China invested about US$900bn from 2008 – 2023 in a national high speed rail network of over 26,000 miles (40,000km), about 13 times the length of Japan or France’s network. Like theirs, trains are designed to run at between 120 – 220mph. In 2021, during the Covid period, this mammoth infrastructural investment brought in US$104 billion in revenues, representing (according to the Paulson Institute and World Bank) a return of about 7% in lower-carbon generating interconnectivity.  » Read more »

24 years ago I co-founded Imperial Tours, an inbound luxury tour operator in Beijing where I lived for 20 years. As a result of Covid, I was trapped outside China from November 2019 until three weeks ago when I returned for the first time. This article describes my experience of how China has changed during Covid. The Status Of Westerners In China I first moved to Beijing in 1997 to study Chinese at Beijing Language and Culture University.  » Read more »

4 years ago I co-founded Imperial Tours, an inbound luxury tour operator in Beijing, where I lived for 20 years. As a result of the Covid pandemic, I was trapped outside China from November 2019 until three weeks ago when I returned for the first time in over three years. This article describes the changes I found on reopening China’s travel industry. The Rise of “Genuine” Boutique Hotels When China first opened to the travel industry in the 1980’s,  » Read more »

“How large is China?  I have 7 days in China and would like a luxury tour to Beijing, Xian, Guilin, Shanghai and Hong Kong.  Is this possible?” As an Itinerary Designer at Imperial Tours, I have been asked this question (or a similar variation) countless times. My initial response is that technically it is possible if one wishes is to zip from city to city with very little time in each destination. But I then continue to explain that China is a large country;  » Read more »

A trip to China would not be complete without a visit to Yangshuo area, in the south of China. If you have seen the movie The Painted Veil, this was shot mainly in Guangxi province, officially called the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is one of five so-called autonomous regions where the number of ethnic minority groups are higher than in other places – in Guangxi, it is the Zhuang minority (the Mongols in Inner Mongolia,  » Read more »