Shepan (蛇蟠乡) is so small that even though it’s next to a highway, its exit is named after the service station — not the town itself. There are some boats, plenty of fantastic seafood restaurants, and a muddy shore full of tiny crabs, razor shells, and mudfish. I somehow love this place.
Wushan Grottoes (伍山石窟) on the border of Ninghai (宁海), a recommendation from Ash. It feels like I’m walking in some kind of MacOS wallpaper. Some of these quarries were dug over a millennium ago, and people worked here to mine stone slaps even some 70 years ago. It’s crazy the work that has gone into […]
We’ve been to Zhejiang so many times, but always inland. So whatever Zhejiang means in my head — mountains, tunnels, water reservoirs and more — it feels similar here but different. We’re in Xiangshan (象山县), a peninsula east of the province, bordering the East China Sea. As soon as we cross the bridge onto the […]
Today in Nanhui (南汇), a town in the far southeast of Shanghai. The outline of the old city center (and streets named after gates) still exists on the map, but we could find no sign of old city walls anymore. We did come across a great park though, 古钟园 (Age-old Bell Garden). And this is […]
Bugs fly around my head and in front of my phone, disrupting its auto-focus function. To get a sharp picture, I need to wave my hand to chase them away, then quickly take a shot before they return. With Harry den Hartog, I’m walking the Pingwang Line (平王线), a 45-minute drive out of Shaoxing. It’s a […]
To Qingxi (青溪古镇) and back again today. Watermelon on the way and scorched rice (锅巴) on arrival.
My sister’s China visit has come to an end. We went to Beijing, Suzhou, and Shanghai. In Shanghai we only had two days without pouring rain, but we saw went through a range from old markets with live animals, rich shopping malls (IAMP), as well as the 119th floor of the Shanghai Tower. According to […]
Lady laughing: “You take a photo? What is interesting about this place?” A market in Chuansha (川沙十八铺农产品批发市场). 10 RMB haircut on the bridge. “High or not?” And yeah it’s the highest baozi-tower I’ve ever seen.
We’re in the Forbidden City, and everything means something. Nails on the door in rows of nine by nine, two lions at the gate, water wells, a phoenix and a dragon, marble slabs, numbers, hierarchy, symmetry, symbolism. Getting in wasn’t easy. Each day only 40.000 tickets sell. We tried for Saturday, and the ticket sales […]