Along with a new wall, Datong was also doing some significant refurbishment to their major tourist attraction, the Yunang Caves. Built in the 5th and 6th Centuries AD, there are more than 50,000 statues in the grottoes, which are contained in over 250 caves, but the day I was there (and probably for several months … Read more
OK, so earlier on I might have implied that I had been to see the Great Wall of China but then turned out to be tricking. But I really did go see it, eventually. There are three parts of the Great Wall accessible from Beijing. And much like Goldilocks’ porridge, only one was just right. … Read more
For someone who loves the theatre as much as I do, there has been a distinct lack of performances in my story to date. And when I arrived in Beijing, I was determined to change that. Being a huge city, I’m sure I could have found a Mandarin version of something like Les Miserables, a … Read more
I’m going to be completely honest here and say that I don’t have strong memories of this cooking class (and that isn’t just because it’s taking me a long time to write these stories). China was a difficult country for me. Not only because I can still taste the pollution when I think of Beijing, or … Read more
I’ve already alluded to some pieces of China’s history, from the ancient architecture to the giant firewall that blocks sites like Facebook, but now really is an interesting time to visit the country. At my hostel in Beijing, I met two other travellers, Matt (from the US) and Sam (from Brazil). We got talking, and … Read more
Sacred mountains are a dime a dozen in China, but in the end the one that matters most is Tai Shan. – Lonely Planet Now I’m not much of a climber. More of a couch potato, in fact. But the siren call of the holiest mountain in China was too much, even for me, to … Read more
AKA Happy Birthday, Confucius! At least I hope Google Translate isn’t messing with me… Some time during my days of TV watching in Qingdao, I also managed to exert myself enough to flick through a Lonely Planet for Shandong province and discovered that Confucius’ birthday was coming up and would be celebrated in his home … Read more
The morning after my walk in the rain, I got out of bed early, picked up my camera and finally set out to explore Qingdao. A German occupied city from 1898 to the outbreak of World War I when Japan took over the occupation, there is something familiar about the architecture in Qingdao. Just around … Read more
After the rigmarole of getting my visa to go to China, you could be forgiven for thinking that getting on the train from Osaka to Shimonoseki (well, the first of three trains anyway) would be something of a relief. It wasn’t. It was about first equal for the hardest day of my life. Aaron’s flight … Read more