China

18/9/14
I received this postcard from Luo. It shows a Blue and White Flycatcher. I monitored Flycatchers (Pied and Collared) in Sweden this summer, and am always amazed that there are so many species in this family. I thought "my" birds were very smart in their black and white plumage, but this guy is obviously more of a party goer with his brighter feathers to woo the ladies with!

Many thanks for the postcard!

*****

 10/9/14
Lin Ji sent me this landscape postcard showing a herd of wild Yak. I would imagine that he doesn't see many Yak because he lives in Shanghai. Apparently wild Yak can weigh up to 1000kg - wouldn't want to get in a fight with one!

Thanks for the postcard!

*****

 9/9/14
Salad sent me this lovely postcard showing a Sloth. I love Sloth's and saw some at a Zoo recently where you could walk through the exhibit - thankfully they don't move very fast!

Thanks so much for the postcard, and hope to swap with you again one day.

*****

8/9/14
Cindy sent me this abstract landscape postcard. She is from Taiwan and loves swimming, drawing and travelling. She really wants to visit the UK to take photos of the countryside.

Thanks for the postcard, and I'm sure you'll get to the UK one day.

*****

 13/8/14
Luo sent me these two postcards with Pandas for separate Round Robins. While there are many people using these to collect postcards, it would seem that the same people join similar groups, so we are slowly getting to become penpals.







Thanks so much for the postcards!

*****

15/4/14
Luo sent me this lovely postcard of a baby Penguin. It reminds me of when I volunteered at my local zoo and spent a lot of time working with Fluffy, a young Humboldt Penguin. They really are cute!

Thanks for the postcard.

*****

10/4/14
This postcard made me smile. I wonder who is drooling more; the terrier or the baby. Those crisps are obviously very yummy going by the captive audience this boy had while eating them! Bian sent me this postcard for the Dog Tag and I think this is a Wire Fox Terrier.

Thanks for the postcard.

 4/4/14
I'm starting to think the Chinese like their dumplings! Lilimy sent me this shaped card showing the traditional Chinese dumplings. She told me that she loves animals and has four dogs and a cat at home! To most people, that sounds like a lot, but I've always had many dogs, the more the merrier!

Thanks for the postcard.

*****

 4/4/14
Mengyo sent me the most iconic Chinese Native Animal for an RR! She describes them as cute and fluffy, and says that many people travel to see them in zoos. I would certainly love to see them again, having seen them in zoos in the USA and Europe on my travels.

Thanks for the VERY cute postcard - I just want to cuddle them!

*****

4/4/14
Wintant tagged me in the "What do you know about my country" thread, and it appears that she already knows a lot about the UK. Obviously, everyone knows the Queen, but apparently Chinese students are taught English from Primary School so they are aware of our literature, music, sports and tv shows. Many Chinese students watch football, but she admits that the Chinese don't play so well! BBC is very popular in China, with Downtown Abbey ranking very highly. I must admit that I don't watch it, but then I don't watch much tv these days!

Thanks for your postcard and your knowledge of the UK.

*****

 1/4/14
Joy sent me this cat postcard for a TAG. She has only been Postcrossing for a few months but said she really enjoys receiving postcards, especially when she received her first official one!

Thanks so much for the postcard, and good luck with your Masters course.

*****

 29/3/14
Gisela tagged me in the My Day thread, so sent me this postcard describing her very busy day on the 1st March. She had a Japanese test in conversation, then went to a restaurant for some food with her room-mates. She bought this postcard then went home to watch some episodes of House of Cards (not one I watch, but I have heard of it).

Thanks for the insight into your day, sounds like you were very busy!

*****

25/3/14
Sun sent me this lovely postcard of a Crested Ibis, taken at Beijing Zoo. I've never seen one before, but they look very cool! Sun is studying Japanese and has visited Japan, USA and Canada. He hopes to live in Japan or Taiwan in the future.

Thanks so much for the postcard, and for your best wishes on my bird collection - it's certainly growing!

*****

22/3/14
Luo sent me this lovely postcard as part of the Aquatic/ Sea birds Round Robin. I noticed that this Common Tern is a "Rare Bird" according to the back of the postcard... such a shame as they are beautiful birds! I wonder if it is the same as the ones we get in the UK, or if it is a different race?

Thanks for the postcard, and hope to swap again soon.

*****

20/3/14
Chen sent me this view of Macao, showing the A-Ma Temple. It was built in the Ming Dynasty and is the only one in Macao left for archaeological studies.

Thanks for the postcard and hope to swap again with you in the future.

*****

18/3/14
My first rabbit card, and one designed specifically for postcrossing too! Yuexin tagged me in the Why are you here? tag and said that she chose to study where she is and that she was writing in her dorm because she is too lazy to go out (Glad other people have this problem!) She's doing the tag because it's interesting and I certainly think it's a great way to learn about other people from different countries.

Thanks for the postcard, and I hope you've been out and a bit since writing!

*****

15/3/14
Rita and I got in touch on Couchsurfing and she sent me this postcard of a building in Guangzhou. She said it is a big city in the South of China, which I must believe as this is my second postcard from this city! It is nice to see how the same city can produce many different styles of postcards to send around the world.

Thanks for the postcard!

*****

13/3/14
This is Mount Song, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the middle of China. Feng sent me this card as part of Postcrossing, and I love it!

Thanks so much for the card, and a return is in the post!

*****

13/3/14
Chloe sent me this artistic postcard from Guangzhou. At the moment it is Spring Festival, so friends and family are visiting each other for some massive reunions.

Thanks for the postcard, and for the invite. If I ever find myself in Guangzhou I will definitely be in touch!

*****

3/3/14

This postcard from the Beijing Opera was sent by Lainey. We did a "Direct Swap" using the Postcrossing forum and I love the colours on this card! I've always considered Asian dress to be beautiful and this just highlights the vibrancy and art of the Chinese culture.

Thanks so much for the postcard, and hope to swap again with you soon.

*****

7/3/14

I received these two postcards in an envelope by Sylvia. This is a postcard of her University, where she is studying International Relations. Now, I thought my university was unique having a loch on the campus, but yours certainly beats mine with that bridge!

The second postcard shows an inn in the Sichuan Province. I love this old style of architecture that to me is very traditional Chinese. Panda's also come from this region, so maybe I'll have to visit one day!

Thanks so much for your beautiful postcards!