Blog

Explore the depth of China’s fascinating past and aspiring future

  • imperial I
  • August 21, 2014
Rubin is one of the most sought-after tour operators in China for luxury travel, a field that has changed dramatically in the 16 years that he’s been in the industry. He exhaustively researches new openings—the Banyan Tree Shanghai; the Mandarin Orientals in Guangzhou and Shanghai—and cultivates local contacts that lead to insider experiences: a helicopter ride from Beijing to the Great Wall, instruction in the game of weiqi, or a private calligraphy lesson.  » Read more »
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  • imperial I
  • August 18, 2014
  Cai Guo Qiang, one of China’s best-known artists, opened his blockbuster The Ninth Wave exhibition with a literal bang on August 8th as his signature multicolored ‘daytime fireworks’ exploded over the Huangpu River. Located at the Power Station of Art on the river bank, the impressive scale matches the huge exhibition spaces that this relatively new venue offers.   The highlight of the exhibit is the eponymous The Ninth Wave,  » Read more »
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  • imperial I
  • August 15, 2014
  I often get asked if it’s really hard for an Italian to have to eat gluten-free (GF), and in China too.  No pasta? No dumplings?  What *do* you eat??  Luckily, China has always been a fairly GF-friendly country.  With the rare exception of restaurants specializing in wheat-based noodles or dumplings, there are always plenty of rice-based dishes to choose from, as well as rice noodles (and other GF starch noodles like mung bean or sweet potato noodles…).   » Read more »
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  • imperial I
  • August 5, 2014
  This past June, Guy and I were fortunate enough to be invited by Shangri-la Hotel to their new hotel in Lhasa as a part of their Advisory Board meeting (Guy is on the board).  I hadn’t been to Lhasa in almost ten years and the last time we were there, the Lhasa Hotel was the best on offer.  Since then, both the Shangri-la and St. Regis hotels have opened,  » Read more »
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  • imperial I
  • June 24, 2014
Managing its image with the outside world for the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympics was a masterful stroke for China. I know the man who was in charge of PR for the Olympics, and when I put it to him that China would be well advised to continue to project that image on an ongoing basis, he cautioned that the government would never allow it. What is one to make of such a country? How can one operate in it?  » Read more »
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