The Longmen Grottoes Along the banks of the Yi River, about 15 kilometers south of the city Luoyang, China are the Longmen Grottoes, also known as the Dragon Gate Caves. Along with the Yungang Grotto carvings at Datong and the…
Old Town Pingyao The old part of Pingyao, within the walls, is a very well-preserved ancient city. The population is nearly half a million but to Chinese standards it’s tiny . . . the smallest city we’ve visited here so…
The city walls still stand around the heart of this city that was once the end of the Silk Road. It makes navigation that much easier: if you go too far in any direction you’ll eventually run into a wall.…
Challenges of the Chinese Train in Summer Summer is in full swing, and it seems like everyone is on vacation. Trains are jammed, with seats sold out weeks in advance. We tried in vain to buy a ticket to Harbin…
What can be said about The Great Wall that hasn’t been covered a thousand times before? It’s one of those sights that everyone has at least heard of and thinks about with some sense of wonder. At different times, to…
Located northwest of the center of town, the Summer Palace was a retreat for royalty trying to get away from Beijing’s stifling summer heat. It began as imperial gardens, and was developed and expanded by Emporer Qianlong in the 18th…
Seven hours and three sets of meal vouchers after our China Southern flight should have taken off from Seoul, it finally did. Maybe we should have paid more attention to the delay as an omen of things to come (for…
As we ventured away from the metropolis of Beijing we were very limited on the choice of cities to visit. The reason for this was our neglect in purchasing a train ticket before nearly all destinations were sold out.…
Our lodging, The House Hostel offers free bikes to guests, so an afternoon of cycling was a must. The port serves as the terminal for Russian ferries (the only one in S. Korea), and the signs in this area are…
Eating has been an ongoing challenge for us in Korea, not because of any lack of tasty options, but because of our inability at times to access them. The biggest issue, of course, is language. After a month in Japan,…