Traveling towards China’s Wild West along the silk road, there is a major oasis in the desert – called Turpan. Here we stopped to see various archaeological sites and stunning sceneries. In China – as elsewhere on the world – you need to pay for access to all the...

Visiting the most western point of the Chinese Wall was somewhat interesting. Located five to nine kilometers outside the city of Jiayuguan, the historic sites of interest are easily accessible by bicycle. Although the ride was very refreshing and the overall temperatures were nice, we soon...

  Dunhuang, located in the Hexi corridor, greeted Thomas and me with a beautiful sunrise upon arriving at the train station. This railway line is actually very new and not in any of the guidebooks. It is one of the many infrastructure improvements I have encountered so far in China. The...

Lanzhou is a major hub for journeys going from East to West of China, or from South to North. The city’s station is also connected to the modern Lhasa express train line which features a separate waiting room for travelers to Tibet. Although most backpackers choose to stay in this city...

Arriving in Tianshui was a complete contrast to the Chinese cities I’ve encountered so far. Tianshui consists of two towns linked together by a highway: Qincheng and Beidao. Trains arrive in the latter one, where traffic and people are quite busy. Although this is certainly not the...

The city of Xi’an has a population of 3.5 million. It used to be a key trade city on China’s end of the silk road during its heydays. Consequently, there are a lot of historical sites to visit. Being a silk road buff, it is obvious that I had to explore this place during my China...