Ladakh and the Three Maitreyas

View-of-Leh-Valley

Sitting in the fertile Zanskar Valley with the mighty Indus river running through the centre, the town of Leh is dramatically encircled by snow-capped mountains. This tributary of the Indus also gives the high desert plateau a surprising greenness during… Continue reading

Sheki Azerbaijan and the Silk Road

9 Portrait-of-a-man-Winter-Palace

Sheki, in Azerbaijan, is where tourists can steep themselves in history in an historic town on the Silk Road. Asian Art Newspaper discovers its magnificent buildings and its long-standing connection with silk manufacture Azerbaijan is not on the well-worn tourist… Continue reading

Tamba-Sasayama Pots and Performances

The Cultural Legacy of Tamba-Sasayama Even though it is located within easy access from Kyoto, Osaka or Kobe, the Tamba-Sasayama area in the bucolic countryside of central Hyogo Prefecture, Tamba-Sasayama, remains largely unknown to most visitors despite its many attractions.… Continue reading

CHENGDU ART TRAIL

Chengdu Art Trail: Long Lake is crescent-shaped and is the highest (3,000 m), largest and deepest lake in Jiuzhaigou, measuring 7.5 km in length and up to 103 m in depth. It reportedly has no outgoing waterways, getting its water from snowmelt and losing it from seepage. Local Tibetans call the lake “a magic gourd that will never be poured full or dried up”.

Chinese art collector Zai Huang has a romantic attachment to Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province in south west China. She grew up there and over recent years has witnessed the city transform into a tourist mecca. She also… Continue reading

ROYAL THAI JOURNEY AND A NEW KING

In an elaborate and spectacular three-day coronation ceremony, and a Royal Thai journey that began on 4 May 2019, King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun was crowned King of Thailand. The event is believed to have cost US$31 million dollars. The official ceremonies,… Continue reading

Vietnamese Art and History

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam on the Vietnamese Art trail

On my first morning in Hanoi I was woken by church bells from the nearby French Gothic Cathedral of St Joseph. The sensation of having awoken in France was heightened by a breakfast of strong, dark coffee made with a… Continue reading