Everybody was kung fu fighting the rain
21 April 2018
Getting to Shaolin from Zhengzhou by bus
Apparently the main attraction 'near' Zhengzhou is the Shaolin Monastery / Temple / Amusement Park / Tourist Trap. I say near because it was 2 hou....
The most China of places I have ever been
20 April 2018
Wholesale fabric markets of Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou is a lot different to Beijing! It seems to be a tier of development below Chongqing, which up until now was the most China of places I h....
From the old to the new old
20 April 2018
From Beijing to Zhengzhou by bullet train
Today I moved cities, from a 30 million person city to somewhere between 10 and 12 million people, its hard to measure. Zhengzhou is where I am, a....
Fun running race but I cant join in
19 April 2018
Walking round Tiananmen Square at night
For my last evening in Beijing I thought I would return to Tiananmen square. Everyone goes there, I went there in 2011, you can line up to see emb....
The bus debacle illegal taxi comedy show
19 April 2018
Getting to Mangshan on public transport
Three funny things happened today so strap in, wall of text to follow. First of all, there were a lot transport debacles. I had selected a spot t....
An uncomplicated exchange
18 April 2018
Collecting train tickets from Beijing station
I will be taking 6 high speed rail journeys while in China. Tickets sell out, and you can only book one month in advance. To do this from overseas....
The bee filled mountain of many amenities
18 April 2018
Exploring the fragrant hills by public transport
Another day, another opportunity to spend many hours walking around in the glorious pollution haze. Despite the air quality index suggesting the p....
Gentrification
17 April 2018
Walking to Sanlitun from Wangfujing
Tonight I went to the nightclub and drug dealing area of Beijing, Sanlitun. It is located near all the embassies and the theory goes that all the ....
The west lake of the northern capital
17 April 2018
Exploring the summer palace by subway
Today I went to another top tourist attraction, the summer palace. I had never been there before. Parts of it are modeled on the famous west lake ....