Tagged: China

Qingdao: German architecture

With a couple of friends I took advantage of the long weekend over May 1st recently and embarked on a trip to Chinese city which is slightly less known in Europe: Qingdao. The name probably does not ring a bell, especially the way it is spelt. However, once I tell...

A day with Pandas – Dujiangyan Panda Base near Chengdu

For a long time I’ve been wanting to see the panda bears up close. While there a few spread in zoos around the world (I’ve seen the two in Singapore), you have to go to Chengdu if you want to see a bunch. It is a fascinating animal and unfortunately...

Chengdu: Gateway to the Panda

Our first stop on our trip was Chengdu, capital of the Sichuan province, known for its spicy food and pandas. And if it wasn’t for the pandas, we probably would not have stopped here. But once we decided to visit, we started looking into what the city has to offer...

Introduction: Pandas, Golden Triangle and the Beach

We just got back from a relaxing trip with a somewhat unusual itinerary. Going through my bucket list, I’ve been wanting to visit the Pandas near Chengdu for a while. I had also never made it to Thailand’s Northern most corner in Chiang Rai. Checking out flights, Chengdu could easily...

From Johor Bahru to Singapore (via China)

Over the past year I’ve traveled to China twice – Qingdao and Hangzhou. Both were weekend trips and yet they required a proper visa which meant going down to the visa center to drop off and pick up my passport and fork out around SGD100. For a while I’ve been...

Today’s tourist density is comfortable

Seen recently on my trip to Hangzhou at the Leifeng Pagoda. Luckily, the tourist density was comfortable on the day we were there. I don’t want to know what the other levels are.

Hangzhou: the food did not disappoint

I was looking forward to the food in Hangzhou and sure was not disappointed. Over the two days we did not have a single meal that wasn’t tasty. But then again, we did not go too experimental as one could and you will see below. Another night we had dinner...

Hangzhou: a walk around West Lake and Hefang Street

In late November two friends asked whether I was interested in a weekend in China before year end. I really liked my time in Qingdao a few months ago  and quickly agreed. It was a very spontaneous idea and the initial plan was to go to Shanghai. However when we started...

Qingdao: Laoshan / Mount Lao

On our recent trip to Qingdao we were looking for a day trip to see a bit more outside the city. Not far away is the Laoshan region / Mount Lao. As always, I won’t go too much into detail of the history and significance as you are probably better...

Qingdao: (German) beer culture

As explained earlier, Qingdao has a short German colonial history over 100 years ago. While shortlived, the German left their mark on some of the architecture. But first and foremost, the city is nowadays known for the Tsingtao beer which started out under colonialism. While Tsingtao isn’t China’s best selling...