Hezuo is a convenient transport hub in Gansu, central China, so it was inevitable that we’d end up there. But we didn’t just pass through, we stayed the night so we could visit the Milarepa Palace Buddhist Temple. It’s a huge nine-storey building where spiritual leaders from varying sects are worshipped on each floor. When…
Tag: culture
Sky Burials, Monasteries, And Beautiful Hikes | Langmusi, China
Getting to the Tibetan town of Langmusi proved to be a little more challenging than we’d expected. From Songpan, in Sichuan, we took a bus north to Zoige, where we were informed there weren’t any buses to Langmusi, instead, we’d have to take a shared taxi. We didn’t mind, but we had to wait almost…
Hiking Above Huanglong’s Terraced Pools|China
The terraced travertine pools of Huanglong are just a couple of hours away from popular Jiuzhaigou, yet it sees a fraction of the visitors. In comparison, it’s a much smaller and quicker park to explore, with most visitors opting to take the cable car to the top, where they have only a short stroll to…
Visiting A Traditional Miao Village | Guizhou, China
Langde is a Miao village nestled into the side of a lush valley in Guizhou. The locals are part of the ‘Long Skirt Miao’ ethnic group and every day they perform a welcoming ceremony for the visitors. While some villages have become overrun with tourism, Langde has managed to avoid the big tour groups –…
Slow Trains and Traditional Markets in Guizhou, China
China’s rail network has grown rapidly, and it now has the world’s most extensive high-speed railway network, boasting 50,000km of tracks. While many people still think Japan has the fastest trains – it’s actually China that holds the record. Major train stations across the country are built to handle 16,000 people per hour, where they’re…
A Miao Village Nestled In A Dramatic Gorge
The little, wooden village of Dehang sits in a dramatic gorge, and it’s home to the Miao ethnic minority group. The area offers some fabulous hiking routes, so it was an easy add-on to our itinerary. Our hotel in the nearby town gave us a complimentary shuttle service to the scenic area, and it turned…
The Cliff Dwellings Of Wangxian | China
Wangxian Valley in eastern China has a history dating back to 25–220 CE, but since 1998 it has been heavily damaged by granite mining. In 2017, the government decided to step in and invested over 300 million dollars to redevelop the area into a tourism destination to resemble ancient cliff-side dwellings. We don’t normally like…
Returning To China And Exploring Nanjing
It’s our fourth time visiting China – the country is massive so there’s always new areas to explore and old favourites to return to. This time we’re starting in Nanjing, in eastern China, and we’ll be making our way overland to the Tibetan plateau, and onwards to Mongolia. Annoyingly, it was £70 cheaper to fly…
Mountains Hikes And Sketchy Cable Cars | Madeira
We had a typical four-season kind of day as we set off for a morning hike in the high mountains. While our windscreen wipers swiped the rain away, we admired a vibrant rainbow arching into the valley. The trailhead just had a couple of cars parked up which meant it was going to be a…
Fanal Forest And The Wild North Coast Of Madeira
Cloud inversions are one of my favourite natural wonders, so whenever the conditions were right we’d head up to Madeira’s highest points to try and capture the sun rising above a sea of clouds. The day before was a complete flop, as we stood on a windy ledge engulfed by fog. But today was a…
NON STOP TRAVELLING 