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LEMONCACTUS's Travel Journals (44)
Xian
February 6, 2011 - February 9, 2011
Mid-Spring festival trip. Few tourists around, and plenty of traditional Chinese fun stuff going on ... especially the lantern festival around the walls. Saw the Terracotta Warriors, walked the entire circumference of the wall (got slightly snowed on), went up the bell tower, visited the muslim quarter, Big Goose Pagoda, all rounded off with fabulous food. Great trip, and great city!
Gansu
July 21, 2009 - July 24, 2009
Actually, Zhangye, a small town in the Hexi Corridor. Mountain backed and a great base to explore nearby attractions: especially the huge sleeping Buddha, the caves, cliffs and temples of Mati Temple and the vast oil seed rape fields of Mingyue. Poor weather prevented us from viewing the sun on the day of the solar eclipse :(
Jiayuguan
July 19, 2009 - July 20, 2009
2 days exploring the tiny town of Jiayuguan, famous for being littered with remnants of the past: visited the Weijin Tombs (or tomb, singular, to be precise), the overhanging Great Wall (a great letdown) and cycled out to the fabulous old Jiayuguan City Pass. Ate very tasty dumplings here!
Dunhuang
July 14, 2009 - July 18, 2009
Wooooh: Strange rock forms, ancient city walls, the exquisite Mogao Caves, sand storms, one amazing & dangerous adventure trying to reach the Mengke Glacier, camels, sleeping in the desert and watching shooting stars... 4 packed days in hot hot Dunhuang!
Lanzhou
July 8, 2009 - July 13, 2009
5 days of my trip to Gansu were spent around Lanzhou. Visited Bingling Temple, along the Yellow River and stayed the evening in a tiny village - an interesting, if slightly uncomfortable experience. I also spent 2 days exploring Kongtong Mountain - a mountain strewn with monks and steep steps. The stunning views and cliff-edge temples make it well worth a visit.
Pingyao
June 25, 2009 - June 25, 2009
Another gloriously sunny, but boiling day spent in the ancient city of Pingyao. A whirlwind tour of the best spots was all I had time for in this one day, but it's like a city out of time and anyone looking for somewhere to get away could easily spend 2 or more days chilling out and exploring here...
Shanxi
June 24, 2009 - June 24, 2009
Part of a 3 day trip in Shanxi Province. 1) Datong: Cloud Ridge Cave & Hanging Monastery. 2) Mount Hengshan. 3) Pingyao. Spent a cooler night on Hengshan before climbing the mountain the next day. Some awesome temples and monasteries built on the edge of the mountain - and again, I would recommend a stop here if you have time.
Datong
June 23, 2009 - June 23, 2009
Datong is a city that genuinely resembles a war-zone, and it's hard to believe that the miraculous UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Cloud Ridge Caves, containing over 51,000 carvings, are on its doorstep - but they are! A wonderful excursion, in the heatwave, to the caves and the Hanging Monastery - both of which are well worth visiting...
Beijing
January 14, 2009 - January 14, 2009
Well I live here now, so Beijing is my home, but I did the same trip to the Great Wall, that I did YEARS ago. Jinshanling to Simatai, a quiet and beautiful 8km hike on one of China's most renowned attractions. And the weather was perfect, a little chilly, but gloriously sunny and not a breath of wind.... and even better, virtually NO people.
Ningbo
July 7, 2008 - July 11, 2008
Actually a successful quest for islands off the coast of Ningbo, including Zhoushan, Zhuzhajian and Dongji. I island-hopped from the busy seaside resorts on Zhoushan, to the pristine beaches and sand sculptures of Zhuzhajian, to the tiny, craggy, easternmost island Dongji. An absolutely gorgeous, if difficult, idea.