Why You Should Visit Xinjiang
The adjective most commonly applied to Xinjiang* is “restive”. After a series of recent attacks attributed to the region’s Uyghur separatists, it was with some trepidation back in June that […]
Tag Archives: China
Nice Buns! Cheung Chau Bun Festival
I stand corrected. After four years living on Cheung Chau and almost four years of telling people that it was kind-of-lame and best avoided, I’ve finally done the Cheung Chau […]
One year on…
When I started the Little Yak blog in August 2012, I really didn’t know what I wanted to say – it took me until January 2013 to work up to […]
“Ladder Fields”: Where to see China’s rice terraces?
In southern China, where there are hills, there are rice terraces. These “ladder fields”, as they’re called in Chinese (梯田, tītián) snake across hillsides from Fujian to Yunnan, cut into thousands […]
The Last Town in Sichuan
The town of Manigango sits astride a crossroad in north-west Sichuan. Turn right here, and an ancient dirt road will lead you into Sichuan’s extreme northwest, the birthplace of Tibetan […]
The Case of the Lost-and-Found Passport
{In which my guests and I leave Chengdu on the journey that will take us to Lhasa:} While driving through rush-hour Chengdu bears more than a passing resemblance to piloting a […]
Paperwork Pains
The post-trip dust of mystery receipts and cryptic notes-to-self (‘It [what?!] starts at 4,650m’ and ‘Watch out for… [illegible scrawl]‘) has finally settled. When I’m leading a journey, the adventure is […]
Radio Silence Imminent
All is well in cloudy Chengdu, my guests having thus far braved Chinese domestic flights, temporary driving license applications, and weapons-grade hotpot. Tomorrow the actual hijinks begin… Unlike my adventures […]
Rainclouds and Snowstorms
First for the rainclouds… It’s been a wet afternoon here in Hong Kong. Earlier, as I squeezed my way through the forest of head-height umbrellas that lined a crowded section […]
5 Photos: From the Archives
Last week, as I sat in a hotel in Burgundy overlooking acres of vineyards and writing about the Karakoram Highway, I realised the strangeness of writing about China regardless of my […]
Freewheeling with Nirwan Moktan
On April 1 this year, Nirwan Moktan set off to cycle from Hong Kong to his hometown in Nepal. On his 6,000-kilometre journey home, he passed through many of my […]
A Call to Doctor Ho
I recently found myself in the awkward position of having to call someone to ask whether they were still alive or not. The man in question, Doctor Ho, and I […]
Teatime in China
Like many British people, I come from a family of tea-drinkers – black tea with milk, please, served after meals or with biscuits and cake. In the past, I’ve tended […]
Pigs have nipples too
Earlier this year I bought a kilo of pork belly in order to make some zhajiang – a satisfyingly salty pork-based sauce that’s popular served with noodles in Beijing. As I unwrapped […]
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 […]
Little Yak 