China
Treehouses, China
The Sanya Nanshan Treehouses perch in the top of huge old tamarind trees on the edge of a beautiful beach and overlooking a new Buddhist and ecological national park where temples and pagodas are nestled amongst the botanical gardens. The huge windows also look out onto Nanshan Mountain that sits back from the coastline behind [...]
798 Art District Beijing
With more than a half dozen World Heritage temples and palaces on the standard Beijing itinerary one would be forgiven for thinking that the capital lives only in the past. For the more progressive culture vulture there is a fascinating and relatively little known modern art district to the north east of the city center. The [...]
Longmen Grottoes, China
Longmen Grottoes, located in the south of Luoyang, started around the year 493 after the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) moved the capital to Luoyang. Thousands of Buddhas were carved into the rock slopes and cliffs aside the Yi River, and were carved for 400 years until The Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). There are over 2300 [...]
Harbin Ice Snow Festival
This Chinese festival takes place from the first week in January until the first week in February in Zhaolin & Sun Island Park in Harbin. China’s Ice Snow Festival is the celebration of the absolute freezing temperatures that occur here (-38c). Thousands of ice sculptures of buildings, world wonders, animals and Chinese Legends are carved in [...]
Kashgar to Hunza valley
The Silk Road was probably the most important development in human history, which brought close trading and subsequently cultural contacts between the east and the west. The route from Kashgar to Hunza valley is a breathtaking route crossing both the Khunjerab and Torogart Pass, driving alongside the conglomerate of mountain ranges – Himalayas, Karakorums, Tien [...]
Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou-China
A cubist landmark by Hong Kong architect Rocco Yim, Guangzhou’s Guangdong Museum of Art offers a fascinating survey of coastal Chinese art and artifacts, from ancient porcelain and ivory carvings to Cantonese textiles; there’s also an outdoor sculpture garden. The museum also promotes education and cultural exchange. The 300-seat auditorium has an advanced projection and video facilities. [...]
Luhuitou Bay, Hainan Island-China
Hainan Island, China’s southernmost province, may be best known for its Yalong Bay resorts, but nearby Luhuitou Bay has won us over for its crowd-free strip of white sand. Backed by foothills, the beach borders calm, clear waters that offer some of the best diving on the island. Where to Stay Opened in 2008, the [...]
4 Banqiao, Beijing-China
Chinese people tend to eschew everything that includes the number ‘four’ as it sounds like the word for “death”. Either, they are dead wrong or this is heaven. It’s probably the latter. 4 Banqiao’s 18 rooms open on to a delightful little grassed courtyard and the roof terrace feels secluded thanks to being tucked among [...]
Hutong Hotel, China
A David to the chain Goliaths just a stone’s throw away in the Central Business District (CBD), Cote Cour SL offers a great option for anyone who has grown to hate hotels. Walk into the traditional courtyard and immediately the rest of the city suddenly feels a very long way away. Its 14 rooms are [...]
Commune at the Great Wall, Beijing-China
When the capital’s jet set don’t fancy hopping on a plane for a weekend away, they come to the Commune. Nestling in the rolling Hebei hills, these 12 separate houses are each designed by a different top architect and offer seclusion, comfort, service and their own private section of the Great Wall. The Commune gets [...]
Miao New Year, Guizhou-China
One of the most populous groups of ethnic minorities is the Miao and they celebrate over 20 festivals in one year in Guizhou. This itinerary concentrates on catching these festivals when the villages are at its colorful best with local girls dressing up in the stunning costumes with brilliant display of their embroidery and silvers. [...]
Lusheng Festival, Guizhou-China
The Lusheng Festival, hundreds of the lusheng (bamboo-pipe instruments) in dozens of groups are simultaneously played and the music is reverberating far and wide. Hundreds and thousands of the Miao girls wearing silver-decorated clothes and head ornaments are dancing together to the rhythms, forming one circle after another together on the lusheng playing ground, and [...]
Magical & Mysterious Shamanism, Qinghai-China
Tongren Shaman Festival is celebrated by the Tibetan and Tu ethnic minorities in the villages of Tongren County in western China’s Qinghai Province, located about two hours’ drive from Xining, the capital of the province. It is a grand and festive occasion for local people to show their devotion and gratitude to the Mountain God. [...]
B&B, Shanghai
Quintet is a one-of-a-kind bed & breakfast guesthouse located in the historic French Concession neighborhood of Shanghai. At the end of a hectic day in this fast-paced, adrenaline-packed city, come home to a serene oasis to rejuvenate. Stay at one of our six stylish, individually designed rooms in this three-story 1939 garden lane house to [...]
Hotel G, Beijing-China
In Beijing’s sea of suits and skyscrapers Hotel G stands out as a sophisticated haven of sexy design, delicious fusion food and a 24-hour personal touch. Glamorous, grand, glitzy and gorgeous, it’s easy to see what inspired its name – and its location – in the suitably stylish Sanlitun district. Eight is traditionally lucky in China, [...]
M1NT
Shanghai may be late in embracing the private members’ club concept, but that hasn’t stopped two Hong Kong heavyweights from making a swift mainland debut. Opening within weeks of each other, M1NT and Kee Club are wooing high-fliers with opulent interiors, haute cuisine, and the promise of shoulder-rubbing opportunities with celebrities and socialites who pay [...]
Yalong Bay (Hainan, China)
At the same latitude as Hawaii, Hainan is where mainland Chinese come to get that Waikiki feeling without leaving home. Near Sanya on Hainan’s southern tip, may lack Polynesia’s heaving surf and swaying skirts, its broad white beaches are better than many in Hawaii.
New eyes show Shanghai
Walking Shanghai is not without its obstacles. Sidewalks are often crowded not only with other pedestrians, but with bicycle parking lots, vendors and their carts, card players, laundry strung between doors and trees and motorcycles and bicycles zooming up and down the sidewalks as though they were extensions of the streets. But it is really [...]
Wudang Mountains, Shiyan-Hubei
Wudang Mountains, also known as Wu Tang Shan, are a small mountain range in the Hubei province. In years past, the mountains of Wudang were known for the many Taoist monasteries to be found there, monasteries which became known as an academic centre for the research, teaching and practise of meditation, Chinese material arts, traditional [...]
Pingyao, Shanxi
Pingyao lies about 715 km from Beijing and 80 km from the provincial capital, Taiyuan. During the Qing Dynasty, Pingyao was a financial center of China. It is now renowned for its well-preserved ancient city wall. The city walls of Pingyao were constructed in the 3rd year of the Hongwu (1370). The walls have six [...]
Huangshan, Anhui
The Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) is a mountain range in southern Anhui province in eastern China. The area is very famous for its scenic beauty, which lies in the peculiar shapes of the granite peaks, in the weather-shaped Huangshan Pine trees, and in views of the clouds from above. The area also has hot springs and [...]
Potala Palace, Lhasa
The Potala Palace is located in Lhasa. It was named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig. The Potala Palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India after an invasion and failed uprising in 1959. Today the Potala Palace has been converted into a museum [...]
Suzhou, Jiangsu
Suzhou is a city on the lower reaches of the Yangtze river and on the shores of Lake Taihu. The city is renowned for its beautiful stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens which have contributed to its status as a great tourist attraction. Since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Suzhou has also been an important [...]
Longmen Grottoes, Luoyang – Henan
The Longmen Grottoes are located 12 km south of present day Luoyang. The grottoes, which overwhelmingly depict Buddhist subjects, are densely dotted along the two mountains: Xiangshan (to the east) and Longmen (to the west). The Yi River flows northward between them. For this reason, the area used to be called Yique (The Gate of [...]
Yungang Grottoes, Datong-Shanxi
The Yungang Grottoes are ancient Buddhist temple grottoes near the city of Datong. They are excellent examples of rock-cut architecture and one of the three most famous ancient sculptural sites of China. The others are Longmen and Mogao. The site is located about 16 km south-west of the city, in the valley of the Shi [...]
Mogao Caves, Dunhuang- Gansu
The Mogao Caves, also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas southeast of the center of Dunhuang. Dunhuang, an oasis strategically located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years. The Mogao Caves are the [...]
MO Bar (Hong Kong)
Just one step from the city’s haute couture and with a thrilling design this is a cosmopolitan catwalk of a bar. Fahionistas shop and drop, party goers meet for a sip of effervescence, night birds mellow with the last vibes, others simply watch Hong Kong’s colourful glamour. In the afternoon, MO Bar offers a delectable [...]
HOMA, Yangshuo-China
Nestled between a limestone peak and a pine forest, and featuring a unique sloping roof covered with grass, the hotel sits in harmony with its environment. The only Chinese hotel member of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux alliance, it offers guests a level of style and design never before available in China.
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