Yearly Archives: 2022

Guilin: By Water, By Mountains, Most Lovely

After a 65-day lockdown that took our spring away from us, my boyfriend and I were very anxious to get out of Shanghai and do some traveling over the summer. As you can probably assume, if you have not yet witnessed the madness yourself, I am the master of hypothetical itineraries. Before Lockdown (B.L.?), IContinue reading “Guilin: By Water, By Mountains, Most Lovely”

Xishuangbanna Pt. III: A Cuppa Pu-erh with the Great Stone Dragon(s)

(To read the first part of my trip to Xishuangbanna, click here! To read part two, click here!) If there’s one thing I’ve learned about traveling, especially traveling in China, and ESPECIALLY especially traveling in China during a pandemic, it is this: you have to be flexible. You have to bounce. If your plans comeContinue reading “Xishuangbanna Pt. III: A Cuppa Pu-erh with the Great Stone Dragon(s)”

Xishuangbanna Pt. II: The Elephant Whisperer

(To read Part 1 of my Xishuangbanna trip, click here!) One of the amazing things about living and traveling through China is the variety of destinations available to you. There are giant metropolitan cities (larger than most American cities!) that I’d never even heard of before moving here, the classic Chinese tourism spots (the GreatContinue reading “Xishuangbanna Pt. II: The Elephant Whisperer”

Xishuangbanna: The Land of Peacocks and Elephants

Where last I left you, we had just traveled to Wuyi and Gouqi Island in the Zhejiang province for Golden Week – the first week in October. Due to heightened pandemic concerns (are you sensing a theme here?) we were not able to leave Shanghai over any of the next few holidays but, contrary toContinue reading “Xishuangbanna: The Land of Peacocks and Elephants”

Gouqi Island: China’s Little Greece

Living in Shanghai, sometimes it is easy to forget that we are so near to the ocean. (Shanghai is most definitely not a beach city… though we do have palm trees!) Luckily, being this close to the coast, there are a variety of islands only a few hours away! After one night to rest upContinue reading “Gouqi Island: China’s Little Greece”

Strong (Legs) Like Ox (Head) : Niu Tou Shan

One of the (many) perks I’ve discovered since jumping in to the world of international teaching is the celebration of new holidays (and the time off from school to do so…); if you’ve been with me from the beginning, you may remember that I moved to China and was in my 14-day quarantine during myContinue reading “Strong (Legs) Like Ox (Head) : Niu Tou Shan”

Jīayóu, White Nose : Hulunbuir Camping

After my 15-day epic Xinjiang trip, spent hiking and sweating and traipsing all around the largest province in all of China, one would think that the next logical step would be to come back home to Shanghai to rest, relax, and recuperate before heading out on another trip. One would certainly think that, perhaps, butContinue reading “Jīayóu, White Nose : Hulunbuir Camping”

Adventures in Xinjiang: Red Rocks, Glaciers, and Guinness World Records

With only 2 days left in our Southern Xinjiang trip, it was time to lace up my hiking boots, grab my sun hat, and head back out in search of some big rocks to climb. (Tis one of my favorite travel activities, in case you haven’t noticed.) We were originally supposed to be spending ourContinue reading “Adventures in Xinjiang: Red Rocks, Glaciers, and Guinness World Records”

Adventures in Xinjiang: Mausoleums, Mosques, and Markets

After exploring the Old City, we were able to drive out to see one of the most famous Kashgar landmarks: the Apakh Khoja Mausoleum! The آفاق خواجه مزار Apakh Khoja Mausoleum 阿帕克霍加麻扎 (or: Apak Khoja/Afaq Khoja/Aba Khoja/Abajo Khoja/Abakh Hoja… translations are hard) is considered the holiest Muslim site in all of Xinjiang, and many devotedContinue reading “Adventures in Xinjiang: Mausoleums, Mosques, and Markets”