China Travel Wire

市场 shì chǎng One of the most exciting activities any foreigner will experience in China is the market. Though the images of towering glass office buildings, decorative malls, and streets lined with pricey Western apparel may be the most common narrative and iconic image of China’s development being exported to the rest of the world, China [...]

Urumqi can be dirty, crowded, and lacking the majestic desert moonscapes that characterize the rest of the region. Nevertheless, there are a few good reasons to stick around for a couple of days before embarking on a train or bus to Kashgar, Turpan, and elsewhere: 1) The provincial museum. This is far and away the most [...]

The Chinese government has vowed the Olympic Games will take place under blue skies, not the murky “sauna” haze that has shrouded the city recently, but even on apparently clear days pollution levels may not be safe for athletes. Officials lavished 120 billion yuan ($17.6 billion) on cleaning up the capital with factories dozens of miles [...]

Any trip to Xinjiang will inevitably begin in either Turpan or Urumqi (乌鲁木齐), depending on if you travel by air or land – both regions are in the Central Eastern part of the province, in close proximity (roughly 2.5 hours by bus), and must-visits. For those taking the Silk Road trek through the Gansu corridor, [...]

Eleven Indispensable Items for Traveling in China Many travelers in China wonder “what should I bring along in my suitcase?” Well, here are 20 things that we think every person should consider bringing along on their China trip. We have organized them by what you should bring from home, and what you can buy (cheaply) in [...]