Guangzhou Shangxiajiu Guide: Cantonese Pedestrian Street of Qilou Arcades
I went to Shangxiajiu (上下九) in October 2025 because I wanted the most Cantonese street in Guangzhou: a long pedestrian run shaded by qilou (骑楼) arcades, humming with dim sum,…
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Shanghai Tianzifang Guide: Labyrinthine Lane of Galleries and Cafes
I went to Tianzifang (田子坊) in October 2025 because I wanted the messy, lived-in version of Shanghai lane life that Xintiandi polishes away. Tianzifang is a tangle of old longtang…
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Shanghai Xintiandi Guide: Shikumen Lanes Reborn as a Lifestyle District
I went to Xintiandi (新天地) in October 2025 because I wanted to see how Shanghai turns its oldest housing into its most polished district without losing the bones. Xintiandi is…
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Huangshi Travel Guide: Hubei Industrial City Reinventing Its Lakefront
I went to Huangshi (黄石) in October 2025 because I was curious about a Chinese city that admits what it is: a steel-and-mine town on the Yangtze that is now…
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Jingmen Travel Guide: Hubei Crossroads of Chu Culture and Rail
I went to Jingmen (荆门) in October 2025 because I wanted a Hubei that sat quietly between the Wuhan buzz and the tourist trails of the Yangtze gorges. Jingmen is…
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Guigang Travel Guide: Guangxi River Port with Temple and Lotus Lakes
Guigang is one of those Guangxi cities that sits on the map between bigger names and gets skipped. I stopped there in June 2025 on a river-bound loop and found…
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Laibin Travel Guide: Guangxi’s Karst Heartland Off the Tourist Trail
Guangxi has famous names, Guilin, Yangshuo, Nanning, but the trip I keep recommending to friends who want to dodge crowds is Laibin. I went in May 2025 after a reader…
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Hezhou Travel Guide: Guangxi’s Karst Town of Hot Springs and Old Streets
When people think of Guangxi, they picture Guilin’s peaks or Yangshuo’s rivers, and I love those places too. But on a trip in May 2025 I kept going east to…
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Tongling Travel Guide: Anhui’s Copper City on the Yangtze
Most travelers rush through Anhui on the way to Huangshan and never stop in Tongling. I made that mistake for years, then spent two days there in April 2025 and…
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Huainan Travel Guide: Coal City Turned Lakeside Getaway in Anhui
Most foreign visitors to Anhui head straight for Huangshan or the villages of Hongcun, and I did the same on my first trip. On my second visit, in March 2025,…
