Fragrant Hills Park: a New View of Beijing
Where can you find nature in a city of 20 million people? At first glance, Beijing seems like the last place you would look for natural beauty. Afterall, this sprawling …
off the beaten path
Qiuxia Garden: An Ancient Chinese Garden in Shanghai’s Backyard
If you’re looking for an escape from Shanghai’s overwhelming glistening modernity, you could do a lot worse than Qiuxia Garden. The garden is located in the suburb of Jiading, about …
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Jinshan Fishing Village: The Sea-Side Town with No Sea-Side
There isn’t much to Jinshan Fishing Village, or Jinshanzui, or 金山嘴渔村. However, it’s a nice place to spend an afternoon wandering around old narrow streets, soaking up some ancient Chinese …
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The Longjing Tea Village in Hangzhou
The Longjing Tea Village in Hangzhou is a sort of holy land for tea drinkers. Longjing tea is smooth, mellow, and can be ridiculously expensive. If you’d asked me two …
Oriental Land: on the far edge of Shanghai
Oriental Land is a large park located, ironically, on the far western edge of Shanghai. It’s about a two-hour subway ride from the center of the city, dangling on the …
Lantau Island: The other side of Hong Kong
Lantau Island is not the Hong Kong you expect. When someone says “Hong Kong” you probably think of glistening skyscrapers stretching towards the heavens, and densely packed urban life. Or, …
Inside a Chinese Wet Market
Chinese wet markets are large open markets where vendors sell fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat, unpackaged and unprocessed. Ever since the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was identified as …
How the hell do you get to Pak Chong, Thailand?
Pak Chong, Thailand is only about two and a half hours away from Bangkok. It’s the gateway to Khao Yai National Park, which may be one of the top national …
Hold on to Your Butts: It’s Gucun Park, Shanghai
Gucun Park in Shanghai is also known as “dinosaur park.” Walk through dense forests of leafy green plants. There’s a rustling in the leaves. Something is lurking in the forests …
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Shipyards and Strawberries on Chang Xing Island
Our Chang Xing Island adventure started with a message from the boss. “We’re going to Chang Xing Island next week. We booked a hotel room for you.” That was it. …