Just a few months after leaving Sydney to pursue his dream of being a foreign correspondent, former Leagues Club Journal Editor - and proud Dragons supporter - Ben Johnson has been appointed World Editor of The China Daily newspaper.
Here he updates us with his first postcard from Beijing.
"After studying a degree with a focus on China, moving here has been a big shock in which I've had to learn how to eat and talk again - oh, and appreciate new sports.
After two months, my stomach has adapted to the extent it can now cope with Sichuan Province's infamous chili peppers - instead of convulsing in anticipation - without having to rely on Yanjing beer to extinguish the digestive flames.
Although, I have found it is better to err on the side of caution.
On more than one occasion since I've been here, as a spicey chicken foot slips from between my chopsticks, I have longed for the roast lamb and vegies served at St George Leagues Club.
Daily one-on-one language classes have given me enough Chinese (Putonghua) to conduct trivial conversations with taxi drivers and new friends, who invariably warm to the news that I'm from Australia - the home of "kolas" and "kangroos".
Walking 25m out into the Bohai Sea along the Great Wall of China and watching proud PLA soldiers raise the Chinese flag in an impressive dawn ceremony at Tianenmen Square are among my highlights so far.
The China Daily newspaper is a state owned publication that is nowhere near as censored as I expected.
Although it is managed by the Orwellian-sounding "Ministry of Information", the paper is fast improving its coverage of both sides of any story and, as the photo shows, is currently renovating its Soviet-inspired offices in preparation for its proudest hour: the Olympic Games next August.
I will have the privilege of working for the official paper of the Beijing Games, so hopefully I'll get to see all the plum events.
From first impressions, China is a far more open society than mainstream media suggest and Australia could do worse than cultivate new and old friendships with its mind-boggling population of 1.3 billion people.
Unfortunately, few places screen rugby league in Beijing, where parks are filled with badminton and basketball players each Saturday afternoon.
While these sports are far more delicate and thus less compelling than the 13-man game, they are enjoyable to play and a lot less painful than the Australian footy codes.
Many of my superstitious colleagues believe that as a former reporter for the Dragons who was born in the year of Dragon (Long) my move to China will be an auspicious one.
Nevermind St George Illawarra's form this year.
I certainly hope my stay will be auspicious though, because the azure skies of Botany Bay seem so far away beneath the thick atmosphere of the Chinese capital."
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St George Leagues Club
LEAGUES CLUB JOURNAL
