As laid-back as Portland is, it's still a city with hustle and bustle. My escape is right at my doorstep: a picturesque slice of Oregon that appeals to my urge to aimlessly wander on lonesome roads.
On a quick trip to Tucson, I had a few hours to get a look at some classic desert scenery, but not enough time (or energy) for a big hike before catching a flight home. A friend suggested Sabino Canyon, 17 miles (27 kilometers) from downtown Tucson. It proved to be the perfect fast and easy way to sample Arizona's beauty without a lot of fuss.
The remote Peninsula of Guanahacabibes could become a destination of note for divers
The Austrian capital is famed for its rich artistic culture and beautiful city streets. But Wang Shanshan will always associate Vienna with a certain, hearty cuisine
The World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa on June 5 named Sub-Saharan Africa's top 10 countries in travel and tourism competitiveness, with South Africa taking the lead.
Two villages off the beaten path of most tourists avoided modernization due to their remoteness. Now they serve as windows to the past
Shaxi preserves the ancient charm of the water towns in East China's Yangtze River Delta
Water flows calmly where the Liuhe River merges with Yangtze River in Taicang, East China's Jiangsu province. Fields of green rice lie beside the waters and bird fly lazily overhead.
It is a Sunday afternoon in May, and I am inside a Fudan University classroom, where more than a dozen people - mostly young students - have come to attend a voice-training workshop for the Kunqu Opera.
Many cities have transformed their old industrial zones into attractive neighborhoods for recreation, shopping and new small businesses. Nowhere has this trend come to life more gloriously than in the River Arts District in Asheville, North Carolina.
If you have only one day to tour in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, most locals will recommend that you visit Jinci, a temple with 3,000 years' history.
Qinglong town, or "azure dragon town", 10 kilometers north of Taiyuan in Shanxi, used to be a village surrounded by sweet wormwoods sitting at the main road connecting Shanxi province, a historical economic powerhouse, with Inner Mongolia, since early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) .