Ask an American kid what he knows about China, and you will probably hear about the Great Wall, potstickers and, of course, pandas. The lovable, cuddly image of China’s national mascot makes a visit to the Beijing Zoo quite tempting. So it may seem odd that I would suggest — nay, beg — that you [...]
Beijing is a city that rewards repeat visitors. The first time you visit, the scale of the city is overwhelming. From the Tiananmen Square to the Second Ring Road, everything seems to be 10 times bigger than anything you’ve seen before. Add to that the fact that the street names change every few blocks, and [...]
Out of Mao’s Shadow (2008), by Philip Pan, is not only one of the best books about China that I’ve read recently, it’s also one of the best books that I’ve read recently, period. Pan, a former Beijing correspondent for the Washington Post, focuses on problems with China’s authoritarian state: its refusal to acknowledge its [...]
“In heaven there is paradise, on earth Suzhou and Hangzhou”: Ostensibly a Chinese popular saying, almost certainly the best possible advertisement for the tourism bureaus of Suzhou and Hangzhou. Especially among domestic tourists, Suzhou is one of the most popular destinations in China. After a few days in busy, bustling Shanghai, Suzhou makes a pleasant [...]
If you’ve ever run out of reading material on the road, you’ll sympathize with W. Somerset Maugham on reading-while-traveling, circa 1922:
How precious then is the inordinate length of your book (for you are travelling light and you have limited yourself to three) and how jealously you read every word of every page so that you [...]
This posts begins a series on packing for trips to/in China. I’ll start big (luggage) and go small (toiletries) over the next few weeks. (See all posts in the series.)
No matter how long you will be traveling for, your first packing decision will probably be what bag (or bags) to pack. Size will depend on [...]
Varanasi was the first stop on my April trip to India. Located on the Ganges River, Varanasi (formerly Benares) is a major pilgrimage site for India’s Hindus. They come to Varanasi to bathe in the waters and cremate their dead. The riverbank is lined with ghats, each of which has a distinctive purpose, from cremation [...]
I’ve just added guides to Guilin and Yangshuo to the site, continuing its slow progress towards up-to-dateness. I visited Guangxi Province way back in January with my parents and younger brother. The winter weather definitely doesn’t make the place look any better in our photographs, but it was actually quite temperate, temperature-wise.
Guilin and Yangshuo are [...]
One of my favorite things to do in a new city is to check out the grocery store or outdoor market — wherever the locals shop. I’m not interested in the touristified market packed with overpriced “delicacies.” In Bergen, Norway, the fish market now sells (admittedly delicious) smoked salmon for roughly four times the price [...]
If you are considering a visit to the village of Dehang, in Hunan Province, you don’t have to take my word for its beauty. Jeremiah of Jottings from the Granite Studio just got back from Hunan and has this to say about Dehang:
Dehang is a Miao village tucked into a river valley of striking beauty. [...]
