Background: For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.
May 16th 2008Asia » China » Chengdu So yesterday I went to work at the Post Office. I hadn't been there since the earthquake happened in China. Seriously, all morning people were asking if I was still planning to go, if flights were c ... [full story]
May 16th 2008Asia » China » Chengdu
You may not know this about me, but I was an archaeology major in college. Before any archaeologists, or palentologsts get bent out of shape, I know that dinosaurs are not archaeology. I only want ... 6 photos[full story]
May 16th 2008Asia » China » Chengdu
I have been dreaming of visiting the Leshan Giant Buddha for many years. Finally in 2006 I got my chance. I took a tour to Chengdu with China Odyssey Tours. It was wonderful! I didn't know it, but ... 6 photos[full story]
May 16th 2008Asia » China » Chengdu
When I took a trip to Chengdu, one of the things I planned to do was visit one of Chengdu's tea houses. I am a lover of Chinese tea, and living in Guilin, we don't have many traditional tea houses ... 6 photos[full story]
May 13th 2008Asia » China » Chengdu Hey everyone,
so im guessing you know about the earthquake here in China. we were about 200km away from the epicentre when it hit. and seeing they felt it in beijing we were fucken close. it hit righ ... [full story]
May 12th 2008Asia » China » Chengdu
Holy doley. I have got no idea what possessed me to catch on a train for 31 hours! It was the longest train ride ever! But before we get to that I'll bring you up to speed.
Last Thu I was a ... [full story]
May 4th 2008Asia » China » Chengdu John and Meredith found a new camera, so all is well! We had a great time during the rest of our stay in Chengdu. It is a fascinating city with such a unique feel to it. John and I think the Wen Ju ... [full story]
April 17th 2008Asia » China » Chengdu We arrived late morning into Chengdu off the back of our first train experience in China - an overnight hard sleeper from Yangshuo. I should point out that the hard sleeper isn't actually a wooden ben ... 8 photos[full story]
April 30th 2008Asia » China » Chengdu I am writing this blog entry a few days late. We are starting our third full day in Chengdu and we absolutely love this town of around 4 million folks. The reason there are no pictures is because we ... [full story]
April 27th 2008Asia » China » Chengdu We visited the Chinese Panda Research Center outside Chengdu this week. This is the place that's had such success breeding and raising this endangered species -- you've probably seen the photos circu ... 3 photos[full story]
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