THE ALLEGRAVITA BLOG

An Etiquette Guide for a Successful Business or Government Dinner in China
It is ALWAYS a good idea to try to get a meal with your Chinese partners or colleagues because it will a great opportunity to get to know each other and deepen your [pinyin]guan1xi4[/pinyin] relationship. Having dinner together is an important aspect of doing business...

A comprehensive guide to Chinglish: the definition and origin
Those who have spent a relatively long time (half a year or more) in China or have been frequently in touch with Chinese business partners might have found two things interesting: the general Chinese population are quite fond of the English language and tend to use it...

Media in China: The Writer’s Hand and Scientist’s Soul
On June 4th, 2010, a piece of news surfaced on the website of Xinhua News Agency, starting with a rather exciting and disturbing paragraph: “A safe with confidential document inside was put into a special device. All of a sudden it vanished, and reappeared inside...

Gānbēi! Oh dear…The One and Only Chinese Business and Government Drinking Guide
After our article on Chinese business or government meeting etiquette, we were frequently asked "what if the meeting is scheduled around evening time, and the Chinese side proposes a dinner afterward?" In addition, followed by the second article of our Chinese...

Is China an English-speaking country?
This sounds like a silly question. But I have seen somewhere on the interwebs people saying “China has more English speakers than the entire United States population, therefore it’s the largest English speaking country”. I assume the speculation is based on the fact...

How to survive a Chinese business dinner
A glass of wine, some nice food, soothing music and some talk of intimacy may greatly facilitate the process of business. However, the same claim may not hold true when culture crash gets mixed into the picture. Chinese and westerners have plenty not in common when it...

The pattern of Chinese towns’ leadership and how it may affect pitching to Chinese governments
In the American (and many other European countries’) political system, the leader of a town is elected by local residents. And “from local, for the local” is always a brag-worthy feat of candidates. After all, who knows the best about a town if not a local? Who cares...

Chateau LaWhat?
Everyone knows China is now big on wine. Those already in the wine industry probably know that China is particularly big on fake wine. Have you ever wondered where those fake wine LABELS come from? They are definitely not from claimed country of origin. I guess there...

Chinese zodiacs and the pig
Hello Allegravita friends! It’s that time of the year again — the Lunar New Year! Over our many years of blogging (is it now 15 years?!?) we have covered the Chinese horoscope system and how it reflects in the calendar, so on this eve of the new Pig Year, we'd like to...

China pushing for national blockchain standards
According to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), announced yesterday, the Chinese government is creating an official committee for the standardization of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. The initiative is still in its...
Our most recent posts
An Etiquette Guide for a Successful Business or Government Dinner in China
It is ALWAYS a good idea to try to get a meal with your Chinese partners or colleagues because it will a great opportunity to get to know each other and deepen your [pinyin]guan1xi4[/pinyin] relationship. Having dinner together is an important aspect of doing business...
A comprehensive guide to Chinglish: the definition and origin
Those who have spent a relatively long time (half a year or more) in China or have been frequently in touch with Chinese business partners might have found two things interesting: the general Chinese population are quite fond of the English language and tend to use it...
Media in China: The Writer’s Hand and Scientist’s Soul
On June 4th, 2010, a piece of news surfaced on the website of Xinhua News Agency, starting with a rather exciting and disturbing paragraph: “A safe with confidential document inside was put into a special device. All of a sudden it vanished, and reappeared inside...
Gānbēi! Oh dear…The One and Only Chinese Business and Government Drinking Guide
After our article on Chinese business or government meeting etiquette, we were frequently asked "what if the meeting is scheduled around evening time, and the Chinese side proposes a dinner afterward?" In addition, followed by the second article of our Chinese...
Is China an English-speaking country?
This sounds like a silly question. But I have seen somewhere on the interwebs people saying “China has more English speakers than the entire United States population, therefore it’s the largest English speaking country”. I assume the speculation is based on the fact...
How to survive a Chinese business dinner
A glass of wine, some nice food, soothing music and some talk of intimacy may greatly facilitate the process of business. However, the same claim may not hold true when culture crash gets mixed into the picture. Chinese and westerners have plenty not in common when it...
The pattern of Chinese towns’ leadership and how it may affect pitching to Chinese governments
In the American (and many other European countries’) political system, the leader of a town is elected by local residents. And “from local, for the local” is always a brag-worthy feat of candidates. After all, who knows the best about a town if not a local? Who cares...
Chateau LaWhat?
Everyone knows China is now big on wine. Those already in the wine industry probably know that China is particularly big on fake wine. Have you ever wondered where those fake wine LABELS come from? They are definitely not from claimed country of origin. I guess there...
Chinese zodiacs and the pig
Hello Allegravita friends! It’s that time of the year again — the Lunar New Year! Over our many years of blogging (is it now 15 years?!?) we have covered the Chinese horoscope system and how it reflects in the calendar, so on this eve of the new Pig Year, we'd like to...
China pushing for national blockchain standards
According to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), announced yesterday, the Chinese government is creating an official committee for the standardization of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. The initiative is still in its...
Chinese government announces changes to the country’s domain name system
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of China recently announced a structural change to the country's domain name system. Here we are offering a quick translation and explanation of the announcement. Please rest assured that it doesn't affect how...
2018: Enter the Dog (Year)
A whiff of spent gunpowder permeates the air. You wake up to a morning that seems to have undergone explosive detonations for 22 of the last 24 hours. Outside lies Beijing (or Shanghai, or Shenzhen, or Chongqing, or somewhere else, pick one that applies to your...
Neustar fields .CO vs .biz soccer match in China
Allegravita is proud to support our client Neustar, owner and operator of diverse top-level domains including .CO (over 2.3 million domains worldwide) and .biz (over 2.1 million domains worldwide). For three years, at the time of writing, Allegravita's key focus for...
China is the Future of Internet Growth
Forget Internet censorship and cybersecurity for the moment. Contemplate this: China will own a majority of the world's web addresses in the next few years and likely a huge chunk of its live websites. This is not speculation. It's reality. Why? The numbers speak for...
Happy New Year! The Year of Rooster
What do you think of when you think about a rooster? Outspoken, frank, open, proud and boastful are some descriptions that come to mind. Officially the year of the rooster begins on January 28, the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar. The Chinese animal zodiac...
DOMAINfest Auctions Take $5.25 Million, 6662.com Breaks Record for 4-Number Domains
Three of China's greatest auction platforms held successful auctions at DOMAINfest @ IoN.Asia in Hong Kong last week. Total auction proceeds reached USD $5.25 million (CNY 35,020,000) and 190.com's auction also broke the record for 4-number domain prices in China. See...
DOMAINfest@IoN.Asia Kicks Off in Hong Kong!
DOMAINfest @ IoN.asia kicked off this morning at Cyberport HK with a full audience ready for today's engaging content and presentations by registries .CLUB, .SHOP and GoDaddy, as well as a hackthon by Incu-Lab and panels with domain industry leaders from around the...