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 4th 2008Asia » China » Hunan » Guilin After spending 6 days running around Hong Kong, we were lucky enough to get our Visa on the second attempt at the Chinese embassy. Because of the Olympics, the government are cracking down on multip ... 3 photos[full story]
March 12th 2008Asia » China » Hunan » Fenghuang I finally said goodbye to Fenghuang on Monday. I’d spent my last day taking it easy. The rain had descended on the town and there wasn’t a lot to do. I did get up early on Sunday mornin ... [full story]
March 7th 2008Asia » China » Hunan » ChangSha
As the whole global ecosystem is deteriorating, frequent natural calamities. Fire, Draught and Snow Disasters comes one by one.
After Draught Disaster, Hunan was visited by the tremendous snow c ... 8 photos[full story]
March 9th 2008Asia » China » Hunan » Fenghuang My next destination was to Fenghuang in Hunan province. I knew that it was going to be a long journey there so I'd mentally prepared myself for one or two problems along the way. It started relative ... [full story]
March 9th 2008Asia » China » Hunan » Fenghuang My next destination was to Fenghuang in Hunan province. I knew that it was going to be a long journey there so I'd mentally prepared myself for one or two problems along the way. It started relative ... [full story]
January 15th 2008Asia » China » Hunan » Fenghuang Hello again,
This is the continuation of our epic journey in China.
The last leg of our journey before reaching Fenghuang was a one-hour bus ride. It was during this jaunt that our luck really i ... 14 photos[full story]
January 15th 2008Asia » China » Hunan » Fenghuang It's been exactly one week since we left the cozy confines of Hong Kong and crossed into mainland China at Shendzhen. Under the stern gaze of the Chinese Police we nervously handed our passports and t ... [full story]
December 14th 2007Asia » China » Hunan » Fenghuang
The YHA hostel was extremely comfortable and the staff very helpful, we ended up staying 8 nights in the Senior Leader Hostel. On a couple of occasions one of the girls cooked us Yangshuo Fried R ... 63 photos[full story]
November 29th 2007Asia » China » Hunan » Fenghuang Dag allemaal,
De treinverbinding Kaili-Huaihua tartte ons geduld en zoals we gevreesd hadden arriveerden we inderdaad te laat om nog een aansluitende bus naar Fenghuang, ons volgende doel, te nemen ... 12 photos[full story]
December 1st 2007Asia » China » Hunan » Hengyang » Anren Time in An Ren with it's one main road, motor bikes, lorry trucks passing through with incredibly loud horns beeping at everything and anything even if it's 200 meters ahead; With my kind grandma neig ... 30 photos[full story]
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