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Day 4 in Xi’an: the Giant Goose Pagoda, Da Ci’en Temple and Travelling by DiDi
Xi’an was once the ancient capital of China – and you can certainly feel it. No one stares at me – or even bothers with a double take. You can see layers and layers of history everywhere you turn. The city’s many historical monuments, ancient ruins and tombs give you the sense that many important…
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Banpo Village and the Terracotta Army: the fallen matriarchy and the fallen soldiers
Whenever I visit a place like the Terracotta Army Museum, I realise that humans are absolutely crazy. All this fuss over death – or perhaps not wanting to die? And it doesn’t just begin and end with China. My visits to the Pyramids of Giza and the Taj Mahal were equally astounding. When we have…
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Day 2 in Xi’an: the Hui People, Paomo, the Great Mosque, the Bell and Drum Towers and the City God Temple
Islam was introduced to China by Arab traders during the Tang Dynasty: which is considered by many to be a golden age in China’s history. The Muslims who settled in China married the local Han Chinese in the area. The Great Mosque was built to honour the founding fathers of Islam in China.
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Day 1 in Xi’an: the journey to the Muslim Quarter in China’s Ancient Capital
I’m relatively familiar with history of the Uyghur Community in Xinjiang Province – since it’s covered in the news a fair bit – but I was largely unaware of the Hui People of Xi’an. But ignorance is nothing that a bit of light reading and personal experience can’t fix. The origin of the Hui People…
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Shanghai: China’s international mega city
Shanghai feels more ‘Western’ than any other ‘Western’ city I’ve been to. Seriously. Nearly everyone wears dark colours. Err… whatever happened to Chinese people love red and gold? Hmm… People here are fashion and status conscious. Even the foreigners fit in like locals. No one stares and no one gives exaggerated comments when you speak…
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Zhujiajiao Water Town: Shanghai’s very little own Venice
Whenever most of us think of Shanghai, we always think that it is some big capitalist soulless city, but places like this remind us that even the most capitalist of cities still have that soul… if you know where to look.
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Day 1 in Old Shanghai: a first class bullet train ride to an era long gone
I booked myself a first class ticket on the bullet train from Hangzhou to Shanghai. Whatever expectations I had to travel in class and luxury were shattered within the first five minutes. There was some guy in the carriage watching a soap opera sans earphones… (Believe it or not this is a regular occurrence in…
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Hangzhou Weekend: first impressions of Zhejiang Province and riding a DiDi
Fast forward a year later, and I’m living in Zhejiang Province. I’d heard largely good things about it before I moved here. I’m not surprised. It is the ‘money province’. Unlike Shanghai and Beijing, it isn’t super crowded. Most of my Chinese friends said that it is one of the best places in China to…
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Hangzhou’s West Lake: the picturesque polluted garden
The weeping willows that were everywhere had a way of making the West Lake area look tragic for reasons that I can’t possibly fathom. The weeping willows were lovely – in a melancholic kind of way. I never knew a tree was capable of such great sadness…
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I Dream of Beijing
I love Japan – always have, always will. But it is a love that is born of duty and familiarity. Beijing – on the other hand – set my heart on fire. I didn’t expect it. But once I started to feel that way – I couldn’t control it. My passion had been reignited – and now…
Twinn Swan 