Travel experiences across the world
So here’s where we’re at with trying to plan a trip in the year 2026: both my Lonely Planet and DK guides extol the virtues of the Shanghai Museum, the iconic museum shaped like the famous bronze cauldron in its collection. Neither of them (their newest editions, mind you) even mention the existence of the… Continue reading Shanghai Museum East, Tianzifang, Xintiandi
Today’s first order of business was simple enough: walk the length of East Nanjing Road to the Bund! Our hotel is ideally situated for this task, right on People’s Square, so just walking out onto the street and turning a left set us right on the very beginning of East Nanjing Road, Shanghai’s main commercial… Continue reading Nanjing Road, The Bund, Yuyuan Garden
Wuhou Shrine We had one last morning in Chengdu before our 3PM flight to Shanghai, so I wanted to find something to do that wouldn’t take too long and, preferably, wouldn’t require us to cross the city center, so as not to end up stuck in traffic on the way back. So I settled on… Continue reading Wuhou Shrine, arrival in Shanghai
I couldn’t have wished for better weather today, by which I mean it was around 23°C and cloudy. The ideal weather to be out and about! Today’s first plan was to spend Sunday morning in the park… in People’s Park! I think every Chinese city has a People’s Park or People’s Square, and Chengdu’s is… Continue reading People’s Park, Wenshu Monastery, Panda Base
Our first full day in Chengdu began, surprisingly, with rain! A gloomy, misty rain that seemed imported from the Basque Country. That didn’t bother me in the slightest, not just because nostalgia and climate change have made me appreciate rain when it comes, but because my plan for the morning was to hop on a… Continue reading Chengdu Museum, Kuanzhai Alley
This morning we bid farewell to a gloomy Xian and took the train to our next destination: the capital of Sichuan, the city of pandas, the Mecca of spicy food: Chengdu! The train journey was pretty much the same as the one to Xian (it is, in fact, the same line): about one hour’s ride… Continue reading Train to Chengdu, Taikoo Li
Today’s top priority was the visit to the Terracotta Warriors in the afternoon, so in order to save up some energy for that I made a lightweight plan for the morning: a visit to Daci’en Temple, home to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda (not to be confused with the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, which is… Continue reading Big Wild Goose Pagoda, The Terracotta Warriors
Day One of Two in Xian and I am SPENT. By the end of this trip they’ll have to roll me onto the plane with a wheelbarrow! Today’s plan was to visit the old town of Xian, that is, the square area within the old city walls, and leave the famous Terracotta Army for tomorrow.… Continue reading Xian Old City
My legs are GONE. I just wanted you to know that. After climbing up and down the entire Great Wall of China like a mountain goat, my calves are so sore from first thing in the morning that I just go “Ow ow ow” every time I have to walk down the stairs. Because of… Continue reading Sanlitun, train to Xian
Today’s pièce de résistance was no less than The Great Wall of China! I left it for today because it’s just about the only attraction that opens on Mondays, but like with the Forbidden City, in order to avoid the crowds I wanted to visit in the afternoon, so for the morning we went hutong… Continue reading Shichahai, The Great Wall of China
