I'm Gary

This is an informational website so you will not experience any ads, social media, popups or other distractions.

I write all the articles. My lifelong interest in Chinese culture began with a college course in Chinese art history.

I lived in Asia for 13 years:

• 7 years in China
• 4 years in Taiwan
• 2 years in South Korea

I studied Chinese at:

• Peking University in Beijing, China
• Taiwan National Normal University in Taipei, Taiwan
• University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona

I learned Korean as a Peace Corps volunteer working in a tuberculosis control project on Jeju Island in South Korea.

My education degrees include:

• BA in History from Washington University in St. Louis
• MBA from the University of Arizona

I am retired now but worked in a number of interesting positions over the years including:

• Stringer at the Beijing Bureau of a large international news organization
• Worked on telecommunication projects in China for a large conglomerate based in Thailand
• Regional Director of Sales for a manufacturer of military communications equipment in California
• Disaster Specialist for the American Red Cross in Arizona

I collected U.S. coins as a young boy. My Chinese and Korean coins and charms were collected while living in Asia.

My other hobbies include amateur radio (call sign: AF7M), motorcycles, and photography.

I am a volunteer (docent) at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and was previously a volunteer (docent) at the Pima Air & Space Museum.

Finally, this is a personal website and in my spare time I write articles based on subjects I find interesting. If you find any of the articles worth reading then that makes my efforts even more gratifying.

Thanks for visiting!

Gary Ashkenazy