599
(11 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)
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Reviews -
Travel
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Written by Bro Fan
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Tuesday, 13 July 2010 12:32 |
 The dry-mouth, red-eye 5am wake-up, the manic shower, the sudden realisation that you haven’t packed any underwear - and then out the door before you really resolve the pressing matter of how many pairs of shoes to take. One long cab ride, a characteristically stressful check in, and a mad dash for the gate: it could only be an early morning flight from Beijing airport.
An hour or two later, my eyes open and out the window I can see nothing but sand - as far as the eye can see, miles and miles of nothing. China may well be the most populated country in the world - but a rather large percentage of it contains a huge amount of nothing at all. I had a sneaky feeling that this trip out to the North West would confirm this suspicion of mine. As the plane came in to land, there was still nothing to be seen. “What the hell are we doing here?” I heard someone ask - excellent question, but I was very excited to be finding out the answer.
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572
(13 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)
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Travel
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Written by Bro Fan
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Monday, 07 June 2010 18:59 |
 So it is all very well being here in Kashgar and recounting tales of camel burgers, Tajik wrestlers and how I nearly got involved in a knife fight after a slight miscommunication on price one morning. Thing is, though, since I live in Beijing, on the other side of the damn continent, I have to somehow get all the way back home. Not really sure I should bother though - I’m closer to Europe here than to Beijing, so I’m half-tempted to pack in this China-thing, get the bus to Pakistan this afternoon and check out what Iran’s like in early August.
But I’m out of cash, clean underwear and on a three-line whip to make it back to the ‘jing before next week. Mei banfa I’ll have to train it. Whilst Kashgar is all great for all these Central Asians, it’s not all that fangbian for those of us wishing to head back to relative civilisation back East. The super-duper quick double-decker sleeper train still takes 24 hours as it skirts the Taklamakan desert - and as stunning as the mountains, dunes and millions of bizarre wicker fences are, it’s a damn long way back to Urumqi, before I even think about getting back to the capital.
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568
(16 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)
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Travel
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Written by Noruma Mueller
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Monday, 31 May 2010 22:07 |
 My colleagues corrected me. It is not a 火车 Huo Che, a normal train, it is a 高铁 Gao Tie, which means high speed train. With the new GaoTie connecting Xi'an to Henan province, some attractive locations became „closer“, meaning faster and easier to reach. LuoYang, located 375 km to the east of Xi'an, is one of those locations.
I had not heard about this city before, but it had been China's capital at various times in history. It is said, that LuoYang was one of the first places where buddism set a foot in China. The three main attractions of LuoYang are: 1. The LongMen caves, a UNESCO world heritage site with thousands of stone buddas carved out of the limestone cliffs bordering the Yi River.2. The BaimaSi, which is said to be the first buddhist temple in China. 3. The Shaolin Temple, which is worldwide known for the martial arts. This spot is not directly in LuoYang but 60 km to the east.
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558
(187 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)
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Travel
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Written by Cameron Marsland
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Wednesday, 12 May 2010 16:10 |
 Local lore: If you climb Mount Tai, you will live to be 100. I arrived into Tai’an bus station at 10am, and greeted by friendly hawkers trying to off load hotels and private tours. Caught a taxi to Hong Men (Red Gate), and 30mins and RMB130 later I was passing through the entry gate at the bottom of a 6,600 stepped staircase.
Tai’Shan is one of the five sacred Buddhist Mountains in China. Some say this is the number one for numerous reasons, one being watching the sunrise from the peak you can see the first sun in China for that day. There have been traces of human existence found on Mount Tai that date back to the Palaeolithic period (Stone Age). Tai Shan has been climbed by a long list of who’s who of Chinese history, such as Mao Zedong and Confucius. Now, I can be added to that list, having successfully completed the arduous hike to the top.
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555
(101 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)
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Travel
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Written by Cameron Marsland
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Tuesday, 04 May 2010 08:17 |
 When Shandong province was established during the Ming Dynasty, Jinan was announced capital of the region. Jinan comprises a ridiculous 72 springs throughout the city. Unfortunately, none of these being hot springs. After WWI when Germany handed over their concession in Qingdao to Japan, supposedly a large population of Japanese setup shop in Jinan.
The city itself seems quite spread and difficult to get around. The local’s choice of transport is the motorised bicycle. The bicycle lanes which border every road are jam packed with eager movers, seemingly racing each other to get to the next intersection. The traditional means of transport "on foot", appears neglected and unpopular with sidewalks unmaintained, rare, and narrow if they do exist. I spent a day and a bit in Jinan, tasting some local delicacies and visiting the most notable tourist attractions.
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550
(65 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)
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Reviews -
Travel
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Written by Cameron Marsland
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Wednesday, 28 April 2010 14:16 |
 Qufu, home to Confucius and his next 75 generations. A town of 2500 years of history and UNESCO listed, on paper this place is impressive. Qufu is where it all began for Kong Qiu (孔丘) or as westerners know him, Confucius. He was born and buried here. His teachings, the Analects of Confucius, were the basis of thinking during the majority of the dynasties throughout Chinese history.
Catching the bus from Jinan seemed a little too easy. Upon reaching the border of Qufu county, the xifu explained the bus doesn’t stop in the city, but on the outskirts of town. After some song and dance, he smiled and left me alone. I began to think “how far am I prepared to walk?” The bus stops to let me off, I get ushered into a waiting taxi and after giving my hotel name I was on my way. The taxi driver was asking for RMB20, this must be a long way out I was pondering. The cost of the ticket for the bus ride from Jinan was RMB21.
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