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”
Category Archives: China Travel
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”
Adventures in Xinjiang: Kashgar Old City
This entire blog post will be dedicated to just one stop, in just one location. I know that isn’t usually my style but in this specific case, I can’t help it. This ranks up there in my Top 5 Travel Destinations of All-Time, and I took a billion pictures, and I couldn’t narrow them downContinue reading “Adventures in Xinjiang: Kashgar Old City”
Adventures in Xinjiang: Flaming Mountains & Ancient Cities
After our journeys through the grasslands it was time to catch a flight to our next part of the Xinjiang; a place where greens of the grasslands would be replaced by the warm browns of sand and clay… Turpan! تۇرپان Turpan 吐魯番 is located in the middle of Xinjiang, in the Turpan Basin which liesContinue reading “Adventures in Xinjiang: Flaming Mountains & Ancient Cities”
Adventures in Xinjiang: Ancient Trails, a Sandstorm, and a Kazakh Wedding!
Though I love seeing big cities when I travel – London, Budapest, Cape Town, Stockholm, Quito – there’s always something extra special about the days I get to spend out in nature. I try to plan my trips to include at least one hike, at least one day where I am not surrounded by anyContinue reading “Adventures in Xinjiang: Ancient Trails, a Sandstorm, and a Kazakh Wedding!”
Adventures in Xinjiang: Lavender (Space) Blue & Laghman
When touring through a region as large (truly, just….massive) as Xinjiang, you’ve got to take the negatives along with the positives. Negative: after having just finished a full day of driving to get to the desert, the next step was another 8+ hours in the van to get to our next destination. Positive: just lookContinue reading “Adventures in Xinjiang: Lavender (Space) Blue & Laghman”
Adventure in the Great Wide Somewhere 