Featured Image: Uluwatu Temple, Bali, Indonesia
Tuesday, 17 July 2018, Shanghai, China – Today we have decided to write sort of an informal blog post, inspired by the death of Anthony Bourdain and his TV series, Parts Unknown. His first episode was about the country of Myanmar, and that inspired us to create a blog post about some of the best known Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia.
Featured Image: The Handover ceremony on 1 July 1997 marked the end of British Rule and the return of Hong Kong to China. From 2003 onwards, there have been pro-democracy protests every year on the anniversary of the handover.
1 July 2018, San Francisco, CA – This is the first time we’ve actually been on time for an anniversary. Beginning in the evening on 30 June and ending on 1 July 1997, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, British and Chinese authorities gathered for a handover ceremony. Many things happened at the convention centre that night, but the key event was the lowering of the Union Jack and Hong Kong Ensign to “God Save the Queen”, followed by the raising of the Chinese flag and new Hong Kong flag to “March of the Volunteers”, the Chinese National Anthem. The lowering of the Union Jack and Hong Kong ensign symbolically marked the end of British rule in Hong Kong, and by extension, the end of the British Empire. But why was Hong Kong even a part of Britain in the first place?
Featured Image: The sailing stones of Death Valley
Sunday, 17 June 2018, New York, NY – It’s mid June, and summer is here. In coastal parts of the country, the extremes of summer and winter are mitigated by the ocean, but in most parts of the country, the ocean is not there to provide much needed relief, and intolerable temperatures result. Because summer has arrived, and because we can’t think of anything else to write about, we decided to take a look at some extreme weather records, both hot and cold.
Featured image: A young Elizabeth; her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh; and her children on the balcony of Buckingham Palace
Friday, 9 June 2018, London, UK – 65 years and 1 week ago, a new British monarch was crowned (we’re not great at keeping up with anniversaries). Her name was Elizabeth II, and her coronation marked a turning point in British history. She was lauded as a symbol of a new era following the enormous destruction of World War II. She was young, fresh, and a symbol of hope for the future. 65 years later, it is unbelievable to think that the monarch who oversaw the decolonisation of the British Empire and the monarch that is still reigning today is the same person. She acceded the throne when she was 26 years old and today she is over 90 years old. In honour of this anniversary, we decided to delve into the Queen’s life, and the enormous change that she has seen, both in Britain and abroad, during the course of her reign.
Featured Image: Kim Jong Un of North Korea and Moon Jae In of South Korea meet during one of several impromptu summits between the two countries.
Monday, 28 May 2018, Shanghai, China – Relations between the United States and North Korea have never been very warm. The Korean War has not ended since it began in the 1950’s, the United States has placed major economic sanctions against North Korea, and there aren’t even any diplomatic relations between the two countries. But against all the odds, a summit between the two countries has been planned for June 2018, which is anticipated not only to ease tensions, but could even pave the way for an end to the Korean War and unification of the Korean Peninsula. All of this sounds incredibly exciting, but before we can understand how important Korean peace is, we must understand how it even got this way in the first place.
Featured image: The abandoned city of Pripyat, with the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant visible in the distance.
Sunday, 29 April 2018, Moscow, Russia – 32 years ago, on 26 April 1986, the worst nuclear disaster in human history occurred, at Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl power plant in the Ukrainian SSR. The disaster resulted in the immediate deaths of 50 scientists, the evacuation of around 120,000 people, and the radioactive contamination of the surrounding area for at least the next 100,000 years.
Featured Image: St Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow
Tuesday, 19 April 2018, Moscow, Russia – DC Blogs is excited to announce the opening of a new office in Moscow. This is our second European office and our 16th office overall. The location of the new office is in the Federation Tower, which is not only the tallest building in Europe but also has prime office space located in the heart of Moscow’s Central Business District, not far from Red Square.
