Blogs from Moganshan, Zhejiang, China, Asia

We spent the past week with our friends Lisa and Rikard from Stockholm. I met Lisa a year ago in Shanghai. We studied Chinese together and became fast friends…you know when you meet someone you are meant to be friends with? It’s even more special when you find these people a half a world away from both of your homes. Lisa brought her love, Rikard, with her this trip and we all had a great time together. Lisa showed Rikard her favorite spots and we introduced them both to some of our favorites too. They came stocked with Swedish food and drink and we ate and drank our way through the generous stockpile throughout the week. Personally crafted muesli and homemade bread were my favorites. Our final weekend together was spent in Moganshan. This was our ... read more

We went back to the bamboo this weekend. I have stories to catch up on from the past couple weeks (including a visit from Uncle Matt and a trip to Beijing). However, this weekend's story is too good to be put on the shelf. Since Facebook is blocked in China, I'm unable to send updates via that medium, so I turned to my blog to feed my need to share. This story is about today, July 12, 2009. Mark turned 40 today. Happy birthday to Mark! We went to Moganshan for a quick getaway and to show Mark's brother, Matt the bamboo forest and to breathe the fresh air. We did some hiking, some eating, some drinking (Moganshan local beer) and had a really nice time. I used my go-to-guy for Moganshan, Dan again to arrange ... read more

Part 1 of our Moganshan Mountain Adventure I have been eager to visit Moganshan, about 3 hours southwest of Shanghai, since I first read about it. I've also heard stories from other friends who have visited the area at all times of the year and came back with rave reviews. Moganshan used to be the summer retreat for foreigners and missionaries in Shanghai. We have been making our way through our "must do" list and after this trip, we have a "must do again" list. It was just fantastic. I think we all agree that it was one of our best family trips thus far in China (and maybe ever). We left on Saturday morning, after collecting Nathan at a friend's house where he had spent the night. We headed to the train station and were ... read more