Urumqi Travel Guide: The Xinjiang Gateway Before You Go South
Urumqi is Xinjiang’s capital and the natural gateway to the region, with Heavenly Lake, a mummy museum, and some of China’s best Silk Road grills.
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Tiananmen Square: Access Rules, Security, and Timing
Tiananmen Square needs a free reservation, ID checks, and no tripods. Learn the access rules, the best timing, and what sits on each edge of the plaza.
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Thousand Island Lake: Qiandaohu Beyond the Postcard
Thousand Island Lake near Hangzhou is a 1950s reservoir with over 1,000 forested islands, boat circuits, and a famous freshwater fish head soup.
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Suzhou Travel Guide: Gardens, Canals, and Day Crowds
Suzhou is an easy high-speed train hop from Shanghai, built around classical scholar gardens and canals. Plan which gardens to see and when to go on a trip.
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Songzanlin Monastery Shangri-La: The Little Potala
What Songzanlin Monastery is and is not: its 1679 origins, the rebuild, how to read the layout, altitude and rail access from Lijiang, monastery etiquette, and the best time of day
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Songshan Dengfeng: The Central Peak and Its Martial Temple
Songshan in Dengfeng, Henan: the central sacred mountain, the Shaolin Temple and Pagoda Forest, the oldest brick pagoda, and the Yuan observatory, with how to get there
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Mount Siguniang: Hiking the Four Sisters
Mount Siguniang trek guide: the three valleys, altitude and acclimatisation, the Chengdu drive, season, costs, and how to pair it with the rest of Sichuan.
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Shigatse Travel Guide: Tashilhunpo and the Everest Road
Shigatse travel guide: Tashilhunpo Monastery and the Panchen Lama’s seat, the old town and market, and why this Tibet hub is the smart overnight stop on the Everest road.
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Shenzhen Travel Guide: Coastal Trails and Day Trips from Hong Kong
Shenzhen grew from a fishing county into a 17-million megacity in forty years. Here is how to cross from Hong Kong and where the coastal food is cheap.
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Shenyang Imperial Palace: The Qing Dynasty’s First Seat
Shenyang Imperial Palace, the Mukden Palace: the Qing dynasty’s first seat, its octagonal hall, Manchu style, tickets, and how it compares with Beijing’s Forbidden City
