China in the footsteps of Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman and J.J. Abrams

All around the Shanghai region of China there are numerous canal or water towns. These are towns built around a series of streams, rivers and canals with wonderful bridges spanning them. Of course, if you’re in China for any real … Continued

Turtle in a Jar

Last weekend I took a final trip to Nanjing with Aaron. We used the opportunity to buy some souvenirs at what I think is the best market in China and to see some of the sites we hadn’t seen on … Continued

Everybody wasn’t kung fu fighting

At nearby Songshan is another famous temple, the Shaolin Temple – home of kung fu. Before heading back to Hefei, we journeyed to this beautiful place hoping to see some awesome monks practicing the true arts of kung fu. We … Continued

Luoyang – an adventure in Chinese Buddhism

Hundreds of thousands of hand-chiseled Buddha effigies and the first Buddhist temple in China also call Luoyang home. These were our destinations for day two. Longmen Grottoes A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Longmen Grottoes are an impressive monument to … Continued

Luoyang – Peonies and the Old City

An ancient capitol city and home to Chinese Buddhism, Luoyang, Henan is a great city to visit. May 1 was International Labor Day, a holiday that China recognizes meaning school was out for a few days. Aaron and I took … Continued

The “Only” Tourist Destination in Hefei, not really

When I arrived in China eight months ago, I asked just about anyone who spoke English what there is to do and see in Hefei. Most everyone mentioned the same place, Lord Bao Park or Baohe. In fact it’s the … Continued

New Adventure Patches – China Map

I’ve created an Adventure Patches – China Map with locations of my adventures throughout China. Using Google Maps like I did for my Adventure Patches Map, I’ve marked the locations of my adventures all across China and marked off areas … Continued

Huangshan City a.k.a. Tunxi

posted in: Adventure, China, Travel | 0

After descending the mountain we made the hour drive to Huangshan City, the biggest city of the region. It is also the transportation hub for the area with both train station and airport for people wanting to get to the … Continued

It was the best of China; it was the worst of China

After Hongcun we went to Tangkou, the small town just outside of Huangshan national park. The travel people we worked with (a professor Melissa taught last semester) had booked our hotel and everything should have been fine. However, when we … Continued

Hongcun – The village of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Surrounded by fields that this time of year are bright yellow from the canola flowers lies the ancient city of Hongcun, our first adventure for the Tomb Sweeping Day vacation. With Aaron, Melissa, Fernanda (Spanish teacher here at AHU), and … Continued

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