Links & Resources

Xiamen & Fujian
Xiamen 72-hour Visa Info – Details on the requirements for the 72-hour visa free transit that Xiamen introduced in 2015.
What’s On Xiamen – WOX can be messy, but it’s the most comprehensive source of up-to-date info for the city of Xiamen in China.
Kulangsu Island – The official site for Kulangsu operates like a blog, with occasional article updates. There are plenty of published articles about the history and architecture of Xiamen’s most popular tourist location.
The BBC Travel Show has a refreshingly honest series of clips that cover the useful (and useless) travel apps we can take to China.
The Swire Collection Photos – some wonderful old photos of Amoy from Warren Swire from the John Swire & Sons company.
The Hutong’s Journeys – The Hutong are based in Beijing but they offer a unique bike tour of the Hakka tulou that arrives and departs from Xiamen.
Amoy Watercolour from 1844 – A post by Dr. Bill Brown, author of Discover Xiamen, detailing a Xiamen watercolour from 1844.

China
bookish.asia – The East Asia Book Review, author interviews and literature reviews that shed light on East Asia past and present.
The China Coast: Trade and the First Treaty Ports by Robert Nield – the seldom-told story of the treaty ports on China’s coast, of which Xiamen was one.
The Opium War by Julia Lovell – a thorough and readable account of a time that shaped China’s present approach to the West.
Mr Selden’s Map of China by Timothy Brook – a fascinating story about a single Chinese map that made its way to London in the 1600s and one that reveals the extent of the links between coastal south China and her South Eastern and Eastern neighbours.
Roads and Kingdoms – relevant to other destinations on this list, Roads and Kingdoms publishes very good long- and short-form travel writing.

Taiwan
Camphor Press – publishers of a wonderful range of China- and Taiwan-related books, including Xiamen, and one called The Islands of Taiwan about Jinmen and other outlying Taiwanese islands.
Bradt Guide Taiwan – the blog that accompanies the wonderful Bradt guide to Taiwan, published by Steve Crook, author and resident of Tainan in the island’s south.

Istanbul
Carpet Blog – A healthy does of reportage and sarcasm from Constantinople.
Istanbul Eats – Two Americans have dug up the good stuff in a city that’s way too big to do yourself.
Hammam Guide – A blog exploring and reviewing the baths (hammams) of Istanbul. It began as a university study. (Seriously)

Iran
The Guardian’s Tehran Bureau – An attempt by a British paper to get beyond the Human Rights Abuses and Nuclear Ambitions narrative. Doesn’t always succeed.
Mirrors of the Unseen by Jason Elliot – The best recent book on Iran you’re likely to find.
The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron – Seminal travel narrative covering the Persian-speaking lands in the 1930s.
Parts Unknown Iran – Anthony Bourdain’s magnificently-shot piece on Iran, taking in Tehran and Isfahan.

Georgia
Audio Guide Georgia – An offline, GPS-guided app with audio tours for 3 Georgian cities. Walking tours on your phone, in a country where the places of interest aren’t always obvious.
Geocurrents.info – Several posts about the complex ethnic and linguistic makeup of the Caucasus.
Old Tbilisi, Georgia: Decaying beauty, or birth of a tourist trap? – An article about the crumbling timber facades of old Tbilisi and their tourist potential.