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Breakfast the Chinese Way (中式早饭) Posted by Stephen on Dec 21, 2011
When one thinks of Chinese cuisine, one usually imagines a mixture of chopped meats, veggies and starches flash-cooked in oil and served alongside rice or noodles. This is traditional Han Chinese food, served all throughout the day, breakfast, lunch and dinner–reliable as the sunrise. Yet, as a foreigner living in China, what are your non-Han…
Beijing Roast Duck (北京烤鸭） Posted by Stephen on Dec 19, 2011
Forget that Christmas ham and toss out that Thanksgiving turkey. If you want the classiest, most extravagant and flavorful meal Chinese cuisine has to offer, you need something more regal and imperial: a meal made specifically for the Emperor. Peking roast duck or 北京烤鸭 (Běi jīng kǎo yā) is the quintessential fine dining centerpiece in…
Goldilocks and the Three Great Walls (长城) Posted by Stephen on Dec 16, 2011
Now that we’ve covered some Great Wall attractions and locations, lets compare and contrast the three most popular greater-Beijing Great Wall locations to find the Great Wall trip that is right for you. We’ll be covering three very different sections of the wall, including: 1) Simatai (司马台), 2) Badaling (八达岭) and 3) Mutianyu (慕田峪). The following is a…
Apartment Hunting (找公寓) Posted by Stephen on Dec 14, 2011
No matter where you are, whether you are in your hometown (家乡 jiā xiāng) or halfway around the globe, house hunting or 找住房 (zhǎozhùfáng) is a stressful endeavor. In China, the difficulty of finding a place to live as a 老外 is amplified by language barriers, Chinese laws, shady dealings and lack of information. Even if…
The Jiāyùguān Pass (嘉峪关) Posted by Stephen on Dec 10, 2011
While traveling through Gansu Province, we came across the Jiayu Pass or 嘉峪关 (Jiāyùguān) –the largest and most intact section of the western Great Wall of China. The pass runs through central Gansu acting as a corridor for people traveling between Dunhuang and Lanzhou and marks the frontier of ancient Han culture in premodern times…
Gobi Desert (戈壁沙漠) Posted by Stephen on Dec 7, 2011
The photos below are taken from a 1,500 km trek across the greater Gobi Desert or (戈比) area. The trip spanned from the most western reaches of Xinjiang province (新疆), through Inner Mongolia (内蒙古) and concluding in Gansu Province (甘肃). Check out the diverse climates, altitudes, and scenery as we retrace the steps of thousands…
Buddhist Longmen Grottos (龙门石窟) Posted by Stephen on Dec 3, 2011
To understand the vast Buddhist influence upon Chinese culture, one must travel to the Longmen Grottos (龙门石窟－Lóng mén shí kū) located just outside of Luoyang (洛阳－Luò yáng), Henan province. Nestled around the Yi River (伊河－yīhé), these Longmen Grottos are home to some of China’s most famous stone and rock sculptures, depicting, among other things, images…