15 posts · Curated China travel tips
From Beijing's Silk Market to Shanghai's antique shops — what's worth buying, what's not, and how to bargain without getting ripped off. A practical China shopping guide.
Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn, National Day Golden Week — when they fall in 2026, how they affect travel, and which festivals are worth planning your trip around.
From Hangzhou's Longjing tea fields to Guangzhou's dim sum tea houses, Chinese tea culture is a must-experience part of any trip. Here's everything you need to know.
Finding halal food in China is easier than you think. From Xi'an's Muslim Quarter to Beijing's halal restaurants, here's everything Muslim travelers need to know about eating in China.
China has 59 UNESCO World Heritage sites — the second most of any country. A 15-year insider's guide to which ones are actually worth your time on a custom tour.
Every time someone asks me if XiAn is worth visiting, I give the same answer: book your train ticket first and ask questions later. The Terracotta Warriors are incredible (obviously), but the real magic? Walking the ancient city wall at sunset. Rent a bike (45 RMB for 2 hours), ride the full 14 km loop, and watch the city transition from day to night. The lights come on over the Muslim Quarter, the call to prayer drifts across the old city, and for a moment you feel like you have traveled back in time. I have done this 30+ times and it still gets me.
From Peking duck to Chongqing hotpot, from Xiaolongbao to Guilin rice noodles — the 30 dishes you need to eat on your China trip, with where to find them.
Chongqing in summer hits 40°C — and I mean that literally, not as a figure of speech. The kind of heat where walking from your front door to the car feels like a bad life decision. So where do locals go? Underground. Not basements or malls. Real air-raid shelters dug into the mountains during World War II. Today they're converted into hotpot restaurants, tea houses, and even a museum. The temperature inside stays around 22°C year-round, no AC needed. I took a British family to one last week. We sat in a cave tunnel eating hotpot while outside the city baked at 41 degrees. The dad kept touching the stone walls, amazed that 80-year-old military tunnels now serve the best goose intestine I've ever had. That's what I love about this city. Nothing gets thrown away. Every space finds a new purpose.
After a lifetime of eating Chongqing hotpot, here's everything I wish every visitor knew — from what makes the broth different to how to eat it without embarrassing yourself.
Took a French family to the panda base this morning. 7:30 AM opening, pandas at their most active — always the best time. I bring all my clients to Dujiangyan base instead of the main breeding center. Same pandas, way fewer crowds. One of the kids asked me why baby pandas are pink. Told her they don not get their black-and-white until three weeks old. She did not believe me until the guide confirmed it 😂
Pointing at menus, using your phone, and the one phrase that will get you fed anywhere in China. From someone who's been eating her way across the country for 15 years.
The bowl that defines a city — silky rice noodles in bone broth, topped with beef, peanuts, and pickled beans. Here's everything you need to know about Guilin's most famous dish.
Acupuncture, cupping, herbal medicine, tuina massage — a complete guide to experiencing TCM on your China trip, from a true believer.
Every foreign traveler asks this. Here's the Traditional Chinese Medicine explanation — and some practical tips for getting your cold drinks in China.
Everyone comes for the pandas. But the real magic of Chengdu is in its food alleys, tea houses, and the laid-back attitude you won't find anywhere else in China.
