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In Other Media – February 2016

Where we’ve been in the wide world of media this month.

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February was a busy month at Vagabond Journey. I was on the road in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Dubai, and Singapore doing some rather intensive research for a book on the New Silk Road, so the publishing queue is a little shorter this month than in others. Ghost Cities of China, my first book, has also been published for 10 months, so the initial boom that comes from a new book launch has started to subside. Other than that, I’ve been transitioning onto a new topic since last May — the New Silk Road — which I’m still cultivating my authority in.

That said, there was a really excellent review of Ghost Cities published on Bookish.Asia this month.

I also spoke at the INDEV Urbanized conference at the University of Waterloo in Canada a few days ago. An overview of the event was published on their website at URBANIZED: New Frontiers of Development. I will put up a post about this shortly, as it was a well-run event that was very enjoyable to have participated in.

I published five articles on Forbes this month:

How Kazakhstan Is Becoming The Next Frontier For World-Class Wine – The history of wine production in Kazakhstan is long and intermittent, spanning back to the times of the ancient Silk Road up through the Soviet era. Although centuries of war, conquest, political turmoil, and a lack of social coordination often left these vineyards neglected and uncultivated. Now one man has decided to revive this ancient tradition, and the results have been award winning.

Will A Place Called Khorgos Become The Next Dubai? – A new city founded on logistics and transportation is arising up from the Kazakhstan steppes on the border with China. It’s called Khorgos-East Gate, and it’s becoming the new crossroads of Eurasia.

China 2.0: How Upgraded Cities Are Driving The Future Of China – Since the early 2000s, China has been building hundreds of new cities across the country. Now this era is about doing something with them.

Is Starbucks Sowing The Seeds Of Its Own Demise In China? – Starbucks has developed a strategy which made them indisputably successful in China, but is this enough to keep them on top in an era where international chains are normal and no longer the new trend?

Is This The Recipe For Starbucks’ Continued Success In China? – How Starbucks won the China market where so many other international companies failed.

Please follow me on Forbes.

Filed under: In Other Media

About the Author:

I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 91 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. has written 3699 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

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VBJ is currently in: New York City

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