http://www.articlealley.com en-us editorial@articlealley.com A conversation with Tom Carter, author of CHINA: Portrait of a People. American photo-journalist Tom Carter has spent the past four years in the People’s Republic of China, traversing all 33 provinces and autonomous regions not just once but twice. T... http://www.articlealley.com/article_206830_29.html 26th August 2007 Seven Days In Permitless Tibet by Tom Carter The news was shocking! The ticket agent at the Shangri-la bus terminal in Zhongdian, Yunnan province was happy to tell me over and over, in both Chinese and English, that yes, foreigners can now travel e... http://www.articlealley.com/article_197955_29.html 07th August 2007 Kailash Karma Kora by Tom Carter My path to purification began in the home of Shiva the Destroyer – or perhaps it was just his rubbish bin. The shantytown of Darchen at the foot of Mt Kailash in western Tibet is populated with half-naked, red-cheeke... http://www.articlealley.com/article_197953_29.html 07th August 2007 Backpacker savant Tom Carter offers his top five "real" China destinations: Shandong Where Chinese civilization as we know it began, Shandong is a wealth of history and tradition. From the birthplaces of Sun Tzu and Confucius to sacred Tai Shan, this ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_197952_29.html 07th August 2007 Gansu, the Mainland's Little Lhasa by Tom Carter In these over-publicized times of China's new railroad to Tibet, one might be better off avoiding the tourist circus than rnning away with it. Indeed, unless the reader has a certain fondness for overbo... http://www.articlealley.com/article_197951_29.html 07th August 2007 Hainan Island, On the Edge of the Earth By Tom Carter It is interesting to note that while the island of Hainan in southwest China is the country's number two holiday ravel destination (in between Jiuzhaigou National Park in Sichuan and Yunnan's Lijia... http://www.articlealley.com/article_197950_29.html 07th August 2007 "He's from Pakistan.""No, no! He's Japanese." A lively group of Uyghurs orbiting around me at the Hotan marketplace in southern Xinjiang were vociferously debating the nationality of the 196cm foreigner standing before them. I am in fact a first-genera... http://www.articlealley.com/article_197949_29.html 07th August 2007 Yunnan, a Kaleidescope of Culture by Tom Carter While China's northeastern parts such as Beijing and Shandong may represent the historical heart of the People's Republic, it's in the west where we find a unique cultural diversity that is so attractive... http://www.articlealley.com/article_197948_29.html 07th August 2007 On China's Pre-Packaged Tourism by Tom Carter "What could possibly compel them to do something so… wrong?" This was the question posed by a group of expats sitting around a youth hostel in scenic Huangshan Mountain, China's beloved mountain range ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_197947_29.html 07th August 2007 On China's Racist Hotels by Tom Carter Anyone who has spent time in the People's Republic of China is obviously aware of the sheer number of hotels and sundry boardinghouses located in even the smallest city. What patronizing Western travelers frequ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_197946_29.html 07th August 2007 On Crime In China by Tom Carter Perhaps the single most reassuring fact about travel in the People's Republic of China is its remarkably low crime rate. The Ministry of Public Security (MPS), the principal authority of domestic criminal procedures, ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_197944_29.html 07th August 2007 Backpackers Gone Wild by Tom Carter As a veteran backpacker of both hemispheres currently traveling extensively throughout all 32 provinces of the People’s Republic of China, this writer has come to depend heavily on hostels. Without them I could not... http://www.articlealley.com/article_197943_29.html 07th August 2007 Down & Out in HK A poor man's epiphany in wealthy Asian metropolis. by Tom Carter Having spent over two-and-a-half straight years in the Chinese mainland without leave, it was with both anticipation and apprehension that I recently crossed the southe... http://www.articlealley.com/article_197942_29.html 07th August 2007 PLANET PANJIAYUAN Inside Beijing’s Largest Antiques Fair by Tom Carter Perhaps not by coincidence, the Greek word Pangaea, meaning “all lands,” is the name historians have given to planet Earth before its continental drift 200 millions years ag... http://www.articlealley.com/article_197941_29.html 07th August 2007 Now We Are In Xanadu! by Tom Carter In the summer it is a scalding expanse of desert, in the spring verdant grassland; but in the winter, Inner Mongolia is a white kingdom few travelers, beyong the occasional Mongol nomad, brave to enter. Indeed, th... http://www.articlealley.com/article_197940_29.html 07th August 2007 Hao Bizarre, How Bazaar by Tom Carter Perhaps the foremost reason why so few travelers make the journey to northwest China’s Xinjiang province is quite simply its vastness. Aside from being located on the exact opposite side of the country from Beiji... http://www.articlealley.com/article_197939_29.html 07th August 2007 Jiuzhaigou by Tom Carter Buy a two day pass and get lost in Jiuzhaigou as leaves turn from green to blazing reds and oranges. Autumn is perhaps China’s most precious season, a respite between sweltering summers and fatal winters. But it is only in t... http://www.articlealley.com/article_162271_29.html 21st May 2007 The Good Earth by Tom Carter Follow the Dragon's Backbone into the rural solitude of Longji's rice terraces. It is hard to imagine anywhere in the People's Republic untouched by civil engineers, the levelers of history. But truly nowhere else in Chin... http://www.articlealley.com/article_162266_29.html 21st May 2007 The Chinese Internet Crash of 2007 - Calamity or Capitalism? By Tom Carter In late December of last year, a 7.1 earthquake off the coast of Taiwan severely damaged Asia’s undersea fiber-optic cables, disrupting telecommunication circuits across the ... http://www.articlealley.com/article_162265_45.html 21st May 2007 Teaching English in China: One Expat's Experience By Tom Carter Having little luck finding an attractive job offer in the U.S. in 2004, I decided to take my skills where they were wanted -- abroad. Enticed by the "Teach English in China -- No Exper... http://www.articlealley.com/article_162263_36.html 21st May 2007 SHAOLIN, THE KINGDOM OF KUNG FU Inside China’s Legendary Martial Arts Schools By Tom Carter “Let's see your Tiger-Crane style match my Eagle’s Claw!” Ah, the immortal words of dueling Shaolin warriors. Though dialog like this is mainly the... http://www.articlealley.com/article_162262_32.html 21st May 2007