Right next to the first hostel we stayed in Beijing was the Yonghegong (雍和宮 or Yōnghé gōng) – the largest Lama Temple in Beijing. 宮 (gōng) actually means palace – a reminder that this temple was once a palace that was eventually fully converted to a Lama Temple.
DocBok
I am Bok, a British-born expat living in China. I was born in Lancashire but identify as a 'plassie-Scouser'. I spent my youth growing up in Cumbria. Here I developed a great taste for exploration, climbing mountains and camping in the wilderness - a taste for travel that has defined my life.
涮羊肉
In Beijing, 涮羊肉 (shuàn yángròu) is a kind of sliced mutton hotpot which is as famous as Peking Duck. It consists of sliced mutton which is boiled in water and dipped into sesame sauce.
Mongolian Metal Mosh Pit at Midi Festival
Shanghai International Beer Festival
In its third year running, Shanghai has been running a beer festival on Wharf 86. With a great view of the Bund you can listen to live music and drink the best beer China has to offer.
Petit Cat Cafe
One night we were wandering around Xintiandi and found ourselves on NonChang road, where we almost walked past the Petit Cat Cafe. A sign on the road points the way into a small alleyway.
Ordos
Ordos is know as one of China’s “ghost cities”. It was built with the intention of housing millions of people, instead it only houses thousands. If you’ve lived in China for a while, Ordos is strange.
Lesson of the Week: MySQL bits are bigger than expected in C#
If you have a bit(1) in a MySQL table, guess what type it is converted to when you make a query using C#’s MySQL helper? unsigned long Yep, that’s right. The smallest possible type gets converted to the longest possible type when you make a query through c#.
在内蒙古吃羊肉
While in Inner Mongolia we had the opportunity to try Mongolian food. It was pretty expensive for Chinese food but we were in the middle of nowhere and pretty damn hungry so the only place we could find was this tourist trap.
Mausoleum of Genghis Kahn
Near the city of Ordos in Inner Mongolia can be found the Mausoleum of Genghis Kahn. This is not the resting place of Genghis Kahn, since it is unknown where his remains actually lie. Rather, it is a collection of his treasures and a holy place.
Homeward Train
In rural China, many parents give up on raising their children themselves so they can go to the cities and work. They work so they can provide their children with an education and go on to have the lives the couldn’t have themselves.