MONGOLIA - North of one of the world’s largest and busiest cities is a vast open land of deep calm, grass and horses. Inner Mongolia is a place to escape my hectic life — and I keep returning to enjoy the vast flat grasslands that give rise to small rolling hills and skies of pristine blue that drift off into the horizon.

WUZHEN, CHINA - On a Mid-Autumn Festival morning, the residents of this ancient Yangtze River Delta water town are up early getting ready to welcome the hordes of weekend tourists.

SHAOYANG, CHINA - It has been a long, tiring day: lots of shopping and sightseeing in Shanghai, then a two-hour flight to Changsha, followed by a two-hour bus ride on bumpy back roads to reach this outpost in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

JIA BOA, CHINA - Getting lost in an ancient walled village is okay, especially if you’re lost in one of China’s best preserved private residences, once owned by a bean curd baron back in the Qing Dynasty.

PUDONG, CHINA - The closest most foreigners get to this futuristic city, whose skyline looks like it jumped off the pages of a sci-fi comic book, is from the observation boardwalk on the Shanghai side of the Huangpu River.

UPPER MUSTANG, NEPAL - King Angun Tenzing Trandul’s eyes are clouded by cataracts, perhaps from spending much of his 79 years in dim kerosene-smoked rooms. But those eyes, which have witnessed countless changes during his reign, flicker with warmth when his interpreter tells him we are from Canada.

BADONG, CHINA - Emily is singing. Her sweet soprano voice floats from the bow of a traditional sampan and through the dewy air as our sturdy little vessel rides the gentle Yangtze River waves.

GUANGZHOU, CHINA - Train No. T818 cuts through valleys lush with tropical vegetation and the jagged landscape known as the New Territories just outside Hong Kong whizzes past my window as the Guangzhou Express rushes towards the Chinese border.

XIAMEN, CHINA - Things are getting hot and steamy. It’s dark and I hear people whispering. Suddenly, a voice from behind asks: “What are you in the mood for?”

SANYA, CHINA - Hainan, the South China Sea island on which this vacation city is located, is often called “China’s Hawaii.”