Our final day in Beijing (and its imperial outskirts) was reserved for a dreamy escape to the Summer Palace or, as it’s poetically called in Chinese, Yihe Yuan, the Garden of Nurtured Harmony. If the Forbidden City was the emperor’s winter residence, then yes, you guessed it: this was the royal summer retreat. And what a retreat it was! Read more
The moment you land at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, you feel it. That vague, stiff air of communism, like a flashback to a different era, especially if you’ve lived through one. The border agent looks at you like you’ve just been caught with a suitcase full of secrets, eyes sharp, posture military. Maybe it’s just the uniform. Maybe it’s my 17-hour flight-induced paranoia. Either way, I found myself wondering if I’d accidentally broken a law just by blinking too often.
One thing’s for sure: do not take photos in the airport. I made that mistake with the enthusiasm of a clueless tourist and was swiftly, politely-but-firmly shut down by the Chinese police.
Welcome to China, land of dragons, dynasties, dumplings… and very clear rules. Read more