Armed and Decorous

Basha villagers are the only civilians in China still permitted to bear firearms, the men wear their hair in a very unique way, and longstanding traditional burial customs are still observed today.

Feathered Finery

In the language of the Miao ethnic group, the name “Songlong” means “the village situated on the ridge for stacking hay.”

An Ocean of Blossoms

Nestled along the contiguous borders of Yunnan, Guizhou Provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southwestern China...

The Green Canyon

Five hundred kilometers to the south of Beijing is the ancient city of Anyang, where was discovered Jiaguwen, the inscriptions on animal bones and tortoise shells of the Shang Dynasty (16th—11th Century B.C.)...

Riverine Retreat

Xiamei, a small village nestled in the mountains six kilometers east of Wuyishan City, in southeastern China’s Fujian Province, is historically considered to be the starting point of the Ancient Tea Road...

Southern Yunnan through a Western Lens
Basically Banna

It’s a long name and it’s a long way away. The English version on the Kunming airport signage conveniently shortens it, so it fits...

A Desert Jewel

Sometimes the Tengger Desert is like a sandy sea with dazzling golden hues and rolling dunes appearing like surging waves frozen in time. Other times...

The Buryat Way

At home on Inner Mongolia’s vast Hulunbuir Grassland is a group of ethnic Mongolians known as the Buryats. Small in number, they are a relatively unknown people. In these pages...

Born of River and Mountain An Ancient Town Rests Easy

Along the lower reaches of the Lijiang River, embraced by the lush mountains of northeast Shaoping County in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region...

Island Hopping

I have traveled the Zhoushan Islands of Zhejiang Province on several occasions, and each time I was delighted with the experience. Zhoushan, a place of the ocean...

Huangshan Heritage — Heights, History and Hangouts

Standing very still at 1,810 meters above sea level, looking down into that vast granite vat stewing a billowy brew of cumulous clouds, breathing deeply of the thin cool air...

Learn How with the Miao

In a small Miao village far away from the mechanized noise and frenetic pace of China’s cities, the gurgling river, the singing crickets and the cracking campfires present a supremely serene scene...

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