China

China next on your destination radar? Check out the advice, stories and tips I can offer after living there for almost a year and visiting the cities of Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai and Xi’an and important tourist destinations like The Great Wall of China, Terracotta Warrior and Shanghai World Financial Center.

Hong Kong Island Walking Tour

Skyline of Hong Kong island

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Explore ritzy Hong Kong island almost completely free of charge, no matter where in Hong Kong you stay.

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How to Get a China Visa

Picture of a Chinese visa

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Airlines won’t even let you on the plane without a valid China visa, so get the China visa you need in plenty of time for departure.

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Beijing Travel Photos: Exploring the Northern Capital

Pollution in Beijing, China

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What Beijing lacks in traditional beauty, it compensates for ten-fold in character.

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Visiting the Chengdu Panda Base

Panda at Chengdu Panda Base in Chengdu, China

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If you want to see pandas in China, and lots of them, your surest bet is visiting the official panda breeding and research center near Chengdu.

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My Cursed Christmas in China

Dragon at Shanghai Museum

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Shellfish, and liquor, and vomit! Oh my!
That was the extent of my Christmas in Shanghai

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Shanghai’s Century Park

Shanghai Century Park in China

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Just as Shanghai’s more than 4,000 skyscrapers dwarf the Manhattan skyline, Century Park is something like Central Park on steroids, even if Central Park is technically larger by area.

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City Wars: Beijing vs. Shanghai

Photo of Chinese tourists at Houhai Lake in Beijing, China

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Many of the other expats I met in China were adamant about being either “Beijing People” or “Shanghai People.” Which city is more your style?

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China’s Anji Bamboo Forest

China Grand National Bamboo Forest in Anji, China

If you’re in Shanghai and need a break from the hustle-bustle and skyscrapers, the Chinese Grand National Bamboo Forest is nearby Anji is without a doubt the most serene place you can travel without getting on a plane.

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Hong Kong Travel Photos: Special Administrative Region

Overhead view of street corner in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong

The moment you cross from busy, industrial Shenzhen into Hong Kong’s vast and untapped “New Terroitories,” which completely conceal the existence of an incredible city of the future less than an hour in the distance, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

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Sichuan’s Qing Cheng Shan Mountain

Qing Cheng Back Mountain near Chengdu, Sichuan, China

If you make it to China’s Sichuan province, head to the back mountain of Qing Cheng Shan. Although the 2008 earthquake left the region difficult to navigate, making a trip there exposes you to scenery and vantage points few other foreign tourists see.

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Are YouTube, Twitter and Facebook Blocked in China?

Access Facebook in China

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Officially, you can’t access your Facebook or Twitter accounts, YouTube or most free blogging platforms from within China, but there are ways to work around this annoyance.

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