Eyes on China – A China Travel Blog

Hunting for Chinese Spices The Yangshuo market is situated at a major three way intersection in the downtown area, at a distance from the westernized Xijie and its shiny souvenirs. On one side of the intersection is a traditional restaurant with a wall-covering picture of several fluffy dogs that look like chow-chows. These cute, adorable [...]

Chengdu, a beautiful and idyllic city which is the capital city of Sichuan Province, has been endowed with a poetic name—-“the city of Rong”. “Rong” is the abbreviation of peony in ancient China. Peony, which is almost treated as a national flower by Chinese people, is regarded as a symbol of wealthy in China. So [...]

It is said that cole flowers only keep blooming for 4 weeks every year,and then people will cut the plant,while the coleseed will be used for making vegetable oil which is good for health. Also the vegetable oil is aroung 6 RMB per kilo.We all agree it is cheaper than any other oil in China.

Something about living in China gets under your skin. Whether it’s the job opportunities, friendly, helpful people or the awesome, chiseled rock faces inscribed with Chinese characters (Hanzi), I don’t know. But, living in a remote mountain village has brought about some unexpected changes to my complexion. Literally, something has caused a tremendous outbreak of [...]

Anji County: Home of Bamboo Anji (安吉) is actually a county, located in the North East of Zhejiang Province and its largest town is called Dipu (递铺). Anji County is small by Chinese standards with a total population of just 450,000. Apart from a limited number of main roads connecting its few towns, Anji retains [...]

For every train enthusiast; the newly established railway connection from Geermu (Golmud) to Lhasa is of course an absolute must-do. Being the highest railroad in the world, it has instantly become a classis amongst famous railway lines such as the Orient Express and de Trans-Siberian Railway. So, I decided to board this railway to the [...]

A stroll around the town Being Tibet’s capital city and it’s cultural nucleus, Lhasa is a two-faced city, were charming alleys and courtyards give way to straight streets full of concrete communist blocks, and we’re the silent dignity of devoted lines of Buddhists walking along the streets is disrupted by the hustle and noise of [...]

Having picked a random tourist site from the spread of my recently purchased map of Anji County (安吉县), I am off. I have decided to explore a large park called Baicaoyuan based on a picture and as it seems there is no direct bus, I am taking a minibus most of the way with a [...]

Like nomadic Tibetans have for centuries we have slept well and warm in our tent. It is one of a dozen circling a fenced compound of this loosely named ‘hotel’ in the middle of nowhere. There is an attraction here to justify our visit and the fee charged by the County Tourist Department. We like [...]

My time in Shanghai for Business I live in SE Asia, but originally form the UK. I was used to seeing poverty, but for many visitors it may come as a very sharp shock to see the poverty of the older tenements beside newer, sleek apartments. Much of the older buildings not yet pulled down [...]