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.
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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.
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.
China in July: The Day Chongqing Hit 41C and I Fled to Yunnan
A narrative log of two weeks traveling in China during peak summer: the heat dome in Chongqing, the 6:43am escape train, and the highland air of Kunming.