Family Time in Bentonville

When we informed my mom exactly when we would return to the United States, she mentioned that my brother was interested in planning a short welcome-back vacation for the immediate family. My brother suggested we visit Bentonville, Arkansas. The city is in northeast Arkansas, about a three-and-a-half-hour drive from my family home in Oklahoma. My…Read more Family Time in Bentonville

A Delightful Spring in Central Shanxi

Part 2: Shanxi In 2007, two friends and I decided to travel to China for about a month. As we planned on the places we wanted to visit, I suggested we visit Pingyao in Shanxi Province. Pingyao Ancient City is a World Heritage Site. It’s the best-preserved county-level community in China with an intact city…Read more A Delightful Spring in Central Shanxi

Explorations of Qingdao

Part 1: Shandong Jun and I decided to take one last trip while we were in China in mid-April before we left for the US. We decided to visit Qingdao in Shandong since we both wanted to visit there. After talking about places we hadn’t visited in China yet, we decided to extend the trip…Read more Explorations of Qingdao

Spring Blossoms in Guangzhou

Spring blossoms arrived in southern China at the start of March. Jun and I started seeing posts of all the flowering trees and thought it would be nice to see them. One of the best places to view them is in Guangzhou. Jun and I decided to go to the city and spend a weekend…Read more Spring Blossoms in Guangzhou

Weekend in Shanghai

As we get closer to leaving China, Jun and I have a list of things we want to accomplish. One on that list is to say goodbye to some of our friends. One of my friends lives in Shanghai, and we arranged to meet up at the end of February. The other thing Jun and…Read more Weekend in Shanghai

Noble Nanjing

Nanjing is a city in China I’ve wanted to visit but never found an opportunity to do so. The city has a rich history; it served as China’s capital at various times during imperial and modern times. Jun and I thought a weekend trip to Nanjing at the start of February would be a nice…Read more Noble Nanjing

The Wonders of Western China

After six months when any travel outside of Shenzhen proved arduous, Jun and I took the opportunity of Chinese New Year and the relaxed policies to travel a bit more than normal. After much debate, we decided we would travel around the western provinces of China for the holiday.  Day 1: Getting Ready Because of…Read more The Wonders of Western China