Tag Archives: travel advice
Travel China – Tibet
The train was equipped with oxygen masks. It climbed the steady gradient through tunnels and over gorges on a track that had been completed a few months earlier. Lhasa now had a rail link with China’s coastal cities. The track … Continue reading
China Travel – Nanjing
Nanjing was founded almost three thousand years ago and was formerly China’s capital. The Nanjing Treaty of 1842, following the first of the so-called “opium wars”, granted Hong Kong to Britain. The war was over the “right” of foreigners to … Continue reading
Travel China – Lhasa
Old Lhasa is still there. The ancient shrines and houses continue to stand beside the Potola Palace but the scene is changing fast. Modern steel and concrete buildings are sprouting up. I’m reminded of what happened to old Jerusalem.
Travel China – Huang Shan Mountains
We have all seen Chinese paintings of misty mountains with trees and temples hanging in space. It is a very old style and I used to think of it as pure fantasy. Then I went to China and was surprised … Continue reading
Tibetan cool guy
I’ve met a few memorable people in my life and one was a Tibetan guy who organised the logistics for our climbing trip in the Himalayas. I injured my foot early in the proceedings and spent a lot of time … Continue reading
China travel – Shangri-La
Okay. Its real name is Zhongdian. The China Tourist Board renamed it Shangri-La for the benefit of Western tourists who have read James Hilton’s novel “Lost Horizons” and want to visit a mountain utopia where they can escape the … Continue reading
China Travel – Leaping Tiger Gorge
It’s in Yunnan Province, close to the border with Tibet and near the famous Yangtze bend. The locals say it’s the highest gorge in the world – far exceeding the Grand Canyon. I went there with my wife and was … Continue reading
China Travel – Grand Canal
The Grand Canal is part of an extensive system of waterways that criss-crosses eastern China and links its four major rivers. Large parts were in place during the Tang Dynasty. The ancient towns along the canal banks are favourite destinations … Continue reading
China Travel – Silk Road
Two silk roads cross eastern China. One hugs the mountains of the Tibetan plateau to the south. The other takes a northern route and skirts the mountains of Mongolia and the Tien Shan. Both routes pass though some of the … Continue reading
China travel – Mountains of Heaven
The English name is an exact translation of the Chinese “Tien Shan”. The mountains stretch for 1500 km (1000 miles) along the northern rim of the Taklimakan desert, from Urumqi in the east to Kashi in the west. They are … Continue reading
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