Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, China Travel Guide: Stone Fort, Muztagh Ata and the Pamir
The road from Kashgar to Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, China climbs so steadily that I did not notice I was already above 3,000 meters until the poplar trees gave way to bare…
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Wulong, Chongqing Travel Guide: Karst Bridges, Caves and Furong Gorges
I almost skipped Wulong, Chongqing, China on my first Sichuan–Chongqing loop. I am glad I didn’t. This county, two hours southeast of central Chongqing, holds some of the most theatrical…
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Yangshuo Travel Guide: Limestone Peaks and the Li River Beyond Guilin
The first time I stepped off the train in Yangshuo, Guangxi, China, I expected a sleepy riverside town. What I found instead was a place where the karst peaks rise…
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Hainan, Qinghai Travel Guide: Guide County, Longyang Gorge and the Yellow River
A quick note before the details, because the name tricks people: this guide is about Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai, China — an inland prefecture on the northeastern edge of…
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Haibei, Qinghai Travel Guide: Qilian Mountains and Menyuan Rapeseed Fields
When travelers ask us for the most photogenic corner of Qinghai that is not the lake itself, we point them to Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai, China. This prefecture wraps…
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Nyingchi, Tibet, China Travel Guide: Peach Blossoms and the Yarlung Tsangpo
When travelers tell us they want Tibet but fear the altitude, we send them east — to Nyingchi, Tibet, China. At 3,000 meters, Nyingchi sits far lower than Lhasa and…
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Guangan Travel Guide: Deng Xiaoping’s Hometown and Sichuan River Town
Most foreign travelers racing through Sichuan head straight for Chengdu’s pandas or the giant Buddha at Leshan. We always suggest one more stop, just two hours southeast: Guangan, Sichuan, China….
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Heritage and Boutique Hotels in China’s Old Towns
My first heritage hotel in China was a converted Qing merchant’s courtyard in Pingyao, and I came away with two completely new ideas about what an old building could be….
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Daxinganling Travel Guide: China’s Northernmost Forests and Arctic Village
When travelers ask us where they can stand on the northern tip of China and watch the snow glow green with the aurora, we always point them to the Greater…
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Best Hotels in Zhangye, Gansu, China
Zhangye, Gansu, China is the Silk Road city most travelers reach for one reason — the Zhangye Danxia, the layered “rainbow mountains” that glow at sunrise — and then stay…
