A Series of Ups and Downs
The map calls it the 214, but then modern cartographers lack the romantic instincts of their 'Here be dragons' forebears. Locals call it Dian-Zang Lu, the Yunnan-Tibet Highway ('Dian' being an ancient name for Yunnan, and 'Zang' the Chinese word for Tibet).
But Dian-Zang Lu has an alternative meaning in [ read more ]
Middle Kingdom
They call this land Zhongyuan, but they don't agree exactly what the'zhong'(middle) means. For some, Zhongyuan is a simple geographical term – the middle plains. Others see it in its historical context as the origin and centre of life. Indeed, modern-day Henan province, in the Yellow River basin of the [ read more ]
China: Take it as Red
27 year-old Tan Longwu favours hip skateboarding t-shirts and rides around his western Jiangxi hometown on a new motorcycle. "We were able to buy that last year," he says. "We have been doing very well lately." Tan, his family and his neighbours have all been cashing in on a major [ read more ]
Guizhou: Minority Report
We sat on tiny stools in his old wooden house, timbers blackened by years of soot, eating crunchy fried soya beans and a tasty fish and noodle stew.
"Drink some more!" urged old Mr Lu, refilling my bowl of home-brewed mijiu from a plastic fuel canister.
As the evening progressed, [ read more ]
Yangtze River: On the Rise
When it comes to working with water, China knows a thing or two. Two of the world's six longest rivers are contained entirely within its borders. China has the longest and oldest canal on the planet. Its most celebrated explorer, Zheng He, was building ocean-going fleets while the Portuguese were [ read more ]
Travels with Granny
In the beginning I was an enthusiast, but the nine years since I first came to China have seen my appetite for curly roofs and rebuilt-last-week 'antiquities' gradually wane. It has been a while since I have shelled out for the privilege of dressing up as Genghis Khan and posing [ read more ]
China: The Learning Cycle
China's tourism industry likes 'top five' lists: top five famous mountains, top five famous shopping streets, top five places for eating barbecued chicken, that sort of thing. The town of Li Ling in Hunan Province features in none of these lists. That is its charm. It is a place that [ read more ]
Mosque: Pillars of Islam
Sixteen-year-old Zhu Tong loves skateboarding and belting out punk rock riffs on his bass guitar. But while most of his peers are grappling with English grammar, Zhu is mastering the art of Arabic. While they dream of studying in Harvard or Cambridge, Zhu has set his heart on being accepted [ read more ]
