Here’s a new carrier for BoardingArea trip reports– GX Airlines. In this post, I will be covering my flight from Nanning, in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, as well as the sole airport lounge in the international wing of Nanning Wuxu International Airport. But first, a warm tip for potential visitors […]
China
First Class Lounge North, Zhengzhou, China
For my second of three lounge reviews from China, today we will visit the domestic First Class Lounge North at Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport. (If you’re not so familiar with the name Zhengzhou, it’s in a particularly historic region, located between two ancient capitals of Kaifeng and Luoyang.) Not to mention, given it’s central (to […]
China Eastern VIP Lounge 137 at Shanghai Pudong, China
I’ve searched English and Chinese websites for information about Shanghai Pudong’s China Eastern VIP Lounge 137, but I’m getting the feeling it’s like that fortune-telling machine from the movie “Big.” There’s a deluge of information about other Shanghai Pudong lounges, all with lucky or lucky-lite numbers (that is, nothing with a four), but 137? No […]
No More PCR Tests to Enter China, But …
No more PCR tests will be needed to enter China, as of 29 April. Indeed, with regards to COVID-19 entry requirements to China, things have come a long way, even since the first quarter of 2023. In other words, it’s no longer a sisyphean task to enter the country, particularly as a non-resident. The […]
How Awecool: China is Reopening to Tourism
After nearly three years, it’s finally happening. It’s time to dust off those Chinese tourism visas. Starting from 15 March, China will once again be accepting applications for tourism visas. Better yet, if you had a Chinese tourism visa issued before 28 March 2020 — that is, the date China sealed itself off from the […]
Guangzhou Circle: Modern Chinese Architecture
I wax nostalgic for taking long walks around Chinese cities, appreciating their overzealous appreciation of geodesic domes, bumper car facilities, and some of the most bizarre ideas ever constructed. Today’s specimen: the 138-meter (just under 453 feet) Guangzhou Circle (广州园大厦), located in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. Completed in December 2013 by Milan, Italy-based architect Joseph di […]
Chinatowns Around the World
As a child, I used to think that the Manhattan Chinatown was one of the coolest neighborhoods to wander around, be puzzled by the Chinese characters written all over the place, and to visit a vastly different culture without needing to hop on a plane. But how would it compare with other Chinatowns around the […]
The Neptunus Group Building, Shenzhen (China)
Recently, I came across an article from two months ago that mentioned how Chinese Leader Jinping Xi issued a decree limiting the construction of buildings >250 meters (~821 feet) tall, disallowing buildings > 500 meters (~1641 feet), and prohibiting copycat behavior – in architecture. That article made me reflect on the architectural scene in China, […]
