HANGZHOU, CHINA - The neatly attired young man welcomed us to his tiny tea village that rests just outside this mega-city of six million people by saying: “I will be your guide because I am the only one here who speaks English.”

DEGE, CHINA — “Shimmering like crystal in a mid-day sun; blinding snows melt and rivers run.” These could be the words used on a glossy brochure to promote any number of European or North American ski destinations.

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA - Mr. Happy is not happy. The delightful guide with the infectious laugh whose real name “Soc” means “happy” in Cambodian, has lost sight of members of the tour group he’s guiding through the tangled roots and crumbled temples of Ta Prohm, one of the major archeological sites at Angkor Wat.

DUOYISHU, CHINA — This remote farming community is still blanketed in darkness when the alarm sounds and tells me it’s time to prepare for another early-morning shoot on this photographic pilgrimage.

QINGDAO, CHINA - The ground is unsteady. I can’t seem to keep my balance. I hold onto a railing tightly but can’t walk in a straight line. I can hear people laughing. I must look like a fool.

LIJIANG, CHINA - Daylight is fading when we set out in the direction of the Tea Horse Road — southern China’s version of the Silk Road — which is just outside this renowned UNESCO World Heritage city.

LOUYANG, CHINA - While walking along this ancient city’s lovely riverbank, admiring the legendary Longmen Grottoes along with the wide-eyed Korean and Japanese tourists surrounding me, I suddenly realize I am a stranger in this land of my ancestors’ birth.

BEIJING - The iPod plugged into my ear was playing David Bowie’s China Girl as I stepped aboard the Hainan Airlines flight at Pearson International Airport that was taking me back to my China roots.

BEIJING - When my Dad announced that our 2011 family summer vacation would be spent in China, I started packing — weeks in advance.