LiuZhou 柳州 city, GuangXi province

With The New Atlas ... Bonus films ...

At the Oriental Pearl Tower ...

JingDeZhen, in JiangXi province, is known as the Porcelain Capital' because it has been producing pottery for over 1,700 years. JingDeZhen is close to the best quality deposits of petuntse, or porcelain stone, in China, as well as being surrounded by forests, mostly of pine, providing wood for the kilns. It also has river connections flowing both north and south, facilitating transport of the fragile wares. Its best-known high quality porcelain wares have been QingBai in the Song and Yuan dynasties, blue and white porcelain from the 1330s, and the 'famille rose# (and other 'famille' colors) during the Qing dynasty.

The beautiful LongQing Gorge is just 90 km north west of the city and a great day trip ...

A flashback to October 2004 ...

A great film by Sticker Travel ...

A little outside of our usual type of post, but we think that this is a topic that ripples widely. Here, some ABCs (American Born Chinese) straight talking from real life experience. First, a hyper-drive Wei Li, with a little 'bad language', but strong message. Not Chinese, not American, just a regular Jo / Joe ? There's still a message for you / us all. Be strong, yet without any need to put others down; be totally you while appreciating others. Wei Li nails it. Never think 'better than others'; think 'best I can be' (no compromise on who you are, no fear, no hate). Asians are all A+ students, right ?! Exploring stereotypes and the harm that, often silently, can ensue. CanWen Xu ... Olivia Lai ...

Where the journey began ... Looking back and return ... [videogallery type=playlist id=PLmq_MQ0WmHP3pNJ5pylYJ-WqZOKNKe1-g n=25]

Immediately south of TianAnMen Square ...

Lotus Lane is a charming place to wander and a lively place in the evening to dine and listen to live music ... Often mis-named as HouHai, which is actually another lake immediately to the north, these lakes form part of ShiChaHai, once the docks at the northern end of the Grand Canal from HangZhou. To the south lies BeiHai and JingShan Parks and to the north, the Drum and Bell Towers; east from there lies NanLuoGuXiang, a largely pedestrianized hutong filled with craft and speciality shops and cafes.