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 12th 2008Asia » China » Shanxi » Pingyao We left Shanghai on Wednesday for the beautiful canal town of Xitang. Here we had the opportunity to stay in a traditional Chinese guest house (four poster bed inculded if you dont mind!) and sample ... 15 photos[full story]
April 17th 2008Asia » China » Shanxi So...having met my amazing intrepid crew consisting of a wide age range all the way from 18 (me) to 65+ we got to know each other being herded around the major sites in Beijing (Forbidden city, Summer ... [full story]
April 4th 2008Asia » China » Shanxi » Pingyao My next stop hadn't made it on my initial plan but I'd heard through a couple of other people about an ancient town north of Xian named Pingyao which is covientantly placed therefore allowing me to to ... [full story]
April 4th 2008Asia » China » Shanxi » Pingyao My next stop hadn't made it on my initial plan but I'd heard through a couple of other people about an ancient town north of Xian named Pingyao which is covientantly placed therefore allowing me to to ... [full story]
March 31st 2008Asia » China » Shanxi Hello,
After Yantze river cruise, terra cotta army, longmen caves, we're entering Shanxi by the back door. Last step before, Pingyao. We're in Yungcheng, rural china as the lonely planet says. actu ... 7 photos[full story]
February 24th 2008Asia » China » Shanxi » Pingyao Neil:
We've now left Beijing and arrived in a small town called Pingyao - an ancient town with a 6.7km wall surrounding the old part - very nice! First though, a word about taxi drivers. In India a ... [full story]
February 10th 2008Asia » China » Shanxi » Datong Day two was reserved for the famous hanging monastry, located some 65 km's south east of Datong, and build into the Heng Shan sacred mountain. It's a pretty impressive sight, although very touristy.
... 16 photos[full story]
February 10th 2008Asia » China » Shanxi » Datong Lucky for me, the train from Hohhot to Datong only took 4 hours, so that's not too bad. Upon arrival in Datong I sort of immediately knew that I wasn't going to like the city. The Lonely Planet says t ... 12 photos[full story]
January 21st 2008Asia » China » Shanxi We are now in Chengdu for the next few days...but because I've been letting the side down on the frequency of the blogging I will give a quick run through of the last few days in Beijing and Xian.
... 16 photos[full story]
January 17th 2008Asia » China » Shanxi » Pingyao The CITS in Datong had booked us into a hostel named Tianyuankui Kezhan, and a representative from there met us at the train station, good start! We were brought to this very nice guest house, very we ... 16 photos[full story]
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