Qingming in Kaiping

Spring finally arrived in Guangdong! Jun and I decided we needed to get out of Shenzhen. During the Qingming (Tomb Sweeping) Festival, we decided to visit Kaiping on the other side of the Pearl River Delta. We had last visited there for a day trip in 2015. During that trip, however, we felt rushed as…Read more Qingming in Kaiping

Welcoming the Year of the Tiger in Yunnan

Planning for our Chinese New Year holiday was complicated by recent cases of COVID-19 in Shenzhen. The place we originally had planned to visit has in place strict policies related to visitors from outside the province. As such we would only be allowed to enter the province if we were quarantined for two weeks, which…Read more Welcoming the Year of the Tiger in Yunnan

A New Year’s Holiday in Huangshan

Because of how the Christmas and New Year’s holidays fell on Saturdays this year, I had to take two consecutive Mondays off. I decided to take the week in between off as well for a longer holiday. The first part of the week had Jun and I visit Beijing for Christmas. The second part of…Read more A New Year’s Holiday in Huangshan

Christmas in Beijing

For Christmas this year, Jun and I took advantage of his need to be in Beijing for work that week and we extended it for a long weekend. The last time I visited Beijing was in 2007. It was the first place I had explored in China and everything at that time was so new.…Read more Christmas in Beijing

Escape to Guangzhou

Jun and I decided we needed an escape from Shenzhen for at least one weekend. After thinking about it, we thought it would be nice to visit Guangzhou. I hadn’t been there for over two years, and Jun only had gone there in that time for work. We booked a hotel for the night and…Read more Escape to Guangzhou

Tranquil Tibet

I have wanted to visit Tibet since I first moved to China in 2013. Unlike other places in the country, foreigners require special permission to visit Tibet and must be part of a tour to visit the area. Because of the administrative hurdles and the price involved in joining a tour, I have always pushed…Read more Tranquil Tibet

A Weekend in Shaoguan

Jun and I decided to go to Shaoguan in northern Guangdong for a long weekend to celebrate his birthday. With the recent COVID-19 cases in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, we didn’t want to venture out of the province in case other provincial governments placed travel restrictions. Thus, we chose to see this situation as an opportunity…Read more A Weekend in Shaoguan

Sublime Sichuan

For the May holiday in China, the government scheduled five consecutive vacation days. Jun felt that since it coincided with the end of my school term it would be a good time for us to take a long vacation. We both took some extra days and extended our holiday time so we would have nine…Read more Sublime Sichuan

Retreat to Ningbo

In late February, I was informed I would have to travel to Shanghai and Ningbo for work. The work trip would end on a Friday in Ningbo. When Jun learned of this, he got excited. His mom had been staying in the Ningbo area for the last year. With the pandemic occurring, he hadn’t been…Read more Retreat to Ningbo

Christmas in Shenyang

December ended up being a low-key month for work. With school on winter break, Jun and I decided to spend Christmas up in the northeastern part of the country. We invited Jun’s cousin to come with us as well. Christmas is about family after all! Our trip started with a sprint to the airport after…Read more Christmas in Shenyang