The perils of drinking rice wine for lunch – Lintao County, Gansu Province
There really is no good time to drink cheap rice wine, but sometimes it's unavoidable.
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Labrang Monastery – Xiahe, Gansu Province
The reason that pilgrims and tourists alike come to Xiahe is to visit the Labrang Monastery, an ever-expanding complex of temples and accommodation that now resembles a sprawling village.
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Something has changed – Xiahe, Gansu Province
Sometimes revisiting a place like Xiahe can lead you to reflect on how both it and you have changed
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The Terraces of Dingxi – Gansu Province, China
Passing through Gansu Province, the land as far as we can see is covered in a patchwork of green and yellow fields, dotted with the occasional homestead.
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Xumi Mountain Grottoes – Guyuan, Ningxia Province
Erosion has created a series of gulleys and ridges out of the sandstone rocks, and these are dotted with over a hundred grottoes, temples, shrines and buildings. These grottoes are filled with carvings of Buddha, from hand-sized carvings up to the 20+ meter high sculpture of Sakyamuni.
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Shahu (Sand Lake) Scenic Resort – Yinchuan, Ningxia Province
On hearing that we were looking for a car and driver to head down to Xiahe for a week the CEO of the company we were consulting for offered to finance the trip. He laid on a car, driver and all expenses, leaving us to come up with a route. We decided to go as touristy as possible...
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When a flight upgrade isn’t an upgrade – Yinchuan, China
Sometimes a flight upgrade isn't as desirable as you might think
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One born every minute : Chinese Scams in Beijing
Since returning to Beijing from the relaxed and friendlier surroundings of Yinchuan I seem to have been the target of any number of Chinese scams. Most I noticed; a few I probably missed.
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Failing to Learn Chinese
Having been in China for over a year now, I’m painfully aware that I’m still terrible at Chinese.
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A visit to the Doctor’s Surgery – Beijing, China
An unpleasant cocktail of pollution, dry weather and too much air conditioning has led to me getting a minor case of dry skin. Whilst not debilitating it’s not ideal, so after a few attempts to find a cure I went for my first visit to the doctor’s surgery in China.
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