Xi'an, China - In the fall of 2011, I spent three weeks in China, mostly as a volunteer English teacher for tour guides at the Shaanxi History Museum in Xi'an.
When I left, I knew I wanted to return to see more. That wish was fulfilled this past fall, when I was able to spend another three weeks visiting Beijing, Nanjing, Xi'an, Guilin and Shenzhen.
The experience reflected the complexity of this vast and fast-changing country: One day I took the ultramodern train from Guilin to Nanjing, a 120-mph ride that was as smooth as a marble rolling across a piece of glass; on another I took a three-hour bus ride to a terraced farm that has not changed its method of growing rice for centuries.
At the surreal Window of the World theme park in Shenzhen, I wandered through small-scale replicas of landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Angkor Wat and Mount Rushmore.
And I walked the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, north of Beijing, on a day when light rain discouraged tourists, giving me a rare experience of nature so silent I could hear the drops hitting the centuries-old stone.
Mark Gail, The Washington Post