I first came across The New Yorker in a fairly modest way. We stayed at a relative's place for our vacation in New York last year. A copy of The New Yorker was flipped open and sat on top of a tall stack of reading materials in the bathroom, and, as a person who has to read when idle, I picked it up and started reading the opened page.

It was an amazing experience. I read quite a number of Western magazines regularly – Business Week, The Economist, Fortune, Time, Reader’s Digest – but I had never read any magazine article that spanned 20 (letter-sized) pages. The sensation was peculiar – As I continued flipping the pages, I became increasingly wary of its length but simultaneously longing for it to never end.

The New Yorker is the kind of magazine that entices you intellectually. It does not simply inform the reader – it assumes the reader is informed. Topics of its feature articles vary widely, from political affairs to artist profile to travelogue to psychology to consumerism, and the quality is perpetually excellent. Loosely related to a central theme of the issue, the simple and condensed article titles on the cover are as attractive as the sensational catchphrases on the cover of women’s magazines:

Journeys

• The World’s Most Baffling Tribe – Chronicles the work of a former-disciple-turned-opponent of Noam Chomsky, on the language of an Amazonian tribe that defies the most widely accepted linguistics theories.
• Commutes from Hell – On the life of American commuters who are on the road 5+ hours a day.
• Railroading Tibet – The myth and reality of the world’s highest railway’s impact on the Tibetan social fabric.
• My first passport – A Turkish writer recounts the process in which his first passport created and shaped his self-identity.
• Urban acrobats – Introduces the readers to parkour, a newly emerged urban physical art form that combines extreme sport and martial arts.
• I love luggage – The obligatory article on shopping. Introduces the reader to the dizzying array of suitcases that can be found in the city.

And of course, the famed New Yorker cartoons are witty and hilarious. But what I found even more entertaining are the small advertisements that occupy 1/8th of the outside column on some pages. They present the reader with so many curios he never knew he wanted. Here is a sample from, again, the issue I am reading:

• The Wallet Pen. Now, you always have a pen.
• Nifty Crosswords! Actually personalized all through! First they solve it – then they keep it!
• Swim at Home. Swim against a smooth current adjustable to any speed or ability. Ideal for exercise, therapy, and fun.
• Benchmark(er). Mark the big things in life – on the bench.
• Men’s wide shoes. EEE-EEEEEE, sizes 5 to 15.
• Replacements, Ltd. Missing a piece of your pattern? Over 11 million pieces in stock. New/used, buy/sell.

I think I have caught the China travel bug.

I've been from a 11-day trip to the remote parts of Sichuan and Yunnan for more than a week, and yet I am still unable to focus on work. My mind is flooded with images of mountains that soar into a perfectly blue sky, valleys that hold in an exuberance of greenery and never-ending rivers, people who are genuinely content with their life and happy to meet strangers. It was a way of living that relies entirely on mother nature.



I'll be posting pictures and thoughts to Flickr over the coming weeks.

It was a life changing experience. Human beings are nothing in the face of nature. Our lives and thoughts and believes and emotions are fleeting moments in human history. Everything that may affect a man's sense of self-importance - 是非、成敗 - is trivial. The sole goal of life is to be happy and to make people around you happy.

Where shall I go next?