Author Archive
Anxiety
Anxiety Brian Hennessy DipT; BA; MEd; DipPsych. Psychologist Content: What is anxiety? Good anxiety and bad anxiety Symptoms of anxiety Types of anxiety disorders Causes Anxiety test Treatment What is anxiety? Anxiety is a term which describes a normal feeling that people can have when faced with threat, danger, or […]
Cultural diversity & common language
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. It would be fair to say that most Australians assume that Cantonese is the language spoken in mainland China.This is not surprising because their exposure to things Chinese has been limited to, for example, Chinese restaurants which in the main employ Cantonese speaking staff and serve Cantonese style cuisine. […]
In Cairns: Mandarin or Cantonese?
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. Any effort we make to understand and appreciate mainland Chinese language and culture will be rewarded by word of mouth recommendations to visit Cairns. China has the largest internet grapevine in the world: satisfied customers will provide more free advertising than we could ever dream of or afford. Most visitors […]
Wind and rain bridge
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. April, 2010 Sanjiang is about a five hour journey from Guilin, and a two and a half hour bus-ride from Longsheng near the Dragons Backbone Rice Terraces. It is the last sizable township in the province of Guangxi before entering neighbouring Guizhou and is the centre of the Dong […]
On Confucius, culture, & government
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. May, 2014 Although Western people have heard many jokes about Confucius, very few understand his main ideas and how important his thinking has been to Chinese culture and society. If we are serious about understanding China it is imperative that we acquaint ourselves with this ancient sage. On […]
Dragons Backbone Rice Terraces
Brian Hennessy. China Australia Consult. April 2010 If you believe the tourist brochures, Guilin is a pleasant city situated in a beautiful limestone kharst mountain environment. However, despite its attractions, this city in Guangxi province is not worth visiting for its own sake. It’s not the type of town to be out on the streets […]
Trouble on the Tibetan Plateau
Brian Hennessy. China Australia Consult. 2007 It was the first week in August when the Tibetan nomads come into the township of Litang for a yearly festival. Horse racing, dancing, singing, socialising, and so on. It’s the event of the year, and a time when provisions are bought, marriages are arranged, and the clans are […]
On attracting Asian tourists to Oz
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. 2014 David Scowsill, President and CEO of The World Travel & Tourism Council has urged the Australian Government to extend e-visas to high spending Asian travellers following a disappointing year for Travel and Tourism. This observation aligns with comments made by prominent Australians who have worried for years that […]
Chinese tourists: knowing the unknowns
Brian Hennessy and Yirong Li. China Australia Consult. March, 2014 Although Cairns works hard to attract tourists from mainland China, perhaps it might be time to pause for a moment and reflect on what we don’t know as well as what we do know about Chinese tourism in Australia. Chinese tourists in Cairns: […]
2003: welcome to China
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. 2003 I was feeling apprehensive despite the excitement. China seemed so far away from Australia and my familiar Western culture. The China I had heard about was an out-of-date model shaped by the experiences of an older generation. Emotive words like, Communism, Red China, and the Cultural Revolution kept […]