[This page is a work in progress. It contains links to all posts with labels in China, Hong Kong, Macau and North Korea. Further details are added irregularly]
China, Hong Kong & Macau
Lynne and I have always enjoyed travelling, being relatively ambitious in our ‘throw the tent in the back of the car and go’ days, and
becoming more ambitious as we gained confidence and became more affluent. Even
20 years ago China was hardly on our horizon, but in November 2003 our daughter,
with a freshly minted MA and little idea of what she wanted to do next, took a
teaching job in China. We went to visit in her in Summer 2004 and that started
a fascination with the country that led to 6 more visits as the China steadily became more open and more prosperous.
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| Lynne & Siân, Huizhou 2004, the visit that started it all |
President Xi Jinping took office in 2013 and at first China’s trajectory remained unaltered. Since Mao, Chinese leaders have been limited to a
ten-year term but Xi had himself appointed ‘President for Life’ in 2018 and
since then he has constructed a personality cult, became more authoritarian at
home and bullying abroad. He has increasingly ignored the treaty signed at the
hand-back of Hong Kong, and has initiated a genocide against the Uigher
population of Xinjiang (we visited in 2010 and I wonder about the fate of the
people we met then). We shall not be visiting China until there are changes so,
sadly, maybe never again. Below is a record of where we have been and what we
have seen, starting with the most recent posts and working backwards.
China is labelled in
Tibetan Buddhism: Part 5 of Buddhist Temples, Monasteries and Buddha Images (2020)
Mahayana:Part 2 of Buddhist Temples, Monasteries and Buddha Images (2020)
The
Variety of Mosques (2) Praying Facing West (2020)
Lost
and Forgotten - Things Big and Little that Disappeared for Centuries (2020)
A Fine Drinking Man’s Country? (2017)
South East China
(2016)
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Nanjing (1) Sun Yat Sen, The Zhonghua Gate and Salt Water Duck |
12/11/2016 Jiangsu Province |
Arriving in Nanjing. Mausoleum of Sun
Yat-sen, first President of the Chinese Republi,. The Nanjing City Walls and
the Zhongua Gate. Salt Water Duck. The Confucian temple area. Rebuilt complex
for the pre-1905 exams in Confucian thought. Well fed in the hotel’s nearby
restaurant street. |
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13/11/2016 Jiangsu Province |
Nanjing Presidential Palace – old
building or modern museum? Ming Garden, Offices of Sun Yat-sen and Chiang
Kai-shek. The Taiping Rebellion, The Rape of Nanjing, the Nanjing Massacre
Museum and Memorial, John Rabe the humanitarian nazi(?!). Ducks' blood noodles.
Yuejiang Tower and the Yangtze Bridge. | |
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Suzhou (1) The 7-Mile Shantang and a Mandarin Fish Cut like a Squirrel |
14/11/2016 Jiangsu Province |
High speed train Nanjing-Suzhou. Car
to Hotel. Leave reading glasses in car and unable to contact guide. Beef
noodle soup for lunch. The 7-mile Shantang, comparison of Chinese Li and
Imperial mile. The canals and Bai Juyi who built many of them in the 9th
century. Dinner of Mandarin Fish Cut in the Shape of a Squirrel. |
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15/11/2016 Jiangsu Province |
History of the garden and of Humble
Administrator, Wang Xianchang who started gardening in 1510. The ‘mountains’
and a poem. Suzhou Museum the work of IM Pei, Pearl Pillar of the Buddhist
Shrine & a 10th century ceramic lotus bowl. A trip on the canal. A walk
to Hanshan Si (Cold Mountian Temple) and Puming Ta pagoda, made famous by the
7th century poet, Zhang Ji. | |
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16/11/2016 Jiangsu Province |
West Garden Temple, arhats and
turtles, The Lingering Garden, Pan Men Scenic Area, Yuan Zhao and the Ruigang
Pagoda. City Gates. Wu Men bridge. Won Ton lunch. High Speed Train to Hangzhou | |
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17/11/2016 Zhejiang Province |
Hangzhou station, Jack Ma and Alibaba. West Lake, Su Dong Po, the 3 small concrete pagodas on the 1 Yuan note. Feilai Feng Scenic area, Lingyin Monastery, incense sticks, guardians, main Buddha hall. Lunch: Dong Po Pork and shrimps in tea. Longjing tea, in tablet form and nonsense about anti-oxidants. Hangzhou supermarket visit, a bottle of Bai Jiu | |
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18/11/2016 Zhejiang Province |
Drive Hangzhou-Nunxun. The concept of Water Towns. The Lotus Villa, Jiaye Library and former residence of Zhang Shiming. Canalside lunch. Back to Hangzhou. Hangzhou Street Sculptures. Next morning to Hangzhou Station for High speed Train to Wuyishan | |
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19/11/2016 Fujian Province |
Bullet train Hangzhou to Wuyishan. How can a city contain 5 counties and 3 county level cities? Xiamei Ancient Village, Lapsang Souchong & Jin Ju Mei teas and a bride template. Dinner in Wuyishan | |
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20/11/2016 Fujian Province |
Wuyi UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Chinese style of tourism. A bamboo Rafts on the 9 Bends River, Yunnu Hill. Danxia landform. Tianyou Peak and the steps to the summit. Jinjunmei tea. Descent in the rain. Dinner in Wuyishan. | |
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21/11/2016 Fujian Province |
High Speed train Wuyishan to Xiamen. Xiamen Island. Ferry to Gulangyu Island. Gulangy: Traffic free, unconvincing European architecture, typhoon damage. Shuzhuang Garden also known as the Lin Family Mansions and Garden. Piano museum.Back to Xiamen | |
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22/11/2016 Fujian Province |
Xiamen to the Tian Luokeng scenic
area. Buying red bananas and apple flavoured bananas. The Hakka. The Tian
Luokeng Tulou Cluster, Inside the Tulous, lunch in a Tulou. Yuchang Lou Tulou.
Tea tasting. The Liu Clan of Yuchang Lou, the village and the examination
success pillars. Taxia Village and more examination pillars. The feud between
the Zhang of Taxia and the Liu of Yuchang Lou. |
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| Salt water duck, salad, noodle soup |
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| Stone boat, Presidential Palace, Nanjing |
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| 7-mile Shantang, Suzhou |
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| Bonzai, Humble Administrator's Garden |
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| Wu Men Bridge, Suzhou moat |
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| Incense, Lingyin Monastery |
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| On a Nanxun canal |
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| Xiamei Ancient Village, Fujian |
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| Yunnu Hill, Wuyishan |
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| The Lin Family Mansion, Gulangyu |
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| The Tian Luokeng Tulou Cluster |
Zhejiang Province is also labelled in
14/02/2023 |
A collection of largely plinth-free statues from three continents. In this less deferential age it is good not to be looking up to people all the time. Zhejiang contributes the street statues of Hangzhou; Hangzhou is the future of China, the statues remind modern citizens of their past. |
Hong Kong and Macau (2016)
Delights Revisited: The Sheraton at Dusk and Woo Sung Street |
23/11/2016
|
To Honk Kong, Nathan Rd, Jewellers, tailors and copy watches. Chunking Mansions. Sheraton Sky Lounge, cocktails by a big window overlooking HK island as the daylight fades and is replaced by neon. Woo Sung Street Temporary Food Hawkers Bazaar - Clams in Black Bean Sauce & Mottled Spinefoot with salt and chilli. | ||
24/11/2016
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First sight of Lamma Island from the Peak in 2004. Walk to Star Ferry Terminus, then to Hong Kong Island. Octopus cards. Outer islands ferry to Yung She Wan on Lama.
Meet friends and take path that runs down the island, then across the spine
and descend to Sok Kwu Wan for fine seafood lunch. Mix up at Sok Kwu Wan
ferry terminal, return to HK then Kowloon. Evening - a small dish of
goose intestines. | |||
25/11/2016
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Kowloon to Macau. The Gran Lisboa and Stanley Ho. Portuguese central Macau. Dragon Dance for shop opening. Protestant cemetery, George Chinnery, Robert
Morrison and others. Take a buses to A-Ma Temple. The Moorish Barracks, Largo
de Lilau and the Mandarin House, Church of S Lourenco, Theatre of Dem Pedro
V, Check in to Pousada Mong-Ha, dinner at La Lorcha. | |||
26/11/2016
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Kun Iam Temple near the Pousada. Bus to Taipa, Colonial House Museum. Bus past the casinos of the Cotai Strip, Venetian Hotel and others. Lord
Stow's Garden Cafe, and eggs tarts/pasteis de nata. Church of St Francis
Xavier, Lunch at Fernando's. Back to Hong Kong. | |||
27/11/2016
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Nanking Street, changes 2004 to 2016. Hong Kong's excellent and comprehensive History Museum. Dim Sum on Nathan Rd. A walk up Nathan Road to Mongkok: Fillipino maids on their day off, the Goldfish, Flower and Bird Markets. Boundary Road. | |||
28/11/2016
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Kowloon overcrowding. The acquisition of the New Territories. MTR to Diamond Hill, bus to Sai Kung and Public Light
Bus to Pak Sha O where Hilary and Brian had their weekend cottage. Return to
Sai Kung for seafood lunch. Tin Hau Temple, Leaving the New Territories. | |||
30/11/2016
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Victoria Peak. The Peak Tram to the Flying Wok. A walk round the Peak. A look round the Kowloon Food markets. Bus to Ap Lei Chau, harbour, Jumbo floating restaurant, Aberdeen. Hung Shing Taoist temple. |
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| Dusk, Hong Kong Island |
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| Lynne, Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island |
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| Largo de Senado, Macau |
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| Fernando's, Coloane |
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| Dim Sum lunch, Nathan Road, Hong Kong |
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| Clash of rural and urban on the way to Sai Kung |
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| Ap Lei Chau Harbour |
Hong Kong and China are also labelled
Banyan Trees (2013)
Three Favourite Taoist Temples (2011)
Two further posts, one for Hong Kong, one for Macau appear under China's Far South West (2010) See Below.
Beijing, North Korea and Shanxi (2013)
This journey started in Beijing, then we visited North Korea and finally returned to China and spent a few days in Shanxi Province. North Korea lived up to its reputation, it is the only country I have ever left with a feeling of relief.
Beijing
|
05/09/2013 |
Beijing Metro,
changes since 2004. Disappearing bicycles. The Ming Observatory. Jianguomen, Youtong St, Suzhou Hutong. The
pleasures of basic level dining in Beijing. | |
|
06/09/2013 |
Xicheng District, Fuchengmen Street. Lu Xun House. Hutongs, Baita Si, Temple of Ancient
Monarchs, Restoration, renovation and fakery. Guangji Si, Beihai Park, Roast Duck failure. |
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| The Ancient Observatory, Beijing |
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| Hutong off Fuchengmen Inner Street, Beijing |
North Korea
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| People's Democratic Republic of Korea |
|
07/09/2013 |
Beijing Airport security frustration. Koryo Airline, the Moranbong Band, in-flight catering and Ushers Brewery, Customs and passport control, a race question, a surfeit of cameras. Into Pyongyang, an empty city. The Yanggakdo Hotel. Our fellow travellers. | |
08/09/2013 |
Kumsusan Palace, bowing to the
embalmed bodies of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, their awards, trains, boats
etc. Mansudae Hill, bowing to the statues of the Kims. Fatherland Liberation War Museum, the Pueblo
spyship, the N Korean view of the Korean war. Kim Il Sung Square. Opera House. Brewpub | |
09/09/2013 |
The 65th anniversary of the
founding of the People’s Republic of Korea. Mangyongdae, Kim Il Sun's Birthplace. The Worker's Party Monument.
Watching the Anniversary Celebrations on TV. Hotpot lunch. Waving at soldiers
as they return to barracks. Picnics and Dancing in Moranbong Park. Triumphal
Return Square and the Arch of Triumph. The Rungnado May Day Stadium and the Arirang Mass Games. | |
10/09/2013 |
Getting out of the Yanggakdo Hotel. South on the Unification Highway. Tomb of King Kongmin and Oh My Mountain. Panmunjon and the DMZ, where the armistice was negotiated and signed, the border itself. Sweetmeat for lunch in the DMZ To Kaesong, Koryo Museum and Sun Hill. To Sariwon and the 6th of May Hotel. | |
11/09/2013 |
Breakfast at 6th of May Hotel, Sariwon. Hotel worker with a wooden rifle. Mi Gok Collective farm, unconvincing workers showhouse, Songbul Monastery, unconvincing demonstration of freedom of religion, North Korean film-making, To Pyongyang for a picnic The road to Nampho, clam bake and a night at a spa. | |
12/09/2013 |
Across the Nampho Dam on the Taedong River. Visitor centre, locks. A lecture on the advantages of life in N Korea. Back to Pyongyang. The Railway Museum, mostly about the leaders’ interaction with trains. trompe l'oeil painting. Temple of Youth, music, computers, calligraphy & a show. | |
13/09/2013 |
The Palace of Gifts. Fun & Games on arrival. Kim and golf. Other myths and their origins. The Metro. Puhung. Yangwang and Kaeson (Triumph) Stations. Socialist Realism. The Arch of Triumph. KFC for lunch | |
13/09/2013 |
Pyongyang’s empty streets. A shop and café for the elite. Wedding photos. The Grand Peoples Study Hall. The 9th of July Secondary School, Stuffed animals and students entertainment. Juche Thought and the Juche Tower. Farewell dinner. | |
14/09/2013 |
The performance of a farewell song. Pyongyang Railway Station. Through rural North Korea to the Chinese border. A Korean lunch. Korean Border formalities. Over Yalu River to China. Chinese formalities. A Chinese dinner and American beer. Beijing. |
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| The Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang |
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| USS Pueblo, Pyongyang |
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| The tumultuous traffic of Pyongyang |
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| The border runs through the blue huts |
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| Worker's kitchen, Mi Gok |
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| The Temple of Youth, Pyongyang |
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| Puhung Metro Station, Pyongyang |
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| Kim Il Sung Sq, Taedong River, Juche Tower |
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| Village children do some planting |
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|
17/12/2013 |
The Death of
Jang Sung Taek and other executions. ‘Pornography’ and what the word might
mean in North Korea. Amnesty International’s view. Our visit justified – or not. |
North Korea is also labelled in
|
Mahayana: Part 2
of Buddhist Temples, Monasteries and Buddha Images |
10/12/2020 |
North Korea’s
contribution is Songbul Monastery in Sariwon. We were shown it as a demonstration
of the DPRK’s commitment to freedom of religion. We were not very convinced. |
|
A Collection of
Arches de Triomphe (None of them in Paris) Part 2, Post-1900 |
20/08/2020 |
Built in 1982 to celebrate the 70th birthday of Kim Il Sung who had single-handedly freed the
Korean peninsula from the Japanese oppressors. (Other combatants in WW2 figure
little in the North Korean narrative) |
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| Lynne and the (alleged) Abbot, Songbul Monastery |
Shanxi
17/09/2013 |
Train from Beijing to Datong.
Coal mines, haggis and Bury Black Pudding. The Yungang Grottoes. To Hunyuan
and lunch there. The Hanging Temple. Back to Datong, Rebuilt/faked walls and
gatehouses. The Nine Dragon Screen. Impromptu Calligraphy lesson. | |
19/09/2013 |
Train from Beijing to Pingyao. The
Tianyuankui Guesthouse, Menu Chinglish, Photography Festival. The city walls
and statues. The Confucian Temple, Taoist Temple of the City God,
Tongxinggong Escort Agency. Lunch. Pingyao beef and kaolao. Rishengchang Bank, Shuanglin Temple/ | |
20/09/2013 |
Qiao Family Compound, Raise
the Red Lantern, vinegar jars. Fire crackers at a Fuel station. Problems
on the way to Jinci. Jinci Temple. To Taiyuan and lunch. High speed train to Beijing |
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| Approaching the Yungang Grottoes |
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| Not all passengers face the right way, Pingyao |
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| 'Gift Shop', Jinci Temple, Taiyuan |
Shanxi Province is also labelled in
14/02/2023 |
A collection of largely plinth-free statues from three continents. In this less deferential age it is good not to be looking up to people all the time. Shanxi contributes the statues of the nightwatchmen and the governor who standing on the city wall |
Beijing
21/09/2013 |
In search of the departed Friendship
Store. The curse of brand names. Wangfujing walking street and Quanjude Roast
Duck. The search for tea tools and the curse of the brand name (reprise). The
Art Exhibition scam. Tiananmen Square and the Qianmen Gate |
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| Quanjude Duck Restaurant, Beijing |
China is also labelled in
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29/08/2013 |
Three supremely useless structures. The Chinese contribution is the Marble Boat in the Summer Palace, Beijing | |
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23/09/2012 |
The Chinese contribution is a grave in An Ching, a village of the Black Miao ethnic minority in Guizhou Province in south west China | |
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01/02/2012 |
Mao appears on all Chinese banknotes and his picture looks down on Tiananmen
Square, but statues of him are rare. I have collected three, two in the Uigher
homeland of Xinjiang where Mao’s current successor is organising a genocide,
the third in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. | |
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Breakfast in Kerala, Lunch in Libya, snack in Istanbul, Dinner in Chengdu |
04/01/2012 |
Three memorable meals – and a few sweeties at tea time. The Chinese contribution is a Sichuan hotpot in Chengdu. |
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27/11/2010 |
Different ways of coping with difficult weather in England, Canada and China. The conclusions are not quite the obvious ones |
China's Far South West (2010)
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29/10/2010 |
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30/10/2010 |
Yunnan: Countryside and Motorway. Into Guizhou. A Guizhou village market and an encounter with an old man in a Mao jacket. Arriving in Xingyi. An excellent lunch. A new guide for a new province. | |
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01/11/2010 |
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03/11/2010 |
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04/11/2010 |
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06/11/2010 |
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07/11/2010 |
From Guizhou Province into Guangxi and change of guide. To Chengyang Dong Villages, Drum towers, Wind and Rain Bridges. Attempting to train a new guide. Oil tea. To Longjiang County and up to Ping'an. Porters. Chinese breakfast. Rice terraces. Zhuang women. | |
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09/11/2010 |
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14/11/2010 |
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15/11/2010 |
Kowloon-Macau Ferry. Kowloon History. Gambling. New Lisboa. The Avenida do Infante D Henrique. Leal Senado. Lunch at the God of Money Restaurant. Façade of Sao Paulo. Fortaleza do Monte. Custard Tarts |
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| The Great Stone Forest |
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| Village market near Xingyi, Guizhou |
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| The Huangguoshu Falls |
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| Drum Tower, Chengyang |
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| The New Lisboa Hotel, Macau |
China is also labelled in
Huizhou (2010)
The Chinese Silk Road (2008)
Introduction: The Silk Road in China
Prelude: Shanghai
Part 1: Xi'an
Part 2: Jiayuguan: A Total Eclipse and the Last Fortress under Heaven
Part 3: Dunhuang: Dunes in the Gobi
Part 4: Turpan: Ruined Cities of the Silk Road
Part 5 Kashgar (1): The Sunday Market and the Former British Consulate
Part 6: Kashgar (2): Upal, Abakh Hoja and the Old Town
Part 7: Hotan (or Khotan or Hetian): City in the Desert
Part 8: Urumqi: A By-word for Remoteness
Postcript What we Learned
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