Travel articles
Practical, on-the-ground stories and guides written by people who have been there.
Dunhuang: the Silk Road oasis of caves and singing sand
I came for the caves and stayed for the silence of the desert at night. Dunhuang is a small Gobi oasis where 1,000 years of Buddhist art meets a spring cradled by singing sand — here's the best time to visit, how to reach town from Dunhuang Airport (DNH), how to get around with no subway, and how to book the Mogao Caves without getting turned away.
Urumqi: the city where the sun comes up late
I came for a connection and stayed for a bazaar the size of a stadium and a sunset that didn't happen until after ten. Nobody warned me the clocks ran two hours slow.
Dali: the highland town between the mountains and a lake
I thought it was just a stop between Kunming and Lijiang — then I spent four days doing almost nothing by Erhai Lake and didn't regret a minute. Here's when to go, how to reach Dali from the airport, and how to loop the lake without a subway.
Changchun: the spring city most travelers skip
I only meant to change trains. Then I rode a streetcar from 1941, walked through a puppet emperor's palace, and realized Changchun was the trip, not the layover.
Hefei: the transit stop with a great lake next door
I booked Hefei as a train change and almost rolled past it. Then I found a thousand-year-old lake, the tomb of China's honest judge, and a tokamak building the future.
Shijiazhuang: the transit city with a 1,400-year-old temple next door
I booked Shijiazhuang as a train change and almost skipped it. Twenty minutes north, a Tang-to-Ming town carries a 21-metre bronze Buddha.
Taiyuan: the Dragon City that runs on noodles and vinegar
I planned to sleep in Taiyuan on the way somewhere else. A warm medicinal breakfast you can only get in winter, and a 900-year-old Song hall at Jinci, changed that.
Hohhot: the blue city where breakfast is lamb
I expected a grey border town and found a wide, slow city where the steppe starts thirty minutes out and the locals eat lamb dumplings at nine with a pot of brick tea.
Xining: The Summer Capital You Acclimatize In
At 2,261 m it's one of the world's high cities, but it's 22°C in July. I came for the lake, stayed for the yogurt, and spent day one doing almost nothing on purpose.