Travel articles
Practical, on-the-ground stories and guides written by people who have been there.
Turpan: I went below sea level and the desert fed me grapes
Turpan sits in a basin below sea level, where the Silk Road's hottest corner also built a 2,000-year-old underground water system and turned desert into vineyards. Here's how to visit without melting — stations, shade windows and the grape valley included.
Quanzhou: I came for the temples and stayed for the flower crown
Quanzhou was the maritime Silk Road's biggest port 800 years ago, and the old town still packs a Buddhist pagoda, a 1,000-year-old mosque and a Taoist rock into a few walkable streets. Here's how to actually spend your days there — heat, stations and all.
Datong: I biked a Ming wall at night past 51,000 stone Buddhas
A former Northern Wei capital in Shanxi where 51,000 stone Buddhas watch over a walled night city. Here is when to go, how to arrive, the out-of-town day trips worth the drive (Hanging Temple, Wood Tower), and why the knife-cut noodles are a religion.
Luoyang Travel Guide 2026: Longmen Grottoes, the Peony Festival & China's First Temple
Luoyang was the capital of thirteen dynasties — home to the Longmen Grottoes, the White Horse Temple (China's first Buddhist temple), and a Tang-dynasty city that lights up at night. Here's how to reach it (two stations, one metro), when to come for the peony festival, how long to spend at the grottoes, the cloud-sea Laojun Mountain day trip, and how to pay and stay online like a local.
Hongcun Travel Guide 2026: an 800-Year-Old Ink-Painting Village & the 3-Day Ticket Trick
Hongcun is an 800-year-old Hui-style village in the Anhui mountains, built like an ox — the lake is its belly, the pond its stomach. Here's when to visit, how to reach it from Huangshan North or the closer Yixian East stop, the 3-day ticket trick, and how to pay and stay online like a local.
Wuzhen Travel Guide 2026: Canals, the Glowing West Zone & Paying Like a Local
Wuzhen is the Jiangnan water town that lights up at night — stone canals, white walls, and a West Zone that glows after dark. Here's how to reach it (the stop is Tongxiang, not 'Wuzhen'), when to come, which ticket to buy, and how to pay and stay online like a local.
Nyingchi Travel Guide 2026: I Booked a Peach-Blossom Village I Couldn't Enter - Tibet Permits, the Grand Canyon Rule and Why I Flew In at 2,900 m
Nyingchi travel guide 2026: foreign passports need a Tibet Travel Permit, a fixed itinerary with a guide, and an Alien's Travel Permit for Basong Co. Several agencies list the Grand Canyon and Suosong Village as closed to foreign visitors - get the permit list first. At 2,900 m Nyingchi is 700 m below Lhasa; blossom runs mid-March to mid-April. Plus Alipay, VPN and ticket prices.
Xiahe Travel Guide 2026: Labrang Monastery at 3,000 Metres, a 3.5 km Prayer Corridor & the Train That Doesn't Exist
Xiahe travel guide: Labrang Monastery has been a working Buddhist university since 1709. There is no train to Xiahe, and the airport sits 43 km from town at 3,189 m. What the ¥40 ticket covers, the 3.5 km clockwise prayer corridor, the 13th-day thangka, altitude at 3,000 m, hiring a car for Sangke and Ganjia, and paying with a foreign card.
Zhangye Travel Guide 2026: When the Rainbow Hills Actually Look Red (and Why Noon Is the Wrong Hour)
Zhangye travel guide: when the Colorful Hills actually look red — after rain, the hour before sunset, not at noon. Why one ¥108 ticket gives you different platforms at the north and west gates, how to reach the park 40 km from Zhangye West station, whether it's a World Heritage site, plus the Great Buddha Temple, foreign-card payments and staying online on the Hexi Corridor.