Showing 1-11 of 11 results
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Snapshot: Fenghuang Town Walls
Blog: To China... and Beyond! - 18 June 2010
Fenghuang’s old town wall glows a warm pink when it is bathed in the evening sun. All day long, tourists meander its length, admiring the small carvings that adorn the roofs above.
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What Makes an “Old Town” Old?
Blog: To China... and Beyond! - 7 June 2010
Spend much time traveling in China and you will eventually find yourself drawn to a 古城, or “old town.” These are neighborhoods — usually surrounded by a completely modern city — that somehow survived the wrecking ball of modern economic development.
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Snapshot: Revisiting Dehang
Blog: To China... and Beyond! - 4 June 2010
Over the weekend, I had a chance to revisit one of my favorite places in China. Unless you’re an extra-avid reader of this blog, you’ve read your Lonely Planet cover-to-cover (welcome to the club!), or you know me in real life, you’ve probably never heard of Dehang.
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3 Hours on the World’s Fastest Train
Blog: To China... and Beyond! - 19 April 2010
In December, a new Chinese rail line claimed the title of fastest train in the world — and it just so happens to run right through Changsha, where I live.
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Snapshot: Tulipmania in Changsha
Blog: To China... and Beyond! - 2 April 2010
On the advice of a Chinese friend, a friend and I headed out to the Hunan Provincial Botanical Garden last Saturday to check out the spring flowers. Two crowded bus rides later, we were deposited at the garden, far in Changsha’s southern end.
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How to Eat Well in China: Find Friends
Blog: To China... and Beyond! - 31 March 2010
In China, food is a serious affair, and one that is best enjoyed with as many people as possible.
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“O Little Town of Shaoshan”
Blog: To China... and Beyond! - 17 March 2010
Shaoshan’s kitsch magnificence is almost too much for words, so I turned to a traveling companion who is never short for them for this guest post about our recent trip. In early 1990, in the days before he was himself the subject of fulsome leftist hagiographies, New York Times Beijing Correspondent Nicholas Kristof visited Shaoshan and [...] Related posts:Maoist Kitsch, Five Ways
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Maoist Kitsch, Five Ways
Blog: To China... and Beyond! - 15 March 2010
After two months on the road, even two weeks at home in Changsha was too much for some of us. So we hit the road this weekend for a quick daylong pilgrimage to Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong.
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Dinner Out: Changsha’s Huogongdian
Blog: To China... and Beyond! - 21 December 2009
The Huogongdian (火宫殿) restaurant is one of Changsha’s most famous eateries, but it took me more than a year to find a reason to go there. But on Saturday night, we braved the cold and headed over to the east side of the river to check it out. We were surprised to find that it is [...]
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Eating in China: A Study in Impermanence
Blog: To China... and Beyond! - 8 December 2009
Until you’ve lived in China, it’s hard to understand the speed with which everything changes: restaurants, neighborhoods, government regulations, you name it. This is an occupational hazard of travel writing here, since the expiration date on your recommendations can pass in the blink of an eye. You might recommend a neighborhood for shaokao, only to [...]
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Slideshow: Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
Blog: To China... and Beyond! - 4 December 2009
Changsha, the city where I live and the capital of Hunan, sits on the flat plains of the northwest of the province. But head west, and the plains are eventually replaced by spectacular mountains. Last spring, I visited the karsts of Dehang; this year, I saw their even more beautiful cousins in Zhangjiajie, also known [...]
Showing 1-11 of 11 results
