Old Delhi
In 1648, Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor, moved the imperial capital from Agra to Delhi. In preparation for the move, he had a walled city called Shahjahanabad built in Delhi over the course of the [Read more…]
Must-See Beijing
Make no mistake. Beijing is not the cosmopolitan city that Shanghai is. (Unlike in Shanghai, I was often the only white person in sight on the subway in Beijing. I got stared at in Beijing at times. This never happened in Shanghai.) Regardless, imperial Beijing is where the history is. This is why the most spectacular sights I saw on my 2015 trip to China were for the most part in Beijing. [Read more…]
China 2015, Day 8: Beijing, Day 3
Great Wall and Olympic Green
Great Wall of China
Today was the day for the highlight of my trip: my visit to the Great Wall of China. Coincidentally, this was the second time that the highlight of my trip was also the literal high-point of my trip. The first was [Read more…]
China 2015, Day 7: Beijing, Day 2
Southern and Eastern Beijing
Welcome to Day 7, the day I fell and hurt my back. I was afraid the rest of my trip could be in jeopardy. It was also the day I paid an emperor’s ransom for some goofy pictures of me. Despite some mishaps, it [Read more…]
China 2015, Day 6: Beijing, Day 1, Part 1
Central Beijing: Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City
I had arrived in Beijing from Shanghai the night before. But in the morning, I felt like I had arrived in Siberia. Because I had arrived at my hotel at nighttime, I didn’t get to see the view out the window until [Read more…]