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.
July 25th 2007Asia » China » Gansu » Xiahe A unos 300 km de Lanzhou, es un pueblo tibetano a 3.000m de altura.
El tren llego a Lanzhou a las 6:30 y directamente cogimos un taxi a la estacion de autobuses (30¥), para coger el bus de las 7:3 ... 5 photos[full story]
January 4th 2008Asia » China » Gansu » Dunhuang
I have been all over the place in the last few days! My last day in Dunhuang was pretty low-key while also intense. I woke quite early and packed my bag ready to cehck-out and catch my train later t ... [full story]
January 1st 2008Asia » China » Gansu » Dunhuang
While my New Years' may not have been the best I have had, I had other things to worry about and they are the two things that travellers definitely don't want to be worrying about: money and visas.
... [full story]
December 31st 2007Asia » China » Gansu » Dunhuang
Unfortunately, whilst typing this blog, and getting halfway through it, I somehow managed to drop my LP on to the keyboard and in the process it deleted everything that I had written, and I hadn't s ... [full story]
December 30th 2007Asia » China » Gansu » Dunhuang
I arrived in Dunhuang this morning and it is easily the coldest place I have ever been to. My fingers froze during the 500m walk from the train station to the taxi and bus stand. Once again, good ol ... [full story]
December 28th 2007Asia » China » Gansu » Jiayuguan
So I arrived in Jiayuguan early this morning, so early that most of the hostels or hotels were still closed. The two places that I did have a look at both said no when i asked about dorm rooms, so e ... [full story]
December 25th 2007Asia » China » Gansu » Xiahe herzliche weihnachtsgruesse aus xiahe in tibet!
nun ist es wiedermal einige tage her, dass wir uns gemeldet haben. inzwischen ist mal wieder einiges passiert.
sind von lanzhou aus, wo wir heidi ... 2 photos[full story]
December 20th 2007Asia » China » Gansu » Lanzhou frohe vorweihnachtstage euch allen!
sitzen gerade in lanzhou, einer millionenstadt irgendwo in der noerdlichen mitte chinas. eine stadt die sich damit ruehmen kann in den neunziger jahren als regi ... [full story]
October 5th 2007Asia » China » Gansu
I should slow down. I should adventure, hitch hike, camp in the countryside, wander out of town and off the maps for a while. I've merged onto the fast lane, the tourist trail, zipping along, too ... 39 photos[full story]
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