Author: karl

The first time I set foot on Central Street Harbin, I genuinely forgot which country I was in. One moment I was in northeastern China, the next I was staring…

I still remember the first time I stepped onto the coarse sand at Tianya Haijiao and looked up at two giant grey boulders rising out of the South China Sea….

I still remember the moment the clouds lifted near Nyingchi and I caught my first glimpse of the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon. Standing at a roadside viewpoint, I watched the…

I first heard about Meili Snow Mountain from a truck driver in Shangri-La who told me, “If Kawagarbo shows his face, you are lucky for life.” I laughed at the…

The first time I stepped out of the car at Nalati Grassland, I simply stopped talking. A wall of green rolled up from the valley floor and kept going until…

I still remember the moment the cable car broke through the cloud layer and the split peak of Mount Fanjing appeared like a mirage above the mist. Nothing had prepared…

I still remember the moment I stepped off the shuttle bus at Baodingshan and rounded the first bend in the path. There, carved straight into a gray limestone cliff face,…

When I tell fellow travelers that Nanjing has a free, 500-year-old imperial lake sitting right next to its main train station, most people look surprised. Xuanwu Lake (also spelled Xuanwuhu,…

If you ask me for the single best spot to watch the sun melt into West Lake, I’ll tell you without hesitation: climb Leifeng Pagoda. I’ve stood on that viewing…

The first time I climbed the narrow stone path up Tiger Hill (Huqiu), I expected a small hillock with a nice view. What I found instead was a 250-foot leaning…