A Chinese proverb says, “Heaven is up in the sky, but on earth, we have Hangzhou and Suzhou.” Hangzhou is only about an hour away by high-speed train from Shanghai. Our English-speaking tour guide, Pete, and the driver were waiting for us at the train station with a van. We headed to the famous West …
My daughter Mei-Ling (or LL), son-in-law Srin, and grandchildren Kaanan (15) and Kavi (13) flew from Vancouver, Canada, to join us in Shanghai. This was KnK’s first time visiting China, so everyone was excited. I rented a 3-bedroom apartment 5 minutes’ walk from the popular People’s Square. The compound consisted of several high-rise apartments and …
Family Reunion in Shanghai (8/22-9/2/26), China Trip Part 3 Read More »
From HK, we took an overnight 12.5-hour high-speed train to Beijing. It was so smooth and quiet. China has more than 31,000 miles of rail network, and standard bullet trains run between 200 and 400 km/hour. Railroad is the best way to travel around China. China uses a “true-ID” system, so foreigners must have a …
Beijing and Datong – Northern China (8/18-22/2026) Read More »
Nowadays, traveling is much more troublesome than it used to be. We started our 2026 China trip stranded at the STL airport for over 12 hours. Our flight to Chicago was canceled because of stormy weather there, which meant we missed our 4 pm connection to HK. I asked AA to book us on a …
Hong Kong (8/14-8/18/26), Southern China 2026 Part I Read More »
South Pacific is one of my favorite Broadway musicals. Songs from that famous show have enchanted me for many years. I was also fascinated by French Impressionist Paul Gauguin. He visited Tahiti in 1891 and painted many works depicting islanders’ life, including the famous two Tahitian women on the Beach. The South Pacific (also known …
My journeys in Yunnan from Shangrila to Xishuangbanna (2008-2015) In December 2024, National Geographic magazine published an article about an ancient tea tree located in Xishuangbanna, in the southern part of Yunnan Province, near the border with Laos. The leaves from these ancient trees are fermented and made into tea cakes, which can be stored …
China Garden Tour Overview https://hmwjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ChinaGarden.pdf Kunming – The Fairy Land in the Cloud – Kunming https://hmwjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ChinaGarden1.pdf Dali – 3 Cups of Tea https://hmwjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ChinaGarden2.pdf Lijiang – Home away from home https://hmwjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ChinaGarden3.pdf Amazing Shanghai https://hmwjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ChinaGarden4.pdf Suzhou – the Paradise on Earth https://hmwjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ChinaGarden5.pdf The Southern Chinese Garden Photo Album https://photos.app.goo.gl/PTbyX39A9y69wByYA Beijing – The Emperor’s Home https://hmwjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ChinaGarden7.pdf https://photos.app.goo.gl/AD92v7Wy5tH6UDWe9 Weifeng …
The last time Ray and I were in China was in 2018. After six years, everything in China has changed significantly from what it was before. One significant change was the introduction of a digital payment system. Most stores and services now accept payments via phone, sometimes even with a fingerprint or face recognition. This …
Chongqing, with a population of 36 million, is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. It is also one of the four provincial municipalities, meaning it was directly under the Chinese central government and holds the same administrative level as a province. The other three cities at this level are Beijing, Shanghai, …
Chongqing – the Mountain City (5/24-30/2025) China – Part 4 Read More »
Three-Star Mounds (Sanxingdui) – an archaeological excavation site dating back from late Neolithic Age (7000BC-5000BC) to the late Shang and Zhou period (16th-711 BC) .The relic site, with more than 3,000-year history might be the capital of ancient Shu kingdom. Local researchers discovered sacrificial pits containing thousands of gold, bronze, jade, and pottery artifacts in artistic …
Chengdu – the Leisure City (5/23-27/2025) – China part 3 (continued) Read More »