I recently saw the movie Avatar and like most people, was awed by the visual effects. Another thing that awed me though was that I realized that I had been to Pandora before. It wasnt in some far away world, but instead in central China; Hunan actually, Zhangjiajie to be exact.

Here's a very useful and comprehensive list of Things to Do in Shenzhen, China; including activities, nightlife, shopping, sightseeing, and even sports and recreation. Enjoy!

Luckily, Kiko was with me during this eclipse and was able to take some great pictures of the people watching with us. You can see here how dark it actually gets. Her little point-and-shoot Olympus actually did a pretty good job taking a pictures of the eclipse too.

We saw it! Despite the clouds and predictions of thunderstorms here in Hangzhou today, we were lucky enough for the clouds to part just long enough for us to see the amazing total solar eclipse from a great location at the Hyatt Hotel on the West Lake.

Here is a video of the Total Solar Eclipse in Hangzhou China, 2009. The video isn't as clear as the one I took in Egypt in 2006; however, the cloud cover here actually made for a cooler-looking video I think.

This year I decided to stay in Shenzhen for the Spring Festival. Since this is a migrant city, it was practically deserted for this, the most important national holiday of the year; where everyone tries their best to get home to their families. Although quieter than in a place like Beijing, there were still some places you could see people preparing.

Last year, I was in Los Angeles in January and saw the NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular advertised in my hometown. I was in the middle of trying to absorb as much about China as I could so I decided to attent. Maybe I'm spoiled or maybe I'm jaded, but the show just wasn't what I expected...

I thought you might like to see what Santa looks like here at a popular restaurant/bar area, heavily frequented by foreigners, called Sea World. It's in an area called Shekou in Shenzhen near Hong Kong. And yes, that is a very big beer in his hand.

I recently made a new friend here in Shenzhen who is from Xian and I was inspired to finally post some pictures I have from there. Like so many cities in China, Xi'an is very beautiful, has some great food, and some very interesting places to see. One of the most famous attractions of Xi'an are the terracotta warriors. I do have many more photos and some videos that I will try to post later, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy these.

I have to admit, when it comes to China, and what I was to expect when I arrived there for hte first time in July 2006, I was completely ignorant and naive. Although I have met many Chinese people in my life, both American-born and China natives, that were just as Westernized as anyone else I knew, I for some reason, was expecting to go back in time, to a place where everyone rode around on bicycles, were pulled by rickshaws, fanned themselves with painted Chinese fans and wore the typical grey Mao Zedong suits. Boy was I surprised!

Here is a panorama picture made from two pictures taken at the gate of Zhangjiajie, the first place recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in China. It is an amazing and unique place in the world with 243 peaks and 3000 karst upthrusts, waterfalls, limestone caves and rivers.

About twenty entries ago, I posted a picture of myself at the West Lake in Hangzhou, one of the most beautiful places to visit in China. Before I returned to China in June of 2007, I met an American in Pasadena who had told me that she had been to China and that her favorite place was the West Lake, so I gave her a copy of this picture; but not before tweaking it a little. I really liked the way it turned out so I decided to re-post it here for you too.

During the Spring Festival this year, I went on an amazing journey down the Silk Road; mostly to see if it is a journey I could do again to see the Total Solar Eclipse taking place in August, 2008, but also to finally see many of the sites I have heard about for so long.

While returning from a journey down the Silk Road, I stopped at the Great Wall of China at Jiayuguan. Although it was recently restored, and not quite the old beat down wall you would expect from something almost 500 years old, it was still an amazing place to visit. And where else are you going to get to see a part of the Great Wall and be the only one there! Granted, that was mostly because I was there in the Winter.

Here is a short video of the 10,000 Buddha Monastery at Sha Tin in Hong Kong. This temple and tourist destination is a must-see while in Hong Kong and this video only begins to show you all there is to see. I have many more that I will post as time goes on, for example, of the statues and alters found at the site and of the hundreds of man-sized golden Buddha statues that line the 400 steps up to the temple and around the bamboo groves.

Here are some pictures I took of the hike up to Harmony Peak at the top of Heng Shan, one of China's holiest mountains, often referred to as Nan Yue Shan (Southern High Mountain), while I was volunteer teaching in HuNan province.

I noticed that I have not mentioned anything in my blog about Chairman Mao Zedong yet so I decided to share with you a picture I took of the home he grew up in. For those of you that do not know who he is, he is the founder of the People's Republic of China and one of the original members of the Chinese Communist Party. I am not going to go into any more detail about him here as you can find all the information you want about him online, however...

Here is a picture of the Great Wall of China at Simatai outside of Beijing. It is a panorama picture made from various pictures taken from the parking lot...

Here is a panorama picture made from various pictures taken at a more secluded private beach of Sanya Bay in front of the Treasure Island Hotel. Sanya is a small beach town on the southern part of Hainan Island. It is often referred to as the Hawaii of China.

During my travels throughout China, I must have taken hundreds of pictures of food; different kinds of meat dishes, fish and vegetables, but never any fruit. Well, the other day that all changed when I had what I can only refer to as a "When Harry Met Sally" diner experience after eating a ping pong ball-sized grape. I knew instantly that this would be my first picture of fruit and that I had to share it with you. Some of you may be wondering about the how they grow their fruit here in China. Is it organic? Do they use pesticides, chemicals, etc? Well, I have to tell you, this fruit is so amazingly good, the second you eat a piece you won't care where it came from, you'll just want more!

Well, I finally did it. People have been asking me for quite a while now if I have eaten dog while in China, so now I can finally say that I have. It wasn't quite on purpose, but yes, it finally happened. What I mean by "not on purpose," is that I really had no intention of eating dog or even letting the whole situation go this far. It all started as what I thought was a pissing contest between me and another man. He kept asking if I was adventurous and if I wanted to try it. I really didn't think he was serious...

The Art of War by Sun Tzu has become a very popular book for military and businessmen in America, however, it seems it has been a requirement for them here in China since it was written. Although the stories are about war strategies, the lessons they provide can and have easily been adapted to the business world. Whether you come to China for business or plan to do any serious interaction with Chinese businessmen, I strongly recommend reading and learning this book thoroughly. Whether they realize it or not, the lessons taught in this book are embedded into many Chinese business practices. I chose this special edition to link to, however, there are many translation available online or at your local bookstore.

Unfortunately, I have not been to Macau yet (or Macao as it is commonly written), but a friend of mine sent me this great 360 degree view from the top of Macau Tower that I thought I would share.

I recently found this interactive weather map that is extremely useful for anyone traveling around china or anyone just curious to see what the weather is like here.

Yesterday I decided that it was about time I head to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center to watch this famous sunset I have been hearing so much about. Apparently, the view from the 7th floor is an amazing site not to be missed. To my surprise when I arrived, there was a pretty big commotion with tons of photographers and people in costumes everywhere so I had to take a few minutes to stop and see what all the fuss was about. Apparently, this weekend is the Hong Kong Game Fair and video game junkies from all over Asia gathered to check out the latest and greatest in gaming and pay respects to their favorite video game characters. I took some photos and videos that I thought I would share with you. Unfortunately, I wasn't very prepared for this and my camera ran out of batteries so many of these are taken with my phone. The video is also on my Nokia N93, which I haven't figured out how to edit yet, so as soon as I do, I'll post those for you to see. This was actually pretty funny. Up until now, except for Homer Simpson, I've never heard a grown man drool before. Enjoy!

On July 22nd, 2007 I was lucky enough to head out to Kai Sung, one of Hong Kong's outerlying islands to do some dives with Pro Dive Training Center HK. The crew was great, professional, courteous and helpful, the boat was really well-managed, and with an air compressor onboard, I was even offered the chance to get in as many dives as I could in a litle over four hours. Unfortunately, I can't say as many nice things about the underwater experience but I wouldn't change a thing about the day, especially considering I met some great people on the dive. Nothing went wrong during the dives, but the low visibility and lack of anything interesting to see (except this really over-sized and neon blue crab) just made you appreciate the above water environment so much more. Although I don't have any underwater content to show you, here are a few pictures I took throughout the day. I've got some video too that I'll try to post at some point.

This ia short video taken from Lugard Road at Victoria Peak of the nightly light show at Hong Kong harbour. I have some great pictures I'll be posting to GaryInChina.com soon.

As you will probably hear me mention a few times throughout the Hong Kong pages, one of the best places to visit while on Hong Kong Island is Victoria Peak. The peak tram, the tower, the gardens and all the surrounding areas (which I will try to post pictures and videos of shortly) are a great place to spend the day and evening. Here are a few pictures of the nightly fireworks and light show as seen from Lugard Road on Victoria Peak. I also posted a video of it here in case you'd like to check it out. By the way, go early, no later than 4:30 pm and plan enough time for your way down as there will be a long wait for every mode of transportation down after dark.

Today I had a great time celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China from Great Britain. Although I have a ton of video including a spectacular parade, and a pro-democracy rally, I thought I would share this one with you first. It's a short video of the most amazing fireworks show I've ever seen which was taken from the Aqualuna boat in Victoria Harbor. As you can see both the fireworks and lasers were choreographed amongst many building surrounding the harbor and played to music. I can't quite keep the camera still considering I'm on a boat but it's still a great video to watch.

Well folks, my initial 3-day visit to Hong Kong has turned into a five-plus weeklong stay so I decided to rent an apartment to save some money. Why did I decide to stay so long? Well, I returned to China this time around to finally start some business ventures I have been researching for quite some time now. While here in Hong Kong I quickly realized that this is the place to set up the company. Next stop from here, work on setting up an office of my new Hong Kong company in mainland China...

What better way to celebrate the return to rule by a communist government then with a Pro-Democracy Rally? Here's a quick video of the 2007 Pro-Democracy Rally in Hong Kong during the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Handover of Hong Kong to China. Unfortunately it was so humid that day that my good video camera wouldn't work so I had to shoot this with my panasonic photo camera's video function. The audio is a bit tough to make out but it's still worth a gander.

Have you ever wondered what the inside of a train in China looks like? Here is a short video of a sleeper car taken during a ride to Beijing from Guilin. Sorry, the room has been used so its a little messy but you get the idea. In the video you see the hall in the sleeper car, my room with 4 beds, two on each side, which not only shows the beds, but where the electrical plugs are, the switches, the area to put your bags and even the foot handles to help you climb up to the top bunks. The bathroom is also shown, the hot water dispenser, and a very short clip of the adjoining hard sleeper car.

I am not really sure what it is, but I have a bad habit of loosing it when I get close to the end of my trips. I am less than two weeks from heading home and today I finally blew up on a poor cab driver. In my defense, I had been playing it cool for what I consider far too long when it comes to cab drivers trying to rip me off...

One of the nicest places to visit in China, that I unfortunately have not had a chance to write about yet, is the West Lake in Hangzhou. I have actually been there a couple of times now and still have not had a chance to see all the nice areas surrounding the lake. Good food, nice people, blue skies, great scenery and a beautiful lake make this place a must-visit in China.

Actually, this game... Frogger... a classic that I grew up with, is a great training tool to get you use to crossing major streets in practically any third world country. If you plan to come to China, definitely brush up on this game. You may not need it if you plan to only stay in big cities such as Beijing or Shanghai, however, if you plan to set foot in any of the smaller towns, then you should consider some training.

Maybe it is just me, but trying all of the wonderful and delicious types of food there are around the world is absolutely one of the greatest excuses to travel. It isn't just eating the food though that satisfies you, sometimes, its the reaction you get from those around you. Take this lady in the picture for example. I wish I could have had a video camera to show you how excited she was to cook, for the first time, for an American. She even went and put on her nice coat for the picture. Or tonight, the excitement on the young cook's face while he was staring at me eat his cooking. And how proud he was when I said his food was delicious (in Chinese) in front of his regular customers.

Here is a quick video shot walking mainly down Fuxing Lu in the old city of Dali, in Yunnan Province, China.

The other day, I was talking to my mom on the telephone and she asked me about the food. She asked what I was having for breakfast. I told her that a very common breakfast food was noodles. Her Italian upbringing led her to reply, "Noodles! For breakfast! What do you have for dinner... Eggs and Pancakes!" I couldn't help but laugh. That night, I had left a bar with a friend and stopped to have the eggs filled crepe-style pancake pictured below. I know it seems a bit backwards but it sure does hit the spot. By the way, the noodles pictured here are the world famous Guilin Rice Noodles. I had this bowl while in Yangshuo. Normally, there aren't so many peppers but I've gotten use to heating things up a bit.

A fews days ago, my scheduled plan changed unexpectedly and since I had a few extra days to kill, I thought I would come on down to Kunming in Yunnan province. Although it has a famous reputation, the cold weather up north was a major factor in my decision to come down to the south. When I went out for my first meal, I was reminded at how great eating can be here in China. Not just because you get to try great food, like my meal of the famous Yunnan fried rice and some delicious steamed pork dumplings, but also because of the satisfaction that follows when the bill comes out to less than a dollar, including a drink!

I know that I knocked Guilin in a previous post, so I just wanted to take a minute to share with you a few pictures of one of my favorite places to enjoy abeautiful evening stroll and possibly an impromptu picnic... Rong Hu (Rong Lake), Guilin, China. Not only was it a very peaceful walk but there were inspiring views at every turn. Although you could walk right through this park in 15 minutes, it took me over an hour while taking these pictures and having my own impromptu picnic at the, what seemed to be built for me, gazebo-style lookout between the bridges.

Here is a quick 360 degree video taken from the top of one of the sand dunes of Mingsha Shan, or Singing Sands Mountain, directly in front of the Crescent Moon Spring in Dunhuang, Gansu Province in China. The video was shot on February 26th, 2007, there is snow in many places and half the spring is frozen so you can just imagine how cold it is. However, when you're hiking up, you get so hot and sweaty that you convince yourself it is a good idea to take off your shoes so they don't get full of sand. When you finally calm down after reaching the top you start to realize how cold it is.

It was quite an experience to wake up at 7 am this morning in Urumqi in Xinjiang province and have it still be dark. It was even stranger when 8 o'clock hit and it was still dark. Imagine my surprise when I waited all the way until past nine in the morning to be able to take a picture of the sunrise over Tian shan (Sky or Heaven, Mountain). For some reason, Beijing has decided that the entire country needs to use the same time zone that it does... even provinces that are thousands of kilometers away. Although this is quite confusing, it makes for an interesting time.

I arrived today to Urumqi (pronounced: Wulumuchee) and was welcomed by comfortable negative 6 degree celius weather, or about 21 degree farenheit for those in the states. Surprisingly, it is not as cold as I expected but I was a bit worried when I looked out the airplane window to see mountains covered in snow. Hopefully I will be able to handle it when I am out seeing the sights... first stop... Heavenly Lake tomorrow morning.

I thought I would share with you something interesting I just found out today. Apparently, the winter sports we are so use to partaking in here in the states and in Europe are beginning to grow in popularity here in China. As the disposible incomes of people continues to grow, they look for new ways to spend their newfound money. One of these ways is on the slopes. According to CCTV, attendees to snow resorts has been increasing by 20% each year for the last ten years. As new skiers and snowboarders hit the slopes, the landscape of the Chinese winter holiday is beginning to change from one where families traditionally stay at home, to one where they look for new ways of enjoying their time.

Although it is the fifth day of the Spring Festival and I am in Urumqi, which is an autonomous region of China, there does not seem to be any letting up of the festivities. At least not when it comes to fireworks. They really must be cheap here because I find it amazing how many of them are constantly going off. When I buy fireworks in the states, I am lucky to get a good five minute show. This video is shot from the 7th floor of the Xin Rong Hotel between the hours of 9pm and midnight Beijing time and edited for the sake of your time. It kind of sucks because you hear them constantly but being in the hotel room, you can only see the ones right in front of you. By the way, here are a couple of interesting bits of information about travel during this time of year. Yesterday alone there were over 3.8 million people riding the rails and that number is expected to be 4 million riding the rails on Friday. In addition, there were 33 million people on the buses today!

I found this video on YouTube of the fireworks going off on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year 2007, taken from the 26th floor of an apartment building in the suburbs of Beijing. I think it compliments my video very well because it gives you a birds-eye view of what was happening all over the city (and the country for that matter).

I wonder if we would eat so much meat if this is how it were presented to us. As you probably know, I'm about to wrap up my third month in China and one thing I find interesting is the presentation of the food. There seems to be quite a different attitude about how people see their food here. Seeing animals hanging from a restaurant window is extremely common, in fact, it seems to almost be a requirement. Feeling hungry yet?

Here are some photos taken at the International Spring Carnival at Chaoyang Park in Beijing, China. I have been unable to find any sort parade like we are used to in the states. Instead I find plenty of these types of festivals. This one is different from the traditional ones because it has a much more international feel, but it is still pretty interesting.

During the Spring Festival, people here in China pour into the streets, primarily at the Miao Hui's or temple fairs; however, there is only one Miao Hui that can say that it is still held in a temple. that is the Baiyunguan Temple Fair at the White Cloud Temple. The main reason for the visiting this temple is apparently for prayers and the wishing of good luck for the coming year as you can see from the videos and pictures I will be posting over the next few days. Here are some pictures and a video of one such good-luck-wishing event at the temple; throwing coins (50 coins for 10 yuan) at a bell on the Wo Feng Bridge.

Another interesting thing people seem to do for good luck is rub this ornate pot at Baiyunguan (aka White Cloud Temple) here in Beijing. As I mentioned in previous posts, the miao hui (temple fair) held at this Taoist Temple is actually the only miao hui that is still held at in a temple. That seems to explain why the crowds lining up at the door here are primarily visiting to make prayers and to perform the many rituals for bringing good luck. I found this one interesting as it involves approaching the pot with your eyes closed. Everyone seems to have pretty good aim, and for the most part, they all hit it dead on... I wonder if anyone peeks?

The miao hui at Ditan Park definitely seems to have been the most crowded one of all. The Beijing International Spring Carnival may have had more people but it was more spread out so I really couldn't say which was bigger. One thing I've noticed that these things is that food is huge. It seems to just be a place to eat a lot and then walk it off while doing a little shopping. It's pretty tough getting through the crowds. I always have a backpack with me wherever I go and I must say it was pretty difficult to get around with it on. Unless you really need something, I suggest leaving it at home or at your hotel. I hope you enjoy the video and this collection of pictures. It should give you a great idea of what a Spring Festival celebration is like in China.

Although I accidentally deleted by favorite clip of the evening, I shot over an hour more of the celebrations that took place on the streets of Beijing near the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Wangfujing districts. Take a look at this 10 minute inside look at how China welcomed in 2007, the Year of the Pig, on the night of February 17th, the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Here are a couple of videos taken from Moon Hill. The first one is from the Lookout at the official "top" of Moon Hill. You can see at the end of the first one where I climbed to in order to shoot the second video. I will be posting pictures later that will show how I got to the real top of Moon Hill, however, I was told that the various illegible signs said No Admittance. At that point there are no steps and only a harsh and difficult trail so I do not recommend the climb for everyone. You can hear from my panting in the second video too that i was pretty out of breath by the time I got up there.

When traveling throughout China there is no way to avoid noticing the vast number of ethnic minority groups. Although the Han Chinese officially make up more than 90% of the population, there are 55 other ethnic groups officially recognized by the government. Here is a video clip of a tour guide in Yangshuo named Shirley who was nice enough to sing a song for us in her local Zhuang language. You may find this song familiar. I also used it on the bamboo rafting video I posted yesterday. If you have a chance to visit Guilin or Yangshuo, I would strongly recommend getting in touch with her as she is very nice and very helpful. She works at the travel desk in the lobby of the Yangshuo Regency Holiday Hotel on West Street (Xi Jie) or can also be reached on her cell phone at: 13457360321

Aside from bicycle riding to Dragon Bridge and Bamboo Rafting down the Yulong River, the next best thing to do in Yangshuo has got to be visiting Moon Hill and climbing to the top for a view of the amazing landscape all around you. Although there are many ways of getting there, I opted for the 1 hour bike ride. If you are short on time, there are mopeds, motorcycles, taxis and shuttle services available as well. Click here for some photos of some of the things you can expect to see along the way. By the way, the directions in Lonely Planet for how to get out there are pretty vague. The best way is just to go straight on the road you take to Yulong River (do NOT make a right before the bridge), pass over the bridge, go through the tunnel and make a right at the rotunda. You'll ride for about an half hour or so and cross a cool bridge before you see a sign saying Moon Hill (pictured here) on the right side of the street. Try not to get caught riding during rush hour because these are normal traffic streets and it can get pretty bad especially near the tunnel and rotunda. Once you get there, expect to stay between 30-120 minutes depending on far you like to climb and how much time you like to stay up there.

Another, more popular way, of returning to Yangshuo after bicycle riding to the Yulong River is by Bamboo Raft. In fact, you can normally bamboo raft all the way back to Yangshuo from practically anywhere on the river. Unfortunately, because I came in the winter, the water levels were pretty low and we could not raft the entire normal route; there were also plenty of areas where it was a bit difficult to pass as it was, but overall, it was still a great experience. And in case you are wondering, YES, you can get wet so remember to keep your feet up if you don't want to. Things are safe though as long as you keep them well-elevated and off the raft itself. Click here for some pictures and video of the trip.

I arrived very late last night to Beijing and basically slept all morning. When I woke up, I thought I should go out and she what Valentines day looks like in Beijing, but where should I go? Well, Wangfujing of course! Wangfujing is a major shopping area of Beijing. It's not the street vendor stuff we're used to seeing in other parts of the country, but more the shopping center-style we are used to seeing back in the states. Rolex, Nike, Adidas and other name brand stores litter this area and provide Beijing with a very modern and high-priced shopping atmosphere. Perfect for Valentine's day.Click here to see photos of Valentines Day in the Wangfujing Shopping District of Beijing.

Here is a short video clip taken from the top of Dragon Bridge on the Yulong River in Yangshuo, China. For more pictures from here, click here.

Today I had the priviledge of experiencing one of the most amazing scenic activities one could possibly engage in, taking a bicycle ride from Yangshuo to the nearby Yulong River. A popular activity here is riding a bamboo raft down the Yulong River. Although I plan to do this as well, today I thought it would be best to get to know the terrain a bit and just ride as much as I could. Although I eventually made it to a very nice spot at the river, my desire to take the road less traveled got me lost many times through the fields of some of these small farm villages.

What can I say about Yangshuo that has not already been said? Chinese writers and artists have been inspired by this place for thousands of years and after one second here you can see exactly why. Not too far south of Guilin, Yangshuo is definitely the place to visit in this area. I do not want to knock Guilin too much, but I will make a comparision to help you understand the difference between visiting these two areas; Considering they are so close and sit along the same river, they are very similar to each other both in terms of weather and geographical features. The main difference I see reminds me of the difference between...

I was extemely lucky to have been visiting Baomo Park on the day that I did because they happened to be performing a rehearsal show of the Annual Spring Festival Show. The Guangdong TV station and various other reporters were also there to report on the event. It was definitely an interesting experience and quite the teaser for the up-and-coming New Years show.

Here's Part Two of Baomo Park's Sneak Peak of their 2007 Chinese New Year Show.

Due to popular demand, I decided to post a short video clip of a view of the world famous Bund in Shanghai taken from Pearl park in the new Pudong side of the Huangpu River, or Huangpu Jiang as it is known in Chinese. Shanghai, like any major city, is huge; not only in size but also in population reaching almost 10 million, so keep a look out for more videos from this city, its people and places. I will be returning here, what many call the Paris of the East and a city which is set to become a major global financial center, in March as well so I will have plenty to show you. As you can tell from this video clip, there is not much Chinese architecture here. In fact, all you really see on this strip of coastline are remanents of China's colonial rule and the days of British and French control in China trade and finance.

Just 30 kilometers away from Suzhou, a place many refer to as Venice of the East, and a one-hour bus ride away from Shanghai, ZhuoZhuang is definitely a nice place to spend the day. Although I have more video I will be adding later, I thought I would share with you this quick two-minute clip of a small boat ride, gondola-style, taken through the canals of this ancient city.

If I had to pick one thing that I think is on everyone’s minds when they think about China, I would have to say money. Whether it is that China is taking jobs/money, it is keeping its money artificially undervalued, it is attracting investment/money, or that it can help make you money, everyone is thinking about China and money. For that reason, I thought it would be a good idea that my first set of videos be about money. So, here it is, a collection of free videos explaining a few useful things about Chinese money; a must see for anyone thinking about spending money while in China.

DKar.com This is a pretty cool web site with videos and pictures from a man teaching in Chengdu, China.

Although there were plenty of times I got pretty frustrated at this book, I still have to admit that it was the best all-in-one resource I was able to find both inside of China and out. Click here to learn more about it at Amazon.com

Considering that the teachings of Confucius are embedded into many parts of the Chinese culture, I consider this book to be an essential lookover before visiting China. Click here to learn more about it at Amazon.com

This book is a must read for anyone interested in business in China. It not only provides a detailed view of exactly what is going on in the Chinese business world but it also gives you an inside look from the perspective of an American business man. Click here to learn more about it at Amazon.com

Personally, I think one of the most difficult, and most interesting things about traveling is dealing with the various customs and traditions that the many people around the world have. And China was no different; accepting things or extending business cards and other things with both hands as a sign of respect and not sticking your chopsticks in your rice are just two example of the many customs you should be familiar with when visiting China. The book is a little out-dated but overall, it did a very good job of giving me the 4-1-1.Click here to learn more about it at Amazon.com

This interactive software and textbook is a great set to own for anyone serious interested in learning chinese. It comes with 8 books and 8 CDs.

Click here to learn more about it at Amazon.com

This software suite is not just a resource, it's like taking classes; explaining some of the basics and giving you the ability to practice while comparing yourself to over 8 CD's full of lessons. This also includes 8 text books to help follow along with for those that don't like having to look at the computer screen for long periods of time.

Click here to learn more about it at Amazon.com

This is a very useful dictionary to have around. This is the book I would turn to when I couldn't find a word in any of my smaller phrasebooks and pocket dictionaries. Despite the name, this one is not pocket-sized (see mini-dictionary for truly pocket-sized dictionary) unless you're thinking about a pocket in a briefcase or something but it is still a great reference dictionary to have.

Click here to learn more about it at Amazon.com