4 September 2026 This trip to Chongqing was a little different from my usual solo travels—I was travelling with two friends! We were all arriving at different time though, so I had the first day to explore on my own before our group of three was complete. BAIXIANGJU (白象居) My first stop was Baixiangju (白象居), known for its unusual hillside layout and views of the Yangtze River Cableway (长江索道). It is a very Chongqing sort of place: exits on the 1st, 10th and 15th floors lead out

12 September 2025 It was my last day in Ningxia before flying back to Shanghai. We had two more places to visit: China Western Film Studios (镇北堡西部影城) and Shuidonggou (水洞沟). CHINA WESTERN FILM STUDIOS (镇北堡西部影城) One last day in Ningxia, starting at China Western Film Studios (镇北堡西部影城). The film studio has been used for several famous Chinese movies, including A Chinese Odyssey《大话西游》, Red Sorghum《红高粱》, Ashes of Time《东邪西毒》and New Dragon Gate Inn《新龙门客栈》. It was quite cool to walk

11 September 2025 FIVE LAKES CROSSING (五湖穿越), TENGGER DESERT Today took me beyond Ningxia’s borders and into Alxa Left Banner of Inner Mongolia. This was the part of the trip I had been looking forward to the most. Ever since I saw photos of the Wulan Lake (乌兰湖) on a Chinese reality TV show, the Five lakes Crossing has been quite at the top of my travel bucket list. Today, that anticipation finally turned into reality. I crossed into Alxa Left Banner, heading towards the Five

10 September 2025 WESTERN XIA MAUSOLEUMS (西夏王陵) My first stop was the Western Xia Mausoleums (西夏王陵). The Western Xia Mausoleums, also known as the Tombs of the Tangut Kings, are located about 35 kilometres west of Yinchuan, at the foot of the Helan Mountains (贺兰山). They are the royal burial grounds of the Western Xia Dynasty (西夏王朝), a kingdom founded by the Tangut people (党项族) in the 11th century. It is recently inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2025, making it not

09 September 2025 MORNING AT STAR HOTEL (沙漠星星酒店) I set my alarm early because I really wanted to catch the sunrise. When I stepped out of my room, I was greeted by this huge, round, orange sun hanging low over the desert. It looked exactly like a salted egg yolk glowing in the sky. I felt so exhilarated just looking at it. The desert sunrise. The sun was glowing like a salted egg yolk. It was absolutely worth waking up for. Without even thinking, I ran up the sand dune in fro