Destination: China
Where in the World Are You, Kelsey Timmerman?
by Jim Benning | 05.31.07 | 1:00 PM ET
Today, we debut “Where in the World Are You?”—a nearly up-to-the-minute interview with a traveler somewhere in the world. Our first traveler is a writer, Kelsey Timmerman, whose response landed in our inbox this morning.
World Hum: Where in the world are you?
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Yahoo! BuzzBeijing Park: ‘Disney Is Too Far, So Please Come to Shijingshan’
by Jim Benning | 05.18.07 | 1:57 PM ET
I’ll never forget slurping spicy noodles in a mom-and-pop restaurant in Chengdu, China and studying the meticulously painted Disney characters covering the walls. Why would anyone running a noodle joint want to decorate with Mickey Mouse and friends? Is it really good for business? Examples of piracy and copyright infringements are famously easy to find in China, and many couldn’t be more out of place or inappropriate.
Peter Hessler in China: Inside an Obsession With the Great Wall
by Michael Yessis | 05.17.07 | 10:15 AM ET
Of the many striking things in Peter Hessler’s terrific essay in The New Yorker, this one struck me most: “There isn’t a scholar at any university in the world who specializes in the Great Wall.” Several independent scholars, however, have taken an interest in the Great Wall of China, including a six-foot-seven-inch Harvard Law School graduate David Spindler, who has spent more than a decade hiking the wall, compiling information for what he hopes will be a comprehensive book. Hessler joined him for several wall treks, and his resulting story is typical Hessler: smart, dramatic and full of detail.
Japan’s Latest Budget Accommodation: Internet Cafes
by Jim Benning | 05.15.07 | 3:14 PM ET
Photo by Jael via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
Seriously. The nation that brought us the capsule hotel has done it again. The country’s working poor—and salarymen who don’t want to spring for a capsule after a night of drinking—are spending nights in Internet cafes, according to a Reuters story. For $12 to $20, they get a reclining chair in front of a computer, soft drinks, comics and, of course, Internet access. No word on how many low-budget travelers (also known as the backpack lunatic fringe) are spending nights in Internet cafes, but Wikitravel suggest Japanese cafes are an option, noting that some even provide a mat to sleep on and a shower.
Burning Mao
by Jim Benning | 05.14.07 | 6:14 PM ET
You have to hand it to Chinese authorities. Just a day after the giant must-see portrait of Mao Zedong hanging in Tiananmen Square was damaged when a man threw a burning object at it Saturday, they replaced it with an identical portrait. Which makes you wonder: Just how many giant Mao portraits do they have waiting in the wings? It’s downright Warholesque. According to Reuters, a man from Xinjiang has been held in the case. (Something tells me he hasn’t read China’s current best-selling book.) If he’s convicted of vandalizing the portrait and punished like one man who attacked the painting in 1989, he could go to prison for years.
Related on World Hum:
* ‘Confucius Craze’ Sweeps China
* China to Female Taxi Drivers: No Chunky Earrings!
* Beijing Visitors May Get Some ‘Mixed Elbow with Garlic Mud’ After All
Photo by yeowatzup via Flickr (Creative Commons).
‘Confucius Craze’ Sweeps China
by Jim Benning | 05.10.07 | 9:55 AM ET
Just how hot is the ancient philosopher in China at the moment? A new self-help book based on the teachings of Confucius is topping the nation’s best-seller list. With its time-worn wisdom, “Notes on Reading the Analects” by Beijing professor Yu Dan appeals to Chinese citizens anxious about by the economic and social changes that have swept the nation in recent years, a Reuters report suggests. But some critics in China are dismissing the book as Confucius-light.
World’s Tallest Pagoda Opens
by Jim Benning | 05.01.07 | 3:34 PM ET
In Changzhou, China. For those keeping score—and who isn’t?—Tianning Pagoda is 510 feet tall, 13 stories and dates back to the Tang dynasty. It was recently rebuilt for the fifth time.
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: The Road to Adventure
by Michael Yessis | 04.27.07 | 9:10 AM ET
This week travelers were drawn to roads in California, Vietnam and danger zones throughout the world. Italy, France, Hong Kong and a discount startup airline were also top of mind. Here’s the Zeitgeist.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Puglia: Italy’s Heel Has It All, Except Tourists
Most E-mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
Practical Traveler: As Hotel Prices Rise, a Villa May Be a Bargain
Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
Top 5 Most Dangerous Roads of the World
* The photos will make your stomach churn.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
U.S. Highway 395: California’s ‘Mother Road’
* Here’s the accompanying photo gallery.
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
‘American Shaolin’: Interview with Matthew Polly
Top Travel and Adventure Audiobook
iTunes (current)
Fodor’s French for Travelers
Best Selling Travel Book
Amazon.com (current)
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
‘American Shaolin’: Interview with Matthew Polly
by Michael Yessis | 04.19.07 | 7:57 AM ET
Gadling’s Justin Glow has posted a Q&A with Matthew Polly, whose book “American Shaolin” chronicles two years living and training with Shaolin Monks in China. “When I was a kid I saw the TV show Kung Fu with David Carradine. I idolized his character,” Polly tells Gadling. “He looked as awkward as I felt and yet he was a total bad-ass. When I was in college I started to study Chinese language, philosophy, Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism, and kung fu. The Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of kung fu and Zen Buddhism, so it was like going to the source.” ‘Shaolin’ has been getting good reviews, and the movie rights have been optioned by Fox2000. Polly has posted an excerpt on his Web site.
China to Female Taxi Drivers: No Chunky Earrings!
by Michael Yessis | 04.18.07 | 7:23 AM ET
And no bright red or yellow hair. It’s the latest directive from Chinese officials in advance of the 2008 Olympic Games. The country wants to put on a more conservative, less Chinglish-laden face for travelers, and, according to Reuters, some taxi drivers don’t like the regulations. Penalties for violations, however, are strong—drivers can lose their licenses.
Linxia, China
by Ben Keene | 04.13.07 | 12:10 PM ET
Beijing Visitors May Get Some ‘Mixed Elbow With Garlic Mud’ After All
by Michael Yessis | 04.12.07 | 8:43 AM ET
As we recently posted, Chinese officials have taken steps to rid Beijing of “Chinglish”—“wrong, embarrassing and sometimes plain rude signs in Chinese English,” as defined by Reuters—by the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. However, according to a new Reuters report, the city most likely will not be able to eradicate all Chinglish before the deadline. Advertisements and menus are the greatest challenges, according to Liu Yang, deputy head of efforts to clean up Beijing’s pre-Olympic language problems.
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Viva Video and Las Vegas
by Michael Yessis | 04.06.07 | 9:35 AM ET
Lots to see in the Zeitgeist this week. Travelers are taking a long look at racing in Las Vegas, sinking ships in Greece, dancing in China and Lonely Planet’s new video channel.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
Bright Lights & Formula One Engines Rule in Las Vegas
* Two reasons for a look: Pulitzer winner Dan Neil wrote it, and there’s video.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Greek Cruise Ship Sinks After Rescue
* The AP has the video.
Most Watched Video
LonelyPlanet.tv (current)
miniclips
* Lonely Planet debuted its travel video channel this week.
Most Read Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
India’s ‘Spiritual Backbone’: Two End-to-End Explorations Down the Ganges River
* The last of Morning Edition’s five-part series runs today.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph (current)
A Little Italy on Board
Top Travel and Adventure Audiobook
iTunes (current)
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Most Popular Travel Podcast
iTunes (current)
Travel With Rick Steves
* This week Steves covers the pilgrimage on El Camino de Santiago in Spain and tourism in Iran.
Most Popular Travel Story
Netscape (this week)
If Apple Designed A Private Jet
* It would, of course, be called the iJet.
French Train Clocks In At 357.2 MPH*
by Michael Yessis | 04.04.07 | 8:20 AM ET
That’s 547.8 kph, and it’s a record speed for rail travel. (A Japanese “non-conventional magnetically levitated” train hit 361 mph in 2003.) Ingrid Rousseau was on the 25,000-horsepower V150 in France yesterday, and she filed a report about the speed trial.
Enough With the Superjumbo Jets. How About a Superjumbo Bus?
by Jim Benning | 03.19.07 | 2:25 PM ET
By now, we’ve heard all about the new Airbus A380 superjumbo jet. It takes off. It crosses oceans. It even lands. It’s a very big, functional plane. It’s cool. It’s “super.” We get it. Now put the thing in commercial circulation and let’s move on to the next travel marvel, right? Are you with me? Good, because we’ve got the next big travel thing for your consideration: the world’s largest superjumbo passenger bus. It carries a whopping 300 passengers. It was just unveiled in Shanghai and will be used on the streets of Beijing and Hangzhou. You go, China.