

Anyway, I don't want to bore you with personal tales. Thanks to everyone who stopped by Zhongnanhai this year. The growth of the site since it launched in August has been phenominal, and I hope we can keep it going. Next year promises to be one of the most exciting in China's modern history, as Beijing unveils a new airport, CCTV tower, a whole new Sanlitun, the Spice Girls, and of course that particular sporting event next August. It should be busy for us in the news business as well, and I hope to post as much as I can on this site. Without giving too much away, this page should look very different in the near future. We hope you'll stay with us.

Wherever you are when you read this, I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Cam.