Archive of stories published by A Better Guide to Beijing

The Legend of the Fragrant Concubine

Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng

There are several versions of the Xiāng Fēi’s story, but in all of them she is a beloved concubine of the Qiánlóng emperor, a member of the Turki Uighur people. She was named Iparhan in her own language…


Legation Quarter 东交民巷

Běijīng’s original foreign enclave, besieged in 1900
Part of A Better Guide to Beijing
’s coverage of the Imperial City

I dined that evening in the stuffy atmosphere of the British Legation. The compound of the English Palace with its


The Great Wall

How to approach it
Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng
’s coverage of Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond

He expressed a particular enthusiasm with respect to visiting the wall of China. I catched it for the moment, and said I really believed I should go and see

These were the top 10 stories published by A Better Guide to Beijing; you can also dive into yearly archives: 2016, 2017, and 2019.