Greencaviar Travel

Called the 'Las Vegas of the East', Shanghai is famous for modern buildings and high skyscraper. Because of its strategic location, where the Yangtze meets the Pacific, it became a popular destination for foreigners.  Portions of the city had been partly controlled by foreign powers in the mid-1800s and eventually by Europe and the US, making it the second most westernized city (after Hongkong) in the country. It continues to serve as the financial capital of China. I remember walking the 'Bund' which was sandwiched between the 19th century-old buildings along the river and some of the highest skyscraper in the world, and visiting Pudong district, where we saw the 460m Pearl Tower (like a minaret with three little balls in between), the 420m Jinmao (a giant bottle opener), which comprised the famous Shanghai landmark, and a few more buildings under construction like the 'Shanghai Financial Center Bldg' (suppose to be the 3rd tallest building in the world at t...

In the spirit of 2014 Winter Olympic Games, I'll start off with Beijing, China - the host of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.  We visited some of the Olympic venues, like the famous 'Bird's Nest', but some of the most memorable moments of my trip to Beijing were walking the Great Wall and climbing a thousand steps to get to the top, and getting a foot massage after the walk. #TBT Beijing, China 2008 Olympic Billboard @Beijing Airport The Great Wall @Beijing, China

“Tomorrow we’re going to Shangri-La,” our host announces as we approach Hangzhou (a provincial city located in the Yangtze River Delta in China and the capital of Zhejiang province). I know he's not referring to the Shangri-La Hotel because it's not on our itinerary of places to stay. Neither the place of utopia, I read in James Hilton’s book, “Lost Horizon”. Our host has a different spin on the story. He tells us how an American soldier flying over Hangzhou thought he found Shangri-La. Figuratively speaking, Hangzhou is a world apart from Shanghai and Beijing. I'm able to see the blue sky amid the rain in Hangzhou. Steeped in temples, tea plantations and verdant natural beauty, Hangzhou brings to life the landscape printed on the calendar my mother brought from San Francisco Chinatown. West Lake We stroll down the pagoda-dotted path, lined by weeping willow trees from the Shang-ri La Hotel. A special wooden-boat is waiting to take us around the lake. The water lil...