Long renowned as one of China’s most beautiful cities, Hangzhou was my favorite stop of the four cities in my eastern China adventure. Together with Suzhou, Hangzhou is known as “heaven on earth,” as named by a famous old Chinese saying. In my opinion, Hangzhou is worth at least a two-day stop. And it’s one… Read More Heaven on Earth: Top Things to Do in Hangzhou
Now that you know all about how to visit Bhutan, here are 10 surprising things you probably didn’t know about this Himalayan kingdom. (Warning: there are some NSFW photos below!) 1. The name Bhutan is a transcription The Bhutanese call their own country “Druk yul,” meaning “Land of the Thunder Dragon.” The English name “Bhutan”… Read More 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Bhutan
When I left on my funemployment trip through Asia, the only plans I had was to start in Manchuria and work my way south as the weather got colder and to meet my boyfriend in southern Thailand for Thanksgiving. So I packed mostly warm weather clothes and a few layers for autumn in China, all rolled… Read More What I Packed for 5 Months in Asia, from the Himalayas to Southeast Asia
I don’t know when I first heard of the Longhorn Miao. I just know that once I learned of the ethnic minority, it was hard to forget their distinctive headdresses. But I didn’t know much more about the Longhorn Miao, other than that they lived in southwestern China like so many of China’s other ethnic… Read More A Visit with the Longhorn Miao
This is Huangguoshu Waterfall, the largest waterfall in Asia. Located in the southwestern Chinese province of Guizhou, Huangguoshu (Yellow Fruit Tree) Waterfall is this poor province’s pride and joy, its key tourist attraction. To get there, you’ll first need to get to the city of Anshun, roughly 90 kilometers or an 80-minute drive from the… Read More This is the Largest Waterfall in Asia
Besides the Miao ethnic minority, Congjiang is also home to many Dong tribes. In fact, Congjiang is part of Guizhou’s Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture. This means that as with other autonomous areas of China, Congjiang has more Miao and Dong people than Han Chinese, the ethnic majority in China. So after visiting the… Read More Hear the Grand Choir of the Xiaohuang Dong
Growing up, I don’t think I had a conscious awareness of race until we moved to Florida, where the ugly legacy of slavery and Jim Crow made race something that was much more obvious. But while race wasn’t on my mind, I had always been fascinated with ethnicity. Not race or nationality, but ethnicity. China’s… Read More Does Cultural Tourism Help or Hurt Ethnic Minorities?
It’s completely catered to tourists, especially westerners, I was told. Great, exactly the type of place I dislike, I thought as I made my way to the southern Chinese city of Yangshuo. It turned out to be true that Yangshuo’s downtown does cater extensively to western tourists, but there’s so much more to the city… Read More What to Do in Yangshuo in 2 Days
After spending roughly a week in northeastern China in September and then roadtripping through northwestern China in October, I turned my sights south, specifically to the south central autonomous region of Guangxi and the southwestern province of Guizhou. For me, the largest draw for Guangxi was initially Guilin. I had long heard of the beauty of… Read More Skip Guilin, Go to Yangshuo and Longsheng Instead
The capital of Gansu province, Lanzhou is a key gateway to northwestern China (your other option is Urumqi). These days Lanzhou is just a 2.5 hour plane ride or 9-hour high speed train from Beijing. It’s the perfect starting point to visit the famous Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, experience the Silk Road at Mingsha Mountain… Read More 1 Day in Lanzhou: What to Do and Eat