From Wikipedia: China (中国; Zhōngguó), officially the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国 Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó), is a vast country in East Asia. With 1.4 billion inhabitants, it is home to nearly a fifth of the world's population and is the most populous country in the world. It has a land area of 9.6 million km2, about the same as the United States.
Surprising Shanghai – drinks in books and pigs in cafes
Jetlagged, I tell Linzy I need a coffee. She takes me to what used to be an abattoir – an interesting place called 1933 Old Millfun. Now it's a trendy mall. The only cafe appears to have dogs – some kind of puppy cafe. I notice one of the dogs is actually a pig and
It is impossible to mention Erhai [洱海] without first emphasising that Cangshan [苍山] is a long stretch of snow-capped mountain parallel to it. With 19 peaks and elevation between 3,500m to 4,000m above sea-level, Cangshan [苍山] is quite impossible for an average human to conquer. Most often, travellers would resort to taking aerial tram rides
Duration: about 1 hour View from the train window: we probably went from 1,500m to 1,900m above sea-level without feeling much difference in the train. The sky was so blue and the fields were lined with crops.
The cafe owners in the ancient town work extremely hard over the various Chinese public holidays because that's when most Chinese people travel to Dali. With all the income made from these peak seasons, it is enough to cover costs for the entire year. And that's enough for them, anything extra is a bonus.
Kunming is the gateway to Western China. The pace of life is slow here. The world is somehow more beautiful and real. Here your English doesn't get you far.
Langbapu Earth Forest [浪巴铺土林] – the beginning of everything
Back in November 2014, there were quite limited options to getting around, we took a long-distance coach from Kunming [昆明] to Yuanmou [元谋] and stayed the night at Xinhua Village [新华乡] that is closest to the earth forest. There is really nothing much to do around here except taking a walk around the nearby village,
What do you do when your city is under shelter-in-place order? Grow emergency bean sprouts?Attempt to draw?Spread positivity in the neighbourhood? Been there, done that? How about, jumping into the past? Click onto a random folder of old travel images and let your memory run, backwards. It was the summer of 2015. Jon came to
As we descended from the villa, we followed the true residents of Mount Mogan, who kindly led us to the waterfall. That was years before we knew about iNaturalist – a time where a beetle is a beetle (to us), with no name of its genus or subspecies. I knew Jon is a lover of
Xizhou [喜洲] – literally Happy [喜] Continent [洲] in Chinese – is a little town in Dali [大理] located on the west of Erhai [洱海] and 29km away from Dali Ancient Town [大理古镇]. In her heyday, it served as an important trading post along the Chama Gudao [茶马古道] – literally Tea [茶] Horse [马] Ancient
Yunnan [云南] – literally Cloud [云] South [南] in Chinese – is a region in western China with the most spectacular terrains. At an average of 2,000m above sea level, locals believe that this is the closest anyone could get to the skies. It is good to know the elevation of these major places before planning a trip so
"Tibet seemed too vast and inaccessible and strange for anyone to possess it. It looked wonderful to me, like the last place on Earth; like a polar ice cap, but emptier."
I went to Mainland China from Hong Kong and all I got was a photo of myself on a panda plate
I always imagined I first trip would be touching down in Beijing and checking out The Great Wall. Instead I found myself extremely bored in Hong Kong (a week there is far too long) and taking a day tour (I hate tours) to China to Guangzhou.It wasn't as glamorous as my travels with Linzy in
I went to China and all I got was this lousy panda plate
I went to China on a tour as I had no choice as I had no visa and this was the only way to get in the country from Hong Kong. I hate tours, and this I think is good justification to why. They wanted £10 for a photo of me eating food in a rubbish Chinese restaurant with pandas around me. For all I know the Chinese writing at the top reads "mug". [image from Flickr]
[from en.wikipedia.org]: Gulangyu, Gulang or Kulangsu is a pedestrian-only island off the coast of Xiamen, Fujian Province in southeastern China. A UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, the island is about 2 km2 (0.77 sq mi) in area, and is reached by an 8-minute ferry ride from downtown Xiamen. Although only about 20,000 people live on the island, Gulangyu is a major domestic tourist destination, attracting more than 10 million visitors per year, and making it one of China's most visited tourist attractions. Gulangyu not only bans cars, but also bicycles. The only vehicles permitted are small electric buggies and electric government service vehicles.
Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries - Wolong, Mt Siguniang and Jiajin Mountains
Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, home to more than 30% of the world's pandas which are classed as highly endangered, covers 924,500 ha with seven nature reserves and nine scenic parks in the Qionglai and Jiajin ... [image from whc.unesco.org]
[from en.wikipedia.org]: Water Towns, also called Canal Towns, are certain ancient and historic towns in China known for their bridges, rivers, and canals. Such towns exist in many regions in China, although those in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are often the most renowned.
[from en.wikipedia.org]: The Leshan Giant Buddha is a 71-meter (233 ft) tall stone statue, built between 713 and 803. It is carved out of a cliff face of Cretaceous red bed sandstones that lies at the confluence of the Min River and Dadu River in the southern part of Sichuan Province in China, near the city of Leshan. The stone sculpture faces Mount Emei, with the rivers flowing below its feet. It is the largest and tallest stone Buddha statue in the world and it is by far the tallest pre-modern statue in the world. It is over 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) from the Wuyou Temple.
[from en.wikipedia.org]: Hongcun is a village in Hongcun Town, Yi County, Huangshan City in the historical Huizhou region of southern Anhui Province, China, near the southwest slope of Mount Huangshan.
Looking for things to do in bustling Chongqing? I recommend checking out the oasis of calm known as Luohan Temple. Come read and see why you should go! [image from My Favourite Lens]
Chuxiong [楚雄] was an impromptu stop along the way before we made our way to Dali [大理] and we had the most unexpected experiences… It is the simplest of town with not many tourists and we spent the day doing what the locals do. We enjoyed watching the Yi people, dressed in their traditional costumes,