A MONTH
IN CHINA中国一个月
Haik and Ani, Great Wall to the Li River to the Bund, with two weeks of work in the middle. This page knows where we are, what the sky's doing over our heads, and whether it's a decent hour to call.
Packing. Not much, on purpose.
Mission debrief
we're homeWheels down, Burbank任务完成
Thirty nights, eight cities, one very heavy suitcase. Thank you for following along, every note in the guestbook got read on a train somewhere.
Who & why
the short versionWhy a month in China?
Work, mostly. We're sourcing product for the businesses, which means meetings with manufacturers and suppliers in different cities: Guangzhou, Foshan, Dongguan, Shenzhen, Yiwu and Shanghai. The Canton Fair in the middle is the biggest trade show on earth, so we timed the whole month around it.
The rest is the reward: the Great Wall with nobody on it, hotpot that hurts, a castle hotel in the karst, egg tarts in Macau, and Shanghai at the end because Shanghai deserves three nights.
Dispatches from the road
photos & notes, newest firstPhoto wall
Mission globe
drag to spin · tap a cityROUTE LAX → PEK → … → PVG → LAX
STATUS STANDBY
Day by day
← → keys workWhere we're sleeping
8 hotels · tap a key cardFlights
booked · live tracking on flight daysGetting around
planes, bullet trains, one border on footRed = not reserved yet. Green = booked. Trains open for booking 15 days ahead.
| Date | Leg | Dep | Status |
|---|
Weather telemetry
October climate normalsThe food map
where dinner isFood passport
Twenty dishes to get through. A stamp appears when a dispatch mentions the hashtag, and if that dispatch has a photo, the drawing is replaced by our actual plate.
Mission extras
learn · unlock · playPhrase of the moment
Tap the card to flip. These are the ones we'll actually use.
Achievements
Unlock as the trip happens. Gold means done.
How well do you know this trip?
Seven questions. No prizes, only honor.
Postcard generator
make one · share itSend yourself a postcard
Pick a city, write a line, share it to the group chat.
Family chat
Family chat
Works from China without a VPN. Say hi, ask anything, send a photo.
- Type your name once, the phone remembers it.
- 📷 adds a photo, it is shrunk on your phone first so it sends fast.
- We answer when we're awake. The bottom bar says whether it's a good time.
Guestbook
leave a note for the roadSay something
We read these on bullet trains. Keep it PG, the moms are on here.
Bring me back a…
requests, within reasonPut in a request
Tea, snacks, a fake designer something, ask and we'll tick it off when it's in the bag. Suitcase space is finite.
The work stretch
Canton Fair · Guangzhou · Oct 16–29Held twice a year in Guangzhou since 1957, the Canton Fair is the largest trade show in the world: a complex the size of a small town, tens of thousands of exhibitors, and buyers from every country you can name. It runs in three phases, each with its own industries. We're there for the first two, with supplier meetings in Foshan, Dongguan and Shenzhen on the days between, then leave the week the third one starts.
Comms
how to reach meWeChat. Free, reliable everywhere in China, and the one we'll actually see. Add us both before Oct 3 if you haven't.
WhatsApp, FaceTime, iMessage photos, Gmail, Google Maps, Instagram. If a message doesn't go through, that's why, not ignoring you.
Macau, Oct 14–16, everything works normally there. Best days for a proper video call.
China is 15 hours ahead of Burbank (16 after US clocks fall back Nov 1). Our evening is your early morning. The chip in the top bar says whether to call.
Need to know
the boring bits, made shortThe bag
Carry-on only. Travel light, buy there, clothes get bought in Beijing on day two, laundry runs at the Guangzhou hotel. Tick as we pack.