The essential guide to backpacking China's Silk Road (from Lonely Planet travel web site)

I just couldn't resist posting this piece, even though I can't really imagine backpacking the Silk Road.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/asia/travel-tips-and-articles/77807

You'll see many sites familiar to those of us who traveled on our own Silk Road trip that I have attempted to document in this blog: Xian, the Mingsha Dunes outside Dunjuang (the Singing Sand dunes), the Turpan grape valley, the Flaming Mountains and Mogao Caves, Tian Chi or Heavenly Lake, etc.
The essential guide to backpacking China's Silk Road

‘Dunhuang’: ‘Buddhist Art at the Gateway of the Silk Road’

‘Dunhuang’: ‘Buddhist Art at the Gateway of the Silk Road’

Mogao Caves mentioned prominently, which we visited.
The article describes Dunhuang as a "far western" city, but it felt to me like we went much farther west as we traveled on to Urumqi!

Ten forces forging China’s future (McKinsey Quarterly)

McKinsey Consulting Report on China: China's Next Chapter

In this executive briefing, read highlights and takeaways from the 2013 McKinsey Quarterly special edition on China.

July 2013

In early June 2013, several hundred of the world’s leading CEOs gathered in Chengdu, China, and discussed that country’s rapidly evolving business environment: growth is slowing and wages are climbing just as a new upper middle class emerges, a new wave of innovation rises, and a new generation of leaders steps to the fore. Executives at this year’s Fortune Global Forum, in Chengdu, were reading “China’s next chapter,” a special edition of McKinsey Quarterly, now available in digital form. What follows here is a snapshot of highlights and takeaways: ten critical issues that will be facing China during the years ahead and what they mean for you. Read it on its own. Or follow the links to delve deeper on individual topics.