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Going Back for a Second Helping: Southern Gansu in June

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:48:55 +0000

I'm in the midst of planning another trip, this time back to Gansu Province to tour the southern region called Gannan which is a Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture within the province. It is home to Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, ancient Buddhist grottoes, beautiful grasslands and incredible scenery. It's a reprise of our group from last year when we went to the northern part of the province to visit Dunhuang and the Mogao Caves.

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Special Summer Offers from the Mandarin Oriental in Shanghai

Sat, 11 May 2013 01:42:20 +0000

If you're in this market and planning on visiting Shanghai, now is the perfect time to try the Mandarin Oriental and take advantage of one of their summer offerings:

Your Second Night On Us package includes two nights' accommodation in a guestroom or suite - the second night is complimentary. The package also includes complimentary wireless internet access.

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Mandarin Oriental Takes Up Residence Along the Riverside, Pudong

Tue, 07 May 2013 22:24:02 +0000

One of the great pleasures of my job is, on occasion, getting to visit new hotels when they open. The Mandarin Oriental Pudong showcased its new offering and I can happily report that the MO is a welcome addition to Shanghai's broad market of luxury hotels. Even if you're not planning on staying in a luxury hotel in China, you should make note because in Asia, many fabulous restaurants and bars are located in cities' upmarket hotels. You might very well find yourself enjoying a cocktail, a meal and even perhaps a meeting in the luxurious surroundings of the Mandarin Oriental.

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Earth and Heaven (or Day 3 in Beijing)

Sun, 05 May 2013 23:14:36 +0000

On Friday we didn't get as early a start as I would have liked but we hit our favorite market, Panjiayuan, for some bits of Earth for my rock-collecting son. On weekdays not all the vendors get there early - or come at all. So we had to scour the market for the things my son was interested in. Still, there's plenty to see during the week but if you really want to see Panjiayuan in action, go early on a Saturday. With pink beads for the little one and a big chunk of lapis lazuli for my big one, we headed over to my favorite Beijing attraction, the Temple of Heaven.

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The Wall is Great

Sat, 04 May 2013 10:10:20 +0000

Thursday was our Great Wall day. I asked my friend for a recommendation for hiring a car on Wednesday so that we wouldn't have to pay outrageous hotel prices. You can negotiate with a taxi to take you to the Great Wall but it's not always guaranteed you'll find someone willing to wait for you there and bring you back. Of course there are tourist buses that go there and back but we wanted to be able to take our time and not have to rely on timetables to get back to the city.

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Beijing is Big

Fri, 03 May 2013 12:25:56 +0000

That is the overall impression my kids have of Beijing after three days here on holiday. It's a fair one. Compared to Shanghai, Beijing's buildings are larger and the streets are wider. The impression is of overall size, impressive size.

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Visiting Hakka Tulou Buildings in Fujian Province

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:55:13 +0000

A couple of my friends are down in Fujian Province right now doing a tulou tour and visiting these Hakka fortress houses in the area. They are sending me photos and email and making me very jealous.

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Good food, good music � an evening of culture in Zhujiajiao

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 03:59:57 +0000

Anyone who has had an extra day in Shanghai has probably been scuttled out to a water town on a half-day tour. "Water Towns" are small towns and villages that dot the Yangtze River Delta. The region is crisscrossed with canals and rivers and for hundreds of years people have used the water system as a mode of transportation for goods and people. The water towns have old centers, literally called "ancient city" or gucheng (古城)，that have been more or less gussied up for tourists. I've written about Nanxun in the past, a water town in Zhejiang, that I visited last year with Tracy Lesh's TeaTreks.

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China Travel & Avian Flu

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:27:02 +0000

I don't know how much press the H7N9 Avian Influenza Virus is getting abroad but I did see an article in this week's Economist about bird flu so I'm guessing it's a topic of conversation if you're thinking about coming to China. I thought I'd share what advice and information we're getting here in Shanghai so you can better judge how scared you're going to be about the current strain. I've received multiple emails but this one, from an insurance company answered most of my questions. Hopefully you'll find this helpful.

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Upcoming Chinese Holidays

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:38:27 +0000

Spring and early summer have quite a few Chinese holidays. Qing Ming (Tomb-Sweeping Day) just passed but the May holidays and Dragonboat Festival are coming up.

May 1^st is International Labor Day and that is celebrated in China with a day off on Wednesday, May 1. If you live in Shanghai and your school/place of work is abiding by the local government's suggestion, that means you'll go to school or work on the weekend of April 27-28 so that you can have April 29-May 1 off. It's a little strange. No matter where you are in China, at least May 1 is a holiday.

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