I have two careers in my life: my left-brain career as a family medicine doctor, and my right-brain career in photography. So everyone is invited to visit my solo exhibition in one of my favorite Beijing hangouts, the Art Room at the Schoolhouse at Mutianyu. I am showing 18 of my favorite pieces until December …

I’ve never found Twitter very useful — especially as it’s not available in China. But over the last year, the Sina Weibo micro-blogging site has exploded in popularity, so I thought I’d experiment a bit. So I created a profile there, at http://t.sina.com.cn/daniudaifu. It’s a bit of a challenge for me as it’s all Chinese, so …

This is a quick message to all; a couple months ago I wrote about one of my favorite local spots, the Agricultural Exhibition Center (NóngZhǎnGuǎn) just off east third ring at the eastern end of Dongzhimen Wai Dajie. Right now they have their annual Chinese New Years exhibition, and it’s a great way to kill a …

Today, January 20th, is dàhán (大寒), “big cold” on the Chinese solar calendar. This is traditionally considered the coldest day of the year, and I won’t argue with that — it’s darn cold. So, on these deep winter days, I thought I’d share with my readers my favorite relief: a trip to a local hot …

OK, this post has nothing to do with medicine — but it’s so darn cool that I simply have to share it with my fellow expats. It’s called “group buying” via the internet, known in Chinese as 团购 tuángòu. You’ve probably heard about the Groupon craze in America, and this group-buying concept started in China …

I occasionally mention some of my favorite Beijing places on this blog, filed under “Just For Fun“. I particularly like to tell expats about very cool, local Beijing places that most expats bypass. One classic place for decades has been the Beijing Agricultural Exhibition Center. Known in Chinese as 全国农业展览馆, or simply 农展馆 (nóng  zhǎng …

I love Thanksgiving; not smothered by commercialism, it still remains a lovely way for all American families and friends to get together and enjoy a huge meal. My mother always hosts this holiday meal, and a couple dozen of my relatives will pile into our house every November holiday, gorge on turkey. and enjoy the …

One of my favorite non-doctor pastimes has always been photography, and I’m pleased to announce my first solo show in China: an exhibition at Cafe Zarah this October. Cafe Zarah, east of the northern tip of Nanluoguxiang on Gulou, is well known to many expats, and owner Julia has an excellent monthly collection of art. My …

You’ve probably never seen these three words together: “Beijing”; “driving” and “relaxing”. But I’m here to spread the good word that sometimes, if you choose carefully, driving around Beijing can indeed be pleasant. So I’ve created a list below of my favorite drives around Beijing, where the journey is just as relaxing and pleasant as …

My website is getting a bit top-heavy and it’s starting to be difficult to find posts, so I thought I’d remind readers that I have a more casual section devoted to my favorite local weekends and road trips. Now that the hot and humid weather is here, you may like some of these mountain and …

Here’s a fun article from Miller-McCune reviewing some medical literature showing how large spectator sports events like the World Cup can cause spikes of heart attacks in some countries, where other countries like France reported less risk. It’s an interesting read for you football fans (Is the World Cup Bad for Your Health? | Miller-McCune …

I’ve run out of steam this week, so I thought I’d just post an old poem of mine for your enjoyment. It’s totally non-medical but I had a lot of fun writing it when I was 16 and it may put a smile on your face… The Cravin’ Once upon a midnight dreary, while I …