Author Archives: Richard

Myung and I are taking it pretty easy in Beijing. We’re staying a half hour bus ride away from city center at one of China’s answers to Motel 6. It’s called 99 Inn because the standard, clean room with bathoom/shower, … Continue reading →

This will be a quickie. I went to Pingyao while Myung went to Beijing. (She’s about had it with China. It’s not like she hasn’t spent years here already.) Pingyao is an old walled city which, unlike other cities in … Continue reading →

We are in Kaifeng, Henan, now. This area is steeped in history, as most of China’s dynasties have called the cities of this region their capitals. The Henan capital, Zhengzhou, about 80 km wwest of here, was the capital of … Continue reading →

We went down to Hong Kong to get new visas and stayed there for two nights. Myung lived just across the water from there, in Shenzhen, for a long time, so she wasn’t too excited about staying. I think it … Continue reading →

In the States, we’re used to businesses proudly stating they have been in business since 1949 or something. This pharmacy in Hangzhou has been in business at this location since 1647. It’s been modernized since then. You can get your … Continue reading →

After going to Jungdezhen and before coming to Hangzhou, we visited a couple of old towns. “Old town” in China is as likely as not to be one of the few remaining places where buildings more than a hundred years … Continue reading →

To make a log story short, Jimgdezhen, Jiangxi, has been the center of Chinese ceramics for over 700 years, and a major place for ceramics manufacture for hundreds of years before that. This is because of the unique clay which … Continue reading →

I’ve added a new link, “Chinese television in English, including good travelogues”. This is 95% of what I watch, unless you include programming in Chinese that Myung watches and I ask her what is going on. Often the travelogues have … Continue reading →

Lonely Planet says Chongqing is where you spend the night and arrange your trip down the Three Rivers Gorge. Well, we decided not to spend the money on that trip, but Chongqing has been a really nice experience. Both of … Continue reading →

I wrote before that we lost pictures of the giant 71 meter Buddha statue in Leshan. Turns out that that was recoverable, so here are a couple of pictures of it and a couple of pictures of Buddhists at a … Continue reading →