The Night My Card Froze at a Noodle Counter in Xi’an
It was 11pm in Xi'an, I had an 18-yuan bowl of noodles, and both payment apps were failing. The bank fraud freeze, the dying phone, and the vendor who let me charge at her counter.
The October Trip I Almost Didn’t Take (Golden Week Reality Check)
I almost didn't go. 800 million domestic trips in 7 days, hotels at 3x rates, trains selling out in under a minute. Four days of National Day Golden Week in Beijing and Shanghai. Updated.
DiDi Maps in China: The Night Google Maps Broke in Chongqing
DiDi Maps in China: how the in-app navigation system inside the ride-hailing app became the only tool that worked when Google Maps broke in Chongqing at 11:15pm.
The First Mid-Autumn I Spent in China (And the Mooncake I Almost Didn’t Buy)
I timed my entire China trip without knowing September 25 was Mid-Autumn Festival. The bakery queue in Suzhou, the mooncake by the canal, and the teahouse I almost missed.
The Morning at Chengdu’s Panda Base With My Eight-Year-Old Niece
Seven days in China with my eight-year-old niece, day three at Chengdu's Panda Base. Early gates, baby pandas behind glass, and the 380-yuan photo I didn't buy.
I Tried to Visit the Forbidden City in August. I Lasted Two Hours.
I tried to do the Forbidden City on a Tuesday in August. I lasted two hours. Here's what August in Beijing actually looks like and how I rebuilt the rest of the trip around heat instead of attractions.
A Rainy Weekend in Hangzhou: West Lake at Dawn and the Noodles That Fixed Everything
The rain started before I did. I opened the curtains in my hotel room at 6:30am and West Lake was a grey sheet of water falling on water. The willows along the shore bent under it. A single umbrella moved…
Lijiang at 5am Before the Tour Groups Arrived
I set my alarm for 4:50am because a Chinese friend told me that Lijiang Old Town was worth seeing before the tourists arrived. “Before 6am,” she said, like it was obvious. I did not believe her. I set the alarm…
The DiDi Ride That Went to the Wrong Station and What I Learned About Getting Around China
I needed to get from my hotel near the Bell Tower to the train station in forty minutes. The subway would take twenty-five if I walked fast and caught the right line. A taxi would take fifteen if traffic cooperated.…