Chinese Drinking Rules
Another week, another wedding-related hiatus here on Little Yak. (Mr Yak and I celebrated our wedding for the second and final time with a Chinese banquet on Cheung Chau last […]
Category Archives: People
How to say ‘Hello’ in Uyghur
China ebbs away as you travel west through Xinjiang, until at some point you discover yourself on a dusty street in Kashgar, roast lamb scenting the air and the Muezzin’s […]
Great Markets of Northwest China 2: Fat-Bottomed Sheep
As she walks past, her bottom jiggling with each step, the men’s heads turn and their eyebrows rise appreciatively. A wolf whistle would not be out of place, although nobody […]
Photographic Evidence, Days 19-40
You may have already seen the photos from the first half of my trip across Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang – here’s the second batch, for your viewing pleasure. These latest […]
A State of Suspicion
I’ve never had my bags inspected as much as I have in Xinjiang. Each bus and train station has a luggage scanner and a body scanner, and you need generally […]
The Accidental Tomb Raider
I arrived in Cherchen in the middle of a dust storm. It had been gathering since I left Golmud the previous morning, gradually erasing the mountains and blotting out the […]
The Taxi Driver’s Tale
“You don’t need to worry, I’ll still be here,” said the driver, a sinewy but attractive Han Chinese lady. I left my bags – all of them – in the […]
Photographic Evidence, Days 1-18
Time for some photos, I think. Here’s a whirlwind look through my route so far – from Lanzhou to Khotan. Enjoy!
Happy Birthday Tin Hau! 1,053 years-old today…
Last weekend, Cheung Chau was roamed by lions and mythical beasts in honour of Tin Hau’s birthday. The legend of Tin Hau, the Goddess of the Sea, has built up […]
Kids with Guns*
Over the past few trips, I have been collecting pictures of Chinese children with the things they spend their pocket money on. From my entirely unscientific observations, these seem to […]
Lonely Hearts in Lijiang
On last week’s trip to Yunnan we visited Tiger Leaping Gorge near Lijiang. We drove through the gorge and stopped at a viewing platform where – as I know from […]
Dong Life: The Movie
After two weeks of thinking about editing my Guizhou videos, I finally sat down and muscled through them this afternoon. And you know what? I really enjoyed putting it all […]
Mrs Lu’s Story
Mrs Lu still wears a traditional topknot, which she winds up on top of her head in elaborate loops. “I never wear a hat, like some of the other women […]
Survival Guide to Chinese New Year in a Village in Guizhou
1) Forget everything your parents ever told you about staying away from explosives As a child, I was subjected to annual Guy Fawkes’ Night warnings about the perils of touching […]
One in two billion – Joining the Chunyun
Tomorrow, I’ll be joining the largest annual human migration on the planet as I travel to Guiyang in Guizhou. It is estimated that over two billion journeys will be made […]
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