The Danwei Model Worker Award is granted by Danwei editors to blogs that we feel are especially worth reading. See the full list for more fascinating material.

Veggie Discourse

In the world of China blogs, it is our firm position that there can never be enough translation from Chinese sources. There are more translation blogs now than than there ever have been, but they represent just a tiny fraction of the information that's posted online in Chinese every day. So it's always a pleasure to stumble upon a new blog that brings more of that writing to an English-language audience.

Veggie Discourse, written by someone known only as PH, is a translation blog that was started in September 2009. Subtitled "cultures, movies, music, books, and whatever is interesting," it frequently serves up the unexpected: sometimes it will feature a translation of an important article on one of the week's hot news stories, but just as often it will uncover a local story that hasn't been covered anywhere else. Sprinkled in the mix are posts on culture, literature, and technology.

Danwei has linked to Veggie Discourse posts a number of times; here's a further selection of the variety of subject matter that draws the blogger's interest:

• Picturesque Yunnan Lake Destroyed to Make Room for Townhouses: A translation of a China Youth Daily article on Lover's Lake, a prominent tourist spot in Dali, was filled in and turned over to a developer.
• How to Write a Successful Chinese Romance Novel: A translation of an instructive guide to maximizing click-rates in online fiction. It continues in Part 2. See also: how Twilight's fulfillment of these rules may explain its success in China.
• "Unsubstantiated" Yoga Injuries: A Southern Metropolis Weekly article on yoga-related injuries reported among modern city dwellers.
• Vietnamese Brides Without Legal Identity: A Southern Rural News report on Vietnamese women brought to China illegally and whose children are unregistered.
• Taobao buyer/seller interactions: Petty complaints deserve snarky replies.
• Orphans Homeless Again Because of Unwelcoming Neighbors: Neighbors turn thuggish when a charity tries to house orphans in an apartment complex in Shanghai.
• And a series of posts on the scandals that have plagued Zhang Ziyi.

In addition, the "Blogs I Read" section on the sidebar is an excellent resource for additional reading material in both Chinese and English.