Chinese wonders – GringoPotpourri

Of all my travels around the world, I don’t think I have ever been to any country with as much history and with so many jaw-dropping sights as China. I was fortunate enough to visit the PRC three times, and to visit Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as well. (I will leave it up to you, Loyal Reader, to decide whether or not those last three destinations are part of China or not.)

I still haven’t made it to Tibet, home to the North Face of Mount Everest, and to the Potala Palace, which looks stunning in pictures. One day. I have, however, explored several sections of one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, the Great Wall of China.

Continue reading “Photo Locale of the Month – May 2017”

China. Legendary setting for the adventures of Marco Polo, Genghis Khan, and other larger-than-life historical figures. This “Far East” country, at press time the most populous in the world, is the starting point for the Silk Road, watercourse for the Yangtze River, site of the Great Wall and of vertiginous karst hills that doubled as Wookiee land in the Star Wars films, and location of what is currently the largest city in the world (Shanghai).

China features more points of touristic interest than perhaps any other place on earth. Most travelers make it to Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, and Hong Kong. Fewer, though, make it to Shanxi Province. Datong, an industrial city of 3.3 million people, is the gateway to Inner Mongolia. It is an overnight train ride (or one-hour flight) from Beijing. The city’s western outskirts are home to one of the country’s most remarkable sites: the Yunggang Caves.

Continue reading “Photo Locale of the Month – October 2016”