Nothing else in Beijing declares winter like the arrival of the city’s piles ‘o cabbage. My first year here, I thought snowfall on Old Hallow’s Eve heralded the dreaded Beijing winter; my second, no snow in November, but wretchedly freezing winds told me it was time to haul out my down jackets; this year, it’s mid-November, and – dare I say it? – it’s still relatively mild (i.e. I am not clamouring for government heating yet). What has yet to fail me though, as a marker of the season, is the sight, and smell, of the city’s hoard of government-subsidized cabbage.… READ MORE | 6 Comments