Travel Journal · 2 min · EN
The Walled Garden of the Chinese Market
Navigating Beijing’s antique stalls, where ancient artifacts spark unexpected encounters between a Jewish traveler and the merchants of Central Asia.
Writing
Essays and field notes
Essays, field notes and research by Noam Backner on China, Inner Asia, Buddhism, the Silk Roads, food, agriculture and the lived experience of place.
Travel Journal · 2 min · EN
The Whole Village is Here
A Naxi wedding feast reveals the village as it truly is: a web of intimacy, authority, and the makeshift rhythms of a rural kitchen.
Travel Journal · 3 min · EN
The Afghan Walk
On walking, breathing, and the distance between presumed tradition and practical exercise.
Travel Journal · 3 min · EN
Immortals and Bunkers
A journey up Mount Fu Shan, where ancient Chinese mountain traditions collide with the concrete ruins of German fortifications.
Travel Journal · 3 min · EN
The Trade Cities of Western Yunnan
Dali, Lijiang, Gyalthang, and Jinghong: four cities, four political traditions, and a polycentric landscape in Southwest China.
Travel Journal · 9 min · EN
A Thousand Celestial Meadows: Kyrgyzstan
A nation of Siberian nomads on a trans-civilisational frontier, and the summer pastures that still hold its identity.
Travel Journal · 17 min · EN
The Jewels of Badakhshan
Ismaili Islam, four-layered ceilings and dying luthiers in the river valleys of the Pamirs.