Jonny Blair talks about Chinese New Year red packets

Chinese New Year: What are Red Packets?

You have probably heard of Chinese New Year. It’s the same as New Year except it’s Chinese. That’s where things become slightly different. If you are lucky enough to live in a Chinese environment during Chinese New Year you will love the whole craze and madness of it all. You might also be given red…

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Jonny Blair at a Tibetan Stupa in Shangri La

Visiting Shangri La, Yunnan Province, China: Is This Just Fantasy?

“Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?” – Freddie Mercury. You’ll probably have heard the words Shangri La before, as I had done. But maybe you wonder what they mean, or indeed where it is or what it is! The truth is that the town of Shangri La featured in a book called…

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Jonny Blair at the The Ganden Sumtseling Gompa 300 year old Tibetan Monastery in Yunnan, China

A Taste of Tibet: Ganden Sumtseling Gompa Monastery, Yunnan Province, China

I haven’t been to Tibet yet – it’s on my long list of places to go, but recently I hiked near the Tibet to China border while staying in the high altitude Province of Yunnan. I based myself in the magical city of Shangri-La (also known as Zhongdian). It was time to make the mandatory…

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Jonny Blair of Don't Stop Living at the window of the world in shenzhen china

Window of the World in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China

  Where Can You See The Empire State Building, the Taj Mahal and the Eiffel Tower all in one day? The answer is the Chinese city of Shenzhen, in the Guangdong Province. This city, also lies right on the border to Hong Kong, and indeed there are a lot of immigration points in Shenzhen. There…

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Jonny Blair in Xiamen, Fujian, China - living a lifestyle of travel

Backpacking in Xiamen: My First ‘X’ City, Fujian, China

Xiamen intrigued me immediately for one peculiar reason – it’s beginning letter. I was sure that until 2012 I had never been to a city beginning with the letter ‘x’. The nearest I had come was when I was in Taiwan and got a train at Xincheng Station near Hualien, and stayed in the city…

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Jonny Blair a lifestyle of travel visiting Gu Lang Yu island in Fujian Province of China

Gu Lang Yu Island, Fujian Province, China

Another of my incredible China adventures in recent times involved a visit to this crazy island known as Gu Lang Yu! Basically it’s an island off the coast of the Fujian Province and is reached by ferry from the city of Xiamen, itself another interesting Chinese city which I have yet to write about separately!…

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