Blog Entries on Travel
Cities on the Silk Road
A look at the cities of the ancient Silk Road today—the cities of the "One Belt, One Road initiative.
Urumqi!
I have been to Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region twice. The first time was in 1992; a teammate and I took the train. Back then it was a journey that took two days and three nights; today the fastest train makes the journey in 30 hours. On my second visit to Urumqi (in 2004) I also travelled by train, but from the southern Xinjiang city of Kashgar. That was a 24-hour run along the edge of the Taklimakan Desert.
Qingdao!
One of the striking things about the coastal city of Qingdao is the surviving European feel of much of the older sections of town. Qingdao was a German colony from 1898 to 1914, and unlike most other cities that had once been under colonial rule, the old European zone was not razed.
Changchun!
When I was living in Changchun in the 1990s, as the city was beginning to shed the past and put on a modern skin, I often wondered what it would look like twenty years hence. This video answers the question.
Harbin!
Harbin, situated in the heart of China’s northeast is the capital of Heilongjiang province. Once part of the Manchu homeland and later a Russian outpost, the city today is one of the major industrial and commercial centers of northeast China.
Luoyang!
Here’s a question for you: what was the capital of China when Jesus was born? If you said Luoyang, in Henan province, then you are correct! It was the capital of the Han Dynasty, which lasted from 206 BC to AD 220.